Blog Response 1

1. It is in human nature to look after and care for thing you create.
Very few creatures only give birth to a single offspring at a time,
so as humans they get very attached to their creations but they
have to let go at one point and it is one of the most difficult
things for a parent to do, watch their child go off on their own. It
is quite similar to how an artist creates art and shows it to the
world. It is something that everyone knows that they are the
creator and helped nurture it, but it is still its own entity.
The artist does lose control of their art but more of when
they release their finished vision not as the unpolished rough cut
of their creation. Only the final version can truly be on its own
since that is what the artist was shooting for. And the audience
does have a right to interpretation, no matter what an artist says
they make it for them. An artist without an audience is nothing.
The audience can range from critics to the most simple man but
its their interpretation that will cement the art in time. They
decide whether it is considered good, cliche, niche, or just plain
awful. They are the real critics of the movie. Plenty of critically
acclaimed movies like the Hurt Locker the winner of the
Academy Award for Best Picture made a fifth of the largest
grossing film that year.
The art can definitely take on a life of its own though. Take
the example of the Tommy Wiseau movie, The Room. A full
length independent film that was written, directed, produced and
starred in by Tommy Wiseau made by the production company
Wiseau Films. This film was thought to be one of the worst films
ever made and has been credited as the Citizen Kane of bad
films. But instead of being forgotten because of how awful it
was, people grew to like it because it was so bad. Now they have
screenings of the movie all over the country on a regular basis
similar to the Rocky Horror Picture Show. People show up dressed
as their favorite characters bring spoons and play catch with a
football in tuxedos. This is an example of how it is good that a
piece of work can take on a life of its own. I think art should be
able to do this as long as people still respect the creator for their
work.
Its hard as a creator of content to get the outcome that
you want with your art let alone the reception. Many times it
takes turns and gets results that you would never have expected.
A good artist knows this and actually likes this as part of the
creative process. They are like a mama bird watching their chicks
leave the nest for the first time. There are millions of emotions
running through their body, not knowing whether the bird will fly
or fall. And they know if the bird does make it they may never

come back, but if one does truly love something they have to let
it go.
The relationship between a teacher and their pupil is very
important. The Star Wars series of movies is a great example of this.
From the originals to the prequels it is all about that relationship.
Whether it be Obi-Wan and Luke, Obi-Wan and Anakin, Yoda and Luke
or Darth Vader and the Emperor each one had a huge impact on
between the pupil and teacher. But what amplified this relationship
was the special skills that only a jedi could have. There is a special
bond that only Jedis could share. I think this is kinda what Higgins was
trying to say. Though Star Wars did happen a long time ago in a galaxy
far, far away, the message still translates well. Higgins means that
teaching is a very intricate relationship between teacher and student
and no matter how good the teacher is, the pupil must also be very
talented.
Throughout the novel, Higgins is always talking down to Eliza. He
actually cares about her but due to the class pressures he puts her
down in order for him to look better. He wants to create Eliza into
someone who is of the middle class so he and her can have a stronger
relationship as teacher and student and maybe even as lovers. But she
must be something special in order to do so.
Throughout life there is always mentor-apprentice relationships
that appear. From the beginning of life we are raised by our parents
and they teach us the basic functions of life like eating and how to play
and socialize. They teach us hard life lessons sometimes and if there is
no bond between the two it can often lead to a rough childhood
situation in which the child may not get all the care they need. Later on
in life you find that your bosses, friends and significant others help in
showing you how to survive in their type of world.
Your boss shows you how to do your job correctly and if they find
that you are inadequate and not correctly suited for it you can be let
go. So this means that a work relationship is very important to the
health and honestly of a work place. One could fake it as hard as they
could to make it but once the kingdom falls there is no way back to
rebuilding it. Friends teach people how to act in certain situations but
also act as an outlet to get out some of their interests. Good friends
help you nurture whats good for you and whats not. But if you dont
get along too well it can hurt you. Significant others help you out by
acting as an emotional connection that you cant get from anywhere
else. They show you how you must respect others space and learn how
to deal with new things. When you live so close with somebody you
must be able to find a common ground of respect for each other.
A pupil must be able to demonstrate some type of interest or some
type of hope in order for the teacher to validate spending the time with
them. I think Higgins is trying to say that in order to be in the expert in

