Take a story's temperature by studying its tone. Is it hopeful? Cynical? Snarky? Playful?
Didactic, Witty
As we've said more than once, Shaw wants to get us thinking about a lot of important stuff.
Luckily, he's not into lecturing. Think of him as a zany, loveable teacher: he wants you to learn something and have fun doing it.
The play's scenario seems so simple—poor girl becomes duchess thanks to brilliant, eccentric teacher—that, by the time Shaw starts asking the Big Issues, we're so invested in the characters that resistance is futile. The whole thing is a bit like Higgins himself. Sometimes Pygmalion can be hard to deal with, but in the end it's so charming that you can't help but like it.