characterization in
G. B Shaw's play pygmalion
Answers
Answer:
Pygmalion is a play by George Bernard Shaw, named after a Greek mythological figure. It was first presented on stage to the public in 1913.
Pygmalion
Cover-play1913.jpg
Illustration depicting Mrs. Patrick Campbell as Eliza Doolittle
Written by
George Bernard Shaw
Characters
Professor Henry Higgins
Colonel Pickering
Eliza Doolittle
Alfred Doolittle
Mrs. Pearce
Mrs. Higgins
Mrs. Eynsford-Hill
Clara Eynsford-Hill
Freddy Eynsford-Hill
Date premiered
16 October 1913
Place premiered
Hofburg Theatre in Vienna, Austria
Genre
romantic comedy, social criticism
Setting
London, England
In ancient Greek mythology, Pygmalion fell in love with one of his sculptures, which then came to life. The general idea of that myth was a popular subject for Victorian era British playwrights, including one of Shaw's influences, W. S. Gilbert, who wrote a successful play based on the story called Pygmalion and Galatea that was first presented in 1871. Shaw would also have been familiar with the burlesque version, Galatea, or Pygmalion Reversed. Shaw's play has been adapted numerous times, most notably as the 1938 film Pygmalion, the 1956 musical My Fair Lady and its 1964 film version.
Shaw mentioned that the character of Professor Henry Higgins was inspired by several British professors of phonetics: Alexander Melville Bell, Alexander J. Ellis, Tito Pagliardini, but above all, the cantankerous Henry Sweet.
