Previous
Style
Definition of Tone
The tone of a piece of writing is its general character or attitude, which might be cheerful or depressive, sarcastic or sincere, comical or mournful, praising or critical, and so on. For instance... read full definition
The tone of a piece of writing is its general character or attitude, which might be cheerful or depressive, sarcastic or sincere, comical or mournful, praising or critical... read full definition
The tone of a piece of writing is its general character or attitude, which might be cheerful or depressive, sarcastic or sincere, comical... read full definition
Scene 2
Explanation and Analysis:
Although the play is sometimes classified as a tragedy, Shaw's trademark humorous and satirical tone frequently comes through. Virtually every character is skewered at some point. One example is in Scene 2, after the Dauphin has decided to test Joan's miraculous powers by switching places with Gilles de Rais to see if she can pick out the real king:
LA TRÉMOUILLE. I wonder will she pick him out!
THE ARCHBISHOP. Of course she will.
LA TRÉMOUILLE. Why? How is she to know?
THE ARCHBISHOP. She will know what everybody in Chinon knows: that the Dauphin is the meanest-looking and worst-dressed figure in the Court, and that the man with the blue beard is Gilles de Rais.
LA TRÉMOUILLE. I never thought of that.
THE ARCHBISHOP. You are not so accustomed to miracles as I am. It is part of my profession.
Shaw's stated aim with the play is to humanize everyone involved in the tale of Joan of Arc. One way he does this is by portraying every character as in some way laughable. No one is larger than life in this play. In this scene, the archbishop and La Trémouille reveal some of their comedic flaws. La Trémouille simply comes across as naive. Many of the noblemen in the play are shortsighted, suggesting that France's difficulties early in the Lancastrian War had less to do with principled loyalty to sub-regions of France than with a human inability for most of them to think strategically.
The archbishop, on the other hand, comes across as cynical and manipulative. Despite his role as a Catholic Church leader, he doesn't really believe in divine miracles. Rather, miracles are "part of my profession." He is responsible for creating the illusion of miracles so that people will believe in the power of the Church. He thinks Joan will be able to discern the king from the commoner, but he doesn't believe it is because she has any God-given abilities to recognize a divinely-ordained ruler. Rather, he tells La Trémouille, she'll have heard how badly the king dresses and that Gilles de Rais has a beard dyed blue. This cynicism marks the archbishop as just another power-hungry man who uses all the resources at his disposal, including people's belief in God, to climb the ranks of a bureaucracy. Additionally, his description of the king and of the legendary Bluebeard (de Rais) as no more than a badly-dressed courtier and a man with a blue beard invites the audience to laugh at these men as well.
Related Themes:
