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  • Literary Analysis George Bernard Shaw's Literary Technique in Pygmalion

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    George Bernard Shaw's play Pygmalion is based on the myth of Pygmalion from Ovid's Metamorphoses. It tells the story of Eliza Doolittle, a poor flower girl in London, who is taught to speak like an upper-class woman by phonetics professor Henry Higgins. Though Eliza learns to speak properly, she rejects Higgins and decides to marry another man instead. Shaw uses techniques like portraying Eliza metaphorically as a statue initially unable to rise above her station, and writing in cockney dialect to vividly capture the characters and setting. The play examines issues of social class and human relationships through this retelling of the ancient myth.

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    George Bernard Shaw's play Pygmalion is based on the myth of Pygmalion from Ovid's Metamorphoses. It tells the story of Eliza Doolittle, a poor flower girl in London, who is taught to speak like an upper-class woman by phonetics professor Henry Higgins. Though Eliza learns to speak properly, she rejects Higgins and decides to marry another man instead. Shaw uses techniques like portraying Eliza metaphorically as a statue initially unable to rise above her station, and writing in cockney dialect to vividly capture the characters and setting. The play examines issues of social class and human relationships through this retelling of the ancient myth.

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    4K views1 page

    Literary Analysis George Bernard Shaw's Literary Technique in Pygmalion

    Uploaded by

    Mery_7
    George Bernard Shaw's play Pygmalion is based on the myth of Pygmalion from Ovid's Metamorphoses. It tells the story of Eliza Doolittle, a poor flower girl in London, who is taught to speak like an upper-class woman by phonetics professor Henry Higgins. Though Eliza learns to speak properly, she rejects Higgins and decides to marry another man instead. Shaw uses techniques like portraying Eliza metaphorically as a statue initially unable to rise above her station, and writing in cockney dialect to vividly capture the characters and setting. The play examines issues of social class and human relationships through this retelling of the ancient myth.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
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    of 1

    by Sumantha Dutta

    George Bernard Shaw's play 'Pygmalion', 'A Romance in Five Acts', was first
    performed in 1913 and has provided entertainment ever since with its most famous
    representation being the musical and film 'My Fair Lady'. It is a comedy based on the
    legendary myth from Ovid's 'Metomorpheses' and revolves around human
    relationships and social class.

    In 'Metomorpheses', Pygmalion falls in love with a statue he sculpted, Galatea. Shaw


    uses metaphoric techniques to represent this aspect of the plot in 'Pygmalion'
    whereby, Eliza Doolittle is not actually statue but an illiterate, poor flower girl, and
    due to her situation and social status/class, is unable to rise to a better social position;
    metaphorically, she may as well be a statue in that, her life is static.

    In 'Metomorpheses', Pygmalion falls in love with a statue he sculpted, Galatea. Shaw


    uses metaphoric techniques to represent this aspect of the plot in 'Pygmalion'
    whereby, Eliza Doolittle is not actually statue but an illiterate, poor flower girl, and
    due to her situation and social status/class, is unable to rise to a better social position;
    metaphorically, she may as well be a statue in that, her life is static.

    In 'Metomorpheses', once the female statue Galatea is given life and becomes a real
    woman, Pygmalion and she instantly fall in love. In 'Pygmalion', over time, Higgins
    and Eliza grow close but ultimately Eliza rejects Higgins and decides to marry Freddy
    Eynsford-Hill, a poor gentleman. In Shaw's conclusion he says that Eliza never loved
    Higgins and that similarly, Galatea never loved her creator, Pygmalion.

    Another effective literary technique Shaw uses is by writing colloquially, whereby he


    encapsulates the cockney accent in his writing. This is a common technique used in
    literature to create a vivid setting and atmosphere and helps to draw the reader into the
    writing. In this case, the colloquial technique not only serves these purposes but also
    highlights the stark difference between Eliza's cockney accent and the 'upper class'
    accent that she eventually develops.

    Overall Shaw uses simple literary techniques in 'Pygmalion' to create atmosphere,


    reflect the setting and captivate his audience. These are his tools but there is much
    more than literary techniques at work in 'Pygmalion' which makes it one of the classic
    literary work in history.

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