pygmalion essay questions

by George Bernard Shaw

Pygmalion essay questions.

How does the play deal with the issue of social class? Does Shaw ultimately uphold it or not--is there enough evidence in the play to demonstrate Shaw's point of view? Consider Pickering, for example, who is very much a product of the British hierarchy, and who is one of the most sympathetic characters.

Does the play suggest that true love is possible and good? On the basis of evidence in the text, what are the feelings that Liza has for Higgins and Freddy, and why does Liza marry Freddy?

Does language itself have transformative power, or does its power come entirely through the people who use it? In what sense is Eliza a new person after she learns to speak differently?

The subtitle of the play is "A Romance in Five Acts." Discuss the ways that the play is a romance--or might it more properly be called a tragedy or a comedy?

Is Freddy the perfect match for Eliza? If the story is a romance, is Freddy or Higgins a romantic hero?

How does the knowledge that Shaw was a socialist color one's reading of this play? Consider, for instance, Doolittle's speech on the undeserving poor. Does Shaw sympathize with this "class" of people, or should we view his presentation of each character uniquely?

How does the movement from the public space of Covent Garden to the private spaces of Wimpole Street and Mrs. Higgins's home affect the behavior of the characters? What is the safest space for Eliza?

How does the audience appreciate dramatic irony in the play? For instance, What does it mean when Clara swears using the term "bloody"?

Shaw gives one of the reasons that a marriage between Eliza and Higgins would never work out as that Eliza would have been unable to come between Higgins and his mother, suggesting that such a dynamic is necessary in marriage. Given the events of the last act, does this reason seem accurate?

How does the quotation from Nietzsche that Shaw quotes at the end of the play, "when you go to women, take your whip with you," relate to Eliza's relationship with Higgins? With Pickering? With Freddy?

Pygmalion Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for Pygmalion is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

What tensions already show in the relations between the Mother (later named as Mrs. Eynsford Hill), the Daughter (later named as Clara), and the son, Freddy?

It is raining in Covent Garden at 11:15 p.m. Clara complains that Freddy has not found a cab yet. Freddy returns to his mother and sister and explains that there are no cabs to be found. They chide him, and as he runs off to try again to find a...

What does Higgins mean when he says, “teaching would be impossible unless pupils were sacred”?

Higgins is answering Pickering's charge that he cannot be involved in an experiment where the girl (Eliza) is not treated with the utmost respect. Higgins replies that his pupils are sacred, which means regarded with reverence and respect.

explain the myth of pygmalion in what significant ways and with what effect.has shaw transformed that myth into his plav?

This story is about a sculptor who sculpts the most beautiful woman in stone ever and then falls in love with her. The sculptor's name is Pygmalion; the goddess in the myth transforms the stone into a real woman and they live happily ever...

Study Guide for Pygmalion

Pygmalion study guide contains a biography of George Bernard Shaw, literature essays, a complete e-text, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About Pygmalion
• Pygmalion Summary
• Character List

Essays for Pygmalion

Pygmalion essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw.

• An Atypical Romance in Five Acts
• Nurture or Nature: The Gentleman Versus the Guttersnipe
• Pygmalion and Pretty Woman
• The Extent Contextual Attitudes and Values Regarding Gender and Class are Maintained or Altered in Pygmalion and Pretty Women
• The didactic purpose of Shaw's 'Pygmalion'

Lesson Plan for Pygmalion

• About the Author
• Study Objectives
• Common Core Standards
• Introduction to Pygmalion
• Relationship to Other Books
• Bringing in Technology
• Notes to the Teacher
• Related Links
• Pygmalion Bibliography

E-Text of Pygmalion

The Pygmalion e-text contains the full text of Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw.

• Preface to Pygmalion

Wikipedia Entries for Pygmalion

• Introduction
• Inspiration
• First productions
• Critical reception

George Bernard Shaw

• Literature Notes
• Essay Questions
• Play Summary
• About Pygmalion
• Character List
• Summary and Analysis
• Character Analysis
• Professor Henry Higgins
• Eliza Doolittle
• Alfred Doolittle
• George Bernard Shaw Biography
• Cite this Literature Note

Study Help Essay Questions

1. What is the dramatic importance of phonetics in all of the acts?

2. How is phonetics related to manners in all of the acts?

3. What is the dramatic function of the Eynsford-Hill family in the first act?

4. How might Alfred Doolittle be considered extraneous to the play? How would the play be different if his part were left out of a production?

