Discuss the theme of class and social mobility in "Pygmalion." How does Eliza's transformation challenge the boundaries of class, and what commentary does ...Read More
Prompt Examples for "Pygmalion" Essays
Class and Social Mobility
Discuss the theme of class and social mobility in "Pygmalion." How does Eliza's transformation challenge the boundaries of class, and what commentary does the play offer on social hierarchies?
Character Transformation
Analyze the transformation of characters in the play, particularly Eliza Doolittle and Professor Henry Higgins. How do they evolve throughout the story, and what motivates their changes?
Language and Identity
Examine the significance of language and identity in "Pygmalion." How does Eliza's mastery of language impact her sense of self, and how does it influence her relationships and perceptions of others?
Gentility and Manners
Discuss the portrayal of gentility and manners in the play. How do notions of proper behavior and etiquette play a role in the characters' interactions and societal expectations?
Gender Roles and Feminism
Explore the themes of gender roles and feminism in "Pygmalion." How does Eliza's transformation challenge traditional gender norms, and what feminist perspectives can be applied to the play?
Pygmalion and Mythology
Analyze the connection between the play's title and the Pygmalion myth from Greek mythology. What parallels can be drawn between the characters and themes in the play and the myth of Pygmalion and Galatea?
The honest and compelling transformation of a simple flower girl from a disempowered ‘draggle-tailed guttersnipe’ to a ‘fierce’ woman who demands what she ‘want[s]’ and feistily laments the loss of her ‘independence’ is emblematic of the laudable qualities that Shaw wishes to highlight in the...
In Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion, Shaw attacks the relations between Victorian era classes by exposing their wretched treatment of the lower class, as seen in the flower girl, by the higher classes, upper and middle, iconified in Higgins and Mrs. Pearce, respectively. These characters’ condescension towards...
At first glance and introduction, it seems Mr. Doolittle is no more than a slovenly and crude navvyman. He serves the plot as nothing more than a physical representation of where Eliza comes from. However, in the two scenes he is in, he steals the...
Pygmalion did not like women, and blamed them for everything. So, instead of finding a real wife, he decided to make himself one. Pygmalion carved out a woman made of ivory that he thought was even more beautiful than any live woman could ever be....
George Bernard Shaw’s ‘Pygmalion’ is a play that is scathing in its attack on the pruderies, hypocrisies and inconsistencies of higher society in early 20th century London. Through the transformation of Eliza Doolittle, Shaw reveals to the audience that amongst the ‘draggletailed guttersnipe[s]’ of the...
Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion depicts a self-willed lower class woman living in a capitalist society. At that time period, women and the lower class were viewed as unequal to men and the upper class and as a result, were left to find their own means of...
I am too intelligent, too demanding, and too resourceful for anyone to be able to take charge of me entirely. -Simone de Beauvoir Tête-à-Tête: The Lives and Loves of Simone de Beauvoir & Jean-Paul Sartre Made-to-order essay as fast as you need it Each essay...
In comparing the Edwardian era – that is, the early 20th century – to the modern age, we can see that some distinct social constructs and class systems are present in both. However, social and class-related barriers are noticeably more porous in today’s world. George...
In the play, Pygmalion, by George Bernard Shaw, uses cultural criticism, revealing one of their strong accents in the book, Eliza, and most of the characters. The play very often by their speaking. They all have a different accent or way they talk throughout the...
Contemporary drama is revolved around current problems or issues within society. It is relevant to the era that was composed in attempted to relate with the audiences. Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw and The Lion and The Jewel by Wole Soyinka are popular contemporary drama...
Written in 1912 by George Bernard Shaw, Pygmalion is set in the early 20th century, at the end of the Victorian era in England. This time period is greatly characterized by a particular movement of social reform, alluding to Shaw’s interest in the theme of...
Summary of Pygmalion On a summer season night in London’s Covent backyard, a gaggle of assorted persons are gathered collectively under the portico of St. Paul’s Church for security from the rain. Among the workforce are Mrs. Eynsford-Hill and her daughter, Clara, who are ready...
Is an element of comedy in the sThere tory Pygmalion and in the film My Fair Lady. In the play and the film alike, a woman of the streets named Liza Doolittle is transformed from a dirty low-life from the streets to a respectable high-class...
Many individuals are adept at recognizing changes in their environment, others, and themselves. To these people, whatever the “change” might be-a new hairstyle, a new article of clothing, or an affected spoken dialect-rarely goes unnoticed. Sometimes, however, even these keen and perceptive individuals fail to...
The societal aspects of their writing made Dickens and Shaw two of the most influential figures of revolutionary and socio-political writing. William Blake, however, was also significant, especially through his work Songs of Innocence and Experience where he gave the marginalised figures of society a...
