Pygmalion Research Paper

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Pygmalion was formulated into a musical called My Fair Lady. The musical and novel have numerous similarities but also stark contrasts. Both have the same characters and plot but the musical took a different path from the play and portrayed some scenes differently. The three major differences between the two are the endings, the deepness of emotions expressed, and the evolution of Henry Higgins.
The obvious difference between the two is of course that My Fair Lady is a musical and Pygmalion is a book. But, the songs that the musical provides creates a deeper meaning to the emotions of the characters and enhances the plot. This shows when Higgins sings the song about allowing a woman into his life, the song confirms previous notions that he …show more content…

He changes from a stone cold, unemotional, and overbearing person to a man that is willing to love. He changes his views on Eliza and develops feelings for her. In Pygmalion, he does not show the capacity to love. He misses Eliza but not the extent he does in the musical. His development is much greater throughout the play than anything shown in My Fair Lady.
The last major difference between the two is the engings. In Pygmalion, Shaw has Eliza leaving Higgins for Freddie. This is a sharper ending than My Fair Lady because it shows that Eliza claimed her freedom and independance. She goes off to marry Freddie and does not develop deeper feelings for Higgins. My Fair Lady has a more romantic ending where Harrison and Hepburn play up the love-hate relationship. Unlike Pygmalion, My Fair Lady depicts the common happy ending where the unbreakable, stone cold man falls for the girl.
Overall the play and musical were very similar, but has some key differences that change the whole tune of the stories. The songs added a different aspect to the characters and allowed the viewers to see what they were feeling much more. Henry Higgins overall develops more as a human being with emotions in My Fair Lady. This development leads to him ending up with Eliza in the end in stead of Freddie in Pygmalion. Both My Fair Lady and Pygmalion are historical pieces of literature with their own subtle differences to set them

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