A Case Study of Irony In Pygmalion 《皮格马利翁》讽刺艺术研究文献综述

 2021-12-30 20:46:40

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文献综述

1. Introduction1.1Introduction to the author and PygmalionBernard Shaw (18561950) has been widely acclaimed as the most outstanding playwright ever since Shakespeare, whose works centering on the social problems and phenomena of the 20th century have exerted profound influence on the trend of modern drama and established his fame as the father of modern drama. In 1925, Shaw was awarded the Nobel Prize of Literature for the "demonstration of idealism and humanitarian" in his works. Bernard Shaw's works include Saint Joan, Pygmalion, Man and Superman, Mrs.Warren's Profession, Major Barbara and The Apple Cart. Bernard Shaw's works are written for the display of different human nature under the humanistic concept, the disclosure of the current situation of the times and the thinking of social improvement. They have a strong and distinctive critical spirit and have a positive and pragmatic value for the expansion and innovation of literature and improvement of social consciousness. It is generally acknowledged in foreign academic circles that Bernard Shaw is the most important playwright after Shakespeare in terms of the richness and diversity of drama ideas and arts, and he has lasting influence on the development of British and even European and American drama. In the 1890s, Bernard Shaw's greatest contribution was to advocate the creative concept of drama reflecting the real life of society and the fate of human beings. He brought the British drama on the verge of decadence back to the broad road of observing reality, promoted the rational turn of drama in the 20th century, and had an important impact on the drama of many countries. Bernard Shaw undoubtedly has enlightening significance to China and Chinese literature, too.Pygmalion was the king of Cyprus in Greek mythology, good at sculpting. He disliked the mortal women of Cyprus and decided never to marry. He carved a beautiful ivory statue of a maiden with magical skill. In his night and day work, Pygmalion gave all his energy, all his passion, all his love to this statue. He loved her as his own wife, dressed her up, named her Galatea, and begged the gods to make her his wife. Aphrodite, the goddess of love, was so moved by him that she gave life to the statue and made them husband and wife.Bernard Shaw created his Pygmalion, using the same name from the myth. By means of training Eliza in pronunciation, speech style and behavior, the arrogant linguistics professor Higgins changed Eliza. Eliza, a flower girl from a poor family with a strong accent, became an upper-class socialite with pure voice, elegant speech, dignified manner and shining beauty. At a big party, she won the acceptance and praise of high society, and was thought to be a princess from Hungary. Like the king who falls in love with his sculpture, the professor eventually finds that the flower girl has become an integral part of his own life. Bernard Shaw's play Pygmalion is the prototype from the Greek mythology, adding new connotation for it at the same time. King Pygmalion of Cyprus and Professor Higgins are quite similar in character. They both create their own ideal women and fall in love with them, but the real life is different from the myth. Professor Higgins is a stubborn, arrogant, dogmatic, and egoistic person, behaving himself as a satire in the upper society. Although there are some exaggerations, his behavior is a really rigid education in the upper society. His Pygmalion has disclosed the hypocrisy of the Britain society.George Bernard Shaw is a passionate advocate of social problem plays. By interweaving the ancient characters into the background of a modern 20th-century play and producing a diametrically opposite ending, Shaw is trying to tell us something behind the text.Surprisingly, the flower girl can master the language of the upper class in six months. The process of the flower girl's ability to master the language of the upper class in six months is a direct evidence to the hypocrisy of the bourgeoisie, and shows to people what are the so-called elegant rules of communication and manners carefully maintained by the upper class, which are beyond the reach of the common people. The rules of communication and manners that the so-called upper class carefully maintains and that the common people can not own, are not inherent but can be bought with money. It is the economic base, money and materialism, which are hidden under the glamorous appearance, that really erects the fence and rift between classes. The real barriers and gaps between classes are the economic basis, money and material things, hidden under the appearance of pomp and circumstance.1.2 Need for the studyAs the main technique used inPygmalion, irony is the key to the deep understanding of the themes and Shawsview on women and society.However, the relevant search of previous studies cannot witness enough analysis of the play from the perspective of irony, despite the fact that some scholars like Liu have conducted comparative studies on the main characters ofPygmalionand those in the Greek myth. Different from the research angle chosen by other papers, this paper analyzes the textual content of Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion, and it is of vital significance to study the irony in Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion. This can help us gain meaningful insights into irony in literature. 2. Literature review2.1 Definitions of irony artIrony is a way of language expression in which the real intention is hidden or contradicted by the literal meaning of words or situations. Verbal irony, whether spoken or written, is produced by the consciousness of contrast between the state of things and the state they should be. Dramatic irony is a kind of inconsistency between what is expected and what happens in a dramatic work. It depends on the structure of a drama rather than the words it uses. In addition, dramatic irony is usually created by the audience's feeling of what fate the character will have, but the character itself is not aware of it. Irony art generally satirizes people and things in the real society with humorous language and funny characters, and absurd and funny plots, which is full of comic beauty. Generally speaking, the solution of contradictions and conflicts is relatively smooth, and there is no big contradiction or conflict. Irony art usually uses exaggeration, contrast and other techniques (such as some films and television plays also belong to