Pygmalion Act 1 Review

What is the setting of the play in Act I?

• Covent Garden, under the portico of St. Paul’s Church. It’s raining, and late at night

• Higgins' laboratory in the middle of the day, it's sunny outside

• The playhouse after the show in the middle of a thunderstorm

Which best describes the Flower Girl?

Select all that apply.

• She has some sense of self-worth, but she’s also feeling very sorry for herself

• She is obnoxious and thinks that others should do as she wishes

• She is a poor girl from the working class with a Cockney accent

How does the Flower Girl react to the knowledge that a person is writing down everything she is saying?

• She reacts with joy and excitement.
• She reacts with anger and frustration.
• She is terrified. She thinks the unknown person is a policeman who is getting ready to charge her.

• She reacts with indifference and boredom.

How does the setting of Act 1 connect to the plot? (what happens in the story)

• The setting is only for visual appeal
• It has no connection to the plot
• The characters are not introduced in Act 1
• It sets the stage for the events and introduces the characters and their relationships.

Answer explanation

If it wasn't raining, these people would not all be in the same spot!

The Note Taker (Henry Higgins) tells us that he is a phonetics expert who can train people to speak “better” English, and that the Flower Girl’s current English will “keep her in the gutter until the end of her days.”

What can we infer about the Flower Girl’s character from his words?

• The Flower Girl's character is likely from a different country with a different native language.
• The Flower Girl's character is likely from a lower social class with limited education or opportunities.
• The Flower Girl's character is likely from a middle-class background with average education and opportunities.
• The Flower Girl's character is likely from a higher social class with extensive education and opportunities.

The stage directions for the Flower Girl’s line read: … without daring to raise her head.

What can we infer about her character from this line?

• She is arrogant and proud.
• She is timid or afraid.

• She is curious and inquisitive.
• She is confident and bold.

The stage directions for the Flower Girl’s next line read: with feeble defiance. Feeble means “weak.”

If the Flower Girl is “weakly defiant,” what can we infer about her character from this line?

• She is not afraid to stand up tp those that offend or look down on her

• She’s willing to stand up for herself, but she is intimidated by the Note Taker.

• She is confident when she stands up to others

the sequence of events in a story, novel, or play

• character
• setting
• theme
• plot

time and place of a story

(Where and when is the story taking place?)

• Conflict

• Tone

• Setting

• Character

A person in a story

• Actor

• People

• Conflict

• Character