Pygmalion and Major Barbara

By George Bernard Shaw

Book Overview

George Bernard Shaw was the greatest British dramatist after Shakespeare, a satirist equal to Jonathan Swift, and a playwright whose most profound gift was his ability to make audiences think by provoking them to laughter. In one of his best-loved plays, Pygmalion, which later became the basis for the musical My Fair Lady, Shaw compels the audience to see the utter absurdity and hypocrisy of class distinction when Professor Henry Higgins wagers that he can transform a common flower girl into a lady--and then pass her off as a duchess--simply by changing her speech and manners. In Major Barbara Shaw spins out the drama of an eccentric millionaire, a romantic poet, and a misguided savior of souls, Major Barbara herself, in a topsy-turvy masterpiece of sophisticated banter and urbane humor. His brilliant dialogue, combined with his use of paradox and socialist theory, never fails to tickle, entertain--and challenge.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 055321408X
• ISBN13: 9780553214086
• Release Date: July 1992
• Publisher: Bantam Classics
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 0.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 4.2" x 6.9"

Customer Reviews

Praise for Shaw's Voice

Shaw masters satire in Pymalion his play with a double edged sword. A superficial examination of the play reveals it to be a self-rightoues lesson in grammar. But a deeper inspection shows it tobe a toungue in cheek comedy (albeit a critical one) that reveals much about the British society of the time (particularly linguistically speaking). Henry Higgin's unabashed condescending attitude provide many laughs while Eliza's emotion filled responses are also humorous and no less insightful. The prolougue although irritating to most, gives the play a unique voice and the epilogue although considered by many to be a literary fallacy says true to Shaw's style. I have only one complaint about this book that I can rant on about to no end, that fact that he say's English is the language of the Bible. Is English the lanuguage of Crime and Punishment or Metamorphosis because it was translated in English? Please, don't insult us. But aside from that it is a Brilliant play!

The Pygmalion was wonderful, but Major Barbara...?

This was, all in all, a charming little book. I loved the Pygmalion and the manipulative male lead, Professor Higgins. Major Barbara, on the other hand, was as boring as could be. The preface? Don't even bother reading. It was absolute boredom, and completely unaffective on the reading of Major Barbara. The Pygmalion, while I did not particularly enjoy the epilogue (I'm a romantic), was very clever and yes, probably the real aspect of how things turn out. So, all being said, read the book! It is a delightful little sample of Shaw's work.