Arms and the Man Lesson Plan

Consider the parts of the script that aren’t dialogue: stage directions, set and prop descriptions, et cetera. What details strike you about them?

Students will likely note the VERY elaborate stage directions and set descriptions. Compare the highly detailed and specific notes in "Arms and the Man" to other plays students may have read. Shaw's style of telling the reader absolutely everything teaches us more about the characters' internal lives, their role in the play's narrative, and the world in which the action of the play transpires. It's also super specific to the era when it’s set, and lays out some pretty exacting parameters for actors. How does this affect modern...