Plan:
Introduction
1. Social conditions in England in thebeginning of the 20th century
2. Shaw’s biography and his place in thedevelopment of the English literature
2.1 Early life and family
2.2 Personal life andpolitical activism
2.3 Literary activity and criticism
3. Pygmalion – one of thebest works of George Bernard Shaw
3.1 Plot of the play
3.2 Origin of the play’stitle
3.3 Literary analysis ofthe play Pygmalion
Conclusion
The list of usedliterature
Introduction
It is wellknown that literature plays an important role in learning a foreign language. Inrapidly developing contemporary world the level of learning foreign languagesmay have crucial effect on well-being of a personality and the whole society.Without good specialists who know foreign languages professionally well this isimpossible to have beneficial and effective negotiations and talks with foreignpartners. All spheres of contemporary social and economic life today demandsglobal contacts.
The Englishlanguage today serves as a means of this contact between people and nations ofthe universe. That’s why the importance of learning and propagating of thislanguage was paid attention by the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan I.A. Karimov. In his speech in Samarkand on November 12, 2010 he pointed out theimportance of learning and teaching English and gave priority to the learningof it. It is not for nothing. Today it is well known that knowing this languagemay bring only favour and not harm.
Englishlanguage developed in the course of time in its birthplace – England and laterin such countries as the USA, Australia, New Zealand. The development of alanguage is determined by the development of literature. All the positive (andnegative) features of a language can find their reflection in literature. Thuslanguage is influencing the literature. In this point we can say thatliterature and language are intertwined and the learning of one demands thelearning of the other one.
Englishliterature has passed great and complicated way of development. It gave to thetreasure of world literature such great names as Shakespeare, Chaucer, Byron,Shaw, Hemingway, Twain and so many others.
The theme ofmy course paper sounds as following: “Literary analysis of the play Pygmalionby George Bernard Shaw”. In this work, I investigated life and creativeactivity of George Bernard Shaw and especially his famous play Pygmalion: thecharacters of the play and their spiritual philosophy, conflict and socialbackground of the play, writing style of Pygmalion and the origin of its title.
Bernard Shawoccupies a conspicuous place in the historical development of the English andthe world literature. In his books Shaw could realistically describe the sociallife of people. He considered language a lot and tried to reform English andmake it easier to read and to learn. This point of Shaw’s creative activitydetermines the actuality of my course paper.
Shaw entereddrama area as the original innovator. He established a new type of a drama atthe English theatre – an intellectual drama in which the basic place belongsneither to an intrigue, nor to a fascinating plot but to those intensedisputes, witty verbal duels which are conducted by its heroes. Shaw called hisplays «plays-discussions». They grasped the depth of problems, theextraordinary form of their resolution; they excited consciousness of thespectator, forced him to reflect tensely over an event and to laugh togetherwith the playwright at the absurd of existing laws, orders and customs. In thisassignment I intend to analyze the play «Pygmalion» of Bernard Shaw and showits peculiarities to the reader.
1. Socialconditions in England in the beginning of the 20th century
The Edwardianera or Edwardian period in the United Kingdom is the period covering the reignof King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910.
Thedeath of Queen Victoria in January 1901 and the succession of her son, Edward,marked the start of a new century and the end of the Victorian era. WhileVictoria had shunned society, Edward was the leader of fashionable elite whichset a style influenced by the art and fashions of continental Europe—perhapsbecause of the King's fondness for travel. The era was marked by significantshifts in politics as sections of society which had been largely excluded fromwielding power in the past, such as common labourers and women, becameincreasingly politicised.
TheEdwardian period is frequently extended beyond Edward's death in 1910 toinclude the years up to the sinking of the RMS Titanic in 1912, the start of WorldWar I in 1914, the end of hostilities with Germany on November 11, 1918, or thesigning of the Treaty of Versailles on June 28, 1919. By the end of the war,the Edwardian way of life, with its inherent imbalance of wealth and power, hadbecome increasingly anachronistic in the eyes of a population who had sufferedin the face of war and who were exposed to elements of new mass media whichdecried the injustice of class division.
Socially,the Edwardian era was a period during which the British class system was veryrigid. It is seen, as thelast period of the English country house. Economic and social changes createdan environment in which there was more social mobility. Such changes includedrising interest in socialism, attention to the plight of the poor and thestatus of women, including the issue of women's suffrage, together withincreased economic opportunities as a result of rapid industrialization. Thesechanges were to be hastened in the aftermath of the First World War.
Thesociety of that time can be divided into three categories: the upper class, themiddle class and the working class.
TheEdwardian Upper Class consisted of the King and the Queen, Aristocrats, Nobles,Dukes, Viscounts and other wealthy families working in the Victorian courts. Adistinguishing factor of the Upper Class was that the nature of their work wassuch that it held them in a powerful position giving authority, better livingconditions and other facilities which was out of the reach of the other twoclasses. Due to the changing nature of the basic standard of living of thepeople, the traditional aristocratic class was now slowing disappearing andinstead a new combination of nobles and the steadily growing wealthy classcomprised of the Upper section of the society.
TheUpper Class was by inheritance a Royal Class which was completely differentfrom the Middle class or the Working Class. Thus, they were never short ofmoney. In terms of education also those belonging to the rich families got thebest tutors to provide education. The fact that they represented the royalclass gave these people an advantage at everything. They could buy expensiveclothes imported from Europe, or afford other riches of life that was beyondthe scope of others.
Middleclass was the next in social ranking as many of them only lacked in title ofbeing a duke or other royals. Most of the professionals like doctors orteachers comprised of the middle class.
Middleclass people also owned and managed vast business empires and were very rich.At times, the rich were equated with the middle class if they had nothing topromote their royalty and richness. Thus, those having their own businesseswere regarded as rich and wealthy.