the field you must be very well versed and cant waste to spend ones
time on someone who wont do well with it.
Comic relief is a great way to relieve tension or cut some of the
seriousness in a story or movie. But often the comic relief character is
only that comic relief, never adding anything to the story. So when a
character like Alfred Doolittle comes along he must be dissected. Alfred
Doolittle isnt just in Pygmalion to humour the reader but as another
way that George Shaw is commenting on society. Alfred is the
representation of the other side of the lower class. The more brutish
and not caring part. He likes where he is and doesnt want to be
anywhere else. This acts as a foil to Eliza who unlike her father wants
nothing more than to be able to leave the shackles of the lower class.
By being this he shows the other point of view, money doesnt mean
anything to him, he doesnt want the responsibilities of holding down a
job or even taking care of his kids.
But this isnt the only thing he represents, he is also the
representative of the middle class in the end. Though he doesnt want
to be part of it he still is able to act as representative of that part of
society in the story. Throughout the novel it is always the comparison
of the lower and upper class while the middle class is left out. The
middle class was just arising in England at the time and many werent
used to it. It was always the lords and the serfs, the king and his
subjects, it wasnt the king, his subjects and an accountant. So to shed
some light on a whole other part of society George Shaw used Alfred
Doolittle as a symbol. Alfred never wanted what was given to him when
he had met Higgins but was thrown into an unknown and cold world.
The middle class was trying to domesticate the wild stallion inside of
Al, but this mare wasnt going to be broken so easily. He showed
resistance and this resistance let the audience in on the middle class.
Alfreds comment on middle class morality showed that there are rules
in society that every class had to follow and that it may not work for
everyone.
Even though they seem worlds apart Higgins and Alfred Doolittle
are actually quite closer than you would expect. Both of them are
strong stubborn patriarchal types who know their way with words.
Though Higgins may be more bourgeois than Allfred Doolittle they are
almost a reflection of each other. First they both treat Eliza like crap.
Alfred neglected her since she was born and left her out on the streets
to defend herself. Higgins mistreated her, and acted as if she wasnt
actually human. And when both of them saw some hope out of her
they quickly backpedalled and tried to get her back. Though Doolittle
mainly wanted the money, he still wanted to have some part of her.
When serfdom ended after the renaissance and the world started to
industrialize, most people thought the rigid class systems were now
over. Capitalism is the idea that a man or a woman can make anything
out of himself if he tries hard enough. But unfortunately this is not true.

Though people are free from class only in name. Capitalism benefits
the already rich and those who hold power. Though Kings and lords
may not rule anymore, CEOs and other executives determine how the
world is ran behind their ivory desks. The top 3 percent of families in
America control over 50 percent of the nations wealth while the
bottom 90 percent control under 25 percent. Thi cant be ignored when
talking about class distinctions, that George Shaw did a very in depth
analysis of in his play Pygmalion.
He explores this quite well mainly through having different
characters represent the different classes. By having both Eliza and her
father Mr. Doolittle he could accurately show the discrimination that
lower class citizens receive in society. Many people assume that people
are in the lower class because they are too lazy to try hard to make it
out but cant see the other limitations that are put on them. We see
that both Eliza and Mr. Doolittle have a much more practical view on
what life actually is unlike the characters from higher society. He also
shows how the upper classes are misrepresented. Many people think
that just because you have money makes you automatically happy, but
as shown through the characters of Higgins, Mrs. Hill and Freddy they
really arent as happy as they seem. Higgins is a very crotchety man
who thinks he has everything figured out but cant even take care of
himself and needs servants to take care of him. Mrs. Hill is an old
widow who tries to run her childrens lives because she wasnt able to
run her own. Freddy has to deal with constant criticism from his family
and he can never live up to their expectations. The rich are expected
to do to stay in their own boundaries and because of this limitation
they look down upon the other classes.
Only Eliza really strives to move out of her class than any of the
other characters. But once she does move out she sees that it isnt
everything she thought it would be. She changes her attitude when she
learned that she had lost so much more than she thought she would.
The New world was much more harsh and uninviting, and Eliza wants
to go back. The other characters are either in the class in which they
are happy with or dont want to move on. Mr. Doolittle would rather be
poor and happy than rich and unhappy.
The issue of class will always be around. Even systems such as
communism didnt actually give equality to everyone. Though on paper
it may have seemed like so, it just made the got rid of the middle class
and made the gap between upper and lower much greater. The small
powerful elite lived in luxury while everyone else was forced to live in
poverty no matter how hard they tried to get out. George Shaw
brought up many great issues to think about when it comes to dealing
with class warfare. All these issues are quite relevant today and are
something to be always thinking about.
They say in Hollywood there is about 4 or 5 stories that get told over
and over. So taking old stories reapplying theme to the present is very