5. How does Doolittle's change in social position reflect on Eliza's transformation?

6. How are Mrs. Pearce and Mrs. Higgins more alike than is Eliza to each of these ladies? How is she similar to each of them?

7. Discuss the relationship between Higgins and his mother.

8. Explain the numerous intentional violations of manners on Higgins' part. At the end of the play, how can we tolerate the fact that Higgins calls Eliza a "damned impudent slut"?

9. Who should be given the most credit for Eliza's transformation from a flower girl into a duchess? Could either Eliza or Higgins have accomplished this feat without the other?

10. Why do you think that Higgins and Eliza should never marry? Or do you think that they should marry? Explain.

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Discussion Questions

Discuss the similarities between Higgins and Pygmalion. Examine how Eliza and Pygmalion’s statue are alike and how they are different. How might Shaw be commenting upon the Pygmalion story? How are the lessons in the two stories similar or different?

How does Eliza Doolittle change over the course of the play? Which changes are the most meaningful? What do the constants in her character suggest about her character and Shaw’s themes?

How does Shaw reveal the hypocrisy and inconsistency of Victorian high society throughout the play? How does the transformation of Eliza reflect these flaws? Does Shaw present the possibility of social transformation as a positive or negative idea?

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Home — Essay Samples — Literature — Plays — Pygmalion

Essays on Pygmalion

Prompt examples for "pygmalion" essays, class and social mobility.

Discuss the theme of class and social mobility in "Pygmalion." How does Eliza's transformation challenge the boundaries of class, and what commentary does the play offer on social hierarchies?

Character Transformation

Analyze the transformation of characters in the play, particularly Eliza Doolittle and Professor Henry Higgins. How do they evolve throughout the story, and what motivates their changes?

Language and Identity

Examine the significance of language and identity in "Pygmalion." How does Eliza's mastery of language impact her sense of self, and how does it influence her relationships and perceptions of others?

Gentility and Manners

Discuss the portrayal of gentility and manners in the play. How do notions of proper behavior and etiquette play a role in the characters' interactions and societal expectations?

Gender Roles and Feminism

Explore the themes of gender roles and feminism in "Pygmalion." How does Eliza's transformation challenge traditional gender norms, and what feminist perspectives can be applied to the play?

Pygmalion and Mythology

Analyze the connection between the play's title and the Pygmalion myth from Greek mythology. What parallels can be drawn between the characters and themes in the play and the myth of Pygmalion and Galatea?

Pygmalion Eliza’s Character Analysis

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The Portrayal of Victorian Society and Its Values in Pygmalion

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Bernard Shaw’s Use of Eliza to Elevate The Lower Social Class and Women in Pygmalion

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Marxism and Colonialism Theories in 'Pygmalion' & 'The Lion and The Jewel'

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16 October 1913, by George Bernard Shaw

Romantic comedy

Henry Higgins, a phonetician, accepts a bet that simply by changing the speech of a Cockney flower seller he will be able, in six months, to pass her off as a duchess. Eliza undergoes grueling training. When she successfully “passes” in high society—having in the process become a lovely young woman of sensitivity and taste—Higgins dismisses her abruptly as a successfully completed experiment. Eliza, who now belongs neither to the upper class, whose mannerisms and speech she has learned, nor to the lower class, from which she came, rejects his dehumanizing attitude.

The main theme of "Pygmalion" is that social class is not something to be valued. Those of a higher social class may not be good people, and those of lower social class can have many virtues of their own.

Professor Henry Higgins, Colonel Pickering, Eliza Doolittle, Alfred Doolittle, Mrs. Pearce, Mrs. Higgins, Mrs. Eynsford-Hill, Clara Eynsford-Hill, Freddy Eynsford-Hill

Pygmalion was the most broadly appealing of all Shaw's plays. The play was well received by critics in major cities following its premieres in Vienna, London, and New York. The play became famous as a motion picture in 1938 and later as the stage musical My Fair Lady (1956), with a musical score by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe. A 1964 film version of the musical featured Rex Harrison and Audrey Hepburn.

