This quote suggests that to truly understand and appreciate the extent of a play’s inferior quality, one must watch it twice. On the surface level, this may seem counterintuitive – why would anyone want to sit through something they didn’t enjoy again? However, Shaw’s point is that a single viewing might not be enough to fully grasp all the nuances that contribute to a play’s mediocrity.
The first time you watch a play, your perceptions might be influenced by several factors: your mood on that day, your expectations based on reviews or word-of-mouth recommendations, the hype surrounding its popularity. You may miss subtle details or overlook glaring flaws because you’re focused on following the plot or are distracted by impressive set designs and performances.
When you watch it for a second time though, you’re more prepared. You know what’s coming which allows you to pay attention to other elements such as dialog quality, character development or lack thereof and plot coherence among others. It is then when all these elements come together (or fail to), thereby revealing how bad (or good) a popular play truly is.
Applying this idea beyond theater criticism and into today’s world or personal development involves embracing repeated exposure as an effective tool for deeper understanding and better judgment. Just like watching a poor-quality play twice can reveal its flaws more clearly; revisiting our own beliefs, actions or decisions can provide us with fresh insights about ourselves.
In personal development context specifically: perhaps we’ve made mistakes in life that we regretted immediately. Instead of shunning those experiences completely out of embarrassment or discomfort; revisiting them after some time has passed could offer valuable lessons about where we went wrong and how we can avoid similar missteps in future.
Similarly in today’s fast-paced world where trends change rapidly and new information constantly bombards us; re-evaluating popular opinions/ideas before accepting them blindly could prevent us from falling prey to misinformation/disinformation. Just because an idea is popular doesn’t necessarily make it good or right; and just like Shaw’s plays, understanding the true value of these ideas might require a second, more critical look.