The Lower/ Working Class: the lowest among the social hierarchy were those whobelonged to this section of the society. Like the middle class, those belongingto this class very large in number. The working class remained aloof to the politicalprogress of the country and was hostile to the other two classes. For someworking families the living conditions were so pathetic that they requiredtheir children to work in order to bring home some extra home to survive. Thedeath of their father meant that there is no income to the family and theyeventually were forced to live on streets or some public housing.
All theseconditions had a negative impact on their lives. Many of them lost outopportunity to get education and better their living status as their entirelife right from the age of five or six years was spent on working in a factory.They thus ended up doing dangerous and dirty jobs. Another class that existedwas the paupers. They were ranked below the working class since they lived inabject poverty.
Surveys showedthat at the beginning of the 20th century 25% of the population wereliving in poverty. They found that at least 15% were living at subsistencelevel. They had just enough money for food, rent, fuel and clothes. They could notafford 'luxuries' such as newspapers or public transport. About 10% were livingin below subsistence level and could not afford an adequate diet.
The main causeof poverty was low wages. The main cause of extreme poverty was the loss of themain breadwinner. If father was dead, ill or unemployed it was a disaster.Mother might get a job but women were paid much lower wages than men.
The children ofthe poor were expected to help towards the family budget, often working longhours in dangerous jobs for low wages. Agile boys were employed by the chimneysweeps; small children were employed to scramble under machinery to retrievecotton bobbins; and children were also employed to work in coal mines, crawlingthrough tunnels too narrow and low for adults. Children also worked as errandboys, crossing sweepers, or shoe blacks, or selling matches, flowers, and othercheap goods. Some children undertook work as apprentices to respectable trades,such as building, or as domestic servants (there were over 120,000 domesticservants in London in the mid 18th century). Working hours were long: buildersmight work 64 hours a week in summer and 52 in winter, while domestic servants worked 80 hour weeks. Many young people worked as prostitutes.
2. Shaw’sbiography and his place in the development of the English literature
George BernardShaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950) was an Irish playwright and a co-founderof the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing wasmusic and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulatepieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60plays. Nearly all his writings deal sternly with prevailing social problems,but have a vein of comedy to make their stark themes more palatable. Shawexamined education, marriage, religion, government, health care, and classprivilege.
He was mostangered by what he perceived as the exploitation of the working class, and mostof his writings censure that abuse. An ardent socialist, Shaw wrote manybrochures and speeches for the Fabian Society. He became an accomplished oratorin the furtherance of its causes, which included gaining equal rights for menand women, alleviating abuses of the working class, rescinding privateownership of productive land, and promoting healthy lifestyles.
George BernardShaw ranks next to Shakespeare among English playwrights, and yet he did notbegin to write drama until he was middle-aged. He made up for lost time with anamazing output of more than 60 plays during a creative life that spanned theVictorian and modern eras. A brilliant and opinionated man, Shaw wasessentially self-educated, and he did a splendid job of teaching himself whathe needed to know. Above all else, he was always vigorously engaged with theworld around him; his long, productive life bristled with vitality,intelligence, and a consuming passion for ideas.
2.1 Early lifeand family
George BernardShaw was born in Synge Street, Dublin in 1856 to George Carr Shaw (1814–85), anunsuccessful grain merchant and sometime civil servant, and Lucinda ElizabethShaw, née Gurly (1830–1913), a professional singer. Shaw briefly attendedthe Wesleyan Connexional School, a grammar school operated by the Methodist NewConnexion, before moving to a private school near Dalkey and then transferringto Dublin’s Central Model School. He ended his formal education at the DublinEnglish Scientific and Commercial Day School. He harboured a lifelong animositytoward schools and teachers, saying: “Schools and schoolmasters, as we havethem today, are not popular as places of education and teachers, but ratherprisons and turnkeys in which children are kept to prevent them disturbing andchaperoning their parents”. In the astringent prologue to Cashel Byron’sProfession young Byron’s educational experience is a fictionalized descriptionof Shaw’s own schooldays. Later, he painstakingly detailed the reasons for hisaversion to formal education in his Treatise on Parents and Children. In brief,he considered the standardized curricula useless, deadening to the spirit andstifling to the intellect. He particularly deplored the use of corporal punishment,which was prevalent in his time.
When hismother left home and followed her voice teacher, George Vandeleur Lee, toLondon, Shaw was almost sixteen years old. His sisters accompanied their motherbut Shaw remained in Dublin with his father, first as a reluctant pupil, thenas a clerk in an estate office. He worked efficiently, albeit discontentedly,for several years. In 1876, Shaw joined his mother’s London household. She,Vandeleur Lee, and his sister Lucy, provided him with a pound a week while he frequentedpublic libraries and the British Museum reading room where he studied earnestlyand began writing novels. He earned his allowance by ghostwriting VandeleurLee’s music column, which appeared in the London Hornet. His novels wererejected, however, so his literary earnings remained negligible until 1885,when he became self-supporting as a critic of the arts.
2.2Personal life and political activism
Influenced byhis reading, he became a dedicated Socialist and a charter member of the FabianSociety, a middle class organization established in 1884 to promote the gradualspread of socialism by peaceful means. In the course of his politicalactivities he met Charlotte Payne-Townshend, an Irish heiress and fellowFabian; they married in 1898. In 1906 the Shaws moved into a house, now calledShaw’s Corner, in Ayot St. Lawrence, a small village in Hertfordshire, England;it was to be their home for the remainder of their lives, although they alsomaintained a residence at 29 Fitzroy Square in London.
