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Power in Shakespeare plays
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Shaw examines the possibility of taking one's life into his own hands and transforming a poor and miserable human being into something beautiful and valuable, simply achieved by short-termed process of modifying one's language. This puts an emphasis on the importance of language for society and its perpetual effect on our lives.The language plays a major role in Pygmalion and the social differences occur at various different levels such as one's appearance, the way one talks and behaves. These are all pre-determinants of social perception and classification. The beginning of the story takes place on the rainy Covent Garden where Freddy's mother and his sister scold him to get a cab. This situation serves as an initial comparison of the differences …show more content…
This advantage gives a clearer picture of degradation of English language and tells us little bit more about the characters. The way she speaks creates prejudices about her background and the fact she comes from intellectually poor circles. The ability of Shaw's social class interpretation through language creates very powerful images and makes the reader or viewer at the end realizes the upper-class superficiality that reflects the social ills of nineteenth century England, and shows that all people are worthy of respect and dignity. Throughout most of civilization, people have been separated into different social classes. In a lot of especially industrialist cultures there is an upper class rich who are powerful and in control, then there is a middle class who live less comfortably than the upper class and certainly are less powerful but respected. Shaw implies that the lack of proper English which stands also as a sign of a need for a basic education. Henry Higgins, the main character, criticizes the English language in the song "Why Can't the English?" My Fair Lady (1959). As a part of Lerner's and Loewe's adaptation of Pygmalion and translating it into a musical play, several songs were written in order to entertain but also emphasize each one of the issues they represent. "Why Can't the English?" directly …show more content…
Nobel Prize Winner George Bernard Shaw once said: "The greatest problem in communication is the illusion that it has been accomplished." This is the problem which he tried to enlighten in his play Pygmalion mainly due to the language interference in nineteenth century England. However we can notice that this problem not only a problem of the time the play takes place in but it is everlasting issue that society of every capitalist country is dealing with. The money, power, social class and the language determine who you are. Mr.Higgins changed Eliza's language and manners completely but he did not change her values of pride and dignity. They just were reinforced by the two superficial criteria that change the way the world looked at her since then. George Bernard Shaw astonishingly demonstrated the power of language and the role it plays in our everyday lives. As Shaw proved, the language is a very important part of every capitalistic society, whether it should be or not, is another
Language is our power and expression is our freedom. Through a puff of air, we are able to communicate and influence the environments that surround us. Over the course of time humans have evolved, but by the means of language, humans have matured into humanity. The possibility of thought and emotions such as empathy show the ability to think with complexity. A crucial element that helps Suzanne K. Langer’s illustrate the essence of humanity throughout her essay “Language and Thought.” Langer thoroughly depicts what sets humans apart from the rest of the animal kingdom by explicitly stating “The line between man and beast […] is the language line” (120). Consequently, this implies that if a person is declined the freedom of language they are hardly considered human. Many people around the globe have had their voices silenced due to corrupt governments and the oppression of their culture. These individuals are subjected to the devastating effects of the loss of language, which in turn, translates to the loss of power. Language is our foundation for hopes and opportunity, for with out it a person is shell of possibility that is subjected to a passive existence.
In the essay Public and Private language, Richard Rodriguez conveys how the English language changed his life and his relationships with others especially his family.
Social pressures change as time passes, therefore it is interesting to see how these three texts whom differ by almost four hundred years perceive society and the effect this has on the protagonists; Shakespeare’s King Lear which was first performed in 1606 during the Jacobean era, presents a patriarchal society. Whilst, Arthur Miller uses the characters in ‘Death of a salesman’ to show the failure of the ‘American dream’ during the “golden era” of America in the late 40’s. The ‘American Dream’ was a set of ideals which suggested that anyone in the US could be successful through hard work, and had the potential to live a happy life. The sense of the deterioration in the equality of opportunities links to the fall in power and hierarchy in King Lear. Arudanthi Roy, however, uses her contemporary Indian novel to illustrate, using a proleptic and coalesce structure, the lives of the protagonists living in a post – colonial society. In each of these three texts there are characters who fit the stereotypes that society has instilled in them, but then there are those characters who noticeably differ from the norm; According to 19th century novelist Alfred de Musset “how glorious it is – and how painful – to be an exception.” Hence this statement can be seen as applicable to these characters, because in all three texts these characters do end up losing a lot.
Language has the power to influence and reshape our thoughts and actions. In Anthem, by Ayn Rand, there is a society which controls the language of everyone in it. Under the World Council, everyone is to follow the many rules put in place and no one even tries to break them. There is no “I” in their language, there is only “we”. With the power to influence and reshape people, language has a big impact on our thoughts and actions.