Pygmalion, written in 1912 by George Bernard Shaw and initial performed 2 years later, tells the story of Henry Higgins, an academic acoustics (speech), United Nations agency bets his friend that he will pass off a poor flower woman with a Cockney accent as a...
Introduction A pioneer writer, philosopher, and critique of the 20th century, George Bernard Shaw is a prominent figure renowned for his radical ideas. While Shakespeare is primarily an artist holding a mirror to nature, Shaw is fundamentally a thinker with a message, aiming to reflect...
Throughout the text, Pygmalion, by the playwright George Bernard Shaw, has explored numerous themes. George Bernard Shaw tackles these themes through the Victorian Romance genre, demonstrating the issues of wealth, privilege, education, and language that Eliza Doolittle goes through. The main theme that I will...
Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion explores the theme of oppression of women by demonstrating the poor position of women in Victorian society under the influence of oppressive men and Victorian morality. Shaw achieves this by satirising the oppressive nature of Victorian middle-class morality and the beliefs and unfair...
Years before he became the greatest living writer of comedy, Shaw was an ardent social reformer. “My conscience”, he once wrote, “is the genuine pulpit article; it annoys me to see people comfortable when they ought to be uncomfortable; and I insist on making them...
The Greek Myth of Pygmalion, about a sculptor and the woman he creates and falls in love with, has been appropriated into various texts of different times and made relevant to a wide range of audiences. In particular, George Bernard Shaw’s English play Pygmalion and...
Contextual attitudes and values regarding gender and class in Pretty Woman (1990), directed by Garry Marshall, and Pygmalion (1913), written by George Bernard Shaw, are predominantly maintained throughout both texts, although minor adaptions have been made to preserve contextual relativity. The power inequality in relation...
Ovid’s Metamorphoses is a work about transience, and perhaps no two things in the natural world are more fleeting than life and beauty. Artists aim to preserve these two qualities in their work by simultaneously imitating the natural world to give the appearance of life...
The movie Mannequin was directed by Michael Gottlieb and was released in 1987. The movie follows the love story of an artist by the name of Jonathan Switcher and Emmy, a mannequin created by Jonathan himself to be used in the window exhibits of a...
Comparing Pygmalion & My Fair Lady—Act 1, Scene 1 Because the focus of musicals is more concerned with song and dance and less concerned with dialogue than straight plays are, it stands to reason that musicals seek to simplify the plot in order to make...
My group and I decided to do our project on Pygmalion by Bernard Shaw. I chose to be the scene designer. This paper will discuss my process in designing the scene for the Act (scene) we are focusing on. My group decided to focus on...
Numerous times a piece of literature is changed into a movie or musical it s plot and or theme has been changed to suit the director s thought of what would appeal to the public. One such example is Bernard Shaw s play Pygmalion. In...
George Bernard Shaw’s play, Pygmalion, follows the journey of Eliza Doolittle, a poor, uneducated flower girl who undergoes a remarkable transformation into a strong, confident woman through her interactions with Professor Higgins. This essay will examine Eliza’s character development, exploring her initial appearance and social...
Introduction to Eliza’s World Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw is a pretty neat play about social class, language, and how people can change. It’s set in early 20th-century London and follows Eliza Doolittle, who’s this flower girl wanting to boost her place in society and...
Henry Higgins, a phonetician, accepts a bet that simply by changing the speech of a Cockney flower seller he will be able, in six months, to pass her off as a duchess. Eliza undergoes grueling training. When she successfully “passes” in high society—having in the process become a lovely young woman of sensitivity and taste—Higgins dismisses her abruptly as a successfully completed experiment. Eliza, who now belongs neither to the upper class, whose mannerisms and speech she has learned, nor to the lower class, from which she came, rejects his dehumanizing attitude.
Theme
The main theme of "Pygmalion" is that social class is not something to be valued. Those of a higher social class may not be good people, and those of lower social class can have many virtues of their own.
Characters
Professor Henry Higgins, Colonel Pickering, Eliza Doolittle, Alfred Doolittle, Mrs. Pearce, Mrs. Higgins, Mrs. Eynsford-Hill, Clara Eynsford-Hill, Freddy Eynsford-Hill
Popularity
Pygmalion was the most broadly appealing of all Shaw's plays. The play was well received by critics in major cities following its premieres in Vienna, London, and New York. The play became famous as a motion picture in 1938 and later as the stage musical My Fair Lady (1956), with a musical score by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe. A 1964 film version of the musical featured Rex Harrison and Audrey Hepburn.
Quotes
“What you are to do without me I cannot imagine.”
“If you can’t appreciate what you’ve got, you’d better get what you can appreciate.”
“Happy is the man who can make a living by his hobby”
“What is life but a series of inspired follies? The difficulty is to find them to do. Never lose a chance: it doesn’t come every day.”