Shaw’s playswere first performed in the 1890s. By the end of the decade he was anestablished playwright. He wrote sixty-three plays and his output as novelist,critic, pamphleteer, essayist and private correspondent was prodigious. He isknown to have written more than 250,000 letters. Along with Fabian Societymembers Sidney and Beatrice Webb and Graham Wallas, Shaw founded the LondonSchool of Economics and Political Science in 1895 with funding provided byprivate philanthropy, including a bequest of £20,000 from Henry HuntHutchinson to the Fabian Society. One of the libraries at the LSE is named inShaw’s honor; it contains collections of his papers and photographs.
During hislater years, Shaw enjoyed attending to the grounds at Shaw’s Corner. He died atthe age of 94, of renal failure precipitated by injuries incurred by fallingwhile pruning a tree. His ashes, mixed with those of his wife, CharlottePayne-Townshend, were scattered along footpaths and around the statue of SaintJoan in their garden.
2.3Literary activity and criticism
Shaw became acritic of the arts when, sponsored by William Archer, he joined the reviewingstaff of the Pall Mall Gazette in 1885. There he wrote under the pseudonym«Corno di Bassetto» («basset horn»)—chosen because itsounded European and nobody knew what a corno di bassetto was. In a miscellanyof other periodicals, including Dramatic Review (1885–86), Our Corner(1885–86), and the Pall Mall Gazette (1885–88) his byline was «GBS».From 1895 to 1898, Shaw was the drama critic for Frank Harris' Saturday Review,in which position he campaigned brilliantly to displace the artificialities andhypocrisies of the Victorian stage with a theatre of actuality and thought. Hisearnings as a critic made him self-supporting as an author and his articles forthe Saturday Review made his name well-known.
Much of Shaw'smusic criticism, ranging from short comments to the book-length essay ThePerfect Wagnerite, extols the work of the German composer Richard Wagner.Wagner worked 25 years composing Der Ring des Nibelungen, a massive four-partmusical dramatization drawn from the Teutonic mythology of gods, giants,dwarves and Rhine maidens; Shaw considered it a work of genius and reviewed itin detail. Beyond the music, he saw it as an allegory of social evolution whereworkers, driven by «the invisible whip of hunger», seek freedom fromtheir wealthy masters. Wagner did have socialistic sympathies, as Shawcarefully points out, but made no such claim about his opus. Conversely, Shawdisparaged Brahms, deriding A German Requiem by saying «it could only havecome from the establishment of a first-class undertaker». Although hefound Brahms lacking in intellect, he praised his musicality, saying"...nobody can listen to Brahms' natural utterance of the richest absolutemusic, especially in his chamber compositions, without rejoicing in his naturalgift". In the 1920s, he recanted, calling his earlier animosity towardsBrahms «my only mistake». Shaw's writings about music gained greatpopularity because they were understandable to the average well-read audiencemember of the day, thus contrasting starkly with the dourly pretentiouspedantry of most critiques in that era. All of his music critiques have beencollected in Shaw's Music. As a drama critic for the Saturday Review, a post heheld from 1895 to 1898, Shaw championed Henrik Ibsen whose realistic playsscandalized the Victorian public. His influential Quintessence of Ibsenism waswritten in 1891.
Shaw wrotefive unsuccessful novels at the start of his career between 1879 and 1883.Eventually all were published.
The first tobe printed was Cashel Byron's Profession (1886), which was written in 1882. Itseponymous character, Cashel, a rebellious schoolboy with an unsympatheticmother, runs away to Australia where he becomes a famed prizefighter. Hereturns to England for a boxing match, and falls in love with erudite andwealthy Lydia Carew. Lydia, drawn by sheer animal magnetism, eventuallyconsents to marry despite the disparity of their social positions. This breachof propriety is nullified by the unpresaged discovery that Cashel is of noblelineage and heir to a fortune comparable to Lydia's. With those barriers tohappiness removed, the couple settles down to prosaic family life with Lydiadominant; Cashel attains a seat in Parliament. In this novel Shaw firstexpresses his conviction that productive land and all other natural resourcesshould belong to everyone in common, rather than being owned and exploitedprivately. The book was written in the year when Shaw first heard the lecturesof Henry George who advocated such reforms.
Written in1883, An Unsocial Socialist was published in 1887. The tale begins with ahilarious description of student antics at a girl's school then changes focusto a seemingly uncouth laborer who, it soon develops, is really a wealthygentleman in hiding from his overly affectionate wife. He needs the freedomgained by matrimonial truancy to promote the socialistic cause, to which he isan active convert. Once the subject of socialism emerges, it dominates thestory, allowing only space enough in the final chapters to excoriate the idleupper class and allow the erstwhile schoolgirls, in their earliest maturity, tomarry suitably.
Love Among theArtists was published in the United States in 1900 and in England in 1914, butit was written in 1881. In the ambiance of chit-chat and frivolity amongmembers of Victorian polite society a youthful Shaw describes his views on thearts, romantic love and the practicalities of matrimony. Dilettantes, hethinks, can love and settle down to marriage, but artists with real genius aretoo consumed by their work to fit that pattern. The dominant figure in thenovel is Owen Jack, a musical genius, somewhat mad and quite bereft of socialgraces. From an abysmal beginning he rises to great fame and is lionized bysocialites despite his unremitting crudity.
The IrrationalKnot was written in 1880 and published in 1905. Within a framework of leisureclass preoccupations and frivolities Shaw disdains hereditary status andproclaims the nobility of workers. Marriage, as the knot in question, isexemplified by the union of Marian Lind, a lady of the upper class, to EdwardConolly, always a workman but now a magnate, thanks to his invention of anelectric motor that makes steam engines obsolete. The marriage soondeteriorates, primarily because Marian fails to rise above the preconceptionsand limitations of her social class and is, therefore, unable to share herhusband's interests. Eventually she runs away with a man who is her socialpeer, but he proves himself a scoundrel and abandons her in desperatecircumstances. Her husband rescues her and offers to take her back, but shepridefully refuses, convinced she is unworthy and certain that she faces lifeas a pariah to her family and friends. The preface, written when Shaw was 49,expresses gratitude to his parents for their support during the lean yearswhile he learned to write and includes details of his early life in London.
