Life — February 25, 1909 — page 11: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis The main illustration, captioned "G. B. SHAW CUTTING SHAKESPEARE IN HADES," depicts two figures in what appears to be the underworld. One figure (likely Shakespeare) confronts another (identified as George Bernard Shaw). The satire mocks Shaw's literary criticism and his tendency to critique or "cut" (revise/diminish) Shakespeare's works. The accompanying text sections—"Life's Worst Novel Contest," "Rather Undecided," and "Feminine"—appear to be separate satirical pieces about relationships and gender roles, typical of Life magazine's humor content. The Shaw cartoon specifically ridicules the Irish playwright's well-known practice of criticizing Shakespeare and proposing theatrical revisions, suggesting such presumption would be comically confrontational even in the afterlife.