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By George Bernard S haw
The Norton
N
Antho
ology of Dra
ama Vol. 2: T
The Nineteennth Century to
thee Present. Ed. Simon, Peeter. New Yoork: W.W. N
Norton and
Co
ompany Inc,, 2009. 408-4470. Print.
Lela Kovaalenko, BYU, 22012 asdfasdfaasdKoKovalleniovalenko
o
BYU,
B
2012
PYGM
MALIO
ON
By George Bernard S haw The Norton
N
Antho
ology of Dram
ma Vol. 2: The
T Nineteennth Century tto the Presennt. Ed. Simoon,
Peter. Neew York: W.W.
W
Norton and Companny Inc, 20099. 408-470. P
Print.
CONCE
EPT ANALY
YSIS
Synopsiss: Eliza Doolittle, a com
mmon flower girl in 1913 ’s London w
who wishes a better life ffor
herself, is transformeed into a lady
y through the dialect andd mannerism
ms training of Professor
Henry
H
Higgin
ns. Eliza findds out many things that sshe did not
ex
xpect to abou
ut herself annd the class ddistinctions tthrough her
training and after
a
it is com
mpleted, inclluding the faact that beingg a
laady without the
t money a lady is bornn into, her faantastic Engllish
would
w
keep her from worrking as she hhad before.
Organization
O
nal Patternss:
Pygma
alion is a plaay, and it is ddivided into five acts. Eaach
acct is only onee scene, takiing place in its own locaale and time. The
lo
ocales are lissted below unnder “settingg.”
n this version
n of the scrip
pt, there are footnotes too help the reaader better uunderstand thhe
In
play. Thiis organizatio
on can be a huge
h
help an
nd should bee pointed outt (and taughtt if necessaryy) to
the studeents.
Also
A in this version
v
of thee script is a brief
b
biograpphy about George Bernaard Shaw, whhich
could be useful backg
ground know
wledge if asssigned. At thhe end of thee play, it inclludes the resst of
w as writteen by Shaw.
the story in almost a novel-like way
Each
E
line of dialogue
d
in this
t play is numbered.
n
Thhe stage direections do noot count as liines,
though th
hey should definitely
d
be read.
Target Grade:
G
12th grade
g
CCSS met:
m
• RL.11-12.1: Cite strong and thorough
t
tex
xtual evidencce to supporrt analysis off what the text
says explicitly
e
as well as infeerences draw
wn from the ttext.
• RL.11-12.2: Deteermine two or
o more them
mes or centraal ideas of a text and anaalyze their
devellopment oveer the course of the text.
• RL.11-12.3: Analyze the imp
pact of the au
uthor’s choicces regarding how to devvelop and reelate
elemeents of a storry or drama..
• RL.11-12.4: Deteermine the meaning
m
of words
w
and phhrases as theyy are used inn the text.
• RL.11-12.9: Dem
monstrate kno
owledge of eighteenth-,
e
nineteenth- and early-tw
wentieth-cenntury
found
dational worrks of Ameriican literaturre.
• W.11
1-12.1: Writee arguments to support claims
c
in an analysis of ssubstantive ttopics or texxts,
using
g valid reason
ning and relevant and su
ufficient eviddence.
Kovalenk
ko
BYU,
B
2012
6
•
o b. Develop claaim(s) and co
ounterclaims fairly and tthoroughly, supplying thhe
most relevant evidence forr each whilee pointing ouut the strengtths and
lim
mitations of both in a maanner that annticipates thee audience’ss knowledge
lev
vel, concern
ns, values, an
nd possible bbiases.
SL.11-12.1:Initiaate and particcipate effectiively in a rannge of collabborative disccussions (onneon-on
ne, in groupss, and teacheer-led) with diverse
d
partnners on graddes 11–12 toppics, texts, aand
issues, building on
o others’ ideeas and exprressing theirr own clearlyy and persuaasively.
o a. Come to disscussions preepared, haviing read and researched m
material undder
stu
udy; explicittly draw on that
t preparattion by referrring to evideence from teexts
an
nd other reseearch on the topic
t
or issuue to stimulaate a thoughtful, wellreasoned exch
hange of ideaas
Big Quesstion/Endurring Issue:
How do our
o individu
ual views of perfection
p
afffect our relaationships w
with others?
What hap
ppens when we force ou
ur views on others,
o
even iif we mean w
what is best??
ound Knowlledge:
Backgro
Many
M
people wonder whaat the title off this play haas to do withh the plot itself. The playy’s
title referrs to a Greek
k myth. In th
his myth, Pyg
gmalion is
an artist who
w creates a statue of a woman outt of ivory.
He becom
mes obsessed
d with his work
w
and mak
kes it so
lifelike th
hat he falls deeply
d
in lov
ve with it. Th
here are
many verrsions of thiss myth, but most
m of them
m end with
Pygmalio
on praying at
a the festivall of Aphrodiite that he
might be blessed with
h a woman like
l his ivory
y statue.
Aphroditte answers his prayer by bringing hiss statue to
life. In most
m versionss they are maarried with Aphrodite’s
A
blessing and have a son
s named Paphos,
P
whom
m the city
Paphos (w
which was sacred
s
to Aph
hrodite) wass founded byy
and nameed after. Tho
ough there iss not a directt reference
to this my
yth within th
he play itselff, the title is enough to
warrant a study of this myth, especially when
n Higgins’s
characterr is analyzed
d.
Other
O
backgro
ound knowleedge necessaary includes
a basic kn
nowledge off England in
n the early 19
900s (or the
Edwardiaan period) an
nd the sociall classes of that
t time.
The studeents will neeed to be taug
ght about thee social classs
system an
nd how each
h class was trreated and was
w expectedd
to act. Faashion, art, architecture,
a
and politics are all
importan
nt parts of thiis period and
d how the claasses
interacted
d. This was being
b
written just beforee World Warr
I, and it might
m
be hellpful to undeerstand how that
t might
have affeected the way
y of living for
fo most citizzens. It is alsso necessaryy to discuss thhe different
locales in
n the play an
nd how they are connecteed to social cclasses. Eachh place in Shhaw’s Pygm
malion
has a verry specific ro
ole to play.
Kovalenk
ko
BYU,
B
2012
7
Literacy Terms
Theme: The way we treat others has the power to make or break them.
Setting: London, England.
Act I: Covent Garden
Act II: Henry Higgins’s laboratory in Wimpole Street
Act III: Mrs. Higgin’s home on the Chelsea Embankment
Act IV: See act II
Act V: See act III
Point of View/Narrative Voice:
A play is read differently than you would read a novel. A script usually begins
with the list of characters, which can be helpful for pre-reading. Most times the list of
characters will let you know which characters are more important than others, and it also
allows students to familiarize themselves with names that they will be seeing.
Instead of chapters to break up the action, a script has acts and scenes. When
reading Pygmalion you will only have to worry about the five acts it contains.
Many people disregard the stage directions, which are usually in parentheses and
italicized when read in print. This is the last thing you would want do, as they are
necessary in understanding setting, tone, and
Characterization:
Henry Higgins: Professor of the English language; more specifically, phonetics. He is in
his 40s. Higgins is a parallel to the character Pygmalion in the Greek myth. He is not
particularly fond of women and prefers to be a bachelor. Higgins is well-off and wellspoken, but he has no manners whatsoever. He tends to be sarcastic and very brusque in
his speech. He treats everyone poorly.
“The question is not whether I treat you rudely, but whether you ever heard me treat
anyone else better” (V.411-412).
Eliza Doolittle: A common flower girl in her 20s at the beginning of the play. She sells
flowers on the streets of London for small coins so that she can pay the bills. She does
not have the money nor the station to keep herself presentable, but she tries. Eliza has an
incredible intellect and picks up new subjects very quickly. She has a high personal moral
code. She wishes a better life for herself and thus takes Higgins up on his bet that he
could turn her into a lady by teaching her better English. She picks it up quickly, and she
ends up being passed off as a lady at a well-to-do garden party, but she feels that she is
unfit for anything in life after the bet is finished; she is too well-spoken to go back to
work, and she is too poor to live in the class that her speech fits into.
“You’re no gentleman, you’re not, to talk of such things. I’m a good girl, I am; and I
know what the like of you are, I do” (II.153-154).
Kovalenko
BYU, 2012
8
Colonel Pickering: A retired colonel who studies different dialects in India. He came to
London to meet Higgins, who is renowned for his work in phonetics and speech. He is
well-off and well-mannered. He ends up getting caught up in “the game” of teaching
Eliza how to speak and can therefore be unintentionally neglectful of the praise Eliza
deserves, but he always treats her like a lady.
“Does it occur to you, Higgins, that the girl has some feelings?” (II.219-220)
Freddy Hill: The son of Mrs. Hill, Freddy is from a well-off family, although the family
does not have much money any more. He is polite and kind. Freddy adores Eliza.
“The new small talk. You do it so awfully well” (III.196).
Mrs. Hill: Mrs. Hill is a woman used to living in high class society. She grew up with the
Victorian class system in full swing. She is kind and charitable, though one can tell she
looks down on the lower class by habit. She brought her children up to function in the
high society.
“I daresay I am very old-fashioned; but I do hope you won’t begin using that expression,
Clara. I have got accustomed to hear you talking about men as rotters, and calling
everything filthy and beastly; though I do think it horrible an dunladylike” (III.217-220).
Clara Hill: The epitome of an heiress in today’s culture. Clara was born into high society
and therefore expects all the lovely things that it comes with. She is rather self-absorbed
and believes herself to be quite the beauty. She is not very ladylike although she follows
the pattern for a high-class lady to behave.
“Are we to stay here all night in this draught, with next to nothing on. You selfish pig-”
(I.31-32).
Mrs. Pearce: Henry Higgins’s housekeeper. Mrs. Pearce is an older woman and has been
in Higgins’s employ for a good while. She feels mistreated by Higgins, but every time
she gets the nerve to leave, he melts her heart with his manipulative charm again. She
chides Higgins often, but she is never rude. She is a voice of reason in the Higgins
household.
“Stop, Mr. Higgins. I won’t allow it. It’s you that are wicked” (II.200).
Alfred Doolittle: The father of Eliza. He is Shaw’s way to voice most of the truths he
wishes to get across to the audience. Alfred works as a dustman (garbage man) in London
and likes it. He is a laid-back man who enjoys the life of a lower class man, which
includes living without the morals of the higher classes without the scandal. He is very
blunt in his speaking, which can be shocking to the higher class. Alfred ends up getting
shoved into the upper class by money willed to him by a wealthy American at the end of
the play.
Kovalenko
BYU, 2012
9
I tell you it’s a dog’s life anyway you look at it. U
Undeserving poverty is m
my line” (II.5564565).
Mrs.
M Higgins: The motheer of Henry Higgins.
H
Shee is a well-knnown womann in society and
very patient. She does not enjoy havin
ng her son oover when coompany is exxpected, as hhis
laack of matterrs usually drrives her gueests away. Shhe is understtanding and kind, but shhe is
allso very blun
nt in her opin
nions. She iss subtly funnny. She endss up being a confidant foor
Eliza.
E
“You
“
certainlly are a prettty pair of ba
abies, playinng with your live doll” (IIII.304-305)..
Parallel:
P
This
T play is a parallel of the
t Greek myth
m
“Pygmaalion.” Theree are many ddifferent verssions
of this myth, but all versions of it cen
nter around th
the misogyniistic sculptorr, Pygmalionn,
crreating a stattue of a wom
man so beauttiful and lifee-like that hee falls in lovee with her. Inn
Shaw’s play, Henry Higg
gins takes wh
hat he believves to be the lowest form
m of a womann,
ju
ust a step abo
ove a prostittute, and creaates a respecctable womaan out of herr by teachingg her
th
he English laanguage, teaching her manners, and dressing herr up. In a sennse, he is herr
crreator. Higgins falls in lo
ove with his creation (Elliza) just as P
Pygmalion ffalls in love with
his statue (qu
uite often giv
ven the namee Galatea). T
This parallel myth is neceessary for thhe
best understan
nding of thiss play.
Scene:
Pygmalion
P
is a play, and thus is read much differrently than a novel. In orrder to read a
play correctly
y, one must know
k
that th
he word “sceene” means ssomething veery differentt in
drrama than it does in nov
vels. A scenee in a novel rrefers to a sppecific part inn the story w
where
acction unfold
ds in
one tim
me and at one place. In
drrama, howev
ver,
a scenee is a word
reeferring to th
he
organnization of thhe
play. Though
h
most scenes in a pplay
allso take placce in
one place and at oone
tiime, it is not
always the case.
In
nstead, a sceene is
a smalleer segment oof
acction within the
larger acctions called acts.
There
T
might be
b three
scenes in oone act. Shaaw’s
Pygmalion
P
do
oes not deal
w
with scenes (there are onnly
fiive acts, and
d each act is very
v
muuch like a moodern scene)), but
th
his term is sttill necessary
y to know in
n order for stuudents to fullly comprehend how to rread
a play.
Kovalenk
ko
BYU,
B
2012
10
Soliloquy:
A soliiloquy is a th
heatrical term
m in which a character taalks to himseelf while
alllowing the audience
a
to hear.
h
It is do
one while thee character iis alone on sttage for the most
part. Though Pygmalion does
d
not hav
ve an actual soliloquy likke you mighht find in a
Shakespeare play,
p
there are
a many mo
onologues th at can be analyzed as sooliloquies.
Though
T
Higg
gins is usually monologu
ue to someonne else, his sppeech is veryy self-absorbbed.
There
T
is also a part at the beginning of
o the play w
where Eliza iis consoling herself. Herr
liines, though broken up by
b others talk
king, are a sooliloquy wheen put togethher.