Shaw's firstnovel, Immaturity, was written in 1879 but was the last one to be printed in1931. It relates tepid romances, minor misfortunes and subdued successes in thedeveloping career of Robert Smith, an energetic young Londoner and outspokenagnostic. Condemnation of alcoholic behavior is the prime message in the book,and derives from Shaw's familial memories. This is made clear in the book’spreface, which was written by the mature Shaw at the time of its belatedpublication. The preface is a valuable resource because it providesautobiographical details not otherwise available.
After writinghis influential essay “Quintessence of Ibsenism”, Shaw began to try his ownhand at writing plays. The result, Widowers’ Houses (1892), proved to be thefirst of many plays to come in the years ahead.
Shaw's plays,like those of Oscar Wilde, were fraught with incisive humor, which wasexceptional among playwrights of the Victorian era; both authors are rememberedfor their comedy. However, Shaw's wittiness should not obscure his importantrole in revolutionizing British drama. In the Victorian Era, the London stagehad been regarded as a place for frothy, sentimental entertainment. Shaw madeit a forum for considering moral, political and economic issues, possibly hismost lasting and important contribution to dramatic art.
As Shaw'sexperience and popularity increased, his plays and prefaces became more volubleabout reforms he advocated, without diminishing their success asentertainments. Such works, including Caesar and Cleopatra (1898), Man andSuperman (1903), Major Barbara (1905) and The Doctor's Dilemma (1906), displayShaw's matured views, for he was approaching 50 when he wrote them. From 1904to 1907, several of his plays had their London premieres in notable productionsat the Court Theatre, managed by Harley Granville-Barker and J. E. Vedrenne.The first of his new plays to be performed at the Court Theatre, John Bull'sOther Island (1904), while not especially popular today, made his reputation inLondon when King Edward VII laughed so hard during a command performance thathe broke his chair.
For the mostpart, Shaw’s plays are comedies of ideas, works that present complex and oftencontroversial themes within the framework of entertaining plots, appealing andunpredictable characters, and witty dialogue. Shaw’s works are insistentlyrational, coolly ridiculing the conventions and prejudices of his time.
biographicalshow pygmalion literary
3.Pygmalion – one of the best works of George Bernard Shaw
3.1 Plot ofthe play
Act One
Portico ofSaint Paul's Church (not Wren's Cathedral but Inigo Jones Church in CoventGarden vegetable market) — 11.15p.m. A group of people are sheltering from therain. Amongst them are the Eynsford-Hills, superficial social climbers ekingout a living in «genteel poverty», consisting initially of Mrs.Eynsford-Hill and her daughter Clara. Clara's brother Freddy enters havingearlier been dispatched to secure them a cab (which they can ill afford), butbeing rather timid and faint-hearted he has failed to do so. As he goes offonce again to find a cab, he bumps into a flower girl, Eliza. Her flowers dropinto the mud of Covent Garden, the flowers she needs to survive in herpoverty-stricken world. Shortly they are joined by a gentleman, ColonelPickering. While Eliza tries to sell flowers to the Colonel, a bystanderinforms her that a man is writing down everything she says. The man is HenryHiggins, a professor of phonetics. Eliza worries that Higgins is a policeofficer and will not calm down until Higgins introduces himself. It soonbecomes apparent that he and Colonel Pickering have a shared interest inphonetics; indeed, Pickering has come from India to meet Higgins, and Higginswas planning to go to India to meet Pickering. Higgins tells Pickering that hecould pass off the flower girl as a duchess merely by teaching her to speakproperly. These words of bravado spark an interest in Eliza, who would love tomake changes in her life and become more mannerly, even though, to her, it onlymeans working in a flower shop. At the end of the act, Freddy returns afterfinding a taxi, only to find that his mother and sister have gone and left himwith the cab. The streetwise Eliza takes the cab from him, using the money thatHiggins tossed to her, leaving him on his own. When she reaches home she doesnot pay the taxi fare because she thinks that a shilling for two minutes isvery much.
Act Two
Higgins' — Next Day. As Higgins demonstrates his phonetics to Pickering, the housekeeper,Mrs. Pearce, tells him that a young girl wants to see him. Eliza has shown up,and she tells Higgins that she will pay for lessons. He shows no interest inher, but she reminds him of his boast the previous day, so she can talk like alady in a flower shop. Higgins claimed that he could pass her for a duchess.Pickering makes a bet with him on his claim, and says that he will pay for herlessons if Higgins succeeds. She is sent off to have a bath. Mrs. Pearce tellsHiggins that he must behave himself in the young girl's presence. He must stopswearing, and improve his table manners. He is at a loss to understand why sheshould find fault with him. Then Alfred Doolittle, Eliza's father, appears withthe sole purpose of getting money out of Higgins. He has no interest in hisdaughter in a paternal way. He sees himself as member of the undeserving poor,and means to go on being undeserving. He has an eccentric view of life, broughtabout by a lack of education and an intelligent brain. He is also aggressive, andwhen Eliza, on her return, sticks her tongue out at him, he goes to hit her,but is prevented by Pickering. The scene ends with Higgins telling Pickeringthat they really have got a difficult job on their hands.
