Title of Play Apple Cart Essay examples

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Pages: 13

Comment on the title of the play “The Apple Cart” .

The title of the play “The Apple Cart” is taken from a well-known English Phrase “to upset the apple cart.” A person is said “to upset the apple cart” when he spoils or frustrates some one else’s carefully arranged plan.

Upsetting apple carts had ever been one of Shaw’s main occupations. In this play he upsets the apple cart of democracy. Side by side, he upsets the apple of royalty also . He exposes the unreality of both democracy and royalty.

There are two references to this phrase in the play. Both of theme occur in Act II. The first reference occurs when the king threatens to abdicate. Nicobar tellr him at that time : you cannot upset the apple cart like this.

The second
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But he withstands her desire to bind him to herself. He rejects her suggestion to divorce queen Jemima for her sake. Orinthia compares herself to a rose, and Jemima to a cabbage. Magnus at once tells her that cabbages are far more useful than roses. He further points out that every human is a rose in her youth, but becomes a cabbage with the advance of years. When Orinthia asks him to marry her, Magnus tells her frankly: “ keeping our distance is the whole secret of good manners.”

In fact, Magnus is one of Shaw’s most brilliant creations. He is not only intelligent and brilliant, but also deeply human. He carries a wise head over his shoulders. He is Shaw’s mouthpiece and expresses the dramatist’s views on the subject of democracy. Shaw has bestowed all his affection and all the wealth of his imagination on Magnus. He is, indeed, one of the greatest figures in modern drama.

Pen Portrait Of Joseph Proteus

Proteus the Prime Minister plays a leading role in the play, The Apple Cart. He comes next only to King Magnus. Though he lacks the brilliance and intelligence of Magnus, he has his own tact and political wisdom.

Proteus uses two weapons in the his battle with the King. These two weapons are his threat to resign and show of bad temper. Proteus’s bad temper is a good policy. Magnus as well as some members of the Cabinet, knows that Proteus pretends to lose his temper whenever it suits him. Thus Magnus says to him, “My