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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 3 pages research paper/essay that compares these two plays. While the obvious connection between Euripides’ “Medea” and George Bernard Shaw’s “Pygmalion” is that both plays draw on Greek myth for their basic subject matter, these works are also similar in that each playwright exploits the traditions and conventions of their era’s formal dramatic conventions, while introducing the innovative elements for which each one is justly famous. Bibliography lists 3 sources.
Page Count:
3 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_khshaeur.rtf
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these works are also similar in that each playwright exploits the traditions and conventions of their eras formal dramatic conventions, while introducing the innovative elements for which each one is
justly famous. George Bernard Shaw is considered to be one of the greatest English dramatists of the modern era, and his "contribution to British theater is considered second only
to that of William Shakespeare" (Sisler, 2004). In plays, such as his popular "Pygmalion," Shaw rejected "outmoded theatrical conventions" as he incorporated "realism and social commentary" into his plays, exploring
issues such as "sexism, sexual equality, socioeconomic divisions, the effects of poverty and philosophical and religious theories" (Sisler, 2004). Shaw is credited with introducing the "theater of ideas" to twentieth
century contemporary Western society (Sisler, 2004). His plays combine moral situations confronting the contemporary society of his era, combined with an ironic wit, a genius for language and multiple paradoxes
(Gascoigne, 2003). Discussion and "intellectual acrobatics" are the primary basis for his drama (Gascoigne, 2003). The original Greek myth of Pygmalion tells of how a sculptor fell in love
with his own creation, Galatea, who was subsequently brought to life by Aphrodite (the goddess of love) in answer to Pygmalions prayer. In Shaws play, a British linguist and elocution
expert, Henry Higgins, makes a wager with a friend that he can masquerade a lower-class girl, Eliza, as a member of the upper class simply by teaching her to speak
differently. Higgins "creates" a new woman from the "clay" of lower class society. As this suggests, the play incorporates biting social commentary, as Shaw demonstrates that class distinctions are
a purely social construct. Shaws characterization of Eliza defies all of the romantic conventions of Shaws era concerning romantic heroines. She is sassy and belligerent as a sidewalk flower-vendor, as
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