View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Which system does Shaw use to write his Preface?

2. Why does Shaw's attempt to help Sweet fail?

3. How does Liza feel about the bedroom she'll be staying in?

4. At the end of Act 2, Higgins is shown teaching Liza a lesson. What specifically does Higgins teach Liza?

5. Who is Henry Sweet?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who is the note-taker, and what is he actually doing?

2. Why are shorthand methods inadequate for ordinary use?

3. How are Clara and her mother different?

4. How does Higgins feel about women?

5. What are three methods of phonetic shorthand that Shaw mentions in Pygmalion, and what are they used for?

6. What should all great art be, according to Shaw? Do you agree? What does Shaw hope his play will teach?

7. What does Freddy do at the beginning of Act 1 that shows poor manners?

8. Describe Henry Sweet.

9. Who are some of the most important people in England, according to Shaw? Why do you think this is so, again, according to Shaw?

10. Who are Alexander Melville Bell, Alexander J. Ellis, Tito Pagliardini, and Henry Sweet, and why are they heroes to Shaw?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Compare and contrast the characters of Freddy and Higgins.

Part 1) How are Freddy and Higgins similar and different? Consider all of the following:

--their social class and wealth

--their personalities

--their skills and abilities

--their attitudes toward Liza

Part 2) Why is Higgins not a suitable husband for Liza, while Freddy is? Explain.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay about the theme of language in Pygmalion. At the end of the play, Alfred Doolittle says that he expects now he's going to have to learn to speak middle-class English instead of the "proper English" he normally uses. What is ironic about his statement? Is there really one "proper" way to speak English, in your opinion? What do you think Shaw's opinion is? If everyone speaks Doolittle's low-class English, would it be just as well as if everyone speaks like duchesses?

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay in which you examine the negative consequences of having money and social status in Pygmalion. Liza's father, Alfred Doolittle, is poor but does not wish to have money. Why? When he comes into money, why does he blame Higgins for delivering him into the hands of middle-class morality? Does he make a good point? What are some of the drawbacks to having money? What are the restrictions of being in a particular social class?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 869 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample