George Bernard Shaw British Playwright (Ireland), author of Pygmalion

Born in 1856 • Died in 1950 • Besides being a writer, he also helped to found the London School of Economics

George Bernard Shaw was born in Dublin, Ireland to a lower-middle class family. • Shaw grew up in a dysfunctional family. His father was an alcoholic, and his mother was a singer who abandoned the family to pursue her career. Shaw’s plays are often filled with problematic parent-child relationships.

What happened in his lifetime historically that might have influenced his life?

PYGMALION – THE MYTH • Pygmalion was a sculptor from Cyprus who had no interest in the local women. He found them immoral and frivolous. Instead, he concentrated on his art until one day he ran across a large, flawless piece of ivory and decided to carve a beautiful woman from it. • When he had finished the statue, Pygmalion found it so lovely and the image of his ideal woman that he clothed the figure and adorned her in jewels. He gave the statue a name: Galatea, sleeping love. • He found himself obsessed with his ideal woman so he went to the temple of Aphrodite to beg for a wife as perfect as his statue.

PYGMALION – THE MYTH • Aphrodite was curious so she visited the studio of the sculptor while he was away and was charmed by his creation. Galatea was the image of herself. • Flattered, Aphrodite brought the statue to life. • When Pygmalion returned, he found Galatea alive, and humbled himself at her feet. Pygmalion and Galatea were wed.

Pygmalion: Myth and Influence • How Shaw uses the myth of the sculptor who falls in love with his creation. • Shaw humanizes this romantic view giving us characters mired down in the concerns of a very socially minded London, and he asks us if it is appropriate to judge others based upon their places in society. Shaw critiques the typical romance story found in this ancient myth. The reader examines whether or not we see the “Cinderella” transformation, and if we receive the romance we expect.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF THE PLAY • World War I • Queen Victoria characterized the times with a set of values called Victorianism which revolved around: • "social high-mindedness, • domesticity, and • a confidence in the expansion of knowledge and the power of reasoned argument to change society."

Pygmalion: Social/Historical Context • 1914- class system-birth, environment, wealth, dress, speech, etc. • 70% of country’s wealth held by 1% of population. • Entertainment through theatre and newspapers. • Socialism- the belief that wealth and property should be evenly distributed by and amongst the community.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF THE PLAY • During the 19th century, many more Englishmen could vote.  • This also brought the introduction of women's suffragette organizations. • Increased political participation further prompted a shift in gender roles. • The new woman - increasing numbers of women in the work force, as well as reforms to divorce laws and other impacts upon domestic life.

Pygmalion: Themes/Issues • Class system • Social prejudice • Judging by appearance • Morality/behavior • Money/class • Rich/poor • Speech/dialect

PYGMALION – THEMES • Language – Nature of it, connection to perception of the speaker, etc. • Social Roles – are they innate; can they be taught? • Human Evolution – Fixed or ever-changing? • Manners – Important or Ridiculous?

PYGMALION – THEMES • Roles of the Sexes – What does it mean to be a “lady” of society? A “gentleman” of society? • Class Distinctions – What purpose do they serve? How are they maintained? • Personal Identity – Is one what society perceives one to be or something controlled by the self? • Idealism – What drives human acts?

PYGMALION – BASIC PLOT • Pygmalion is a comedy about a phonetics expert (Henry Higgins) who, as a kind of social experiment, attempts to make a lady out of an uneducated Cockney flower girl (Eliza Doolittle).  • Pygmalion probes important questions about social class, human behavior, and relations between the sexes.

PYGMALION – CHARACTERS • Henry Higgins - a phonetics expert and a scientist who loves anything that can be studied as a scientific subject.  His enthusiasm for the study masks his human qualities. • Eliza Doolittle - an uneducated, streetwise Cockney flower girl.  Her intelligence allows her to recognize her self-worth and the worth of others. • Alfred Doolittle - Eliza's father, "an elderly but vigorous dustman..." who can borrow money from his most miserly friends.  Doolittle describes himself as "the undeserving poor". • Mrs. Higgins - Henry Higgins's  mother, kind, sympathetic, understands those she encounters well.  She is the gracious lady of the house.

SATIRE • Satire: A writing designed to make readers criticize themselves, society, human foolishness and weakness, human vices and crimes, or anything the writer is dissatisfied about in general.

ELEMENTS OF SATIRE 1. Satires do not offer suggestions, they simply point out what is wrong with society and people. 2. Satires expose errors and conditions society no longer notices because we have grown to accept them or ignore them.

ELEMENTS OF SATIRE SATIRE IS PERSUASIVE WRITING AND USES THE FOLLOWING APPEALS: • Logical Appeals – Supporting a position with evidence, facts or statistics (LOGOS). • Emotional Appeals – Using words that create strong feelings in the reader (PATHOS). • Ethical Appeals – A text that establishes the writer as sincere and qualified to make such remarks (ETHOS).

SATIRICAL TECHNIQUES: 1. EXAGGERATION – To make a person’s vices or beliefs seem ridiculous and unattractive, satirists will exaggerate, often to the point of hyperbole.

SATIRICAL TECHNIQUES: 2. UNDERSTATEMENT – Making shocking Statements seem casual to emphasize how common the practice has become.

SATIRICAL TECHNIQUES: Caricature: Exaggerating for comic and satiric effect one particular feature of the target, to achieve a grotesque or ridiculous effect. Refers more to drawing than it does to writing (e.g., the political cartoon).

SATIRICAL TECHNIQUES: 7.Parody: A style which deliberately seeks to ridicule another style. This may involve, in less talented parody, simply offering up a very silly version of the original. In more skilful parodies, the writer imitates the original very well, pushing it beyond its limits and making it ridiculous.