prevalent. From very straight forward retellings of stories like taking

Mary Shellys novel Frankenstein to the Robert Deniro classic film
Mary Shellys Frankenstein to much more interpreted tellings of
stories like Seven Samurai and Star Wars. Retelling of stories can be
great, but ask anyone and they will tell you that the modern film
industry is oversaturated with lazy hashovers of these stories. But
George Shaws retelling of the myth of Pygmalion is something
different. Instead of just bringing the myth to early 19th century
England he transformed the myth into a social commentary on social
inequality. So the two stories can be compared and contrasted with
each other.
In the story Pygmalion is a sculptor who brings clay to life in the
form of a beautiful woman. In the play Pygmalion, Higgins shapes a
dirty trashy flower girl into a respectable duchess. He does this in a
different way they cutting stone though, he does it through formal
teachings and lessons. He teaches Eliza the proper way to speak,
dress, and act. All of these are much more different than the story.
These are much harder to correct than a plain slate like in the story. All
of these are actions and are imbedded into Elizas conscious, so they
take much more effort and skill to redo. So this shows Higgins
dedication to shaping eliza but it doesnt show the compassion that
was in the story. The carver spent a lot of time masterfully crafting the
woman, each chisel planned ahead to make the most perfect woman.
Higgins did it as a job and not as a passion.
I wouldnt consider Higgins to be Elizas creator. Eliza is an
amalgamation of all the the tenacity and determination that she
learned out on the streets of England inside the frame of manners built
by Higgins. Before Eliza was just an ignorant flower and after she is a
true lady. Higgins gave Eliza to reach her full potential but in no way
did he create her. No human can create another human being. Just ask
Dr. Frankenstein.
The nature of the relationship between artist and art is quite a
different dynamic than that of any human relationship. One creates art
to express themselves and to show it in ways that only they think their
message can be translated. So they relationship between Art and artist
is very strong. But art is never finished, a true masterpiece has no real
end, an artist will always go back and make changes to their art.
Remakes arent always a bad thing. A remake is an artist's
chance to show their own opinion on how they think something
wouldve been like if they had made it. The only problem with remakes
is that most of the time they rely too much on the source material or
go to far away. A good remake is a nice balance in the middle. Take Tim
Burtons Planet of the Apes remake. He really screwed the pooch out of
that one. He made changes that seemed hoaky and unnecessary and
acted like he remade the wheel. You cant remake the wheel Tim, you
just cant. But if he had put his own spin (wink) on the message like

George Shaw he couldve made something much more memorable.