Act Three
Mrs. Higgins'drawing room. Higgins bursts in and tells his mother he has picked up a«common flower girl» whom he has been teaching. Mrs. Higgins is notvery impressed with her son's attempts to win her approval because it is her'at home' day and she is entertaining visitors. The visitors are theEynsford-Hills. Higgins is rude to them on their arrival. Eliza enters and soonfalls into talking about the weather and her family. Whilst she is now able tospeak in beautifully modulated tones, the substance of what she says remainsunchanged from the gutter. She confides her suspicions that aunt was killed byrelatives, and mentions that gin had been «mother's milk» to thisaunt, and that Eliza's own father was always more cheerful after a good amountof gin. Higgins passes off her remarks as «the new small talk», andFreddy is enraptured. When she is leaving, he asks her if she is going to walkacross the park, to which she replies, «Walk? Not bloody likely!»(This is the most famous line from the play, and, for many years after theplay's debut, use of the word 'bloody' was known, as a Pygmalion; Mrs. Campbellwas considered to have risked her career by speaking the line on stage.) Aftershe and the Eynsford-Hills leave, Henry asks for his mother's opinion. She saysthe girl is not presentable and is very concerned about what will happen toher, but neither Higgins nor Pickering understand her thoughts of Eliza'sfuture, and leave feeling confident and excited about how Eliza will get on.This leaves Mrs. Higgins feeling exasperated, and exclaiming, «Men! Men!!!Men!!!»
However, thesix months are not yet up, and just in time for the Embassy Ball Eliza learnsto behave properly as well as to speak properly. The challenge she faces isincreased, however, by the presence at the Ball of Nepommuck, a former pupil ofHiggins' who speaks 32 languages and is acting as an interpreter for a«Greek diplomatist» who was in fact born the son of a Clerkenwellwatchmaker and «speaks English so villainously that he dare not utter aword of it lest he betray his origin.» Nepommuck charges him handsomelyfor helping keep up the pretence. Pickering worries that Nepommuck will seethrough Eliza's disguise; nonetheless, Eliza is presented to the Ball's hosts,who, impressed by this vision of whom they know nothing, despatch Nepommuck tofind out about her. Meanwhile Higgins, the interesting work done, rapidly losesinterest in proceedings as he sees that no-one will see through Eliza. Indeed,Nepommuck returns to his hosts to report that he has detected that Eliza is notEnglish, as she speaks it too perfectly («only those who have been taughtto speak it speak it well»), and that she is, in fact, Hungarian, and ofRoyal blood. When asked, Higgins responds with the truth — and no-one believeshim.
Act Four
Higgins' home- The time is midnight, and Higgins, Pickering, and Eliza have returned fromthe ball. A tired Eliza sits unnoticed, brooding and silent, while Pickeringcongratulates Higgins on winning the bet. Higgins scoffs and declares theevening a «silly tomfoolery», thanking God it's over and saying thathe had been sick of the whole thing for the last two months. Still barelyacknowledging Eliza beyond asking her to leave a note for Mrs. Pearce regardingcoffee, the two retire to bed. Higgins returns to the room, looking for hisslippers, and Eliza throws them at him. Higgins is taken aback, and is at firstcompletely unable to understand Eliza's preoccupation, which aside from beingignored after her triumph is the question of what she is to do now. WhenHiggins does understand he makes light of it, saying she could get married, butEliza interprets this as selling herself like a prostitute. «We were abovethat at the corner of Tottenham Court Road.» Finally she returns herjewelry to Higgins, including the ring he had given her, which he throws intothe fireplace with a violence that scares Eliza. Furious with himself forlosing his temper, he damns Mrs. Pearce, the coffee and then Eliza, and finallyhimself, for «lavishing» his knowledge and his «regard andintimacy» on a «heartless guttersnipe», and retires in greatdudgeon.
Act Five
Mrs. Higgins'drawing room, the next morning. Higgins and Pickering, perturbed by thediscovery that Eliza has walked out on them, call on Mrs. Higgins to phone thepolice. Higgins is particularly distracted, since Eliza had assumed theresponsibility of maintaining his diary and keeping track of his possessions,which causes Mrs. Higgins to decry their calling the police as though Elizawere «a lost umbrella». Doolittle is announced; he emerges dressed insplendid wedding attire and is furious with Higgins, who after their previousencounter had been so taken with Doolittle's unorthodox ethics that he hadrecommended him as the «most original moralist in England» to a richAmerican founding Moral Reform Societies; the American had subsequently leftDoolittle a pension worth three thousand pounds a year, as a consequence ofwhich Doolittle feels intimidated into joining the middle class and marrying hismissus. Mrs. Higgins observes that this at least settles the problem of whoshall provide for Eliza, to which Higgins objects — after all, he paidDoolittle five pounds for her. Mrs. Higgins informs her son that Eliza isupstairs, and explains the circumstances of her arrival, alluding to howmarginalized and overlooked Eliza felt the previous night. Higgins is unable toappreciate this, and sulks when told that he must behave if Eliza is to jointhem. Doolittle is asked to wait outside.
Eliza enters,at ease and self-possessed. Higgins blusters but Eliza isn't shaken and speaksexclusively to Pickering. Throwing Higgins' previous insults back at him(«Oh, I'm only a squashed cabbage leaf»), Eliza remarks that it wasonly by Pickering's example that she learned to be a lady, which rendersHiggins speechless. Eliza goes on to say that she has completely left behindthe flower girl she was, and that she couldn't utter any of her old sounds ifshe tried — at which point Doolittle emerges from the balcony, causing Eliza torelapse totally into her gutter speech. Higgins is jubilant, jumping up andcrowing over her. Doolittle explains his predicament and asks if Eliza willcome to his wedding. Pickering and Mrs. Higgins also agree to go, and leavewith Doolittle with Eliza to follow.
