Pygmalion Distinctive Voices
Module A – Experience Through Language “Distinctive Voices” Analysis Table – Pygmalion
(NOTES TO USE IN ESSAYS / EXTENDED RESPONSES)
|Technique |Evidence (include Act/page number) |EFFECT in relation to “Distinctive Voices” |
| | |Consider how “voice” and Shaw’s use of language: |
| | |Criticizes/comments on his society (authorial voice) …show more content…
|
| | |Promotes a certain political agenda |
| | |Records/re-creates social and cultural points of view |
| | |Develops life-like creations of characters who communicate the ideas or concerns through their “distinctive voice” |
| | |such as the alienated and/or different because of gender, cultural background, social class, socioeconomic status |
| | |Silence or absence of voice |
|Imagery (of market rubbish / waste)| | |
|using Metaphor and |Act 1 (Mr Higgins to Eliza) |Mr Higgins’ genteel voice is contrasted with Eliza’s cockney accent – his articulate use of imagery through metaphor |
|Rhetorical Question |Yes, you squashed cabbage leaf…you incarnate insult to the human |‘you squashed cabbage leaf’ highlights how his distinctive use of language conveys his social class, education and to |
| |language.
I could pass you off as the Queen of Sheba. Can you |large extent, his arrogance as suggested in the demeaning way he speaks to Eliza. Moreover, the rhetorical question |
| |believe that? |is effective as it suggests that he has the ability to change Eliza from her current state as an ‘incarnate insult to …show more content…
|
| | |the English language’ to royalty.
|
|Register – Cockney dialect | | |
|Exclamation |Act 1 (Eliza to Mrs Eynsford-Hill) |Shaw uses Eliza’s cockney dialect to create her distinctive voice and to set her apart from the other characters in |
| |There’s manners f’yer! Te-oo banches o voylets trod into the mad! |the play (except for her father, Alfred Dolittle). Her lack of education, social class and socioeconomic status are |
| |(There’s manners for you! Two bunches of violets trod into the |implied through her distinctive voice and the way she articulates sounds in speech. Shaw effectively conveys to the |
| |mud!) |audience her distinctive voice by attempting to spell each word as it sounds. This is indicative of the quote “Two
|
| | |banches o voylets trod into the mad!” |
|Formal Register | | |
| |Act 2 (Mr Higgins to Mrs Pearce – his housekeeper) |Shaw effectively conveys to the audience Mr Higgins condescending and patronizing tone when referring to Eliza. The |
|Condescending Tone |All I propose is that we should be kind to this poor girl. We must|term ‘poor girl’ is used by Higgins in Eliza’s presence and conveys to the audience the attitude Mr Higgins has |
| |help her to prepare and fit herself for her new station in life. |towards her. His voice is distinctively condescending and demeaning to both Eliza and his housekeeper, Mrs Pearce. |
| |If I did not express myself clearly it was because I did not wish | |
| |to hurt her delicacy, or yours. | |
|Assertive Statement |Act 1 (Eliza, outside the theatre) |The assertive statement by Eliza in Act One, “I’ve a right to be here if I like, same as you” suggests the authorial |
| |I’ve a right to be here if I like, same as you |voice of Shaw and his views on social class structure in Victorian England. Through Eliza’s assertive, distinctive |
| | |and cockney dialect, he suggests to the audience that she is entitled to enjoy the same freedom as the Eynsford-Hills |
| | |and all the other ‘upper class’ members of society. His authorial voice provides an insight into his displeasure at |
| | |the way lower class citizens are treated by the aristocracy (upper class). |
|Intensity of expression through: |Act 3 (Mr Higgins) |Shaw gives the character of Mr Higgins an intensity of expression through abstract nouns and superlatives in the quote|
|- abstract nouns |But you have no idea how frightfully interesting it is to take a |“But you have no idea how frightfully interesting it is to take a human being and change her into quite a different |
