Wikipedia:WikiProject Biography/Peer review/George Bernard Shaw
I have provided new information, supplied citations, deleted errors and organized the structure. Next, I will make the style uniform; it is now patchy because it is composed of contributions by a lot of editors. Before I request a better rating I would like suggestions for improving the content of the article.
Wugo 01:38, 27 February 2007 (UTC)
I think that this has the potential to be an excellent article, but it still needs some work. I'm glad someone has taken up this page - Shaw is an important literary figure. Here are my suggestions.
- For such an important figure, I think that you can expand the lead. Right now it seems dominated by small details (such as tree-pruning and vegetarianism) rather than focused on explaining the significance of Shaw and his work to the reader. WP:LEAD
- Infobox: Social realism seems like an ideology to me rather than a genre. Wouldn't play and novel be more appropriate in the genre category?
- There seems to be an excess of dates in the opening of the biography. I'm not sure all of those are necessary.
- Many of your statements simply need more explanation for the reader unfamiliar with Shaw and his work.
- He gave this attitude flesh and blood in the prologue of Cashel Byron's Profession, and underscored it in his Treatise on Parents and Children. - what did he say in these works exactly? (we don't necessarily want people to have read entire works to understand the article)
- The Perfect Wagnerite, printed in 1898, typifies Shaw’s views on Wagner. - examples?
- He made it a forum for considering moral, political and economic issues. - much more needs to be said here - which issues in particular?
- His overriding motivation for writing was to further humanitarian and political agendas. - vague - which agendas? (Also when beginning a section, always start again with Shaw, so the reader knows who "he" is.)
- Rather than linking to your source, please cite it in a footnote. Also, if you eventually want to submit this for GA or FA (and I hope you eventually will), this will need many more citations from reputable, scholarly biographies. WP:CITE
- The biography section is quite short given Shaw's importance as a literary figure. Could you flesh that out?
- The "Novels" section should say something about the themes of his novels and how they were received. Also, please change the list into prose.
- Might you also consider including a section on Shaw's style?
- Rather than discussing the publication of Shaw's letters, might you discuss Shaw as a letter-writer? What made him distinctive?
- Perhaps the bit on vegentarianism could be integrated into the biography section?
- Might you also include some information on Shaw's literary legacy? What other playwrights and authors did he influence, for example?
- Also, it would be nice to have a complete list of Shaw's works, not just the ones available online. Awadewit 05:52, 3 March 2007 (UTC)