The Taming of the Shrew: Literary Touchstone

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The Taming of the Shrew: Literary Touchstone

by William Shakespeare

3.83 of 5 stars 3.83 · rating details · 83,071 ratings · 1,147 reviews

"And kiss me, Kate. We will be married o'Sunday"

Petruchio, seeking his fortune in Padua, seeks to marry the strong-willed Katherine, while Lucentio and Bianca steal a marriage from under a father's nose. The Taming of the Shrew offers a Shakespearean take on feminism and a humorous but, surprisingly modern, look at the age-old battle between the sexes.

With its hilariou

...more

Paperback, 96 pages

Published March 28th 2005 by Prestwick House Inc. (first published 1590)

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Jan 18, 2009 Madeline rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: shakespeare

The Taming of the Shrew, abridged.

PETRUCHIO: Hey Mr Minola, I wanna marry your daughter. The fact that she comes included with an awesome dowry has nothing to do with this.

BAPTISTA: Oh, I'm sorry, I have this jackass rule that my daughter Bianca can't get married until her evil older sister does, so...

PETRUCHIO: No, I want to marry the Kate chick. My friends tell me she's a ballbusting bitch - a "shrew", if you will - and I love a challenge.

BAPTISTA: SOLD! to the rich guy with a death wish. Hav...more

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Nov 05, 2007 Lydia rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: plays

Lucentio: Hey, I'm Lucentio. Who's that hot girl?
Bianca: That would be me. And hotness is about all I have going for me. Because I only have about 5 lines.
Lucentio: Wanna have sex get married?
Baptista: I'm her father, you whippersnapper. Get in line. She can't get married until her older sister does.
Lucentio: Who's that?
Katherina: ROAR! GNASH! GNARL! I don't want to get married, but I live in Elizabethan England so I must. I also have a violent streak and beat up my sister all the time because s...more

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Feb 26, 2013 Abigail Hartman rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classics

I can see why this play is little appreciated nowadays - it runs so completely counter to the modern notions of "gender equality" and feminism. I freely confess that Petruchio's methods with Katharina are rough (in an indirect manner; from passionate reviews I expected him to beat her every day before breakfast, but in fact he uses crazier, more shrewish means). On the other hand, she frankly deserves what she gets. She was not "strong-minded" - she was downright nasty, and the way Petruchio bri...more

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Aug 26, 2010 Adrienne rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: dd, my-classics

This is quite possibly my favourite Shakespeare play and one that I come back to time and time again although not on a regular basis sometimes it's months or in this caes a couple of years. I love it for it's humour and the way the relationship develops between Petruchio and Katharine,and I love the way Katharine eventually submits.

For me this is not a sexist play I read it and enjoy it for what it is, the submission of a woman to her husband:)

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Feb 25, 2008 Jeanette rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, plays, all-fiction

I'd have to say this is one of my less favorite of Shakespeare's works, although it's a lot more fun to see it performed than to read it, since you can get a better idea of the absurdity of all the impersonations.
As a modern woman, I'm a bit put off by the way Petruchio "tames" Kate by what really amounts to abuse ---refusing her food and sleep. Also, the speech Kate makes at the end is a little far-fetched, as if she has magically been transformed into this perfect example of the Christian mono...more

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Jun 01, 2008 Rachel rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: plays

I heard once that 'The Taming of the Shrew' is a book that you either love or hate. I'm somewhere in between (how's that for decisive).
It's amazingly fun to see a nasty tempered woman learn obedience, though I do like to think at least a bit of her 'attitude' is still there, otherwise the play would be a tragedy, about a woman whose spirit was broken (like a horses?) However, that less than flattering depiction is not what I saw happening, it seemed more of a lesson for the 'feminists' of today....more

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Mar 14, 2013 Bill Kerwin rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 16th-17th-c-brit, tudor-drama

Re-reading the play this time, I liked it a little better than I thought I would. I predicted that the brutal treatment of Katharine by Petruchio would ruin the play for me, but it didn't. From the induction involving Christopher Sly, the text of "The Taming of the Shrew is full of so many transformations(tinker to lord, page to lady, servant to rich young man, rich young man to teacher of grammar, rich suitor to music teacher, wandering scholar to prosperous merchant, etc.) as well as so many l...more

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Mar 02, 2013 Emespre rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classics

The. Ending. Sucked.

