The Taming of the Shrew
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What is The Taming of the Shrew?
The Taming of the Shrew, a comedy by William Shakespeare, likely written between 1590 and 1594, portrays the courtship of Katharina and Petruchio. The play contains a frame plot where a lord plays a joke on Christopher Sly, a drunken tinker, making him believe he is a nobleman.
The main plot revolves around Petruchio's pursuit and "taming" of Katharina, a woman known for her shrewish behavior, to win her dowry. Simultaneously, the play follows the suitors of Bianca, Katharina's younger sister. Lucentio woos Bianca, while Petruchio marries Katharina, taming her through psychological manipulation. By the play's conclusion, Katharina appears obedient, even delivering a speech on wifely virtue.
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Who wrote The Taming of the Shrew?
William Shakespeare penned the comedy The Taming of the Shrew between 1590 and 1594. The play, first printed in the First Folio of 1623, portrays the courtship of Katharina and Petruchio. Petruchio is determined to tame Katharina's temper and win her dowry.
The play uses multiple plots. One plot, derived from George Gascoigne’s comedy Supposes, involves Bianca, who carries on a risky courtship with a young man, much to her father’s dismay. Simultaneously, Bianca’s shrewish sister Kate terrorizes all men until Petruchio pursues her so that Bianca will be free to wed. The wife-taming plot is based on folklore in which men beat their wives into submission. Shakespeare transforms this material into a study of dominance in marriage, giving Kate a sense of humour that enables her to play the game to her advantage.
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Who are the main characters in The Taming of the Shrew?
The Taming of the Shrew features several key characters. Katharina (Kate), the "shrew," is known for her sharp temper. Petruchio, a determined and witty man, woos her with the goal of taming her and winning her dowry.
The play also involves Bianca, Katharina's younger sister, who has multiple suitors vying for her hand. Lucentio, disguised as a tutor, is a serious candidate for Bianca's affection. Other characters include Hortensio and Gremio, who also seek Bianca's hand in marriage.
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What is the main plot of The Taming of the Shrew?
The Taming of the Shrew follows the courtship of Katharina (Kate), a woman with a bad temper, and Petruchio, who is determined to tame her and get her dowry. The play has a plot within a plot, where a lord plays a trick on Christopher Sly, a drunk, making him believe he is a nobleman.
The play begins in Padua, where many men want to marry Bianca, but her father says she cannot marry until her older sister, Katharina, does. Petruchio arrives in search of a rich wife and is directed toward Katharina. They get married, and Petruchio "tames" her by denying her food, sleep, and nice clothing. Katharina learns to agree with Petruchio to find peace. In the end, she proves her obedience and wins Petruchio a bet.
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How does the character of Katherine change during the play?
In The Taming of the Shrew, Katharina (Kate) transforms from a rebellious and hostile woman into one who outwardly conforms to societal expectations of wifely obedience. Initially, Kate is "shrewish," terrorizing men and denouncing marriage. Petruchio arrives and woos her, and she is drawn to him because he is her match.
Through Petruchio's "taming," which involves depriving her of sleep, food, and clothing, Kate learns to agree with everything Petruchio says. By the play's end, she delivers a speech on the virtues of wifely obedience and wins Petruchio a bet, demonstrating her apparent transformation. However, her sense of humor suggests she understands how to "play the game" to her advantage, hinting at a more complex change than simple submission.
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Why do people today discuss or criticize The Taming of the Shrew?
The Taming of the Shrew is often discussed and criticized today because of its depiction of gender roles and treatment of its female characters. The play involves the "taming" of Katharina, a woman with a sharp temper, by her husband Petruchio, which many modern audiences find misogynistic and offensive.
Some view the play as endorsing the idea that women should be subservient to men, while others argue that it can be interpreted as a commentary on the social norms and expectations of the time it was written. The character of Katharina has also been the subject of much debate, with some seeing her as a victim of patriarchal oppression and others as a strong-willed woman who ultimately finds happiness within the confines of her society.
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The Taming of the Shrew, comedy in five acts by William Shakespeare, written sometime in 1590–94 and first printed in the First Folio of 1623. The play describes the volatile courtship between the shrewish Katharina (Kate) and the canny Petruchio, who is determined to subdue Katharina’s legendary temper and win her dowry. The main story is offered as a play within a play; the frame plot consists of an initial two-scene “induction” in which a whimsical lord decides to play a practical joke on a drunken tinker, Christopher Sly, by inducing him to believe that he is in fact a nobleman who has suffered from amnesia and is only now awaking from it. The main body of the play is presented to Sly as an entertainment for his delectation.
The source of the Petruchio-Katharina plot is unknown, although a number of analogues exist in ballads about the “taming” of shrewish women. The play’s other plot involving Bianca and her many suitors was derived from George Gascoigne’s comedy Supposes (1566), itself a translation of I suppositi (1509) by Ludovico Ariosto.
Following the induction, the play opens in Padua, where several eligible bachelors have gathered to claim the hand of Bianca, the youngest daughter of the wealthy Baptista. But Baptista has stated that Bianca will not be wed before her older sister, Katharina. The plot of “the taming of the shrew” then begins when Petruchio arrives in Padua in search of a rich wife. His friend Hortensio sets Petruchio’s sights on Katharina (the shrew). Although Katharina responds hostilely to Petruchio, he woos, wins, and tames her by the sheer force of his manly insistence and by his wit; Katharina is attracted to Petruchio in spite of herself, since clearly he is her match in a way that other men could not be. After their bizarre marriage ceremony, in which Petruchio dresses in a wild fashion and abuses the priest, Katharina’s taming continues. In order to show her a picture of her own willfulness, Petruchio obliges her to forgo food, sleep, and fancy clothing. He abuses his own servants, notably Grumio, as a way of demonstrating how unattractive a sharp temper can be. Katharina learns, however reluctantly, that the only way she can find peace is to agree with anything that Petruchio says and do whatever he insists. At the play’s end, Petruchio wins a bet from the other gentlemen that Katharina will be more obedient than their new wives. To show that she is indeed now more obedient, on Petruchio’s orders Katharina delivers a short sermon on the virtues of wifely obedience.
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The play’s other plot follows the competition between Hortensio, Gremio, and Lucentio for Bianca’s hand in marriage. The only serious candidate is Lucentio, the son of a wealthy Florentine gentleman. He is so smitten with Bianca’s charms that he exchanges places with his clever servant, Tranio, in order to gain access to the woman he loves. He does so disguised as a tutor. So does the less-successful Hortensio. Gremio has nothing to recommend his suit except his wealth; he is an old man, unattractive to Bianca. In order to fend off this claim of wealth (since Baptista has vowed to bestow Bianca on the suitor with the greatest wealth), Tranio poses as the son of a wealthy gentleman and steps into the competition for Bianca’s hand. Needing a father to prove his claim, Tranio persuades a pedant (or merchant) from Mantua to play the role. This ruse fools Baptista, and so the formal arrangements for the marriage proceed. Tranio’s tricks are eventually exposed, but not before Lucentio and Bianca have taken the occasion to marry in secret. Hortensio, in the meantime, has forsaken his pursuit of Bianca and married a wealthy widow. In the play’s final scene, both Bianca and Hortensio’s new wife ironically prove to be shrewish.
For a discussion of this play within the context of Shakespeare’s entire corpus, see William Shakespeare: Shakespeare’s plays and poems.