Sorry Tim, but seriously that movie blowed.
Transformers, more than meets the eye, Transformers, robots in
disguise. These immortal words of the band Lion have been echoed
throughout time. This idea of more than meets the eye seems almost
trivial now, well of course there is more than meets the eye its in the
nane! But before that song was heard by millions of youngins all over
the country in 1984, that idea had never been in the modern American
household. How can something be something it doesnt seem to be?
Well british households were very familiar with that idea because of
George Shaws marvelous work Pygmalion. Pygmalion is all about the
transformation of a common flower girl into a respectable woman, or
about others transformations as well?
The flower girl Eliza takes over the most obvious transformation
in the play. She is cleaned up and shown how to act like a real lady by
Higgins a local weird guy who specializes in dialects. But theyre are
quite a few characters around her that you see take on more subtle
changes. Higgins change is quite in his character and less in his looks
or demeanor. Eliza shows him that he cant be so cold and professional
all the time and that to be human you must show some emotions. But
it is too late for Higgins to make a dramatic enough change to get Eliza
back. His transformation is the most realistic throughout the novel. Its
easy to see a change when it is visual since humans rely on that sense
the most. Even a change in sound is hard for some, but an internal
change is the hardest to see so obviously. So his change is the hardest
to see especially when you get to the final scene. Higgins is true to
human nature rather than what the audience wants. In fact act a
postscript was added on because audiences were so upset of the
ending. Shaw still didnt give them what they wanted but he
acknowledged their complaints.
Another transformation is of Elizas father Mr. Doolittle. Mr.
Doolittle or Alfred as his friends call him underwent a transformation
himself that could have its whole own play dedicated to. Alfred goes
from being a literal man of filth, a trashman, to this new thing at the
time, the middle class. Alfred never even asked for this he just was
kind of pushed into it by society. It may shock some people, but it isnt
everyones dream to make it to suburbia in an unhappy marriage
trying to raise two kids. Alfred would rather stay poor in the area he
likes than wallow in what he dubs middle-class morality. But to his
dismay he is now making a lot of money to just lecture about himself.
Now he has family members that he didnt want to see anymore in his
life asking for money, he is marrying his girlfriend now because he
feels he has to now and a bunch of other responsibilities that he must
fulfil.
Is it Tuesday, because I feel as if this essay just got transformed into
something much greater than it ever shouldve been after starting it

with an excerpt from an 80s Saturday morning cartoon show. But in

the end isnt that what life is all about, Transformations? Each day
something is changed and has an impact on things down the road a la
the Butterfly Effect. So when you spread your wings and fly, will you be
making positive or negative ripples?
A cheap laugh is that, just a cheap laugh. Make something as broad as
empty as a grandma farting and you are bound to get a chuckle from
someone. This trope makes the whole genre of comedy looked down
upon, though in the sense of plays a comedy doesnt always mean that
it is jam packed full of jokes. It can mean that the ending is of a happy
one. So when determining whether Pygmalion is a comedy or romance
you have to keep that in mind. George Shaw titled his play Pygmalion:
A Romance in Five Acts. I would argue that Pygmalion is a comedy to a
certain extent and not romantic.
Pygmalion is a comedy by default since there is almost no
romance going on throughout the play. Sure you can say there is some
type of relationship between Higgins and Eliza but you cannot make
any point that it is in fact romantic. Higgins has the charm of a toad
with hepatitis a, b and c. Sure there are a few points where he shows
who he actually is underneath that harsh unforgiving exterior, but
there is nothing romantic going on between him and Eliza. It is a tale of
a relationship yes, but not a romantic one. Eliza and Higgins share and
grow a lot together throughout the play but there is no chance in hell
that it was/will ever be a romantic one.
I would consider the play to be a comedy because it is pretty jam
packed with jokes. Ranging all over the play there are many different
jokes and funny situations. I mean could you imagine someone
throwing a pair of slippers at someone? Thats text book funny there.
But if you look it as the sense that it isnt a tragedy than it also works.
Nobody dies so thats a dead giveaway that it isnt a tragedy. But
everything doesnt end up all sunshine and roses for Eliza. She
becomes a woman but she lost the importance of ignorance in her life.
She finds out about how crueler society can be and how rigid the class
system of england is. I wouldnt even call it a class system it is much
more of a caste system. But Eliza is able to meet a nice young man
who has a lot of money so things may turn out okay for her.
Comedy is often looked down upon as being a lower art form
than more dramatic types of genres. People think that comedies offer
nothing more than a laugh and have no real substance to them. They
dont realize how powerful comedy actually is. Laughter can cure
diseases! Well maybe it cant but using comedy and especially satire
can be very powerful in getting a point across rather than just stating
it. comedy connects with the soul a lot deeper than other types. But
since it is looked down upon maybe that is the reason that George
Shaw decided to title it Pygmalion: A Romance in Five Acts instead of