Through the years, countless film directors have adapted and recreated various novels and plays to make them ideal for the big-screen. In many cases, directors strive to keep their screenplay adaptations true to the original literature; however, viewers often find contrasts in certain areas of the film. George Bernard Shaw, author of the play Pygmalion, who had passed away prior to the production of My Fair Lady in 1964, therefore, he could not assist in the transition from play to musical. For this reason, director George Cukor has attempted to retain some similarities and also incorporate a few changes of his own. Although readers can discover numerous similarities between My Fair Lady and Pygmalion in certain aspects such as character interaction and the portrayal of social status, one can also detect several contradictions in the two plots, especially during the conclusion.
Certain classes in society demand certain expectations of the people to which they belong. In the lower class there is minimal pressure or convention compared to the wealthy and the nobles but maximum and criticism from the rest of society. The upper has a certain template that must be filled in order to fit in with that class. The middle class is a fusion of the two opposing classes, resulting in the “middle class morality”(75). Constructed by meshing the negative aspects of the poor and negative of the rich, leaving a character hanging somewhere in purgatory. In Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw, Alfred Doolittle is constrained to conform to the three classes: upper class, lower class and middle class. Mr. Doolittle adapts to the conventions that socitety has placed upon him, giving him the “middle class morality”(75) that is so disliked. Given the circumstances Mr. Doolittle is forced to go through with the trials of alternating classes throughout Pygmalion. In Pygmalion Shaw develops the idea that out of the three different classes middle class is the worst, because the rich can do whatever they want and because “the undeserving poor”(75) have nothing to live up to, no standards of life, morals.
Many times throughout history and especially in society today individuals are morphing their voice to fit into what the world desires of expects of them. In other words, the path is reversed where the assumed and stereotypical identity of society is used for individuals to fit themselves and their language into this mold. An example of this societal issue is also displayed in Louis Harm’s article. In it, he discusses the lack of traditional African language in regards to upper societal recognition due to social elites who have made other languages such as English and French more prominent and influential in hopes of morphing citizens around them to alter their voice. In contrast to the accumulative stained glass masterpiece of individual identities discussed earlier, the African situation causes the individual pieces to morph into completely different forms that can no longer come together. All the pieces attempt to demonstrate the same image alone, but in doing this the truly diverse meaning and identity is
Pride and Prejudice was first published in 1813 and it depicts key themes in society and the impact these themes had on life for the characters in the novel. One of these themes is social class, which was a chief contributor to the characters problems in the story. Social class is an underlying issue in the lives of the characters and greatly affects the decisions they make during the novel. Every character is aware of the importance of social standing and it becomes a key factor in the development of each individual in Pride and Prejudice. Mrs. Bennet is the mother of five daughters and she is desperate to have them married. Elizabeth wants to marry for love and not social gain. Charlotte is the example of what a woman was expected to be in society and does not agree with Elizabeth and she is content to secure a future. While Lydia runs the risk of disgracing her family by running a riot around town. This is a clear example of social class and the different perspective characters express on the topic.
This novel was written in the Victorian Era, a time when society faces many social difficulties such as industrialization, prostitu...
at the local pub. He is not too proud to beg for money, even from
In addition to being a political activist, a literary and musical critic, and a novelist, George Bernard Shaw was a playwright and a remarkable one at that; his extraordinary commentary on such facets of life as marriage, education, government, religion, and social status sets him apart from other playwrights of his time.
Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw is a play that shows a great change in the character Eliza Doolittle. As Eliza lives in poverty, she sells flowers to earn her living. Eliza does not have an education. This shows through the way that she does not have the proper way of speaking. This happens through when Eliza is speaking to the other characters when she meets, then when she is still at a low level of poverty in her life.
“Manners are the happy way of doing things” according to Ralph Waldo Emerson. According to Emerson people use manners as a front to make themselves look better. Inherently, this will lead to a contradiction of the front and the reality. One such man who is most concerned with manners is the protagonist of Shaw’s Pygmalion, Professor Henry Higgins. Higgins is a man who displays contradictions within his character. He is in the business of teaching proper manners, although lacks them himself. In addition, Higgins is an intelligent man, and yet he is ignorant of the feelings of those around him. Another apparent contradiction is that Higgins’ outer charm serves to hide his bullying nature. He manipulates Eliza and others around him to serve his own purposes, without any regard for her feelings.
To conclude, Shaw tried to use his play Pygmalion as a statement to illustrate that class differences are strengthened by language. Throughout the play, it is shown that wealth, power and social position determine who the individual is. Moreover, gender differences and women’s position are wittily addressed by means of the relationships between different characters.
...y a set of expectations and values that are established on mannerisms and conduct challenged by Elizabeth. From this novel, it is evident that the author wrote it with awareness of the class issues that affect different societies. Her annotations on the fixed social structure are important in giving a solution to the current social issues; that even the class distinctions and restrictions can be negotiated when an individual turns down bogus first impression s.