#bernard shaw
Wiktor Sadowski
“My Fair Lady” (Poster for play by Bernard Shaw) 1986.
Synopsis: Snobbish phonetics Professor agrees to a wager that he can make a (poorly educated) flower girl presentable in high society. The professor tries to win the bet by teaching the girl the aristocratic vernacular of the english language.
Metonymy: the eye represents vision.
Metaphor: vision and light (or lighter tones) represents the acquisition of knowledge.
+ Metonymy: the gloved hand represents the aristocratic professor who reveals linguistic knowledge to the girl.
Metaphor (antithesis): the darkness of the picture contrasting with light tones, represents ignorance versus knowledge. In addition, this contrast can mean dirt versus cleanliness, because of the earthy tones and texture used. In this sense, the dirt could mean the ignorance of the working class, contrasting with the cleanliness of the pompons but well-educated aristocracy. This concept can be reinforced by the fact that the girl was dirty when the professor met her for the first time.
+ Metaphor: Her unkept hair can represent her wild nature, but because its dark and dirty it can reinforce her ignorance (as mentioned before). The fact that the hand is gloved may represent that the professor acknowledges the the girl is not clean, if only in a metaphorical sense ;)
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