Pygmalion: A Comedy in Five Acts. But we will never know because he

is dead.
Before industrialization there wasnt a real middle class. There were
the lords and the plebeians. So when when the plebeians start to get
so money in their pockets they realized they were too rich to be poor
but too poor to be rich. This is where the middle class came from, and
along with it came a certain set of morals. Today since the middle class
includes most of the population we dont think of them being that out
there. But at the time they were pretty radical. People had to be
responsible and take care of there own lives. They werent rich enough
where they never had to work or provide for anyone, but they didnt
have to scrape by just to make ends meet. So when this is brought up
in Pygmalion, George Shaw is trying to say that there is finally a nice
balance.
Mr. Shaw makes fun of it though through the character of Alfred
Doolittle. Mr. Doolittle doesnt want to have to submit himself to middle
class morality when he is shown that he could have a pretty good life.
He doesnt want to have to deal with things like marriage, family and
other responsibilities which in todays world are almost thought of as a
prerequisite. The middle class fosters these ideals naturally. In the
middle class you dont have the excuse of not taking care of these
things but you are not rich enough to pay others to take care of them
for you. Middle class morality is reaching the point where the excuses
end. One is expected to fit into societys norm because thats what
they want.
George Shaw ironically makes fun of middle class even though
he supports it. The characters to talk about how awful it would be if
they were in the middle class, because it is usually the common goal.
You see that the upper class looks down upon everyone but they are
actually unhappy, and the lower class hating those above them but
they wouldnt mind the extra dough. Alfred Doolittle pan handles
everyday just so he can have enough to get drunk, but if he was part
of the middle class he would have enough money to buy all the booze
he wishes. Maybe it is out of selfish reasons but I think George Shaw
did this because he wanted to make fun of the masses who want to
reach this point but dont realize what the will be missing. The middle
class may give you the freedom of some expendable money but it
takes away other freedoms. You are tied down in contracts, jobs and
relationships that you cant just abandon whenever you feel like. But
George did this to emphasize that this boundaries help shape a person
into a functioning member of society that can contribute to the world
moving forward.
It has always been thought that the American dream is settling down in
the suburbs with a wife in a house bordered with a white picket fence.
There you can comfortably raise your two kids with your dog spot. We
see that when a kid from the inner city hits it big they usually adopt

this concept. Though some may not assimilate to this new part of
society too well they are trying to adopt middle class morality. George
is trying to emphasize that middle class isnt the end, but a new
medium where almost anyone can excel.
An allegory is a story that has a hidden or secret meaning almost like
a symbol. An example of an allegory in the play is when Eliza looks into
the mirror in Act 2. She feels awkward looking into and puts a towel
over it to block her reflection. This means much more than her just not
being used to seeing her reflection. It is representative of the the
change in her character from the lower to upper class. She has never
truly seen herself before at the core due to all the filth and mud she
usually tracts on herself. But now that she is transforming into a "lady"
she sees something shocking, her true self.
An allusion is a reference inside a work of literature to another work of
literature. There are quite a few allusions inside of Pygmalion, but one
that stands out is when Alfred Doolittle says to Higgins, its the choice
between the Skilly of the workhouse and the Char Bydis of the middle
class. Even though Doolittle puts his lower class charm on
the pronunciation it is clear to understand that he is referencing the
Odyssey, but more specifically two of the major monsters that
Odysseus has to face. This use of the allusion shows Doolittle's trouble
in facing the decision of which path to chose. But as Bart Simpson but
it even more eloquently, "You're damned if you do, you're damned if
you don't".
In a story, the antagonist is the the enemy or rival to the man
character. They are often a foil or someone who represents everything
the protagonist hates. In Pygmalion, the antagonist isn't that straight
forward. Society is the main antagonist, trying to make Eliza conform
to its rules.
Burlesque is a form of comedy done by satirizing or parodying
something through imitation. In the first act of the play Higgins pulls a
great burlesque on Eliza. He imitates her cockney accent which really
split my sides. Its comical because Higgins comes from the upper class
in which they take pronunciation very seriously so when he pulls off an
almost perfect interpretation it was quite hilarious.

A cacophony is when someone or something makes a very irritating or harsh

sound. Throughout the play Pygmalion Eliza makes a noise mainly when she
is a flower girl, that goes "Aaaaaaaah-oooo-ooh". It almost like a defense for
her, when she is criticized she makes it. It kinda sounds like the Wilhem
scream.
A climax is when the exposition builds up to its most intense point in
the story. In the play, the climax is when Higgins and Eliza have their
confrontation in Act 4. Eliza is fed up with Higgins and throws Higgins
slippers at him. This is the climax because it is when Eliza finally
stands up for herself. She has made a complete change in her
character and Higgins has given her the last lesson
In a story or other types of literature a complication is something that
may hinder a character from achieving their goal. In Pygmalion the
goal of Higgins was to show Pickering that he could change Eliza into a
lady and it was almost interrupted when Alfred Doolittle, Eliza's father
showed up. He started to demand many things, but Higgins was able
to get rid of him by giving him some booze money.
The crisis is the events that lead right into the climax. In pygmalion
this is seen when Higgins, Pickering and Eliza get home form the Hill's
party. Higgins being his usual self shows no compassion for Eliza and
talks about her with Pickering as if she wasn't there. This is the straw
that breaks Eliza's back. This is the reason that she throws Higgin's
slippers at him.
It's the conclusion of everything, usually all lose ends are able to be
tied up and gives a resolution to the main conflict. Most of the time the
denouement is usually in the very last scene of the play or story but in
Pygmalion it ends up being a bit earlier. It is still in Act 5 but it is the
last conversation that Higgins and Eliza share. Eliza has came to a
point in her life where she has found who she is and is now going to
move forward. She has learned everything she could from Higgins even
though Higgins still wants her to stick around.
Effect is the result after something happens. Higgins had an effect on
Eliza by showing her how to act proper and she gave her the
opportunities to become a lady. Eliza also had an effect on Higgins by
showing him that you can't get ladies by being a jerkwad.

Fabian Socialism was a movement in the late 19th century in which it

wanted to combine a socialist economy with British Imperialism. I
guess it has something to do with Pygmalion though its not a literary
term. Maybe around the turn of the century there was a big change
socially and this had an effect on classes.
Foreshadowing is when a later event is referenced earlier in a work as
a warning or indication of whats to come. In Pygmalion when Alfred
Doolittle first shows up at Higgins house to get money, Higgins offers
him a deal to make him rich. Doolittle declines the offer without
hesitation saying he would rather be poor forever then be rich. This is
foreshadowing because he does end up getting some guala and he
hates it and wants top go back to being poor.
Irony is pretty hard to define. Google defines it as "A literary technique
technique, originally used in Greek Tragedy, by which the full
significance of a character's words or actions are clear to the audience
or reader although unknown to the character." That still doesn't quite
explain irony fully, but it gives you a general idea. In Pygmalion there
are quite a few examples of it but a main example is the irony between
Higgins and Eliza's relationship. The goal is to change Eliza into a
respectable member of society but he ends up learning that he needs
to change himself.
A metaphor is usually a direct comparison without using like or as, but
it could a metaphor could also be on a much grander scale. Eliza is a
flower girl at the beginning of the story and she is turned into a
beautiful young lady. Its just like a flower, it starts in the dirt and comes
out spectacular when it is nurtured.
The mood of something is the overall tone that is displayed
throughout. It can be light or heavy depending on what point it wants
to get across. Pygmalion has a very light mood across the story up
until the climax when everything gets really real really fast. By having
a light mood throughout the climax is able to juxtapose against it in
order to empathize its importance.
The plot of a story is made up of the exposition, the rising action, the
climax, falling action and conclusion. In Pygmalion the exposition is
established in the very first scene in which All the characters meet
during the rain. The rising action is for most of the play in Acts 2-3