|- intensifiers / superlatives |human being and change her into quite a different human being by |human being by creating a new speech for her. It’s filling up the deepest gulf that’s separates class from class and |
|(describing words that show a |creating a new speech for her. It’s filling up the deepest gulf |soul from soul”. This quote suggests that the distinctive voices in speech are the cause of the ‘deepest gulf’ |
|quality above or below the level of|that separates class from class and soul from soul. |separating the various classes of Victorian England. Moreover, Higgins implies that once Eliza is transformed into |
|the others- strong language) | |“quite a different human being” through the loss of her distinctive cockney voice, that she will overcome social |
| | |barrier of being a lower class flower girl. |
|Image of unreality or disengagement|Act 3 (Eliza) |Eliza communicates her concerns with her new found distinctively genteel voice through the quote “I am in a dream now.|
| |I am in a dream now. Promise me not to let Professor Higgins wake |Promise me not to let Professor Higgins wake me; for if he does I shall forget everything and talk like I used to in |
| |me; for if he does I shall forget everything and talk like I used |Drury Lane.” By Act 3, Eliza’s initial distinctive cockney dialect transforms as a result of her elocution and speech |
| |to in Drury Lane. |lessons with Professor Higgins. Using the character and voice of Eliza, Shaw suggests to his audience the alienation |
| | |felt by the lower class citizens of the time because of their social class and socioeconomic status. |
|Forceful language and Allusion |Act 5 (Mr Higgins to Eliza) |The division between the social classes in Victorian England is reflected in the distinctive voices in numerous |
|(references to imagery of dogs) |You’ve had a thousand times as much out of me as I have out of |conversations between Professor Higgins and Eliza. In a heated exchange with Eliza in Act Five, Mr Higgins uses |
| |you; and if you dare to set up your little dog’s tricks of |forceful language when he alludes to her behaviour as that of a dog when he feels she is unappreciative of the new |
| |fetching and carrying slippers against my creation of a Duchess |distinctive voice that he has given her. In particular, he states “and if you dare to set up your little dog’s tricks |
| |Eliza, I’ll slam the door in your silly face. |of fetching and carrying slippers against my creation of a Duchess Eliza, I’ll slam the door in your silly face.” In |
| | |this quote, Shaw is also suggesting that Mr Higgins has played the role of the mythological Pygmalion in his |
| | |description of Eliza as “my creation of a Duchess Eliza”, transforming her from the cockney flower girl of Act One, to|
| | |the Duchess with the distinctively genteel voice in Act Five. |
FINDING THE DISTINCTIVE VOICES IN PYGMALION BY GEORGE BERNARD SHAW
PREFACE – A Professor of Phonetics
← The Preface allows Shaw to establish his Authorial Voice – as the composer of the text, he presents his observations on the theme of the play, characters, and the play’s purpose. ← In this introduction to the play Shaw explains the shortcomings/problems with the English language that the alphabet is inadequate as it gives no clue to spelling (eg. Use of silent letters, etc) ← Shaw details his interest in phonetics reformers – those who have tried to shape the way we speak ← He particularly refers to the work of Henry Sweet – who the character of Higgins is mildly based on - he states “there are touches of Sweet in the play”. ← He ends the preface with the observation that Eliza’s transformation is only possible with proper phonetics instruction by a phonetics expert. ← Shaw’s distinctive voice in the preface is evident when he states that Pygmalion is “intensely and deliberately didactic” – this means that he thinks the play teaches his audiences something – that language and the way we use it, matters.
