The Death of Ivan Ilych" is about a man's realization of the meaninglessness of his existence in light of his impending death. By all external definitions, Ivan's life was the picture of success. He had risen to the top of his profession; he had married an attractive and well-thought of woman; and h...

The sociopolitical climate of Shaw's England appears to have offered the playwright the subject of his conflict. In his 1895 essay on the problem play, Shaw states the primacy of social issues in modern drama, expressing himself in dramatic rather than directly sociopolitical terms. One cr...