Spoilers!!! Will try to see if I can set a spoiler warning on phone, if not will do it if I remember over the weekend.

It's just not on for the one memorable, awesome character to lose his/her awesomeness and memorability. Just...no. Please. The rest of the play was okay, I think (read it two years ago so can't really remember) but the ending was so horrible and it was supposed to be a comedy, ergo no tragic destruction of the main character's personality.

Edited to include: I...more

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May 19, 2013 Maddy added it · review of another edition

Love is taming. Love does something to the skin. It makes you think, it makes you go crazy, it makes you do things that you would never think you could do. Love is something that everyone loves. Love is changing. It has an affect on you. "Taming of the Shrew" is the story of a man who declares he can tame a wild woman. No one believes him. But, he does it anyway. He takes this wretched girl and transformed her into a beautiful butterfly. It first gives the impression that men are in control of w...more

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Apr 15, 2013 Lexi Lewis rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew is more than a comedic play about converting “poor Katherine the Curst” into a formidable wife; it is also vector for delivering thematic elements and exploring complex relationships. One of the motifs prevalent throughout Taming is the idea of deception or disguise as a way of challenging the confines of social hierarchy. While this is primarily reflected through physical disguises to determine “whether the clothes really do make the man,” it is also eviden...more Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew is more than a comedic play about converting “poor Katherine the Curst” into a formidable wife; it is also vector for delivering thematic elements and exploring complex relationships. One of the motifs prevalent throughout Taming is the idea of deception or disguise as a way of challenging the confines of social hierarchy. While this is primarily reflected through physical disguises to determine “whether the clothes really do make the man,” it is also evident in the characters’ traits and interactions. The relationship between Bianca and her father, Baptista, embodies this particular motif. Bianca is the ultimate façade. She pretends to be the quiet, loyal and obedient daughter, while taking advantage of her father’s adoration and nepotism to elope with the man of her choosing. Baptista is actually weak-willed and easily duped, but outwardly appears to maintain patriarchal control over his daughters by arranging their marriages and affording them decent educations. However, his blind affinity for Bianca ultimately results in his failing to execute his role as father and the marriage he arranges for her. Rather than admit Bianca’s defiance of him, he allows her secret wedding contrary to the societal expectations of 16th century Europe.
The Induction scene sets the premise for illusion and deception as Christopher Sly, the drunken tinker, is elaborately conned into believing he is a person of consequence. Sly serves to foreshadow the charades of the play proper, beginning with the first scene in Act I. Here Bianca’s relationship with her father is introduced. Baptista makes no effort to hide his favoritism for his youngest daughter as he lays out the rules for her courtship, “I am firmly resolved…not to bestow my youngest daughter before I have a husband for the elder. If either of you both love Katherina…Leave shall you have to court her at your pleasure” (Shakespeare, i.i.49-54). He all but shoves Kate in front of would-be suitors while he hurries his precious Bianca inside. Bianca is obviously upset by her father’s decision, realizing the slim chances of her sister’s betrothal. Still, she appeases her father, “Sir, to your pleasure I humbly subscribe. My books and instruments shall be my company, On them to look, and practice by myself” (i.i.81-83). She fakes disinterest in any suitors, while delivering her veiled plea for pity. Emphasizing her loneliness, she plays an innocent victim of sister’s viciousness.
