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What Greek myth is My Fair Lady based on?

What Greek myth is My Fair Lady based on?

Pygmalion
Many are unaware that My Fair Lady is actually a musical adaptation of George Bernard Shaw’s play Pygmalion, which itself is an adaptation of an ancient Greek myth. In the original story, Pygmalion is a sculptor who falls in love with a statue he has made and, when he kisses her, she comes to life.

Was Pygmalion based on a true story?

This is much more of a personal story.” The real-life Professor Higgins Moore will chronicle, the man who is thought to have prompted Shaw to write Pygmalion in 1913, was the philanthropist and poet Thomas Day. Born in 1748, Day was a man of independent means and modern ideas.

How similar is Pygmalion to My Fair Lady?

Shaw’s “Pygmalion” retells a myth by Ovid, in which a man creates and falls in love with a female statue. The goddess of love takes pity on the man, and brings the statue to life. “My Fair Lady” turns a drama of mythological weight into a lighthearted musical comedy.

What is the moral lesson of Pygmalion and Galatea?

The main theme of Pygmalion’s myth is the artist’s love of his own creation. Pygmalion becomes so infatuated with his work that he begins to treat it as if it were a real person. Another important theme, common in Greek mythology, is the equation of physical beauty with perfection.

What is the moral lesson of Pygmalion?

What is the moral lesson of the story Pygmalion and Galatea? Key Themes and Symbols The main theme of Pygmalion’s myth is the artist’s love of his own creation. Pygmalion becomes so infatuated with his work that he begins to treat it as if it were a real person.

Why is My Fair Lady called Pygmalion?

Shaw took his title from the ancient Greek legend of the famous sculptor named Pygmalion who could find nothing good in women, and, as a result, he resolved to live out his life unmarried. Shaw’s “Galatea,” Eliza, develops a soul of her own and a fierce independence from her creator. …

What is the storyline of My Fair Lady?

In this beloved musical, pompous phonetics professor Henry Higgins (Rex Harrison) is so sure of his abilities that he takes it upon himself to transform a Cockney working-class girl into someone who can pass for a cultured member of high society. His subject turns out to be the lovely Eliza Doolittle (Audrey Hepburn), who agrees to speech lessons to improve her job prospects. Higgins and Eliza clash, then form an unlikely bond — one that is threatened by an aristocratic suitor (Jeremy Brett).
My Fair Lady/Film synopsis

What happened at the end of My Fair Lady?

Though she leaves his place at first, in the end, she comes back to Higgins’ house and stays there for a happy life. This is how the story ends. Despite the awful ending of My Fair Lady, it still got mixed reviews from many audiences.

Where did the story of my Fair Lady come from?

My Fair Lady’s first incarnation was in the form of a play written by George Bernard Shaw, based on the old Greek myth of Pygmalion and Galatea. This myth relates the story of a sculptor who created such a beautiful statue that he fell in love with it, and prayed to the gods to bring it to life.

Who is the author of my Fair Lady?

My Fair Lady by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe is a musical based on George Bernard Shaw’s classic play, Pygmalion, which was first performed in 1913. Its roots reach back to Greek mythology, and the story of the sculptor Pygmalion, who falls in love with one of his creations which then comes to life.

Is the movie my Fair Lady a musical?

You might have noticed that this Fall’s LSC Classics schedule is a little top-heavy with musicals. The first of four will be screened this evening. My Fair Lady is a pretty typical example of that genre, and of the frequent Hollywood practice of mishandling a property developed in another field of art.

Who was the Cockney flower girl in my Fair Lady?

The myth influenced a number of writers in the Victorian era. Opening in 1956, My Fair Lady tells the story of Cockney flower girl, Eliza Doolittle, who is given elocution lessons by a professor, Henry Higgins, in order to to pass as a cultured lady.