ACT ONE
← Professor Higgins is able to make a living from his interest in “Distinctive Voices” by teaching people to change their dialects and the way they speak. ← The voice of the composer (Shaw) is evident in this act in the following ways: o Through the detailed stage directions o Through his comments at the end of Act One o He has a compassionate and understanding voice which describes Eliza’s joy at receiving some money o Shaw seems to be sympathetic in his description of Eliza – sympathetic voice
ACT TWO
← Shaw’s Authorial Voice is evident in Act Two when he states that Eliza feels “like a hospital out-patient at a first encounter with the doctors”. With the thought of having to shed her clothes and be bathed by Mrs Pearce, she is reduced to tears. ← Professor Higgins presents a ‘voice’ of indifference to Eliza’s emotions – he speaks about her as though she isn’t there, highlighting his arrogance. “I want to change you from a frowsy slut to a clean respectable girl with the gentleman in the study” / “I shall make a duchess out of this draggletailed guttersnipe” ← Alfred Dolittle’s distinctive cockney accent is presented to the audience in this Act - he tells Higgins that he “cannot afford” morals and takes money given by Higgins to spend on alcohol with “the missus” ← Colonel Pickering is the ‘voice’ of reason in this act – questioning the motives of Higgins when he asks him if he is “a man of good character” in his dealings with women. He is worried that Eliza may be in moral danger as a social experiment.
ACT THREE
← Freddy Eynsford Hill is captivated by Eliza’s “distinction and beauty”. ← Higgins passes off Eliza’s new speech as “the new small talk” because there are still hints of her cockney dialect. Eliza has learned more from Higgins than he realizes, including his frequent swearing, and as she is leaving, says “Not bloody likely”, creating a sensation. ← Mrs Higgins expresses concern to her son Professor Higgins about what will happen to Eliza after his experiment – Mrs Higgins’ voice is a thoughtful and rational one. ← A supposed ‘expert’ proclaims that Eliza is of Hungarian Royal Blood, pretending to be English, with Higgins telling the truth about her background and being dismissed by others as “incorrigible” – they don’t believe him! ← Eliza’s voice is one of despair by the end of this act - “I don’t think I can bear much more” ← The ‘voice’ of Mrs Eynsford Hills conveys her upper class status
ACT FOUR
← Shaw, in his opening stage directions tells us that Eliza’s expression is ‘almost tragic’ and that she is ‘brooding and silent’ – so the responder is aware that all is not well after her return from supper with Colonel Pickering and Professor Higgins. ← Eliza finds the ‘voice’ to express her overwhelming feelings of injustice and anxiety about her future, and explodes in anger throwing Higgins’s slippers at him. ← Higgins has an insensitive 'voice’ saying (about Eliza) ‘The creature is nervous, after all” ← Freddy declares his love to Eliza ← Eliza finds her ‘reasonable voice’ when she decides to discuss her future with Mrs Higgins in the morning
ACT FIVE
← Mr Higgins goes to his mother’s house looking for Eliza and his ‘voice’ becomes petulant - Childishly sulky or bad-tempered. ← Alfred Dolittle appears, ‘resplendently dressed’ but still with his cockney dialect – distinctive voice. ← Through his arrogant and condescending ‘voice’, Higgins has always treated Eliza as a cockney flower girl, whereas Colonel Pickering always treated her as a lady. Eliza states that it was Pickering who gave her a ‘real education’. She says “I shall always be a flower girl to Professor Higgins, because he always treats me like flower girl; but I know I can be a lady to you, because you treat me like a lady, and always will.” ← Higgins last speech is to inform his mother (with much laughter) that Eliza and Freddy are to be married – he finds this amusing. ← Eliza’s voice becomes more assertive/stronger/self-assured. She finds the strength she always had when she was living on the streets. ← Mr Higgins is surprised at Eliza’s new distinctively strong and sincere ‘voice’ – she is stronger than he first thought. He expresses his admiration describing her as ‘a tower of strength’.
SEQUEL
← The voice of the playwright/composer (Shaw) is very clear in this part of the play. ← He states his views openly, focusing on : o Human dignity o The relationships between men and women o Social class – upper vs lower class ← He makes it clear that Eliza would not want to marry Higgins if he asked as she was “guided by her instinct” ← Shaw’s authorial voice describes Mrs Higgins as a mother who has ‘intelligence, personal grace, dignity of character without harshness” ← Shaw concludes to sequel with the idea that there is not real solution to the relationship between Eliza and Mr Higgins. He does not NEED her, but while she is immensely interested” in him, she does not like him.
