The myth of Pygmalion comes from the mythical Greek sculptor Pygmalion who sculpted a piece of ungraceful ivory to a stunning female statue. Shaw emphasises, social class and manners through the play of his version of Pygmalion . I will be analysing these affects and how they are comedic to the audience. At the heart of these aspects are Henry Higgins and Eliza Doolittle, a relationship that Shaw depicts as a romance. Shaws clever use of phonetics ephasises the broad cockney accent which suggests that Eliza is lower class. The audience give her their sympathies specifically because of her misfortunes, begging people to buy flowers off her in the rain. But we find her comic all the same. There are traits of comedy of manners and satire in the way Shaw presents Eliza which we as the audience recognise and appreciate as Pygmalion is mainly about manners and class. Shaw describes Eliza as
“ Not at all a romantic figure, her hair needs washing rather badly”. He chooses to portray his idea and opinions of lower class through this raw character emphasising Elizas vulgarity and appearance in addition to the fact that she sells flowers for a living. Eliza has a poor crass cockney accent
“ Theres mennars for yah… Baw yah a flahrz of a pore gel”. Through language Shaw develops the humorous relationship between Eliza and Higgins.

When we are first introduced to Henry Higgins as the notetaker. The audience have no notion that Shaw has chosen this character to be the pivotal one that will develop the relationship between himself and Eliza Dolittle. He is the anonymous notetaker in act 1. As act 1 develops he is brought in to it when the bystander says to Eliza
“ theres a bloke taking down every blessed word you are saying”. This brings out panic in Eliza which we as the audience react in bemusement as we have not been introduced to this character