The scene endswith another confrontation between Higgins and Eliza. Higgins asks if Eliza issatisfied with the revenge she has wrought thus far and if she will now comeback, but she refuses. Higgins defends himself from Eliza's earlier accusationby arguing that he treats everyone the same, so she shouldn't feel singled out.Eliza replies that she just wants a little kindness, and that since he willnever stoop to show her this, she will not come back, but will marry Freddy.Higgins scolds her for such low ambitions: he has made her «a consort fora king.» When she threatens to teach phonetics and offer herself as anassistant to Nepommuck, Higgins again loses his temper and promises to wringher neck if she does so. Eliza realizes that this last threat strikes Higginsat the very core and that it gives her power over him; Higgins, for his part,is delighted to see a spark of fight in Eliza rather than her erstwhilefretting and worrying. He remarks «I like you like this», and calls hera «pillar of strength». Mrs. Higgins returns and she and Eliza departfor the wedding. As they leave Higgins incorrigibly gives Eliza a number oferrands to run, as though their recent conversation had not taken place. Elizadisdainfully explains why they are unnecessary, and wonders what Higgins isgoing do without her. Higgins laughs to himself at the idea of Eliza marryingFreddy as the play ends.
Ending
Pygmalion wasthe most broadly appealing of all Shaw's plays. But popular audiences, lookingfor pleasant entertainment with big stars in a West End venue, wanted a«happy ending» for the characters they liked so well, as did somecritics. During the 1914 run, to Shaw's exasperation but not to his surprise,Tree sought to sweeten Shaw's ending to please himself and his record houses.Shaw returned for the 100th performance and watched Higgins, standing at thewindow, toss a bouquet down to Eliza. «My ending makes money, you ought tobe grateful,» protested Tree. «Your ending is damnable; you ought tobe shot.» Shaw remained sufficiently irritated to add a postscript essay,"'What Happened Afterwards," to the 1916 print edition for inclusionwith subsequent editions, in which he explained precisely why it was impossiblefor the story to end with Higgins and Eliza getting married.
He continuedto protect the play's and Eliza's integrity by protecting the last scene. Forat least some performances during the 1920 revival, Shaw adjusted the ending ina way that underscored the Shavian message.
When Eliza emancipatesherself — when Galatea comes to life — she must not relapse. She must retainher pride and triumph to the end. When Higgins takes your arm on 'consortbattleship' you must instantly throw him off with implacable pride; and this isthe note until the final 'Buy them yourself.' He will go out on the balcony towatch your departure; come back triumphantly into the room; exclaim 'Galatea!'(meaning that the statue has come to life at last); and — curtain. This endingis not included in any print version of the play.
Shaw foughtuphill against such a reversal of fortune for Eliza all the way to 1938. Hesent the film's harried producer, Gabriel Pascal, a concluding sequence whichhe felt offered a fair compromise: a romantically-set farewell scene betweenHiggins and Eliza, then Freddy and Eliza happy in their greengrocery/flowershop. Only at the sneak preview did he learn that Pascal had shot the «Iwashed my face and hands» conclusion, to reassure audiences that Shaw'sGalatea wouldn't really come to life, after all.
3.2 Originof the play’s title
Shaw wrotePygmalion in 1912, but he took its name from something way, way older: anAncient Greek myth. The most famous of its many versions can be found in theRoman poet Ovid's Metamorphoses.
In the myth,Pygmalion, a sculptor from Cyprus, hates women, and especially hates the ideaof getting married. With wondrous art, he creates a beautiful statue moreperfect than any living woman. The more he looks upon her, the more deeply hefalls in love with her, until he wishes that she were more than a statue. Thisstatue is Galatea. Lovesick, Pygmalion goes to the temple of the goddess Venusand prays that she give him a lover like his statue; Venus is touched by hislove and brings Galatea to life. When Pygmalion returns from Venus' temple andkisses his statue, he is delighted to find that she is warm and soft to thetouch. Pygmalion marries the ivory sculpture changed to a woman under Venus’blessing. They had a son, Paphos, which he took from his home.
Myths such asthis are fine enough when studied through the lens of centuries and the bufferof translations and editions, but what happens when one tries to translate suchan allegory into Victorian England? That is just what George Bernard Shaw doesin his version of the Pygmalion myth. In doing so, he exposes the inadequacy ofmyth and of romance in several ways. For one, he deliberately twists the mythso that the play does not conclude as euphorically or conveniently, hanginginstead in unconventional ambiguity. Next, he mires the story in the sordid andmundane whenever he gets a chance. Wherever he can, the characters are seen tobe belabored by the trivial details of life like napkins and neckties, and ofhow one is going to find a taxi on a rainy night. These noisome details keepthe story grounded and decidedly less romantic. Finally, and mostsignificantly, Shaw challenges the possibly insidious assumptions that comewith the Pygmalion myth, forcing us to ask the following: Is the male artistthe absolute and perfect being who has the power to create woman in the imageof his desires? Is the woman necessarily the inferior subject who sees herlover as her sky? Can there only ever be sexual/romantic relations between aman and a woman? Does beauty reflect virtue? Does the artist love his creation,or merely the art that brought that creation into being?
Famous forwriting «talky» plays in which barely anything other than wittyrepartee takes center stage (plays that the most prominent critics of his daycalled non-plays), Shaw finds in Pygmalion a way to turn the talk into action,by hinging the fairy tale outcome of the flower girl on precisely how shetalks. In this way, he draws our attention to his own art, and to his abilityto create, through the medium of speech, not only Pygmalion's Galatea, butPygmalion himself. More powerful than Pygmalion, on top of building up hiscreations, Shaw can take them down as well by showing their faults and foibles.In this way, it is the playwright alone, and not some divine will, who breatheslife into his characters. While Ovid's Pygmalion may be said to have idolizedhis Galatea, Shaw's relentless and humorous honesty humanizes these archetypes,and in the process brings drama and art itself to a more contemporarily relevantand human level.
