Presidential Scholars Theses (1990 – 2006)

Awards/Availabilty

Open Access Presidential Scholars Thesis

First Advisor

Raymond Tymas-Jones

Keywords

Lowe, Frederick, 1901-1988. My fair lady; Shaw, Bernard, 1856-1950. Pygmalion; National characteristics, British, in literature;

Abstract

Although the matter of adaptation is a delicate one, a majority of Shaw's original work is retained in My Fair Lady--over half of the show is the original Pygmalion script (Lerner Street 23). With the exception of the altered ending, almost all of Shaw's poke at English society is intact. But in this case, the songs of the musical serve an even greater function than just relaying what is on the characters' minds when the orchestra starts to play. The characters of this show are sometimes lovable, yet often detestable, for a great deal of their negative issues and "darker sides" are revealed. It is this more pessimistic side of the characters that is especially amplified through the songs in the show. By examining a few of the selections in their lyrical and musical details, it is evident that the musical numbers of My Fair Lady greatly enhance Shaw's characterization of his dramatis personae as intolerant, impatient, insensitive, snobbish, and generally disagreeable beings.

Date of Award

1998

Department

School of Music

Presidential Scholar Designation

A paper submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the designation Presidential Scholar

Comments

If you are the rightful copyright holder of this Presidential Scholars thesis and wish to have it removed from the Open Access Collection, please submit an email request to scholarworks@uni.edu. Include your name and clearly identify the thesis by full title and author as shown on the work.

Date Original

1998

Object Description

1 PDF file (32 pages)

Date Digital

3-6-2018

Copyright

©1998 - Gretchen Hundling

Type

document

Language

EN

File Format

application_pdf

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