REMEMBER HOW ‘DISTINCTIVE VOICES’ IS RELEVANT TO CHARACTERS:
(NOTES TO USE IN ESSAYS / EXTENDED RESPONSES)
|Technique |Evidence (include Act/page number) |EFFECT in relation to “Distinctive Voices” |
| | |Consider how “voice” and Shaw’s use of language: |
| | |Criticizes/comments on his society (authorial voice) …show more content…
|
| | |Promotes a certain political agenda |
| | |Records/re-creates social and cultural points of view |
| | |Develops life-like creations of characters who communicate the ideas or concerns through their “distinctive voice” |
| | |such as the alienated and/or different because of gender, cultural background, social class, socioeconomic status |
| | |Silence or absence of voice |
|Imagery (of market rubbish / waste)| | |
|using Metaphor and |Act 1 (Mr Higgins to Eliza) |Mr Higgins’ genteel voice is contrasted with Eliza’s cockney accent – his articulate use of imagery through metaphor |
|Rhetorical Question |Yes, you squashed cabbage leaf…you incarnate insult to the human |‘you squashed cabbage leaf’ highlights how his distinctive use of language conveys his social class, education and to |
| |language.
I could pass you off as the Queen of Sheba. Can you |large extent, his arrogance as suggested in the demeaning way he speaks to Eliza. Moreover, the rhetorical question |
| |believe that? |is effective as it suggests that he has the ability to change Eliza from her current state as an ‘incarnate insult to …show more content…
|
| | |the English language’ to royalty.
|
|Register – Cockney dialect | | |
|Exclamation |Act 1 (Eliza to Mrs Eynsford-Hill) |Shaw uses Eliza’s cockney dialect to create her distinctive voice and to set her apart from the other characters in |
| |There’s manners f’yer! Te-oo banches o voylets trod into the mad! |the play (except for her father, Alfred Dolittle). Her lack of education, social class and socioeconomic status are |
| |(There’s manners for you! Two bunches of violets trod into the |implied through her distinctive voice and the way she articulates sounds in speech. Shaw effectively conveys to the |
| |mud!) |audience her distinctive voice by attempting to spell each word as it sounds. This is indicative of the quote “Two
|
| | |banches o voylets trod into the mad!” |
|Formal Register | | |
| |Act 2 (Mr Higgins to Mrs Pearce – his housekeeper) |Shaw effectively conveys to the audience Mr Higgins condescending and patronizing tone when referring to Eliza. The |
|Condescending Tone |All I propose is that we should be kind to this poor girl. We must|term ‘poor girl’ is used by Higgins in Eliza’s presence and conveys to the audience the attitude Mr Higgins has |
| |help her to prepare and fit herself for her new station in life. |towards her. His voice is distinctively condescending and demeaning to both Eliza and his housekeeper, Mrs Pearce. |
| |If I did not express myself clearly it was because I did not wish | |
| |to hurt her delicacy, or yours. | |
|Assertive Statement |Act 1 (Eliza, outside the theatre) |The assertive statement by Eliza in Act One, “I’ve a right to be here if I like, same as you” suggests the authorial |
| |I’ve a right to be here if I like, same as you |voice of Shaw and his views on social class structure in Victorian England. Through Eliza’s assertive, distinctive |
| | |and cockney dialect, he suggests to the audience that she is entitled to enjoy the same freedom as the Eynsford-Hills |
| | |and all the other ‘upper class’ members of society. His authorial voice provides an insight into his displeasure at |
| | |the way lower class citizens are treated by the aristocracy (upper class). |
|Intensity of expression through: |Act 3 (Mr Higgins) |Shaw gives the character of Mr Higgins an intensity of expression through abstract nouns and superlatives in the quote|
|- abstract nouns |But you have no idea how frightfully interesting it is to take a |“But you have no idea how frightfully interesting it is to take a human being and change her into quite a different |
