A DINNER SPEECH BY GEORGE BERNARD SHAW IN HONOUR OF ALBERT EINSTEIN – LONDON 1930
I didn’t know that Albert Einstein and George Bernard Shaw ever met! Let alone there is a video of them together where Bernard Shaw gives a speech in honour of Einstein at a dinner party in 1930 in London.
George Bernard Shaw is widely regarded as one of the best public speakers of the 20th century. In this dinner speech, we can clearly see why. Here are few things we can learn from Bernard Shaw in this speech:
1. Friendly style: despite the fact that Shaw was was one the greatest writers who ever lived and that he was honoring one of the greatest people in history, he didn’t take himself too seriously.
2. Witty humor: “Ptolemy made a universe which has lasted 1400 years. Newton also made a universe which has lasted 300 years. Einstein had made a universe.. and I can’t tell you how long that will last”. This is an example of humor based on playing on expectations. The audience thought that Shaw wanted to say Einstein’s universe would last forever but instead he said: “I don’t know how long it will last”. It is important to note that the underlying message that Einstein’s universe was great hasn’t been lost despite the joke.
3. The power of contrast: Bernard Shaw honoured Einstein by contrasting him with other great people such as Ptolemy and Newton.
4. Theme setting: The theme of this excerpt was “makers of empires and universes”. By setting this theme, Bernard Shaw gained the ability to compare Einstein not only with other scientists but also with other great people in history such as Napoleon.
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