3.3Literary analysis of the play Pygmalion
George BernardShaw was a Fabian Socialist who editorialized and lectured on the need foruprooting obsolete notions of a rigid English class-structure in order forindividuals to realize their full potential. He wrote the play Pygmalion in1912 and 1913 as part-social protest, part-satire, part-comic farce. Of all ofShaw's plays, Pygmalion is without the doubt the most beloved and popularlyreceived, if not the most significant in literary terms. Several film versionshave been made of the play, and it has even been adapted into a musical. Infact, writing the screenplay for the film version of 1938 helped Shaw to becomethe first and only man ever to win the much coveted Double: the Nobel Prize forliterature and an Academy Award. Shaw wrote the part of Eliza in Pygmalion forthe famous actress Mrs. Patrick Campbell, with whom Shaw was having a prominentaffair at the time that had set all of London abuzz. The aborted romancebetween Professor Higgins and Eliza Doolittle reflects Shaw's own love life,which was always peppered with enamored and beautiful women, with whom heflirted outrageously but with whom he almost never had any further relations.
Thecharacters of Pygmalion are unique and fascinating including the commonfavorite, Eliza Doolittle. Her background and mannerisms not only providecomedy, but a major aspect of the overall conflict. She is the primaryprotagonist that arrests the audience’s attention and sympathy. Her characteris portrayed as diligent, hard-working, and inherently intelligent. She is ayoung woman thrust out into the working world by her equally unwealthy father.Although Eliza’s appearance and actions are quite rough at the beginning shedoes improve and allow her own natural beauty to shine through. This isevidenced when her father says after Higgins has taken her in, “I never thoughtshe would clean up as good looking as that (Act II). Apparently, Elizaimpressed the other characters with her transformations.
Eliza’sspirit is as much a part of her as her outward appearance. Instead of coweringunder Higgins biting comments and fiery temper she matches his with one equallyas caustic. Her intelligence also helps her survive in the world, both thearistocracy and the slums. She shows a true perseverance and loyalty to bothher lessons and her teacher. Eliza most likely gains most of her emotionalappeal by her unfailing innocence and thirst for knowledge.
Theother remarkable character presented in the drama is the infamous HenryHiggins. This character is the direct protagonist of Eliza and yet the observeroftentimes can identify with him as well. He is brilliant in the study ofphonetics, but awkward and rude in the area of social graces. Even his own mothercomments undesirably when she says “You offend all my friends: they stop comingwhenever they meet you.” (Act III) His eccentricities and brusque attitude arealmost presented as comical. He is very unconcerned about other’s feelings anddesires but that does not necessarily mean he is centered on himself. Rather hefeels he is serving the human race at large and that anyone in the way of thatis not worth his time.
Theconflict of Pygmalion is basically the undertaking of teaching Eliza to rise insociety. The motives held by each of the characters differ but the desiredoutcome is the same. This conflict is probably the most obvious humor in theplay for two reasons. One, the audience can relate to the use of slang andimproper English in their own speech causing Eliza’s mistakes to be funny.Secondly, is the use Eliza makes of her new found knowledge at Mrs. Higginshouse. While there, Eliza is trained to stick to two topics, that of health andthe weather. Although Eliza has mastered perfect enunciation by this point hersubject matter and word choice isn’t exactly refined.
Shawuses the conflict between Eliza and Higgins to express his own thoughts on thediversity of people. He likes to set these characters on two different sides ofa spectrum and develop how they relate. Although the play has a resolution, itis not exactly a story book happy ending. Higgins and Eliza continue on theirrespective paths of complete opposites but not in the same way as before.Whereas previously, the thing separating them was social class, at the end ofthe drama, the largest gulf is primarily between their goals in life. Higgins’intent is to better the world through himself, and Eliza’s purpose is to betterherself through the world.
Inanalyzing the play Pygmalion, one cannot fully evaluate the characters andconflict without understanding the themes. The themes are based on the legendbehind the play’s title and Shaw’s commentary on social status. The title isderived from an ancient Greek legend which has many parallels with Shaw’s play.Professor Higgins is an expert in his field, just as the sculptor Pygmalion wasin his. Higgins also holds the same view of women demonstrating this when hesays “ I find that the moment I let a woman make friends with me, she becomesjealous, exacting, suspicious, and a nuisance.” (Act II) The final analogy isthat both men turned uncarved stone into something beautiful using theirtalents. Unfortunately, Shaw does not allow the happy ending of the legend tooccur in his play as sentimental people would hope. Rather after Higgins hasmolded her into his special creation, she develops her own defiant self that istotally independent from her creator. This illustrates Shaw’s dislike ofoverdone romantic plays with unrealistic endings.
Anothereffective literary technique Shaw uses is by writing colloquially, whereby heencapsulates the cockney accent in his writing. This is a common technique usedin literature to create a vivid setting and atmosphere and helps to draw thereader into the writing. In this case, the colloquial technique not only servesthese purposes but also highlights the stark difference between Eliza's cockneyaccent and the 'upper class' accent that she eventually develops.
Overall Shawuses simple literary techniques in Pygmalion to create atmosphere, reflect thesetting and captivate his audience. These are his tools but there is much morethan literary techniques at work in Pygmalion which makes it one of the classicliterary works in history.
Theother prominent theme is that of social class and its affect on the novel.Examples of this are presented in the poverty stricken characters of ElizaDoolittle, Mr. Doolittle, and the Eynsford Hills. They all have their ownreaction to the circumstances of life. Eliza fiercely strives to betterherself, while her father floats contentedly along in his lower class position.The Eynsford Hills represent the “in name only” upper class that haveexperienced poverty but still continue their snobbish attitudes. However, Shawgently pokes fun at this hypocritical faсade and inconspicuously praises the family’s son Freddy who refuses tocarry on so needlessly when he can be happy without money.
Thespiritual philosophy of Mr. Alfred Doolittle is one of the most remarkable yetcomic beliefs presented in Shaw’s drama. Due to Shaw’s emphasis on social classas a prominent theme it seems appropriate that the most profound statementscome from the most surprising source. Shaw enjoys weaving his own personalconvictions throughout all of his work vicariously and wittily, Pygmalion beingno exception. Through Mr. Doolittle, a lower class dustman, the observer canget a real glimpse into the thought behind the play.
Accordingto Mr. Doolittle, arriving shortly after Eliza’s appearance on Wimpole Street,he is only a member of the undeserving poor, who is concerned about hisdaughter. Doolittle maintains that he is looking out for his daughter when inactuality, he is attempting to blackmail Professor Higgins. Naturally, Higginssees through this ruse and listens as Doolittle continues, quite entertained.Doolittle then insinuates that unless he is compensated, he will make it knownthat his young unwed daughter is staying with Higgins. The professor is soamused with this tactic and Doolittle’s simulated interest in his daughter whenit is apparent that his real motive is only money. He offers Doolittle morethan the five pounds that he has requested. Eliza’s father, however, refusesthis because as he states, it will give him the responsibility of “middle classmorality.” (Act II) In answer to Higgins question “Have you no morals, man?”Doolittle replies “Can’t afford them. Neither could you if you were as poor asme” (Act II). Evidently, Doolittle feels that if he has only a small sum ofmoney he is not required to be responsible for its investment, therefore makingit possible for him to squander it on alcohol. Because he is not treated as the“deserving poor” who receive charity, he believes that he has no obligation tobe wise with the small amount of money he does have. While some drunks orslothful impoverished people become bitter over this, Doolittle actuallyprefers this lifestyle as an excuse to be irresponsible and lazy.
Theirony of this spiritual philosophy is seen in the actual outcome of Mr.Doolittle. At the conclusion of Pygmalion, Doolittle inherits a great amount ofmoney. Although this upsets Doolittle’s lifestyle, he still holds to hisinteresting philosophy. As he asserts to his daughter and Higgins, “Middleclass morality claims its victim” (Act V). Doolittle has denounced somethingmost people crave when he resents wealth.
This dramacomprises so many of George Bernard Shaw’s personal opinions, beliefs, personalbackground, and humor. It overflows with his sarcasm and bluntness, whileappealing to the human quality in us all. Just as Eliza has a rough exteriorand a beautiful interior this play contains critical facts coupled withendearing humor. The characters, conflict, theme, and spiritual philosophiespresented in Pygmalion have been wrapped admirably into a package that istruthful but acceptable.
In the prefaceof Pygmalion Shaw already gives some ideas about the necessity of reforming theEnglish education in language. He points out the connection between way ofspeaking and class membership in those days. Social rise assumed taking overthe way of speaking of the higher social class. His aim was a society withoutdifferent social classes. All these critics on society Shaw weaves in withloads of humor. Shaw always tried to make his work educational and amusing atthe same time. He once said, “It is so intensely and deliberately didactic, andits subject is esteemed so dry, that I delight in throwing it at the heads ofthe wiseacres who repeat the parrot cry that art should never be didactic. Itgoes to prove my contention, that great art can never be anything else. “Thismeans, in easier words, great art has to be educational.
Pygmalion gaveShaw a platform for many of his concerns. He was passionately interested in theEnglish language and the varieties of ways in which people spoke (and misspoke)it. Shaw longed to simplify and reform English; he once pointed out that therules of spelling in English are so inconsistent and confusing that the wordfish could conceivably be spelled “ghoti” if the speller used the sound of ghin enough, the sound of o in women, and the sound of ti in the suffix –tion.The text of Pygmalion reflects some of his efforts at simplifying English usage– principally his omission of apostrophes in contractions such as Ive and dont.Pygmalion also allowed Shaw to present ideas about other topics that concernedhim — such matters as social equality, male and female roles, and therelationship between what people seem to be and what they really are. Like hisother successful plays, Pygmalion wins us over with its charm and then startlesus out of our preconceptions with its keen intelligence.
Conclusion
In this work Itried to make a scientific analysis of Bernard Shaw’s life, literary activityand his contribution to the treasure of world literature and one of his famousworks Pygmalion. Shaw was a prolific writer. He was a playwright, a novelist, acritic and a publicist. He made success in the field of realistic drama. Hecriticized bourgeois moral, robbery, appropriation of the fruits of othercommon people’s labour, showed injustice of the society.
In PygmalionShaw masterfully connected two themes equally exciting for him: the problem ofsocial inequality and the problem of the classical English language. Act byact, word by word we understand that the set of behaviour, that is the form andthe speech maintenance, manner of judgment and thoughts, habitual acts andtypical reactions of people are adapted for the conditions of theirenvironment. The subjective being and the objective world correspond each otherand mutually penetrate into each other.
Pygmalion isone of Shaw’s chef-d'oeuvre and reveals the mastership of the playwright. Itwas written when the author reached the peak of his creative activity. In thiswork Shaw touched upon social and economic problems of the British people inthe beginning of the industrial 20th century. Shaw wants to say inthis work that education and proper upbringing of people may lead the world toharmony in spiritual and material lives of human beings. That is why one of themain heroes of the work Higgins, the professor of phonetics, says, “The greatsecret is not having bad manners or good manners or any other particular sortof manners, but having the same manner for all human souls: in short, behavingas if you were in Heaven, where there are no third-class carriages, and onesoul is as good as another.”
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