Shaw, Bernhard - Pygmalion

Pygmalion

Author: Bernard Shaw

- born on July 2nd, 1856 in Dublin
- 1925: received the Nobel prize for “Saint Joan”
- important works: “Mr Warren’s profession” “Pygmalion” (1st performance 1913 in Vienna in German)
- he died on November 2nd, 1950 in England

Preface

a) he wants to explain why he wrote such a drama

b) he wants to explain his allusions / his intention / his message

c) he wants to inform his readers, the actors and directors of the play
- prefaces were read as much as the plays themselves

Shaw likes to be a “agent provocateur”

- English people can’t spell their own words, the spelling system is ineffective
- He criticises the English severely

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Act 1

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Character constellation

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Cockney English: speech of someone born within the Bow Bells (bells of Saint-Mary-le Bow)

- near St. Paul’s cathedral
- East End: working class London

Accent: particular feature of person’s pronunciation

Dialect: variety of a language with particular vocabulary and grammar > urban areas

RP: social accent with comparatively little regional variation; spoken by educated upper class Slang: non-standard vocabulary, extremely informal, verbal novelties, dipped or shortened forms

Behaviour towards Eliza

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Mr Doolittle

- Cockney dialect
- Dustman
- Wants to get a bit of money out of Higgins
- Wants to sell his daughter
- Does not want to have Eliza back, glad that he got rid of her
- Thinks that Higgins picked the girl up for sexual reason

Act 3

“at-home-day” - ladies’ coffee-party

- upper class people

- elderly ladies

- topics:

- human interest
- superficial small talk
- weather, health
- light social conversation

Mrs Higgins life -style: - rich surrounding / living room / drawing room

- tastefully, furnished

- cultured, well educated

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Why does Eliza’s first appearance end in catastrophe?

At-home-day > like a ritual

> certain rules