2. In this writing, the writer tries to analyze the instrinsic
element of Pygmalion by Bernard Shaw. The purpose of
this analysis is to understand the themes in the drama. The
writer uses the theory of theme with close reading, listening
and viewing methods in analyzing the drama. The writer
finds sevral sensitive themes of Pymalion. As a conclusion,
after analyzing the themes of Pygmalion, we know that
several themes that appeared in Pygmalion represented
the social life in England at that time.
Keywords: drama, Pygmalion , theme
3. 1. Introduction
Drama is a mode of fictional representation
through dialogue and performance. It is one of the literary
genres, which is an imitation of some action. Drama is also
a type of a play written for theaters, televisions, radios and
films. In this paper, we will discuss the main issues that
appear in Pymalion. Pymalion is a famous drama which is
known as one of the best dramas of Bernard Shaw.
2. Purpose of the Study
The purposes on this study are:
1. To understand the themes of the drama.
2. To appreciate a work of literature
4. 3. Scope of the Study
The scope of this study is the analysis of themes in a
drama entitled Pymalion by Bernard Shaw.
4. Biography of William Shakespeare
George Bernard Shaw was born July 26, 1856, in
Dublin, Ireland. In 1876 he moved to London, where he
wrote regularly but struggled financially. In 1895, he
became a theater critic for the Saturday Review and began
writing plays of his own. His play Pygmalion was later
made into a film twice, and the screenplay he wrote for the
first version of it won an Oscar. During his lifetime, he wrote
more than 60 plays and won many other awards, among
them the Nobel Prize.
5. Eliza Doolitle is flower girl who wants to have manner like a
Lady. She came to Alfred Higgins, A phonetics specialist
and Colonel Pickering, author of Sanskrit Spoken so they
can teach Eliza about manner. For six month they teach
Eliza how to act like a lady. In the end of the story Eliza,
who has a lovelorn sweetheart in Freddy, and the
wherewithal to pass as a duchess, never makes it clear
whether she will or not.
6. 6. Discussion
There are several themes of Hamlet play which build the
play :
a. Social and Class
The play Pygmalion offers the readers a view on the theme
of class distinction, and the problem of the barriers
separating classes and people. Shaw reveals to us the
truth about the artificiality of classes and how anybody can
overcome them, He also shows us that society puts up high
standards and that people are distinguished by their way of
speaking, and their appearance alone and of course that's
wrong.
7. DOOLITTLE. What is middle class morality? Just an
excuse for never giving me anything. Therefore, I ask you,
as two gentlemen, not to play that game on me. I'm playing
straight with you. I ain't pretending to be deserving. I'm
undeserving; and I mean to go on being undeserving. I like
it; and that's the truth. Will you take advantage of a man's
nature to do him out of the price of his own daughter what
he's brought up and fed and clothed by the sweat of his
brow until she's growed big enough to be interesting to you
two gentlemen? Is five pounds unreasonable? I put it to
you; and I leave it to you. (2.273)
Doolittle thinks of himself as a different species of poor
person; his comments make it clear that there is more to
society than an upper, middle, and lower class. There are, it
seems, many different classes within each group
8. • MRS. HIGGINS. You certainly are a pretty pair of babies,
playing with your live doll.
HIGGINS. Playing! The hardest job I ever tackled: make
no mistake about that, mother. But you have no idea how
frightfully interesting it is to take a human being and
change her into a quite different human being by creating
a new speech for her. It's filling up the deepest gulf that
separates class from class and soul from soul. (3.223-
224)
• Higgins considers his teaching to be a kind of social
work. The inability to communicate, he suggests, is at the
bottom of man's
9. Back when Shaw wrote Pygmalion, women could not vote
in the United Kingdom; in 1918 women over the age of 30
were given the right, and it took another ten years for all
women to be given a voice. Shaw's depiction of women
and attitudes toward them is impressively and sometimes
confusingly varied. They are shown in conventional roles –
as mothers and housekeepers – and as strong-willed and
independent
10. THE DAUGHTER. Well, haven't you got a cab?
FREDDY. There's not one to be had for love or money.
THE MOTHER. Oh, Freddy, there must be one. You can't
have tried.
THE DAUGHTER. It's too tiresome. Do you expect us to go
and get one ourselves? (1.12-5)
The mother and daughter, Mrs. and Miss Eynsford Hill,
reinforce typical notions of femininity. It is a man's job, not a
woman's, to go out and brave the elements.
11. The mother and daughter, Mrs. and Miss Eynsford Hill,
reinforce typical notions of femininity. It is a man's job, not a
woman's, to go out and brave the elements.
HIGGINS. There! As the girl very properly says, Garn!
Married indeed! Don't you know that a woman of that class
looks a worn out drudge of fifty a year after she's married.
(2.105)
Higgins's views are stereotypical, but his comments do
speak to the difficulties which come with raising a family in
poverty.
12. Pygmalion is a play written by Bernard Shaw in 1918.
In this play told a girl, Eliza Doolithe has desire to have a
manner like a lady so she some to Higgins and Pickering to
teach her in expectation she could be in good class in
social. We can conclud in this play, several themes that
apperead in this play is social critizm which happen in
Englad at tha time. The Different classes lead people to
different manner and way to act in social life. Not only that
but also woman in England at that time have a very little
choice in their life. The play pays special attention to the
problem of women's "place" in society.
13. Meyer, Michael. 1990. 2th ed. The Bedford: Introduction to
Literature. Boston: St. Martin’s Press
Thrall, William Flint, and Addison Hibbard. 1960. A
Handbook To Literature. New York: Odyssey Press.
Shmoop.June 1, 2017. http://www.shmoop.com/pygmalion/
Wikipedia.Mei 31, 2017.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Bernard_Shaw
