1. 研究目的与意义（文献综述包含参考文献）

literature review

bernard shaw has been widely acclaimed as the most outstanding playwright ever since shakespeare, whose works centering on the social problems and phenomena of the 20th century have exerted profound influence on the trend of modern drama and established his fame as the father of modern drama. in 1925, shaw was awarded the nobel prize of literature for the "demonstration of idealism and humanitarian" in his works, saint joan in particular. shaw did not gain his success by coincidence or the favor of lady luck; on the contrary, he cultivated a fascination for books since childhood and this fondness lasted for his entire life, which render it possible for him to flexibly borrow and utilize the fruits of the previous writers to develop his own writing features.

in 1914, shaw named his new five-act pygmalion after the mythical figure pygmalion in the roman poet ovid#8217;s best-known poem the metamorphosis (produced in 7 ad). however, the way that he named pygmalion keeps his readers in suspense and leaves them vast room for imagination as the title is generally regarded as the soul of a work and the core of thematic interpretation. it is unlikely that shaw#8217;s intention of writing the very play is merely a reminder of the importance of pure english as what he himself claimed, for he himself is a passionate advocate of social problem plays. by interweaving the ancient character into the background of a modern 20^th-century play and producing a diametrically opposite ending, shaw intends to tell us something underneath. therefore, an intertextual interpretation of shaw's pygmalion and ovid's the metamorphosis can help us figure out such intention and enhance a deep understanding of his thematic concerns as well as literary attainments as a language master and satirist. pygmalion and intertextuality will be reviewed as follows:

2. 研究的基本内容、问题解决措施及方案

research topic

intertextuality is a widely-used technique in the literary creation, with no exception to works of the two most outstanding playwrights--william shakespeare and bernard shaw, both of whom are masters of intertextuality. a good case in point is that most of shakespeare#8217;s plays are borrowings from the ancient greek and roman myths or arts. in 1914, bernard shaw named his pygmalion (the present text) after the mythical figure pygmalion in ovid#8217;s the metamorphosis (the previous text). the thesis is aimed to make an intertextual analysis of the present text#8217;s similarities to and subversions of the previous one under the framework of theories on the external intertextuality and contratextuality.