Pygmalion is another notable play by one of the greatest dramatists of English literature, Bernard Shaw. Pygmalion belongs to the AC Ward series from Orient BlackSwan. They are plays of ideas. Shaw’s plays mark a milestone in the history of British drama as they show a movement away from romanticism to realism. They are marked by a peculiarly pungent and witty satire that invoked both admiration and disdain. They not only provoked readers to think but also helped them notice the humour and irony of situations that were ordinarily taken for granted, and to delve below the surfaces of refinement to examine some of the pleasant and unpleasant truths of human existence.
Pygmalion is about the effort made by a professor of phonetics to educate and refine a cockney girl who has a deplorably cockney accent, and how it all rebounds in an interesting way. However, the end of the play is a return to reality as Eliza needs to return to her ordinary day-to-day life after a tryst with refinement. It provokes readers to think about the irony of the situation.
This series has been now enhanced and enriched with additional student-friendly features such as analyses of themes and characterisation, act-wise summaries and questions and also a select reading list.
General Introduction to the Works of Bernard Shaw: AC Ward Introduction to Pygmalion: AC Ward General Notes: AC Ward Preface to Pygmalion Pygmalion Act I Act II Act III Act IV Act V Notes on the Preface to Pygmalion: AC Ward Notes on Pygmalion: AC Ward
Critical Analysis Themes Characters Style and Technique Summary of the Play Questions Topics for Discussion