Did you know that G.B. Shaw ....?
* was a vegetarian from the age of 25
* never drank spirits, tea or coffee and was a non-smoker
* enjoyed boxing, swimming, dancing and walking
* campaigned for simplified spelling and a new 44-letter alphabet
* chose the cast for his plays
* received the Nobel Prize for Literature - though he refused a knighthood, a peerage and the Order of Merit
* died at the age of 94 after fracturing a thigh in a fall whilst pruning a tree
(Source: Private Lives)
Ovid's Metamorphoses / Pygmalion
STUDY QUESTIONS - PYGMALION :
1. Formulate the theme(s) of the play.Briefly summarize the story of the play.
2. Characterize the main characters (focus on their social background).
3. Comment on Eliza’s transformation. Discuss the final scene of the play when Eliza throws Higgins’ slippers at him.
4. What role does the Sequel to the play have? What is its function? Would you prefer an open or a closed ending?
5. What characteristics of the Victorian society does the play reveal? Comment on the portrayal of different social classes.
6. Do you find any feministic features in the text?
7. What is the tone of the play and what is its genre?
8. Interpret the title of the play (allusion). What similarities and what differences can you detect between the play and the original myth?
9. Why did Shaw entitle his play after this myth? What is the subtitle of the play? Comment on its function.
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Ideas for presentation activities:
Since the play focuses on the transformation ('creation') of the main protagonist, a part of your presentation may be centered on the creation process itself. Cut pictures of different parts of human body from various newspapers and magazines and bring them to the classroom. Here, ask your classmates to choose the parts they like best to create a poster of an ideal man or woman. Through this activity, you may discuss not only Eliza's transformation by Mr. Higgins and its consequences but also the parallels and differences between the play and the original Pygmalion story.
Pictures that might be used to summarize the story:
