Pygmalion

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Pygmalion

• By George Bernard Shaw

(PowerPoint by Julia Powell)
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Edwardian/ Georgian Period1901-1936

• Named as such due to the rule of King Edward VII
  (1901-1910) and King George V (1910-1936).
• King Edward VII was titled Edward the Peacemaker
  due to his short, yet positive and peaceful reign
  as King.
• During King George Vs rule, he declared war
  against Germany. (WWI)
• The Treaty of Versailles ended the war in 1919.

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• In 1936, George VI is crowned King.
• In 1939, Great Britain once again declares war on
  Germany due to Hitlers invasion of Poland.
  (WWII)

• In 1941, many parts of London were destroyed by
  air raids, killing over 60,000 people.
• Englands prime minister, Winston Churchill,
  worked with Roosevelt to end the war.

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Life of the Time

• Womens Rights the right to vote in 1928, Equal
  Pay Act of 1970, and Margaret Thatcher became the
  first woman prime minister.
• Technology radio, television, automobile,
  airplane, bread slicer, and Kool-aid.

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Literature of the Time

• War poems
• Joseph Conrads Lord Jim
• Arthur Conan Doyles The Adventures of Sherlock
  Holmes
• George Bernard Shaws Pygmalion and Major Barbara
• William b. Yeats The Winding Stair

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George Bernard Shaw

• I must warn my readers that my attacks are
  directed against themselves, not against my stage
  figures.
• -Shaw

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George Bernard Shaw

• Shaw was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1856.
• He grew up poor and lacked any professional
  training due to his dislike of it.
• In his 20s he moved to London and became a music
  and theater critic and a member of the Fabian
  Society (a group dedicated to the advancement of
  Socialism.)
• As a theater critic, he argued that a theater of
  ideas should replace the sentimental theater of
  the time.
• Shaw used his plays to expose the hypocrisy and
  complacency of British society.

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George Bernard Shaw

• Shaw wanted to force his viewers to face the
  reality of unpleasant events.
• He promoted the unpleasant plays by publishing
  a long preface in which he could argue his views.
• Shaw was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature
  in 1925.
• He continued to write until he was 94.

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Main Characters of Pygmailion Role Relationships Conflicts Significance
Eliza Doolittle Protagonist, poor flower girl who wishes to be rich and happy Daughter of Alfred, experiment subject to Higgins and Pickering, possibly means more to Higgins Cannot change her inner characteristics to suit the newly changed outer appearance. Argues with Higgins on this subject Is able to stay true to herself and to not conform to please society.
Mr. Higgins Antagonist, Professor of phonetics and tries to teach Eliza the proper ways of society. Friend to Higgins, wishes to be friends with Eliza He tries to change Eliza's personality but she wont let him. He also has a hard time understanding women. His actions show that no one can change another's character
Col. Pickering Another researcher of phonetics Friend to Higgins, and a friend to Eliza Trying to get Eliza and Higgins to understand each other He did not change his morals to suit Higgins' needs
Mrs. Pearce Motherly figure, and Housekeeper Protector of Eliza, and keeps Higgins in line Has trouble in trying to reason with Higgins Is a role model to Eliza
Freddy Hill Ideal image of a man at the time (to Eliza) has feelings for Eliza over time, they marry Argues with the people of his society on his choice of Eliza. Gives hope to Eliza
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Words to know

• Phonetics
• Dialect
• Cockney
• Dramatist
• Fin de siecle
• Social satire
• Aestheticism
• Fabian society
• Shavian
• Naturalism

Fabian Society
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Possible open ended questions

• The last times that Pygmalion was used as an
  option for the free response question was in
  2003, 2005, and 2008.
• 2003 Novels and plays often depict characters
  caught between colliding cultures. Such
  collisions can call a characters sense of
  identity into question. Select a novel or play in
  which a character responds to such a cultural
  collision. Then write a well-organized essay in
  which you describe the characters response and
  explain its relevance to the work as a whole.
• -Liza would be the perfect choice. She is
  brought into a completely foreign environment and
  persuaded to change her personal characteristics.

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• 2005 In a novel or play that you have studied,
  identify a character who outwardly conforms while
  questioning inwardly. Then write an essay in
  which you analyze how this tension between
  outward conformity and inward questioning
  contributes to the meaning of the work. Avoid
  mere plot summary.
• - Liza changes her outward appearance and
  countenance but on the inside her feelings are
  hers to keep this enforces the theme of how
  ones feelings cannot be changed by outward
  façade.
• 2008 In a literary work, a minor character,
  often known as a foil, possesses traits that
  emphasize, by contrast or comparison, the
  distinctive characteristics and qualities of the
  main character. For example, the ideas or
  behavior of a minor character might be used to
  highlight the weaknesses or strengths of the main
  character. Choose a novel or play in which a
  minor character serves as a foil for the main
  character. Then write an essay in which you
  analyze how the relation between the minor
  character and the major character illuminates the
  meaning of the work.

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For further study

• http//www.english.upenn.edu/cmazer/mis1.html
• http//www.lonestar.edu/library/kin_Pygmalion.htm
• http//www.eng.fju.edu.tw/English_Literature/shaw/
  Pygmalion.html
• http//www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/539048/G
  eorge-Bernard-Shaw
• http//www.scribd.com/doc/24327949/20th-Century-Br
  itish-Literature