Allusions
Authors make allusions when they reference another location, person, or literary work within their own stories. It is often the reader's duty to analyze the significance of these references to the plot. Shaw makes several allusions to Shakespeare, John Milton, and The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.
Higgins: "Remember that you are a human being with a soul and the divine gift of articulate speech: that your native language is the language of Shakespeare and Milton and The Bible; and dont sit there crooning like a bilious pigeon" (Shaw 22, Act I).
These allusions are used to convey who Higgins admires in the literary world regarding diction and proper use of English. Possibly, Shaw also included these allusions to connect the writers' works to Pygmalion's plot. Milton's Paradise Lost matches the relationship between Higgins and Eliza to the relationship between Adam and Eve. Adam helped create Eve, in a sense, because she was born from Adam's rib. Similarly, Higgins created Eliza's image with his lessons on cleanliness and manners. Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet also mirrors their relationship. Romeo and Juliet came from two opposing families while Higgins and Eliza came from two completely different social classes. The differences, however, in both cases did not prevent them from forming relationships.
Higgins: "Five minutes ago you were like a millstone around my neck. Now youre a tower of strength..." (Shaw 132, Act V).
Higgins was constantly asked what was to become of Eliza after her lessons. This expectation from society - the artist's responsibility to his finished artwork - weighed heavily on Higgins just as the Albatross weighed heavily on the Mariner. At the end of the play, however, Higgins's Albatross falls from his neck when he realizes how much stronger Eliza is as a person. This is his way of expressing his astonishment at Eliza's transformation into a more independent woman.
These allusions are used to convey who Higgins admires in the literary world regarding diction and proper use of English. Possibly, Shaw also included these allusions to connect the writers' works to Pygmalion's plot. Milton's Paradise Lost matches the relationship between Higgins and Eliza to the relationship between Adam and Eve. Adam helped create Eve, in a sense, because she was born from Adam's rib. Similarly, Higgins created Eliza's image with his lessons on cleanliness and manners. Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet also mirrors their relationship. Romeo and Juliet came from two opposing families while Higgins and Eliza came from two completely different social classes. The differences, however, in both cases did not prevent them from forming relationships.
Higgins: "Five minutes ago you were like a millstone around my neck. Now youre a tower of strength..." (Shaw 132, Act V).
Higgins was constantly asked what was to become of Eliza after her lessons. This expectation from society - the artist's responsibility to his finished artwork - weighed heavily on Higgins just as the Albatross weighed heavily on the Mariner. At the end of the play, however, Higgins's Albatross falls from his neck when he realizes how much stronger Eliza is as a person. This is his way of expressing his astonishment at Eliza's transformation into a more independent woman.