Pygmalion: Prose style
17 lenses on prose style for Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw. Count lenses are exact for our text. AI lenses are our reading and cite only quotes that passed a word for word check.
Jump to: H1 H2 H3 H4 H5 H6 H7 H8 H9 H10 H11 H12 H13 H14 H15 H16 H17
H1. Readability score per chapter. Count
Flesch reading ease for the whole book is about 79 (higher is easier; 60 to 70 is plain English).
Reading ease per chapter, chapter by chapter
H2. Vocabulary range. Count
4,154 different words. On average 49 in every 100 words are new within a 500 word stretch. 2,244 words appear only once.
H3. Signature words: what this author uses far more than others. Count
higgins, liza, eliza, girl, flower. See the full lens on the book page.
H4. Adverb and adjective rates. Count
About 16.19 words ending in 'ly' and 8.61 likely adjectives per 1,000 words. (rough estimate from word lists)
'ly' words per 1,000, chapter by chapter
H5. Share of weak verbs such as "was" and "had". Count
'Was', 'were', 'had', 'is' and 'are' make up 2.1% of all words.
H6. Passive voice rate. Count
About 2.1% of sentences use a passive form such as 'was taken'. (rough estimate from word lists)
H7. Variety of sentence openings. Count
The five most common first words start 36% of sentences: higgins, i, the, mrs, liza.
| First word | Sentences |
|---|---|
| higgins | 470 |
| i | 251 |
| the | 217 |
| mrs | 196 |
| liza | 164 |
| pickering | 133 |
| you | 117 |
| pearce | 104 |
| doolittle | 89 |
| but | 70 |
H8. Rhythm: how much sentence length varies. Count
Sentence length varies by 1.05 of its mean on average (higher means a more varied rhythm).
Variation per chapter, chapter by chapter
H9. Similes and metaphors: how many, and of what kind. Both
37 likely similes ('like a', 'as ... as'): 1.15 per 1,000 words. (rough estimate from word lists)
Ch 1, para 20: FREDDY. I tried as far as Charing Cross Station. Did you expect me to walk to Hammersmith?
Ch 1, para 28: THE FLOWER GIRL [picking up her scattered flowers and replacing them in the basket] There’s menners f’ yer! Te-oo banches o voylets trod into the mad. [She sits …
Ch 1, para 64: THE NOTE TAKER [overbearing but good-humored] Oh, shut up, shut up. Do I look like a policeman?
Ch 1, para 123: THE NOTE TAKER. A woman who utters such depressing and disgusting sounds has no right to be anywhere—no right to live. Remember that you are a human being …
Ch 2, para 5: Pickering is seated at the table, putting down some cards and a tuning-fork which he has been using. Higgins is standing up near him, closing two or three …
Ch 2, para 12: HIGGINS [chuckling, and going over to the piano to eat sweets] Oh, that comes with practice. You hear no difference at first; but you keep on listening, and …
Shaw uses metaphors of transformation and creation throughout. Key metaphors include Eliza as clay to be moulded, the experiment as a bet, and Higgins as a creator figure. Similes are sparse; the play relies on direct comparison and symbolic language rather than elaborate figurative speech.
Scenes (numbered through the play): Scene 1, Scene 2, Scene 4, Scene 5
in three months I could pass that girl off as a duchess at an ambassador’s garden party. (Ch 1, para 127)
I shall make a duchess of this draggletailed guttersnipe. (Ch 2, para 83)
H10. Senses used: sight, sound, smell, touch, taste. Both
Share of sense words. sight 56%, sound 22%, touch 16%, taste 5%, smell 0%. (rough estimate from word lists)
| Sense | Words |
|---|---|
| sight | 125 |
| sound | 49 |
| touch | 35 |
| taste | 12 |
| smell | 1 |
Sound dominates: accents, speech patterns, and dialogue are central. Sight is used for appearance and transformation. Touch appears in physical actions like throwing slippers. Smell and taste are absent. The play privileges the ear over other senses.
Scenes (numbered through the play): Scene 1, Scene 2, Scene 3, Scene 4
Walk! Not bloody likely. [Sensation]. I am going in a taxi. (Ch 3, para 143)
H11. Repetition, lists of three and other patterns. Both
17 lists of three in the pattern 'a, b and c': 0.53 per 1,000 words. (rough estimate from word lists)
Repetition of key phrases marks the play: 'the problem of what is to be done with her' recurs across acts. Lists of three appear in Eliza's crude remarks in Act III. Patterns of escalation mark Eliza's emotional outbursts in Acts IV and V.
Scenes (numbered through the play): Scene 3, Scene 4, Scene 5
the problem of what is to be done with her afterwards. (Ch 3, para 215)
H12. Old words that may trip modern readers. Count
Old forms that may trip a modern reader: art, whilst.
| Word | Times |
|---|---|
| art | 5 |
| whilst | 3 |
H13. Showing against telling, with examples. AI
Shaw shows character through dialogue and action rather than description. Eliza's transformation is shown through her speech changes and social interactions, not told. Higgins's indifference is revealed through his dismissive behaviour in Act IV, not stated.
Scenes (numbered through the play): Scene 2, Scene 3, Scene 4
Damn Mrs. Pearce; and damn the coffee; and damn you; and damn my own folly in having lavished MY hard-earned knowledge and the treasure of my regard and intimacy on a heartless guttersnipe. (Ch 4, para 92)
H14. How much description comes before action. Both
Description is minimal and brief. Stage directions set scenes quickly, then action dominates. Act I opens with weather and setting in one paragraph, then moves to dialogue and conflict. The play prioritises action and speech over descriptive passages.
Scenes (numbered through the play): Scene 1
H15. Filter words such as "saw", "felt", "heard". Count
Filter words ('saw', 'felt', 'heard' and so on): 1.7 per 1,000 words.
| Word | Times |
|---|---|
| thought | 15 |
| heard | 13 |
| knew | 10 |
| saw | 5 |
| felt | 5 |
| seemed | 4 |
| noticed | 2 |
| realized | 1 |
H16. Shifts in tone. AI
Tone shifts from comic in Acts I and II to darker in Acts IV and V. Act III mixes comedy with social critique. Act IV becomes tense and emotional. Act V balances resolution with ambiguity about Eliza and Higgins's future.
Scenes (numbered through the play): Scene 1, Scene 2, Scene 3, Scene 4, Scene 5
Thank God it’s over! (Ch 4, para 18)
Damn Mrs. Pearce; and damn the coffee; and damn you; and damn my own folly in having lavished MY hard-earned knowledge and the treasure of my regard and intimacy on a heartless guttersnipe. (Ch 4, para 92)
H17. How the comedy works. AI
Comedy arises from Eliza's crude remarks in polite settings, Doolittle's mercenary schemes, and Higgins's arrogance. Verbal humour dominates: malapropisms, shocking language, and social awkwardness. Physical comedy includes slippers thrown and money offered as bribes.
Scenes (numbered through the play): Scene 1, Scene 2, Scene 3, Scene 4
Walk! Not bloody likely. [Sensation]. I am going in a taxi. (Ch 3, para 143)
Ask Pygmalion a question about its craft (free beta)
Answers cite chapter and paragraph, and every quote is checked against the text. (3 free questions a day).
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