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Pygmalion
When George Bernard Shaw wrote Pygmalion more than a half century ago, no one could have predicted his play would eventually be converted into one of the great musicals of our time -- My Fair Lady -- and an Academy Awardł-winning motion picture. Generations of readers and theatergoers have found relevance in Shaw's story of speech therapist Henry Higgins, who successfully transforms Liza Doolittle, a "draggle-tailed guttersnipe," into a darling of high society who momentarily upsets his hard-edged reserve. The extraordinary wit of this master dramatist of the twentieth century cuts away at the artificiality of class distinctions to reveal that human clay can be molded into wondrous shapes.
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Recent Forum Posts on Pygmalion
The end of the play...
What do you think about the end? Pygmalion was one and only play, where I met the end like this - prose... It was a surprise for me, but really I like it! Well done, Mr Shaw... It is a wonderful, open end.
Posted By Pearly at Sun 6 Jan 2008, 3:31 PM in Pygmalion || 0 Replies
Can Someone Please Help Me With This...asap!!
Alright So Here's The Deal, I've Got An Exam Over This Book/play And I Really Really Need Someone Who Knows This Thing Very Well, Like Inside And Out To Possibly Help Me Through This Exam. I'm Not Looking For An Easy Way Out Of Doing My Own Work...ok Here's The Story I'm In Homeschool Right Now, I Was Supposed To Have Already Graduated But My School Is Extremely Slow On Sending Me My Work, And They Just Sent Me My Whole Senior Year Of English About A Week Ago...and Yet Im Supposed To Start College In Three Weeks. The College Has Agreed To Await My Transcript For A Later Date As Long As I Can Graduate B4 I Start My Classes. So Its Not That I Dont Want To Do My Work, Its The Fact That I Have 5 More Exams To Do (5 More Exams, An Exam With Each Book) And I Just Dont Have Time To Read Everything. So If There Is Anyone Out There That Is Willing To Help Me Out I Would Greatly Appreciat It, Im Not Asking For Someone To Give Me The Answers, Im Just Looking For Someone Who Can Point Me In The Right Direction For Them, So If You're That Someone Who Can Help Me Then Please Send Me A Message And Let Me Know Asap Please Please Please!!!! Im Desperate!!!
Posted By RobynLynne at Wed 1 Aug 2007, 12:11 AM in Pygmalion || 1 Reply
essay about pygmalian
Hello, I need to find an essay I once read about Shaw's Pygmalian. I think it was an introduction to the play in a book, but I'm not sure. The writer argued that Shaw, in not making Eliza marry Higgins, was playing with the readers, who all want them to get together, but that this ploy (or experiment) backfires, because the narrative he conjures up is actually stronger than the author, in this respect, and readers sense that something is wrong. So that it doesn't entirely work. Does anyone know what I'm talking about? I really want to re-read the essay, but don't know where to look. Thank you all very much!
Posted By mutal at Sat 20 May 2006, 11:47 AM in Pygmalion || 1 Reply
No Subject
Regretably Shaw's masterpiece has been distorted from it's original opening in 1913 to Lerner's musical by imposing a romance between Eliza and Higgins. This ruins Shaw's main thrust which was Eliza's realization tht she is a human being and not just an experiment, and therefore leaves an independent woman. Because the public would not accept the platonic ending, Shaw was forced to change the ending and marry her off to Freddie.
Despite this, actors and producers subverted the author's intent. Leslie Howard's version in 1938 and the musical which Hammerstein refused to adapt precisely because it was not a play condusive to a musical comedy. Higgins would never have married anybody, and Eliza certainly would not have married him or the immature Freddie. The play is in the first half a Cinderella story but without the happy ending. Best Eliza from all my research was Lynn Fontanne who performed it in 1921 through New York's Theater Guild. The worst was Uta Hagen who performed it in the 1940s.
Posted By Unregistered at Tue 24 May 2005, 6:07 PM in Pygmalion || 0 Replies
one aspect
I think that Bernard had agreat and numeruos efection on every one who read this play.
this play was written carefully in order to illustrate the discrimination which was used to had in that time .it represent the uper class by Higgns and familiar people and it represent the lwoest one by Eliza and her father .
So he were vere successful writer with agood point view and his play is really
wonderful because it has agreat theme about discrimination.
Posted By bowaitel.uj.jordan at Tue 24 May 2005, 6:07 PM in Pygmalion || 1 Reply
No Subject
i thought it was ok b/c it didnt have the typical ending that u would hav expected
i think that the Colonel and the Professor have like a "thing" but that is just my opinion
Posted By Unregistered at Tue 24 May 2005, 6:07 PM in Pygmalion || 0 Replies
No Subject
I loved pygmalion i thought it was funny, educational and covered significant issues. It showed clearly the large differences between the wealthy and the poor, the attitudes of the upper classes at that time were so snobby.
Posted By Tara jones at Tue 24 May 2005, 6:07 PM in Pygmalion || 0 Replies
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I had to study "Pygmalion" for school (Im in year 11). I had previously watched "My fair lady" just for fun and was really happy with the appropriation. "Pygmalion" contains so many values which are so important for us all to realise. They can be seen in more recent manifestations ("Pretty woman") so I think its great that the values Shaw perceived as important, are still carried on today.
Posted By Unregistered at Tue 24 May 2005, 6:07 PM in Pygmalion || 0 Replies
No Subject
A play to depict the hypocricy of the upper and middle class through the use of sarcastic dialogues and the delightful figure of Liza Doolitle as a second Galatea but not falling for her Pugmalion... The sucess of Shaw's play was as remarkable than so many adaptions occured including the most succesful musical 'My fair Lady' starring Rex Harisson and Audrey Hepburn.
Posted By Unregistered at Sun 27 Jul 2003, 1:00 AM in Pygmalion || 3 Replies