“What you are to do without me I cannot imagine.” “If you can’t appreciate what you’ve got, you’d better get what you can appreciate.” “Happy is the man who can make a living by his hobby” “What is life but a series of inspired follies? The difficulty is to find them to do. Never lose a chance: it doesn’t come every day.”

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George Bernard Shaw

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• Positive Psychology

What Is Pygmalion Leadership, and Why Does It Matter?

Pygmalion leader's encouragement is partly responsible for successful teams..

Posted April 13, 2024 | Reviewed by Ray Parker

• What Is Positive Psychology?
• Find a therapist near me
• Holding positive expectations of another can subtly lead them to success.
• The Pygmalion effect has been well demonstrated to produce positive performance in many settings.
• Pygmalion leadership is an effective tool for promoting team performance.

Simply holding positive expectations about someone’s performance and truly believing in their capabilities can subtly but powerfully affect their behavior—leading to positive outcomes. This is what is known as the "self-fulfilling prophecy," or the "Pygmalion effect," named after George Bernard Shaw's play in which Professor Henry Higgins transforms a common flower seller, Eliza Doolittle, into a lady simply because he was convinced that it would happen (more popularized by the musical, My Fair Lady ).

The power of the Pygmalion effect, first captured by psychologist Robert Rosenthal in his study of elementary school children, has been well documented as a simple and effective way to boost performance in the classroom, in the workplace, in the military, and elsewhere.

In his famous study of elementary school students, Rosenthal led teachers to believe that certain pupils in their classrooms had been identified as "intellectual bloomers," children who would show an intellectual growth spurt during the school year. In actuality, the students were randomly given the designation of intellectual bloomers, but at the end of the term, these students did indeed show higher academic achievement. Why? Because the teachers believed in them. How? Later studies showed that teachers unconsciously gave more positive feedback and learning opportunities to these students. In short, teachers were able to verbally and nonverbally communicate their positive expectations for academic success to these students.

Application of the Pygmalion Effect to Leadership

Subsequent research on the expectancy effect suggests that it works on adults as well. In relationships, we can actually make our partner better by holding positive expectations about them (“You can do it”) and truly believing in their ability to achieve the outcome. How about work groups?

Tel Aviv University Professor Dov Eden has demonstrated the Pygmalion effect in all sorts of work groups across all sectors and industries. If supervisors or managers hold positive expectations about the performance of those they lead, for instance, believing that they can solve a challenging problem, performance improves. On the other hand, if the leader holds negative expectations—expectations that the group will fail—performance declines (the dreaded Golem effect).

A meta-analysis of various leadership development programs found that most leadership improvement programs do have positive effects, but some of the strongest effects were achieved with Pygmalion leadership training. As Professor Eden says, “It sounds so simple; it seems too good to be true.” In fact the Pygmalion effect may be part of other leadership theories;, in particular, transformational leadership theory. Transformational leaders empower their followers and give them responsibility. To do this effectively, they know their followers’ capabilities and believe that those team members can indeed get the job done. This leader's encouragement via the Pygmalion effect is partly responsible for successful team outcomes.

The Lesson for Leaders

The bottom line: Leaders, believe in your team. Hold positive and high expectations that they will solve that difficult problem or meet that seemingly insurmountable challenge, and, more often than not, they will meet or exceed your expectations.

Rosenthal, R., & Jacobson, L. (1968). Pygmalion in the classroom. The urban review , 3 (1), 16-20.

Eden, D., Geller, D., Gewirtz, A., Gordon-Terner, R., Inbar, I., Liberman, M., ... & Shalit, M. (2000). Implanting Pygmalion leadership style through workshop training: Seven field experiments. The Leadership Quarterly , 11 (2), 171-210.

Bass, B. M., & Riggio, R. E. (2006). Transformational leadership . Psychology press.

Ronald E. Riggio, Ph.D. , is the Henry R. Kravis Professor of Leadership and Organizational Psychology at Claremont McKenna College.

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