Augustus Does His Bit: George Bernard Shaw

 

6. Play: Augustus Does His Bit by George Bernard Shaw

About the Playwright

         George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist, and political activist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest playwrights in the English language and an important figure in the literary and theatrical worlds of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In 1925, Shaw was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for his work as a playwright. Despite his advancing age, Shaw continued to write and remained politically active.

Characters in the Play

·         Lord Augustus Highcastle – a 45-year-distinguished member of the governing class, keen on ongoing war, receives information about a spy woman,

·         Horatio Beamish – a clerk of Augustus, hates Colonel and his emphasis on war

·         A Lady spy obtains the secret paper from Augustus

Main Plot of the Play,

•      The one-act play ‘Augustus Does His Bit’ is set in the background of the First World War. There was a war going on between England and Germany. This play highlights the fruitlessness of war.

•      Augustus Does His Bit’ is a comic one-act play by George Bernard Shaw. This play is about a dim-witted (foolish) aristocrat who is outwitted by a female spy during World War I. 

Summary of Augustus Does His Bit

         The main character of the play, Lord Augustus Highcastle, is the mayor of the small town of Little Pifflington (sc). He is forty-five years old. Augustus is in his office room putting his heels on a writing table and reading "The Morning Post". The mayor is properly dressed in his colonel uniform. The mayor’s clerk, Beamish, enters the office. The clerk is casually dressed. Augustus and the clerk discuss the ongoing war between Britain and Germany. Augustus glorifies, praises, and highlights the significance of war and adores the frontline soldiers who are fighting on behalf of Britain, their motherland. On the other hand, the clerk condemns and belittles war.

The two characters debated hotly about the issue of war. The mayor gets furious when the clerk criticizes war. The clerk argues that war has had a severe impact on the economy and social life. The clerk criticizes the mayor for prioritizing war and disregarding other serious issues like the increasing child death rate.

         August does not like the way the clerk treats him. The mayor feels insulted by such misbehavior. When August feels proud of his effort to support the war, the clerk talks about the meaninglessness of war. Augustus expresses bitter anger towards the British, who are not ready to fight for their motherland. He adds that he has saved money for the war by cutting the price of the allowance of petrol.

       The clerk expresses his dissatisfaction with the mayor’s decision to shut down the picture gallery, museum, theaters, and cinema halls. Augustus gets furious when the clerk goes on commenting about Mayor Augustus. He orders the clerk, Beamish, to bring a cup of coffee and rolls every morning at half past ten. The clerk explained that he could not have any rolls because the only baker who baked rolls was a German, and he had been dismissed from his work. The clerk reports that not all British are patriotic and serious about war like Augustus. Some of them are ready to sell their motherland if a profit is offered. Augustus accuses the clerk Beamish of not respecting the war and being unpatriotic. He orders Beamish to replace the gas stove with an ordinary grate to economize on gas. But the clerk explains that the Minister of Munitions has ordered to use of gas instead of coal to save materials.

       The clerk, then, asks the mayor to raise his salary. Augustus clarifies that he is unable to increase his salary during the war crisis. Augustus wants Beamish to contribute to the war, sacrificing his personal needs. The clerk's gradual complaint wears the nerves of the mayor. Augustus angrily tells Beamish to leave the room at once. The clerk leaves the room. In the meantime, the telephone rings. Blueloo speaks on the phone and informs Augustus about a lady spy who is visiting him (Augustus) to steal some important and secret war documents. Augustus confidently replies that he won't let the document be stolen. The clerk enters the room and informs Augustus that a lady has come to meet him downstairs. Augustus wants an appointment to meet her because he is concerned about the safety of the war document. But later, he agreed to meet her when he knew the lady was beautiful.

        The lady starts flattering Augustus and makes him believe that she is an honest lady and that she has come there to help him. But, in fact, she has come to Augustus to steal an important document about gun placement. She is a German spy. Augustus tells the lady that he has relatives (three German brothers-in-law) in the foreign office. He also adds that the foreign office has warned him about a female spy who is determined to obtain the secret document (list of gun locations). The lady then plays tricks on Augustus. She says that the lady who is coming to get the document is an intimate friend of his brother, Blueloo. Augustus gets excited about being informed of such a big secret and trusts the lady with what she says. She tells Augustus that the spy has made a bet with Blueloo that she would come to meet Augustus and obtain the paper. Having complete trust in the lady, Augustus reveals many secrets related to war and official confidentiality.

       The lady asks August to be aware of the spy because she is very cunning. Augustus then searches the document in his office drawer and plans to keep it in his pocket as a measure of security. But he couldn't find the document. In the meantime, the clerk enters the room and shows Augustus a paper to Augustus that he has left in a hotel. It was the document (list) the lady was looking for. She quickly snatches the document from Augustus and puts it in her bag.

       Augustus does not like the clerk's presence between them. He seizes the clerk and rushes him through the door. In the meantime, the lady exchanges the original document with another official paper from the stationery rack. As Augustus returns, the lady gives the exchanged paper. Without checking the paper, Augustus keeps it in his pocket. The lady then leaves the room, taking the original document.

Beamish enters Augustus's room. The lady (spy) calls Augustus from the street. She wants the clerk to verify that she has left the room without any documents. The lady returns and phones Blueloo in the War Office and informs him that she has won the bet by obtaining the secret paper from Augustus. Augustus checks the list in his pocket and finds that it is blank.

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