Conflict:
C
The co
onflict in thiis play is rath
her subtle. M
Many studennts feel that cconflict has tto be
so
omething big
g or loud in order to be labeled
l
with that word. T
This play, hoowever, helpps us
to
o see that thiis is not alwaays the case. Sometimes conflicts arre very subtlee and quiet, such
ass Eliza and Higgins’
H
relaationship thrroughout moost of the plaay.
The co
onflicts of man
m vs. self and
a man vs. society are cconstantly att work
th
hroughout th
his play. As mentioned,
m
the
t societal iissues of Lonndon in 19133 are rampannt in
th
his piece of work,
w
so it goes
g
without saying that there are maany instances where mann
(m
most especiaally the loweer classes) is dealing withh society. M
Man vs. self ccomes in to pplay
th
hrough relatiionships and
d treatment of
o other peopple.
Dialogue:
D
gue is an im
mportant part of any noveel or story, buut it is what makes up thhe
Dialog
acction of a plaay. When tw
wo characterss are speakinng to each otther in a playy, it is the onnly
way
w that the story
s
moves forward. Ob
bviously
th
here are stag
ge directions to be follow
wed that
crreate the action that we see
s on the sttage, but
th
hose written directions do
d not tell us what is
happening in the story. Most
M stage dirrections, likee
th
hose in Pygm
malion, are simply used as
a descriptorrs
fo
or the readerr of the scrip
pt. They desccribe
co
ostuming neeeds, the atm
mosphere, dicctate
necessary actions for charracters, and describe thee
lo
ocale. In ord
der to understtand the storry at all, onee
must
m know th
hat the dialog
gue is wheree one must
lo
ook when reaading a play
y.
The dialogue
d
in th
his play can sometimes bbe difficult too read, as Shhaw wrote inn the
dialects he ex
xpects his ch
haracters to have.
h
Most pplays are meaant to be stagged and the
words
w
are meeant to be saiid aloud; it would
w
be exttremely beneeficial if the dialogue waas
reead aloud forr this play esspecially, as sometimes only soundinng out what is on the paage
will
w create reccognizable words.
w
Kovalenk
ko
BYU,
B
2012
11
Affective Issues Related to Work:
Everyone has felt that they are treated differently because of their social status, whether
that be socio-economic or simply popular or not. Every student can relate to someone in this
play. Shaw has an incredible way of teaching through his characters and the situations they are
placed into. Students will be able to discuss the ways we judge others based solely on their social
status and/or the standards by which the higher classes live.
Other issues can be explored through the included sheet entitled “Guiding Questions for
Reading.”
Vocabulary Issues:
This text is set in England and written in 1913 as a modern piece, meaning it reflects that
time period. As such, the language may pose somewhat of a challenge to the students. For
example, the second line of the play, belonging to Mrs. Hill (or “The Mother” as she is listed at
that point), reads: “Not so long. But he ought to have got us a cab by this.” This line in modern
American dialects would translate to: “He hasn’t been gone that long. But he should have gotten
us a cab by now.” Language like this can be a challenge for some students to fully decode, so it
is necessary to be ready to help students, especially ESL students.
Within this packet there is a vocabulary and language sheet. Please refer to this for
further help.
Implications for Students of Diversity:
This text, because it is so centered around British English and the nuances within it, can
be extremely difficult for ESL students. If there are students in the classroom who might struggle
with the language, make sure you are able to help them make good use of the footnotes as well as
use the language help included in this Novelink to help them better understand.
For those students of diversity who are native speakers of English, this text would not
pose any challenges besides those that would challenge any other American student. There are
no racial issues, though the class system and the different treatments of different classes may ring
true to certain treatments of people with diverse backgrounds.
Gender Issues:
This play deals very blatantly with gender issues and the treatment of women. Higgins
mistreats all people, but he definitely mistreats Eliza, who he claims to like quite a lot. Though
he claims to be making her into a lady, he still treats her as a flower girl.
Women had definite roles to play in Victorian society, and though the play does not go
too far into those roles, the emphasis on marriage is most definitely prominent. In this play, Eliza
ends up marrying Freddy of her own choice. In the musical adaptation of this play, My Fair
Lady, Eliza comes back to Higgins. This is a wonderful topic with which to discuss gender
issues. The fact that she is no longer a flower girl nor is she a born-and-bred lady allows her to
Kovalenko
BYU, 2012
12
choose who she marries. Though women were thought to have choice in that era, it was usually
limited. Eliza can choose whomever she wishes to, and she does.
Research Issues/Project Ideas:
 I.128(footnote 7) The Housing Question
 Victorian England and the social classes
 Dialects
Text Sets and Enrichment Resources:
 Pygmalion (the Greek myth)
 My Fair Lady
 The Chaser
o This short story works to go along with the theme
Kovalenko
BYU, 2012
13