At the start of Act II, Bianca is seen inciting Kate’s aggression. She flaunts her many suitors, offering them to Kate in a patronizing manner, “If you affect him, sister, here I swear I’ll plead for you myself, but you shall have him” (Shakespeare, ii.i.14-15). Her self-sacrifice seems to be entirely for her father’s benefit as he swoops in to save her. Baptista, unaware of Bianca’s prodding, harshly scolds Kate, “For shame, thou hilding of a devilish spirit, Why dost thou wrong her that did ne’re wrong thee? When did she cross thee with a bitter word?” (ii.i.26-28). Baptista unwittingly reinforces the perceptions and actions of his two daughters through his preferential treatment of Bianca. Meanwhile, Bianca’s calculated duplicity polarizes Kate’s negative personality in contrast to her own, beneficially spurring her father’s urgency to marry off the shrew.
With Baptista now consumed with Kate’s engagement and fielding dowry offers on behalf of Bianca, he believes he is finally fulfilling his duties as father in accordance with societal norms. As author Richard Greaves writes in his comprehensive work on 16th century European society, “The norm in Elizabethan society…was for a young couple to marry in accordance with the decision of their parents, particularly because of the financial implications” (Greave, 156). He then goes on to say, “The role of the husband and father often was cited as parallel with that of a prince” (251). The arrangement of his daughters’ marriages is ultimately Baptista’s right ensuring that they will be well cared for; a final edict relative to that of royal decree. Yet somehow he is oblivious to the disguises of Lucentio, Tranio and Hortensio, falling stooge to their game. Bianca seizes this opportunity to flirt freely with her two fake tutors, ultimately deciding to elope with Lucentio.
Bianca’s secret wedding to the real Lucentio offers several examples in defiance of her father pertinent to the societal expectations of the obedient daughter. Greaves writes, “The delivery of the bride to the groom by her father in the wedding ceremony (was) a reminder of the ‘imbecility’ of her sex, which required her to be perpetually governed by others” (Greaves, 255-256). With Bianca’s decision to elope, she denies Baptista this acknowledgement, and ironically exposes her father as the imbecile. She is effectually declaring her individualism and proving that her father really never had any control over the matter; she is actually the shrew disguised by her beauty and deceptive austerity.
Although Bianca’s primary role in Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew is Kate’s foil, it is her relationship with Baptista that truly mocks the societal expectations of women in pre-modern England. Whereas Kate makes no attempt to defraud or disillusion anyone, Bianca is solely about appearing benign and concealing her true nature. She willingly acts the part of the chaste, obedient and silent daughter while masking her intentions to undermine her adoring father and provoke her sister. Only after Bianca has bested her father and wiled Lucentio, can she present her inner shrew. As with Kate’s transformation and more subtly, Bianca’s, Taming seeks to magnify the importance of disguise and changing one’s demeanor or physical appearance to manipulate relationships. (less)

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Apr 09, 2013 Simona Bartolotta rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: teatro

PETRUCCIO: No, no, io voglio [...] fornirvi altri segni
della sua obbedienza, una virtù
novellamente da lei acquisita,
e della piena sua sottomissione.

(Entra CATERINA con BIANCA e la VEDOVA)

Eccola qua, guardatela,
vi riporta le riottose mogli,
come se fossero due prigioniere
della sua femminile persuasione.
Caterina, però quel tuo cappello
non ti sta bene. Getta via quel ciaffo!
Mettilo sotto i piedi!

(Caterina si toglie il cappello, lo getta a terra e lo calpesta)

VEDOVA: Signore Iddio, fa’ ch’io non abbi

...more

PETRUCCIO: No, no, io voglio [...] fornirvi altri segni
della sua obbedienza, una virtù
novellamente da lei acquisita,
e della piena sua sottomissione.

(Entra CATERINA con BIANCA e la VEDOVA)

Eccola qua, guardatela,
vi riporta le riottose mogli,
come se fossero due prigioniere
della sua femminile persuasione.
Caterina, però quel tuo cappello
non ti sta bene. Getta via quel ciaffo!
Mettilo sotto i piedi!