|- intensifiers / superlatives |human being and change her into quite a different human being by |human being by creating a new speech for her. It’s filling up the deepest gulf that’s separates class from class and |
|(describing words that show a |creating a new speech for her. It’s filling up the deepest gulf |soul from soul”. This quote suggests that the distinctive voices in speech are the cause of the ‘deepest gulf’ |
|quality above or below the level of|that separates class from class and soul from soul. |separating the various classes of Victorian England. Moreover, Higgins implies that once Eliza is transformed into |
|the others- strong language) | |“quite a different human being” through the loss of her distinctive cockney voice, that she will overcome social |
| | |barrier of being a lower class flower girl. |
|Image of unreality or disengagement|Act 3 (Eliza) |Eliza communicates her concerns with her new found distinctively genteel voice through the quote “I am in a dream now.|
| |I am in a dream now. Promise me not to let Professor Higgins wake |Promise me not to let Professor Higgins wake me; for if he does I shall forget everything and talk like I used to in |
| |me; for if he does I shall forget everything and talk like I used |Drury Lane.” By Act 3, Eliza’s initial distinctive cockney dialect transforms as a result of her elocution and speech |
| |to in Drury Lane. |lessons with Professor Higgins. Using the character and voice of Eliza, Shaw suggests to his audience the alienation |
| | |felt by the lower class citizens of the time because of their social class and socioeconomic status. |
|Forceful language and Allusion |Act 5 (Mr Higgins to Eliza) |The division between the social classes in Victorian England is reflected in the distinctive voices in numerous |
|(references to imagery of dogs) |You’ve had a thousand times as much out of me as I have out of |conversations between Professor Higgins and Eliza. In a heated exchange with Eliza in Act Five, Mr Higgins uses |
| |you; and if you dare to set up your little dog’s tricks of |forceful language when he alludes to her behaviour as that of a dog when he feels she is unappreciative of the new |
| |fetching and carrying slippers against my creation of a Duchess |distinctive voice that he has given her. In particular, he states “and if you dare to set up your little dog’s tricks |
| |Eliza, I’ll slam the door in your silly face. |of fetching and carrying slippers against my creation of a Duchess Eliza, I’ll slam the door in your silly face.” In |
| | |this quote, Shaw is also suggesting that Mr Higgins has played the role of the mythological Pygmalion in his |
| | |description of Eliza as “my creation of a Duchess Eliza”, transforming her from the cockney flower girl of Act One, to|
| | |the Duchess with the distinctively genteel voice in Act Five. |
FINDING THE DISTINCTIVE VOICES IN PYGMALION BY GEORGE BERNARD SHAW
PREFACE – A Professor of Phonetics
← The Preface allows Shaw to establish his Authorial Voice – as the composer of the text, he presents his observations on the theme of the play, characters, and the play’s purpose. ← In this introduction to the play Shaw explains the shortcomings/problems with the English language that the alphabet is inadequate as it gives no clue to spelling (eg. Use of silent letters, etc) ← Shaw details his interest in phonetics reformers – those who have tried to shape the way we speak ← He particularly refers to the work of Henry Sweet – who the character of Higgins is mildly based on - he states “there are touches of Sweet in the play”. ← He ends the preface with the observation that Eliza’s transformation is only possible with proper phonetics instruction by a phonetics expert. ← Shaw’s distinctive voice in the preface is evident when he states that Pygmalion is “intensely and deliberately didactic” – this means that he thinks the play teaches his audiences something – that language and the way we use it, matters.
