Class 8

Lesson 16
Pygmalion

Word Meanings.
1. bloke: a man
2. propose: put forward for the other’s consideration
3. dustman: a man who clears dustbins
4. primroses: light yellow spring flowers
5. fraud: a pretender

Read and write

A. Answer these questions.
1. How does the playwright purposefully use the element of rain in
Act 1?
Ans: Playwright in order to introduce his characters which comes
from diverse strata and make them know each other has
purposefully used the element of rain in Act 1.
2. What does Higgins claim to do?
Ans: Higgins claims to make the flower girl speak like a duchess.
He could even get her a job as a lady’s maid or a shop assistant.
3. What do Higgins and Pickering have in common?
Ans: Higgins and Pickering both belonged to dialect field.
4. Why does Eliza come to see Prof. Higgins?
Ans: Eliza had came to see Prof. Higgins to take lessons from him.
5. Why does Prof. Higgins take Eliza as his student?
Ans: Prof. Higgins took Eliza as his student because Pickering
have gave him a challenge that whoever teaches Eliza Dolittle to
speak is the greatest teacher alive.
6. Who is Alfred Doolittle? Why does he want to meet Prof.
Higgins?
Ans: Alfred Doolittle is Eliza’s father. He wanted to meet Prof.
Higgins because he cannot let her go for nothing.
7. What are Mrs Higgin’s views on Eliza?
Ans: According to Mrs Higgins Eliza is not presentable. She look
beautiful, but she gives her identity away when she speaks.
8. Who is Whiskers? What does he make Eliza out to be?
Ans: Whiskers was the pupil of Prof. Higgins. He now work for
kings and queens throughout Europe, helping them with their
English. He made Eliza out to be a Hungarian princess.

B. Answer the following with reference to the context.

1. ‘I can , (reads, copying her voice exactly) “Cheer ap, sur n’ baw
ya flahr from a pore gel.” I know exactly where in London you
come from by the awful way you speak- You are from Lisson
Grove.’
a) Who is the speaker?
Ans: Note taker is the speaker.
b) What is his specialty?
Ans: He can copy the voice of anybody.
c) What does he mean by ‘I’ can’?
Ans: By I can he meant that he can read what is written.
d) Whom he is copying? Why?
Ans: He is copying Eliza because he deals in phonetics.
2. ‘Well, sir, she says you’ll be glad to see her when you know
what she’s come about.’
a) Who says this to whom?
Ans: Mrs Pearce to Prof. Higgins.
b) Where does this scene takes place?
Ans: This scene takes place in Higgin’s flat on Wimpole street.
c) Whom is the speaker referring to as ‘she’?
Ans: The speaker is referring to Eliza.
d) Why does ‘she’ think the man will be glad to see her? Is he
actually pleased?
Ans: She thinks that the man will be glad to see her because
perhaps he wanted her to talk into his machines. No he was not
actually pleased.
3. ‘Just a moment! The truth is- I don’t want to take her with me,
but I can’t let her go for nothing. What about a five-pound
note?’
a) Who says this to whom?
Ans: Mr. Doolittle to Higgins.
b) Whom is he referring to as ‘her’?
Ans: He is referring to Eliza.
c) What his he bargaining about?
Ans: He is bargaining about his daughter by saying he cannot let
her go for nothing.
d) Does the other person give him what he wants?
Ans: Yes.
4. ‘Yes. yes, she cannot deceive me. Her name cannot be Doolittle
because Doolittle is an English name and she is not English.’
a) Who says this to whom?
Ans: Whiskers said this to the lady.
b) Whom is the speaker talking about? Why does the speaker think
‘she’ is not English?
Ans: The speaker is talking about Eliza. The speaker thinks she is
not English because only foreigners who has been taught to speak
it speak it so well.