(Caterina si toglie il cappello, lo getta a terra e lo calpesta)

VEDOVA: Signore Iddio, fa’ ch’io non abbia mai
altra cagione per cui sospirare
nella vita, fin quando sia ridotta
a un tale stato di sciocca obbedienza!
BIANCA: Vergine Santa! Quale nome dare
ad una sì balorda soggezione?

Mi rendo conto che erano altri tempi, e bla bla bla, e che ormai la concezione della donna è cambiata quindi è inutile scaldarsi e bla bla bla, ma perdonatemi, qui Shakespeare ci ha fatte sembrare scimmiette da addomesticare. Ed è inutile che mi si venga a dire che in realtà in questa commedia viene messa in risalto l'intelligenza, l'originalità e il coraggio, perché a parer mio l'unico merito che le si può riconoscere è quello di... di aver.... boh. Passa dall'essere un'antipatica odiosissima al comportarsi come cane da riporto in poche scene, e poi la cosa passa pure come una virtù.

Anyway, a parte questo "particolare" poco simpatico e non certo imputabile a Shakespeare (se è nato in quell'epoca non è mica colpa sua), un altro fattore che mi ha portato a svalutare così questa commedia è stato lo stile, che di certo non possiede il mordente che acquisirà in seguito (stiamo palando di una delle prime opere di Shakespeare). Inoltre, seguire le comparse dei personaggi non è cosa facilissima, per via dei vari scambi e cambi d'identità che si verificano e che non fanno altro che confondere le idee, vista la poca utilità che hanno. Ogni riferimento a Tranio che si finge Lucenzio e Lucenzio che si finge Cambio senza alcun motivo apparente è puramente casuale.

L'unico motivo che mi lega ancora in qualche modo a La bisbetica domata è 10 cose che odio di te, che poi è anche il motivo, insieme al mio spropositato amore per Shakespeare, che tra tutte le opere del Bardo ancora assenti dai miei scaffali mi ha portato a scegliere proprio la Bisbetica come prossima lettura. Perciò, se non avete ancora visto questo delizioso e dolcissimo film (la seria risparmiatevela) vi ordino subito di cercarvi lo streaming e vederlo. Ora. Subito.

Che ci fate ancora lì? (less)

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Jan 13, 2013 Clementine rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013, school

I am definitely not a Shakespeare buff, nor am I an expert on his work. However, based on my limited exposure to him in high school and now in my Intro to Shakespeare class, I'm pretty sure I like the tragedies more. Like, a lot more. Maybe it's just the plays I've read, maybe it's context. I think a good juicy tragedy is more universal than a comedy, which is more bound to the conventions and aesthetics of the time. I mean, I know I personally am so much more into regicide than some dude starvi...more

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Dec 29, 2012 Lindsey rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The Taming of the Shrew was a very, VERY entertaining read. Unlike any other Shakespeare books that I've read, it was not as dramatic as his other works, but was funnier and more upbeat than them. I would recommend it for anybody who likes Shakespeare, or enjoys a comical storyline. My personal reaction to the book was surprising to me, because I didn't really expect an amusing story. However, I found the whole thing very funny and clever.

The book is a story within a story. Christopher Sly, a p...more The Taming of the Shrew was a very, VERY entertaining read. Unlike any other Shakespeare books that I've read, it was not as dramatic as his other works, but was funnier and more upbeat than them. I would recommend it for anybody who likes Shakespeare, or enjoys a comical storyline. My personal reaction to the book was surprising to me, because I didn't really expect an amusing story. However, I found the whole thing very funny and clever.

