Pygmalion: A Student's Guide

Subject: English as an Additional Language
Level: Secondary
Age Group: 11-14 and 14-16
Order Number: 5283

The Student’s Guide to George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion consists of a thorough section of background information and a commentary of all five Acts, along with comprehension and creative writing tasks. The guide is clear and straight forward with tried and test manageable tasks that engage students.

The background information starts off by exploring the playwright’s socialist philosophy, which is at the heart of Pygmalion. Shaw, a member of the Fabian Society, believed in equal rights for all. The background information features a detailed account of the position of women and class difference in England in 1912. Other topics that Shaw makes fun of, such as the eccentric professors of phonetics and the “coming out” balls of the debutants, are also explored as they enhance the student’s understanding and appreciation of the play.

A major theme in the play is change. Here Pygmalion is compared to stories with a similar structure such as Cinderella and Pretty Woman. Students are invited to consider other “make-over” stories and to write their own with the common structure.