Pygmalion

Author Stephen King once said, “Books and movies are like apples and oranges. They both are fruit, but taste completely different.” Stephen King’s quote about the difference between books and movies exemplifies the contrast between the play, Pygmalion by Bernard Shaw, and the movie adaptation, My Fair Lady. Although both highlight the importance of phonetics and the teacher-student relationship that Henry and Eliza share, the alterations of the characters in the movie make it highly unrealistic.…

Over the past century, many famous novels turn into a major success on the big screen. It wasn’t any different for Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw. In 1964, the famous play by the Irish playwright hits the big screen, and viewers get to witness the extraordinary story of Eliza Doolittle as she transforms herself into an upper class women. Even though both novel and film have similarities, they also share some major differences. One of the major differences was that My Fair Lady was a…

Pygmalion is a play written by George Bernard Shaw, based on the Greek mythology of the same name. It features a poor, uneducated girl, Eliza Doolittle, who is taken on a journey to become a duchess, to open up a flower shop. She is mentored by a professor, named Henry Higgins. By the end of the play, it is unknown if Liza ever marries Higgins, or a young man named Freddy Eynsford-Hill. As mentioned, as the story comes to a close, it leaves the reader something to think about. Does Eliza…

since most paintings during the Renaissance were themed around Christianity. In a similar painting from 1860, is Pygmalion and Galatea by Jean-Leon Gerome. The painting depicts the the Greek tale of Pygmalion who had created a sculpture of a woman so beautiful that he fell in love with it. He prayed to Aphrodite, and she brought his statue to life for him. In the painting it shows Pygmalion embracing and kissing Galatea, who is mid-way through transforming from stone to flesh. Near by is, the…

George Bernard Shaw’s play Pygmalion follows the life of Eliza Doolittle, a common flower girl of the 20th century, and the sequence of events following her encounter with Henry Higgins and Colonel Pickering. As a professor of phonetics, Higgins believes he can use his extensive knowledge of speech and personal experience to guide Eliza on a pathway to sophistication. In relation, She’s All That, a 1999 American film, revolves around Zack Siler and his spontaneous bet with a fellow classmate…

not fit to sell anything else. I wish you’d left me where you found me,” said the smart-mouthed kerbstone flower girl Eliza Doolittle, who worked tirelessly to transform the negative perception society placed upon her. George Bernard Shaw’s play, Pygmalion and Gary Marshall ‘s film Pretty Woman both explore the themes of change and transformation in addition to the theme of social class and its impact upon the female protagonists. The social and cultural background and the upbringing of the…

Introduction Based on the Greek mythology, Pygmalion outlines the deep social intrigues within the society regarding the aspect of class and social stratification. Professor Higgins, a specialist in phonetics makes a bet with Pickering that he (Higgins) is capable of training Eliza Doolittle (described as a Covent Garden flower girl) and transforms her linguistic ability so that she would be able to speak as a duchess (Shaw, 1916). While the “linguistic experiment” eventually becomes successful,…

SA 2: "The Chrysanthemums" is a short story of John Steinbeck which reflects the frustration in the present life of Elisa Allen, strong and proud woman. This frustration arises from not having a child as well as from the dissatisfaction in a romantic relationship with her husband. The only possible way out for Elisa's frustration is her beautiful flower garden where she plants chrysanthemums. The author frequently uses chrysanthemums as a symbol as well as a number of other items in order to…

Throughout Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw, it becomes clear Eliza Doolittle has very distinct character traits. One of the strongest of these traits is independence. Eliza’s independence is shown several times throughout the play, and it is first seen as she explains why she wants to further her linguistic education. During the early 1900s in which Pygmalion is set, the main goal of most women was to be lady like enough to find themself a husband, but this is not Eliza’s current goal. Eliza…

In George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion, he highlights the issue of language in relation to class structure. Borrowing ideas from the Greek myth Pygmalion, Shaw creates character Henry Higgins, a phonetician, who tries to transform the flower-selling, cockney Eliza Doolittle into a lady. While exploring the idea of creation between Higgins and Doolittle, Shaw chooses to focus on their social dimensionality. While Eliza is trained to speak and act like a lady, she does not gain the proper instincts in…