when Eliza starts her training to become a respectable woman until it

reaches the climax in Act 4 when Eliza and Higgins have their big talk.
There is a very short falling action in which Eliza leaves and the
eventual conclusion in Act 5 when Eliza and Freddy go off to the
wedding.
The plot of a story is made up of the exposition, the rising action, the
climax, falling action and conclusion. In Pygmalion the exposition is
established in the very first scene in which All the characters meet
during the rain. The rising action is for most of the play in Acts 2-3
when Eliza starts her training to become a respectable woman until it
reaches the climax in Act 4 when Eliza and Higgins have their big talk.
There is a very short falling action in which Eliza leaves and the
eventual conclusion in Act 5 when Eliza and Freddy go off to the
wedding.
Sarcasm is a type of humor that uses irony and it is usually said to be
hurtful. In Pygmalion Higgins is the biggest culprit of using it, he mainly
uses it to make fun of others especially Eliza. "Remember: that's your
handkerchief and that's your sleeve. Don't mistake one for the other if
you wish to become a lady in a shop." He is making fun of Eliza's
ignorance to something that he finds so basic.
Satire is the use of exaggeration or irony to criticize someone or
society. George Shaw's was able to master satire so well that his whole
book is one. It is a commentary on the upper class elitism that plagued
England in the 19th century.

Setting in a story isn't just the location but also the time when it takes place. Setting

industrialization in England. This created the middle class and created a whole new d

menial jobs to make their living while Higgins, part of the upper class can have much

Shavian is the English phonetic alphabet. It was named after the

author of Pygmalion, George Bernard Shaw. It is much more simple
based on sounds instead of letters. It is all over Pygmalion especially in
the first two acts before Eliza's transformation. Pygmalion is all about
how people can speak the same language but can be so different, so
the Shavian alphabet is a way to bridge this division and flatten the
playing field.
A stereotype is a very one dimensional generalization of a race, creed
or any other group of people. It is a preconceived conception that a
member of the group has a certain liking for something or certain
characteristics. George Shaw constantly breaks stereotypes throughout
the play to show the audience that everything isn't always as it seems.
Higgins thinks that a poor flower girl could never obtain the manners of
someone like him. Not only does she, but proves that Higgins is as
narrow minded as he conceptions of Eliza.
If content is the meat of a story, tone is the spice. Ask anyone, chicken
teriyaki and a roast chicken are both chicken, but they taste quite
different from each other. Tone can really help out a story but if you
used incorrectly it can leave a bad taste in your mouth. Senior Shaw
uses a few different tones to emphasize a few points throughout the
play. It starts as a quite carefree and humorous in the beginning but as
the story begins to reach its climax it becomes much more serious.
This change is representative of Eliza's change in the story, as she lets
go of her past self and embraces upper society she lets go of the more
relaxed world she was used to.
Verbal Irony is the third and last type of irony in Pygmalion. It is much
more subtle than the others, and can be often ovelooked. It is when
someone says one thing and does or means something else. It is
different than sarcasm as it is often not intended to be done by the
character. In Pygmalion it is quite evident when Alfred Doolittle says
"Well what else would I want the money for? To put in the plate in
church, I suppose." It is ironic because of someone like Doolittle who is
very selfish and doesn't hide it wouldn't be giving money to the church.
He wants to make him seem better when he most likely will use it to
get loaded.
"TheComparisonofSocialClassesthroughAnalysisofPygmalionROmattageWRIT102."The
ComparisonofSocialClassesthroughAnalysisofPygmalionROmattageWRIT102.Web.29May2015.

This unnamed author brought up some very good points in their paper
about Pygmalion. He/She mentions that they think the main theme of
Pygmalion is that George Shaw is criticizing social rank. They bring up
some great examples of how language is used to mock both the upper
and lower classes in England at the time.