Analysis of My Fair Lady

Analysis of My Fair Lady

The play My Fair Lady, written by Alan Jay Lerner in 1956, focuses on turning an unsophisticated flower girl into a well brought up lady. Henry Higgins is a professor of languages who is high class and very snobby. Eliza Doolittle is a poor flower girl who dreams of living the high class life. Colonel Pickering, a good friend of Professor Higgins, makes a wager with Professor Higgins that he can not fool everyone into thinking Eliza is a duchess.

Alan Jay Lerner (1918-1986) is known to be a remarkable lyricist, playwright, and screenwriter. Lerner began his career writing radio scripts, since then he has collaborated with composer Frederick Loewe, Gershwins, Burton Lane, and Andre Previn. Some of Lerner’s other famous works include Brigadoon (1947), Paint Your Wagon (1951), Camelot (1960), An American Paris (1951), On A Clear Day You Can See Forever (1965), and CoCo (1969). Lerner won a Tony for My Fair Lady and received the prestigious Kennedy Center Award in 1985.

There are several main characters in this play; however, Eliza and Professor Higgins seem to steal the show. Even though they seem to come from different worlds, they have the same stubborn attitude which causes them to bump heads quite often. Eliza goes through hours and hours and days and days of rigorous vocal training which really drains her out. Eliza is constantly being pushed by Professor Higgins to do better which really takes a toll on her. The only one in the house she feels that really treats her like a lady is Colonel Pickering. Despite Eliza’s background, Colonel Pickering does not seem to stick his nose up at her and treats her like a normal human being. I believe this is one of the only things that gets Eliza through her training to become a duchess.

The actors did an excellent job portraying their characters. I have never heard anyone talk like Eliza did, which really made me enjoy watching her performance. The music was also very enjoyable. Each song was perfect for every scene. For example, when Eliza is on the street dreaming of being rich, she sings “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly” and when Eliza’s father tells her he is about to be married he sings “Get Me to the Church on Time”. Language is the biggest part of this play. Each of the characters has their own vocabulary, which is magnificent. One of the best parts in the entire play is when Professor