I’m teaching Pygmalion alongside Frankenstein….I will let the kids review them for you. Personally I love it.
Pygmalion
“I didn’t like the play that much as I found it not the easiest plot to follow and the ending was unsatisfying. I think the play did well in raising a question about language and it’s role/purpose. Something that didn’t is the ending as it is deeply inconclusive and unsatisfying.”
“I think the play is interesting because there are multiple different characters from different backgrounds. there is also the use of slight to intense banter between the characters.”
“I do enjoy the play because it is funny and lighthearted. The characters are endearing, especially Eliza. I think what I like about it is because it is so similar to “My Fair Lady” which is one of my favorite Hepburn movies”
“I believe the story’s greatest strength and greatest weakness would be it having each act focus on a different character. I liked this aspect in the fact that it allowed to play go into detail for each character. I disliked this aspect in the fact that it could have prevented interactions between some of the characters. Overall, I would say that I enjoyed the story of Pygmalion. ”
“Something that worked in the play would be the fluidity of the back and forth dialogue. Something that did not work would be the unexpected change of character in the text, which confused us sometimes (i.e. The Gentleman would become Pickering without notice). I don’t really like how it can be unclear what’s going on sometimes due to the way they speak being foreign.”
“I really enjoyed Pygmalion. I think it accomplished its goal of being a social critique very well. The characters were compelling which helped to make the play more enjoyable. The only thing I disliked was the slow pace of the play.”
“I enjoyed Pygmalion because it was very easy to understand what was going on. I liked the use of different kinds of characters from different backgrounds. I didn’t like the “Ah—ah—ah—ow—ow—oo!” lines because they were very annoying but other than that I am enjoying Pygmalion!”
“I honestly found Pygmalion kind of annoying in some parts, and didn’t enjoy it. Of course it was fun to read in a group with silly accents but the actual play itself made a big deal out of seemingly insignificant struggles.”
“I liked the British accents. I didn’t like how some characters went on tangents for a while that was really hard to read. It was also a little slow in periods maybe there should be more drama involved in the play.”
“Pygmalion isn’t memorable for me. The writing doesn’t change settings much, which works well for a play, but reading it like this is just makes it boring. The heavy dialog doesn’t work without a stage in my opinion. Still, it wasn’t a bad reading. I like the idea of the story and feel that with proper portrayal of the accents presented in play format, I would think it would be better.”
“What I liked about Pygmalion was that it was easy(ish) to read. The language was plain enough to understand. I found it odd that the main event of the play where Eliza was meant to be introduced did not appear in the text. The story may not have worked as well if it did appear. I also liked that it was short. I did not like how Higgins was willing to risk Eliza’s life for the sake of an experiment. That seemed cruel to me.”
“I really liked Pygmalion! Not much felt like it actually occurred within the plot, but it did well in being lighthearted and funny at times. It was a pretty easy read through, and didn’t have too much deceiving language or hidden themes that confused the reader/watcher.”
“Pygmalion had a good plot line to it but when I was reading it with my group, I found it was hard to engage and be captivated by the story. It needed something exciting to hold the reader’s attention. The whole concept of the story and learning to speak and act a different way is creative but the story needed something more exciting. ”
Frankenstein
“I think I liked Frankenstein a little more, because with the different characters and having to read it like a play script was sometimes confusing which made Pygmalion a harder read. ”
“I liked Frankenstein because I could actually understand what they were saying, unlike in Beowulf and Macbeth. I thought the characters worked in Frankenstein because I felt that they were all likable and realistic. ”
“I really liked Frankenstein! I find the story of the monster very sad. However, it was very touching. It showed that we shouldn’t judge someone based off their cover, because deep down inside they have a heart. Mary Shelley was ahead of her time and she a great job with her writing. ”
“Overall I really enjoyed reading Frankenstein. I found the placement of events in a non-chronological order worked well with the story telling. However, I wish there was more character development for Robert Walton and more insight into his Journey after encountering Victor and the Monster.”
“I really enjoyed reading Frankenstein a lot more than the other pieces we have written. I liked it because it gave a sense of adventure and suspense, and I was always unsure of what would be happening between the monster and Victor. However, it did get confusing at times, based on how it was ordered. I am not sure I liked having the letters at the beginning, because it threw me off a little. Once I got through the letters it got much more enjoyable, and I really liked the thrill of murder throughout it as well. I did feel a little pity towards the monster, but I don’t think that he should have acted as violently as he did throughout the book. I think that the killing of Victors brother was unnecessary, and it made me change perspectives on how I viewed the monster. All in all, I think that Shelly did a wonderful job writing this novel, and I would recommend it to anyone taking this class because it not only made me think, but it was also an enjoyable read that did not ever feel like a real “chore.””
“I think that Mary Shelley’s, Frankenstein, is a great book and very enjoyable read. I especially liked how Walton’s letters at the beginning, about the stranger who he brought aboard his ship, connected to the end of the book. I also liked how the story made me question whose side I was on: Victors or the Monsters. However, I did not like how repetitive and predictable it was at times. There was a recurring pattern where someone would die, then Victor would fall ill and have to be nursed back to health, then once he started getting better and moving on, somebody else would die, and the cycle would start again.”
“Frankenstein is probably my favorite text out of all the ones that we have read so far. It was well written, practical and offered a broad space for interpretation. One can attribute the lessons portrayed in the book to both ancient and contemporary ideas. ”
“During my reading of Frankenstein, I got the opportunity to appreciate the symbolism and representation of the more neglected aspects of life. Many relationship comparisons can be made between the ones in the book and in ones own life. I think this relatability and identification with characters the reader feels is what makes it worth while. 9/10”
“I liked Frankenstein, but I feel like it dragged out for a while. The thematic elements were consistent and interesting, but the plot wasn’t very extensive, as the monster was pretty much just murdering people. I think the ending was anticlimactic, but I did like how the story started with the letters to make the structure interesting.”