1. Act I vs. Act II:
  • Take a piece of paper and write down the most striking differences between the end of Act I and the beginning of Act II:
Solution:
End I Beginning II
midnight noon
the flowergirl’s dreary room Higgins‘ luxurious and tasteful house,
his lab with sophisticated (and possible extremely expensive) modern machines
  • Actually GBS uses kind of a stylistic device here – which one is it?
Answer:
  • yes, you are right, it’s a contrast … it’s very powerful and you can hardly forget these differences when you see them! Try it out:
2. Analysing Act II till p. 58/24:
  • Answer the following questions
  1. Higgins doesn’t demonstrate his machines on stage – why does the audience nevertheless believe that he’s excellent at his work ?
  2. How do you think the audience reacts to Eliza’s entry and her outfit ?
  3. Give examples of H’s strange behaviour
  4. Compare H’s and P’s behaviour: what differences and similarities are there?
  5. P comments several times on H’s behaviour – find where and explain why ?
  6. Describe conflict between Mrs Pearce and Higgins – what does it tells us about their relationship  ?
  7. Explain the siginificance of the dialogue pp. 49/50 „Lisson Grove prudery“
Suggested answers:
  1. Pickering states that he can distinguish 130 different sounds, and not even Pickering, who is an expert at that, can come near
  2. They might laugh because Eliza appears pathetic and in a way funny: she wants to look smart, but fails to because she doesn’t know how to dress smart – and the hat is simply an abomination!
  3. Examples: unfriendly, abusive: „Be off with you“ – „baggage“; shouts at her; cites a nursery rhyme and laughs about it; dustbin-advice; tells her that men will want to die for her; tells Mrs Pearce to throw her out; claims she hasn’t got any feelings; refuses to think about her future; tells her her head will be cut off if she doesn’t speak like a lady
  4. Simliarities: both enjoy nursery rhymes; regard teaching E as a game; no concern about her future // differences: Higgins is rough, insensitive; P: gentle, treats her with respect
  5. Asks him to be reasonable – points out girl has feelings – intercedes on the girl’s behalf
  6. thinks it’s unreasonable and wicked of H to treat E that way – tells him so; she’s his employee but feels free to criticize him – and he accepts that (=> dominant – life-force!)
  7. low-class background often gives people a wrong sense of shame; E thinks naked body is sth. to be ashamed of, even if it’s only to change into new clothes or to take a bath – this is what Higgins is making funof!
3. Homework:
  • Please study Act II in detail as we will talk about the rest of it in our online lesson on Friday at 9.30 … it’s absolutely necessary for you to really understand everything and know the important details …
  • What it takes is „close“ reading, which means that you should not only consume the text, but also think about it, anlyse it, mark phrases or passages in it that seem to be interesting or telling!