Extra Play Response
The play for selection is George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion. The narration contains the accounts of a mythical character that fell in love with an artwork that came to life. The author presented the play in five acts narrated as a romantic comedy. Out of the many plays that I have watched, Pygmalion stands out for its creativity in interweaving the imagination of the characters with the reality in the era of presentation whereby peoples associated love with mystical experience. As it commences, Shaw narrates a story of a king who develops affection for a sculpture. The explanation of the Greek mythological figure in relation to the rest sets the tempo for the production. The section that follows highlights the reality that characterizes people’s relationships in Europe in the early 20th century. The likable thing about the play is that it is mythical but communicates the issues affecting the masses using diverse literary tactics. The style, genre, and symbolism resemble the techniques employed by Shakespeare in A Midsummer Night’s Dream in his communication on the events that followed a wedding plan between Theseus and Hippolyta. Sarah Ruhl adopted a similar stylistic approach in structuring Eurydice that narrated the experience of loss using a myth of Orpheus. The similarity of the plays, therefore, implies that the comparison of the style, structure, genre and theme is necessary for the contextualization of the creativity of the composers in using literary devices in making composition meaningful and entertaining.
The first aspect of similarity for evaluation in the plays is style. The mode of presentation in Pygmalion indicates that Shaw used s tight direct plot in highlighting the drama that defined the life of the mythical king. He adopted the technique to project the reality in a society in a satirical way. Shakespeare deployed slightly similar tactics in the presentation that comes out as droll and exuberant with a plot that highlights mischief. The similarity in, a directness in expression expresses the twist in the life of the characters featured in the play (Vitale, et al. 552). The motive of the communication is to arouse the curiosity of the audience using literary devices. The same approach guided the production of the play Eurydice that focused on the life of a character yearning for the return to earth after the loss of the loved one. Just as the case of Shaw and Shakespeare, the narrator selected characters capable of relating the emotional realities that make life unbearable. However, the expression of the events in Acts eases the contextualization of the plot. One gains the opportunity to connect the event at the beginning with the reality at the ends of the play.
The second element for comparison is structure. Pygmalion used a free flow critical structure that has five acts that made the play interesting to watch. The composers connected the stories in the section where the king’s love with the challenges of the social classes in European cities. The structure ensured that the end of a scene marked the beginning of another plot. The same five structure acts define Shakespeare’s composition, A Midsummer Night’s Dream. However, unlike Shaw, the writer is indirect in connecting plot the tales. The figurative language that relies on suspense creates the connection. The play Eurydice has three movements categorised as seven scenes. The structure is similar in some ways because of the flow of the plat. The areas of differences are that Eurydice shifts scenes in a manner that exaggerates some tales. Characterization is also an element of comparison in judging the uniqueness of the plays. The three composers Shaw, Shakespeare and Sarah, uses mythical characters in their communication. The aspect contributes to the liking for the composition among literary scholars.
The genres of the plays are an area of similarity with some aspects of variation. Pygmalion is comical in romanticizing the experience of the king and the lives of the characters integrating with the royalty. In the same way, the A Midsummer Night’s Dream is comical (Doolittle and Henry 2). The composition Eurydice adopts a similar genre though Sarah focuses on the tragic experience of loss. However, all three expresses tragic development using tactics that entice audiences. The themes of the presentation also project similarities and differences. In Pygmalion, the composer delved into the themes of love and social classes. Shaw highlighted the implication of the differences in the relation of the people as the social message for redress. The same defined Shakespeare play, although the focus of the bride and groom’s experience in dealing with uncertainties of life. in the case of Eurydice, the composition addresses a theme on loss that relates to the subject for presentation in the play Pygmalion that describes love as elusive. The author examines the experience of the king in claiming that his love is a loss. The motive of focusing on death and loss as the social message is describing the concerns affecting the masses in Eurydice.
All three plays employ symbolism in different parts of the presentation. In Pygmalion, Shaw uses symbolism to satirize the reality of love and the differences in the perception of those in different social classes. In the first act, he introduces the family of the king using terms that create emphasis on the opulence of the household. Shakespeare’s play incorporates symbolism in sections describing wedding plans and the imaginary experience of lovers. The example is the accounts on the beauty visualized by a person in love, even if the same individual is not pretty in reality. The part illustrates the illusional feeling as comical. The tale Eurydice equally uses symbolism in communicating about the desire to return to earth and imagination of satisfaction symbolized as happiness (Forsyth 5). The introductory section features a wife who symbolically expresses love. She aids in enhancing the meaning of the play.
The review of the three plays in terms of style, and structure, and theme highlights similarities in differentiating plays in acts, using mythical characters and focusing on love. The same similarity manifest in the use of symbolism. On the contrary, differences manifest in the structuring of the play in various sections when transitioning between plots. Pygmalion adopts a dramatic free-flow style. A Midsummer Night’s Dream has a chronological structure while Sarah is rigid. The genre of Shakespeare is more comical and focuses on mythical acts. The play Eurydice relies on symbolism in satirizing the imagined thoughts as reality. Despite the differences and similarities in some aspects, the composition manages to communicate the intended message.
Lastly, an evaluation of Pygmalion that focuses on the story of love that highlights the experiences of a mythical king of different social classes indicates that the tale stands out because of its creativity. Shaw author uses freestyle that fits the play in five acts. The themes, message and symbolism, make it unique in many ways. It adopted a comical genre that makes watching it enlightening. It is on this basis that I consider the play one of the best performances by Shaw. I would recommend the same to scholars interested in understanding the use of plays in communicating critical social messages satirically.
Works Cited
Doolittle, Miss, and Henry Higgins. “Bookrags literature study guide pygmalion by george bernard shaw.”
Forsyth, Keltie Redfern. The fluidity of collaboration: directing Sara Ruhl’s Eurydice. Diss. University of British Columbia, 2016.
Vitale, Filippo, et al. “An intensive midsummer night’s dream.” Intensive care medicine 45.4 (2019): 552-556