ACT ONE
← Professor Higgins is able to make a living from his interest in “Distinctive Voices” by teaching people to change their dialects and the way they speak. ← The voice of the composer (Shaw) is evident in this act in the following ways: o Through the detailed stage directions o Through his comments at the end of Act One o He has a compassionate and understanding voice which describes Eliza’s joy at receiving some money o Shaw seems to be sympathetic in his description of Eliza – sympathetic voice
ACT TWO
← Shaw’s Authorial Voice is evident in Act Two when he states that Eliza feels “like a hospital out-patient at a first encounter with the doctors”. With the thought of having to shed her clothes and be bathed by Mrs Pearce, she is reduced to tears. ← Professor Higgins presents a ‘voice’ of indifference to Eliza’s emotions – he speaks about her as though she isn’t there, highlighting his arrogance. “I want to change you from a frowsy slut to a clean respectable girl with the gentleman in the study” / “I shall make a duchess out of this draggletailed guttersnipe” ← Alfred Dolittle’s distinctive cockney accent is presented to the audience in this Act - he tells Higgins that he “cannot afford” morals and takes money given by Higgins to spend on alcohol with “the missus” ← Colonel Pickering is the ‘voice’ of reason in this act – questioning the motives of Higgins when he asks him if he is “a man of good character” in his dealings with women. He is worried that Eliza may be in moral danger as a social experiment.
ACT THREE
← Freddy Eynsford Hill is captivated by Eliza’s “distinction and beauty”. ← Higgins passes off Eliza’s new speech as “the new small talk” because there are still hints of her cockney dialect. Eliza has learned more from Higgins than he realizes, including his frequent swearing, and as she is leaving, says “Not bloody likely”, creating a sensation. ← Mrs Higgins expresses concern to her son Professor Higgins about what will happen to Eliza after his experiment – Mrs Higgins’ voice is a thoughtful and rational one. ← A supposed ‘expert’ proclaims that Eliza is of Hungarian Royal Blood, pretending to be English, with Higgins telling the truth about her background and being dismissed by others as “incorrigible” – they don’t believe him! ← Eliza’s voice is one of despair by the end of this act - “I don’t think I can bear much more” ← The ‘voice’ of Mrs Eynsford Hills conveys her upper class status
ACT FOUR
← Shaw, in his opening stage directions tells us that Eliza’s expression is ‘almost tragic’ and that she is ‘brooding and silent’ – so the responder is aware that all is not well after her return from supper with Colonel Pickering and Professor Higgins. ← Eliza finds the ‘voice’ to express her overwhelming feelings of injustice and anxiety about her future, and explodes in anger throwing Higgins’s slippers at him. ← Higgins has an insensitive 'voice’ saying (about Eliza) ‘The creature is nervous, after all” ← Freddy declares his love to Eliza ← Eliza finds her ‘reasonable voice’ when she decides to discuss her future with Mrs Higgins in the morning
ACT FIVE
← Mr Higgins goes to his mother’s house looking for Eliza and his ‘voice’ becomes petulant - Childishly sulky or bad-tempered. ← Alfred Dolittle appears, ‘resplendently dressed’ but still with his cockney dialect – distinctive voice. ← Through his arrogant and condescending ‘voice’, Higgins has always treated Eliza as a cockney flower girl, whereas Colonel Pickering always treated her as a lady. Eliza states that it was Pickering who gave her a ‘real education’. She says “I shall always be a flower girl to Professor Higgins, because he always treats me like flower girl; but I know I can be a lady to you, because you treat me like a lady, and always will.” ← Higgins last speech is to inform his mother (with much laughter) that Eliza and Freddy are to be married – he finds this amusing. ← Eliza’s voice becomes more assertive/stronger/self-assured. She finds the strength she always had when she was living on the streets. ← Mr Higgins is surprised at Eliza’s new distinctively strong and sincere ‘voice’ – she is stronger than he first thought. He expresses his admiration describing her as ‘a tower of strength’.
SEQUEL
← The voice of the playwright/composer (Shaw) is very clear in this part of the play. ← He states his views openly, focusing on : o Human dignity o The relationships between men and women o Social class – upper vs lower class ← He makes it clear that Eliza would not want to marry Higgins if he asked as she was “guided by her instinct” ← Shaw’s authorial voice describes Mrs Higgins as a mother who has ‘intelligence, personal grace, dignity of character without harshness” ← Shaw concludes to sequel with the idea that there is not real solution to the relationship between Eliza and Mr Higgins. He does not NEED her, but while she is immensely interested” in him, she does not like him.
REMEMBER HOW ‘DISTINCTIVE VOICES’ IS RELEVANT TO CHARACTERS: