Back to Methuselah (Masterplots, Revised Second Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: George Bernard Shaw
- First Published: 1921
- Type of Work: Drama
- Type of Plot: Play of ideas
- Time of Work: From the beginning of time to 31,920
- Setting: The Garden of Eden, the Middle East, and Britain
- Principal Characters: Adam, Eve, Cain, The Serpent, Franklyn Barnabas, Conrad Barnabas, A Parlormaid, William Haslam, Cynthia Barnabas, Joyce Burge, Lubin, Burge-Lubin, Barnabas, Confucius, William Haslam, Mrs. Lutestring, Elderly Gentleman, Zoo, General Aufsteig, Ambrose Badger Bluebin, Oracle, Chloe, He-Ancient, She-Ancient, Amaryllis, Arjillax, Martellus, Pygmalion, Ghost of Lilith
- Genres: Drama, Problem play
- Subjects: Creation myth, Future, 1920’s, Bible, biblical imagery, or biblical symbolism, Biblical times, Heroes or heroism, Life, philosophy of, Evolution
- Locales: London, England, Eden
The Story:
Act I: In the Beginning. In Eden, Adam discovered a dead fawn; he and Eve now understood that death must come to them, but Adam was also bored by the idea of eternal life. Adam disposed of the fawn, and the Serpent awoke and told Eve that birth could overcome Death. She also told Eve of Lilith, who had given birth to Adam and Eve by tearing herself apart and that it took two to give birth. Adam left and the Serpent told Eve of the great secret of love and birth.
Several centuries later, in Mesopotamia, Adam was digging and Eve spinning. Cain entered and...
[The entire page is 2383 words long]
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