A rousing sucess on the London and New York stages, a popular film and a great musical hit (My Fair Lady), this brilliantly written play, with its irresistible theme of the emerging butterfly, is one of the most acclaimed comedies in the English language.
Customer Reviews
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Rated by buyers - Higgins: "Oh, I can't be bothered with young women....Besides, theyre all idiots."
Oh my! I love it! G.B. Shaw's character Henry Higgins is disdainful, petulant and impetuous. Simultaneously he's admirable and even a man to be envied! Disdainful because of his complete lack of proper manners, total lack of tact and disgraceful way in which he devalues a young woman for his professional experiments; enviable because in his lack of tact he pretty much says whatever's on his mind, not being burdened with what might be better left unsaid; what is socially acceptable. And honestly, I'm sure we've all had those days where we'd just like to "pull a Higgins" and tell the world what we really think! The difference is he does it, but most of us don't.
I know this wasn't written as a comedy, but this play really has some very funny scenes. I could go through and point out numerous exchanges in dialogue between Eliza and Higgins that are just a riot; Higgins and his overly honest opinions and Eliza as she calls him to task towards the end of the play for the manner in which she has been treated. Indeed, I'm sure analytical essays and social discourses could be written, and probably have been, on the relationships in this play.
This play really should be read with some level of cerebral engagement by the reader; the reader is well served to read it with sincerity and thought, to make an effort to be engaged and to pick-up the subtleties and moral points presented by Shaw. Though we're nearly 100 years removed from when this play was very first released, Shaw presents some social commentary and moral points that are still very relevant and spot-on today. Unfortunately, I think some readers yesterday will completely miss the points Shaw seeks to bring to fore.
Finally, the play on language and classes is perfect for the English setting. A question as to whether those themes might play well outside of England is answered by the global sucess and longevity of the play. Class systems and divisions of socioeconomic status, whether based on language, race, religion, etc, are global and universal. An audience most anywhere will understand the underlying themes that Shaw presents in Pygmalion even though the use of language and accents may be uniquely English. This play continues to be a favorite of audiences even after a century (it plays in my town subsequent week at the local summer outdoor theater).
Rated by buyers - A Quick Classic
This was a quick classic read. Although Higgins and Eliza are stubborn and often unsavory, the book had its redeeming qualities. I loved the calm patience of Mrs. Higgins and the complementary Pickering. It's a good story that's been re-told through the years because of its timeless theme of redemption, forgiveness, and even a spot of romance (sexual tension, anyone?). My favorite line was from the afterward: "[Eliza] has even secret mischievous moments in which she whishes she could get [Henry] alone, on a desert island, away from all ties and nobody else in the world to consider, and drag him off his pedestal and see him making love like any common man."
Rated by buyers - radio performance
This is not the complete play--which is important to note if you were thinking of using it in the classroom. If you just want to listen to a pretty good (albeit incomplete misrepresantation) version of Shaw's play, it's good for a drive in the country.
Rated by buyers - Just Okay
The play was relatively entertaining and has a promising beginning, but Higgins' infuriating and incesant bullying doesn't change, and quickly becomes tiresome. You keep expecting the characters to evolve, to grow into something better, or at least different, and none of them really do. Doolittle is still lazy, Pickering always the gentlemen, and most frustratingly, Eliza and Henry are never truly able to understand one another. In the beginning I was an immediate fan, but as the story continued I grew more and more dissatisfied, and by the end I felt that it was a complete waste of time.
Rated by buyers - Pygmalion
The book for great, daughter needed it for school.
Shipping needs work I paid for subsequent day air DIDN'T get
it for 3 business days. Not Happy with that.
- radio performance
- Just Okay