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Cyclopedia of Literary Places

Back to Methuselah

Author: George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950)

First published: 1921

First produced: 1922

Type of work: Drama

Time of plot: Fantasy

Time of plot: From the beginning of time to 31,920 c.e.

This play's “metabiological Pentateuch” provides a speculative account of the entire history of humankind, from the beginning imagined in the Christian creation myth to the attainment of a kind of collective apotheosis. Its locations appear to be arbitrary but include playwright George Bernard Shaw's birthplace and place of residence. The recurrence therein of a classical temple is significant.

Garden of Eden. Playground of the biblical Adam and Eve, whose petty quarrels are interrupted by a gigantic and gloriously colored serpent.

Oasis. Location in Mesopotamia where, a few centuries after leaving Eden, Adam and Eve are confronted by their son Cain's adolescent rebellion.

*London. Capital city of Great Britain, where, after the end of the Great War, in a house overlooking Hampstead Heath, the Brothers Barnabas conceive a scheme of Creative Evolution to recover the longevity of Adam and Eve. They attempt, unsuccessfully, to interest various politicians.

Board. Parlor of the president of the British Islands in the year 2170. The room's end wall is a massive television screen. The Gospel of the Brothers Barnabas has been rediscovered, and its principles found to be in action; however, the president cannot convince the representatives of various religions of this fact.

*Galway Bay. Atlantic Ocean inlet in western Ireland where, in the year 3000, a confrontation occurs among a diplomat from the capital of the British Commonwealth (located in Baghdad), the emperor of Turania, and representatives of a long-lived, culturally superior race. The revelations of an oracle voiced in a temple near Burrin pier fail to convince the visitors that their folkways are obsolete.

Temple on the hill. Edifice on a wooded slope, perhaps on the same site as the temple previously featured. A ritual performed before its altar ends with the oviparous birth of a Newly Born individual, whose curiosity requires a prompt education in the mysterious ways of the Life Force. The ghosts of Adam, Eve, and Cain subsequently reappear outside the temple, so that Lilith can explain to them that their ultimate descendants have given up on vulgar matter to become purified souls.

—Brian Stableford

Citation Types

Type
Format
MLA 9th
"Back To Methuselah." Cyclopedia of Literary Places,Salem Press, 2015. Salem Online, online.salempress.com/articleDetails.do?articleName=CLP_0090.
APA 7th
Back to Methuselah. Cyclopedia of Literary Places,Salem Press, 2015. Salem Online, online.salempress.com/articleDetails.do?articleName=CLP_0090.
CMOS 17th
"Back To Methuselah." Cyclopedia of Literary Places,Salem Press, 2015. Salem Online, online.salempress.com/articleDetails.do?articleName=CLP_0090.