the category of Literature) to expose the social reality and express the artist's feelings. The study of irony art can be researched from the perspective of authenticity, comedy, tragedy and exaggeration.Satire is part of irony art. Satire is a kind of creative method based on reality, which exposes decadent and backward phenomena by means of metaphor and exaggeration, criticizes stupid behaviors, makes people laugh and negates them. Different ways to express irony: Though there are many forms of irony as a literary device, its three main forms are verbal, dramatic, and situational. Verbal irony sets forth a contrast between what is literally said and what is actually meant. In dramatic irony, the state of the action or what is happening as far as what the reader or viewer knows is the reverse of what the players or characters suppose it to be. Situational irony refers to circumstances that turn out to be the reverse of what is expected or considered appropriate.Essentially, verbal and situational irony are each a violation of a reader's expectations and conventional knowledge. When it comes to verbal irony, the reader may be expcharacter's statement.statement or response to be one thing though it turns out to be the opposite. For situational irony, the reader may anticipate an event's outcome in one way though it turns out to happen in a completely different way.Dramatic Irony is more of a vicarious violation of expectations or knowledge. In other words, the reader/audience is aware of pertinent information or circumstances of which the actual characters are not. Therefore, the reader is left in suspense or conflict until the situation or information is revealed to the characters involved. For example, a reader may be aware of a superheros true identity whereas other characters may not know that information. Dramatic irony allows a reader the advantage of knowing or understanding something that a particular character or group of characters does not.2.2 Previous studies on PygmalionAs an outstanding realistic dramatist in modern England, Bernard Shaw is also a world-famous language master who is good at humor and satire. His works have a great influence on later generations, among which Pygmalion has also attracted the attention of many scholars at home and abroad.Some scholars focus on the content of the drama Pygmalion from the perspectives of satire, value exploration, comparative study, language art, plot study and role analysis. From the perspective of role analysis, Shi (2012) points out that "flower girls are not born flower girls, and ladies are not born either. They acquire their identity through interaction with others". Shi only analyzes the family construction, language construction and other construction of Eliza's identity, and interprets how Eliza's identity is constructed in the play, as well as the identity confusion and identity crisis she experiences in the transformation of identity. Liu (2015) shows that Bernard Shaw's unique perspective on women has played an indelible role in promoting the feminist movement. Faced with the complex social and cultural phenomena in the 20th century, Bernard Shaw, who has been diligently seeking innovation in drama, made a positive response and corresponding changes. Heartbreak House is the work of Bernard Shaw at the peak of his dramatic career, which demonstrates the changes and development of his dramatic techniques. Bernard Shaw's plays are generally concerned with social issues, but he prefers to use a playful tone to express serious and positive themes. His dramatic style is unique for its wit and vigor and the light of satire and humor occasionally. The rhetoric of irony is an important means for Shaw to create the generalized characters and realize his social criticism. There are also some scholars who study Pygmalion from the perspective of contrast humor. Yin (2004) showed that through Pygmalion's plot structure and the combination of the false and the real language, the direct presentation of contrasting humor can be formed, and the systematic combination of complex theories and intense viewpoints forms the metaphorical presentation of contrast humor. Tana (2015) analyzes the two main characters in Pygmalion, the plot and the lines in the play, which makes the contrast humor and intuitive performance, showing that Pygmalion is a typical work of contrast humor. Satirical art is a common way of expression in literary works. It has a unique artistic effect and has a unique position and role in literary creation. As a great world-class drama master, Bernard Shaw is good at using irony in his works. From his ironic techniques, we can have a deeper taste of the subtlety and originality of his articles. There are few studies on Pygmalion from the artistic effect of irony. "Sudden turn" and "discovery" are important plot elements of the drama. Zhang (2008) analyzed the function and effect of these two basic plot elements in Pygmalion, and pointed out that through the successful use of these two elements. Bernard Shaw's comedy presented a strong irony. Through the successful use of these two elements, Bernard Shaw's comedy showed a strong irony. Liu (2015) directly analyzes the satirical effect of Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion to help people better understand and appreciate the play.2.3 Deficiencies in previous studiesAs the main technique used inPygmalion, irony is the key to the deep understanding of the themes and Shawsview on women and society.However, the relevant search of wap.cnki.net cannot witness enough analysis of the play from the perspective of irony, despite the fact that some scholars have conducted comparative studies on the main characters ofPygmalionand those in the Greek myth. It is of vital importance to conduct a study of irony in Bernard ShawsPygmalion,.which can help us gain some meaningful insights of irony in literature.ReferencesBarbe, K. (1995). Irony in Context. Amsterdam：John Benjamins PublishingCompany.Brown, I. (1979). Shaw in His Time . Westport, Connecticut, Green wood Press.Ervine, S. J. (1947). Bernard Shaw, His life, Work and Friends . Norfolk Connecticut：News Directions Books.George, B.S (2006). Pygmalion and My Fair Lady. New York: Signet Classics.Schwartz, G. H. (1996). George Bernard Shaws Pygmalion. NY：Foreign LanguagesTeaching and Research Press. Shepherd, Simon and Womack (1996). English Drama, A Cultural History. Blackwell Publishers Ltd.Tana, (2015). A Brief Analysis on Contrastive Humor in Pygmalion. Beijing, ChineseJournal. 戴炜栋（2004），《英美戏剧：作品与评论》。

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