Pygmalion (Magill Book Reviews)
At a glance:
- Author: George Bernard Shaw
- First Published: 1912
- Type of Work: Drama
- Genres: Drama, Problem play, Comedy
- Subjects: Language or languages, Class conflict, Love or romance, Twentieth century, Class consciousness, England or English people, Lower classes, London, Grammar
- Locales: London, England
In this comedy of morals, Shaw tilts at two particularly English windmills, the class structure and an inadequate alphabet. Using the myth of the sculptor Pygmalion, who fell in love with his marble masterpiece, Shaw introduces phonetician Henry Higgins to the Cockney flower-seller Eliza Doolittle. Eliza, kept firmly in her place by her appearance and particularly by her lower-class accent, would love to become genteel and sell flowers in a “proper shop.”
When Higgins demonstrates his skill at placing any English person by his or her neighborhood accent, he amazes the...
[The entire page is 603 words long]
Join eNotes
Over 3,500 study guides, question and answer forums, literature criticism, reference content, and much more!
Navigate
See Also
Related Topics
