Saint Joan

Analyze how Saint Joan treats the subject of gender. How does Joan describe her gender identity and how does she behave in ways contrary to gender expectations?

Why do you think George Bernard Shaw chose to include an epilogue set after Joan’s death? How would the play be different if it ended with her execution?

Choose one of the members of Charles VII’s court and compare the reasons why they initially support Joan, but later abandon her.

While the play is set in the Middle Ages, Shaw’s dialogue sounds like the contemporary speech of the 1920s. Analyze how speech patterns and tone convey characterization throughout the play. 

Saint Joan premiered in 1923, only 3 years after Joan of Arc was canonized as a saint by the Catholic Church. How does Shaw portray Joan’s miracles? Why do you think he creates ambiguity about whether her abilities were ever supernatural?

Analyze how nature and landscape are portrayed in Saint Joan. What is the relationship between nature and the divine?

How does this play align with your expectations of the dramatic genre of tragedy? How does it subvert or challenge those expectations?

Many other writers have written fictionalized accounts of the life of Joan of Arc, including William Shakespeare, Mark Twain, Friedrich Schiller, and Voltaire. Choose another adaptation of the history of Joan of Arc and compare it to Shaw’s Saint Joan. How are they similar or different in their portrayal of her life?