The book is a story within a story. Christopher Sly, a poor commoner gets drunk and falls asleep in a bar at the beginning of the play. A Lord returning from a hunt finds him asleep and decides to play a trick on him. A group of actors is traveling in town and so the Lord, a supreme opportunist, decides to hire them to help with the prank. They treat the confused (and now awake) Christopher Sly as a Lord who has riches, fame, and a beautiful wife. Sly is then prompted to watch a play put on by the actors. Sly, who is apparently an opportunist himself, takes them up and accepts his new position, settling back and watching the drama.

The play he watches is the best part. It is about two girls: Katharine and Bianca. They are both of age to be married off, but their father, Baptista, has a problem. Katharine is the eldest, so naturally, he wants to marry her off first. However, while Bianca is very sweet and subdued, Katharine is ill-tempered and speaks her mind--not a desirable trait for a woman of Shakespeare's day. Bianca has many suitors, specifically Lucentio, Gremio, and Hortensio. So while Bianca is getting many offers, Baptista is just about going crazy trying to figure out how he is going to find someone interested in Katharine. Then, we meet Petruchio, a wealthy gentlemen of Verona. Petruchio is very eccentric. He does not mind marrying a "shrew", as long as there is money involved. This is the brilliance of the storyline: while the audience believes that Petruchio and Katharine's relationship will be nothing but troubled and dysfunctional, Shakespeare provides a genius twist at the end that makes the drama spectacular. Throughout the endurance of the never-ending fight that is Petruchio and Katharine, we see the two going at it non-stop. Both extremely quick-witted, they are constantly batting at each other with comeback after comeback. Petruchio lathers Katharine with sweet endearing words of kindness only in a fashion exhibited by intimate lovers. He communicates with such passion you would think that he has truly fallen for Katharine. And she scolds him relentlessly, shaming him and yelling for being so ridiculous, but this only fuels him more. As the book goes on, Petruchio starts to grow on Katharine and we see her softening slightly.

Bianca's heart is eventually won, and so is another woman labeled "widow". At the end, the three couples are celebrating all the new marriages, and the women go off to talk while the audience stays with the mens' conversation. Hortensio, Lucentio and Petruchio are all saying how Petruchio got the worst deal of them all: having to marry Katharine. So they make a bet to prove it. All of them would call for their wives to come into their presence, and whoever's did would win the money. And in the best part of the book (in my opinion), Hortensio and Lucentio are not only shocked, but silenced, as neither of their wives respond, but only Katharine comes in sweetly and willingly upon her husband's beckoning. (less)

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Sep 11, 2012 Madeline Knight-Dixon rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The Taming of the Shrew, William Shakespeare:

I have so many problems with this play, I don’t even know where to begin. The thing that is the hardest to realize about Shakespeare is that the word “comedy” doesn’t mean humor. It means the play ends with someone getting married. But to assume this means it ends happily is an ignorant modern notion.

There’s tons of feminist criticism about this play, with the central question being this; Is Katherine pleased at the end because she’s actually been tam...more

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Aug 31, 2012 Tessa rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: plays

I love Shakespeare's writing, I really do, which is why I gave it 2 stars instead of 1. But gosh darn it, I really hated this play. And I truly mean that I hated it. Petruchio basically broke Katherine in extremely abusive and appalling ways, and the manner in which this subject is treated by Shakespeare (and presumably those who watched and enjoyed the play back in the day) is extremely offensive to me. Basically, women are objects that are owned by men and must be beaten into submission if nec...more

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Aug 31, 2012 Trendhater73: S. Bledsoe rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

After listening to my classmates talk about Katharina deserving her treatment, I began hating this play more than before. I enjoy Shakespeare's lighter romps, such as Much Ado About Nothing or Twelfth Night. It is rare that I find myself so angry after reading one of his plays, but this one rubbed me the wrong way.

Petruchio is the biggest asshole on the planet and I pity any woman married to someone like him. More specifically, I pity the woman in my class who told us that Petruchio and Kate's m...more

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Jul 14, 2012 Twenty One rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I realize Shakespeare might sound a bit misogynistic. But his works should be read in the context of his time, from that vantage point this play is a pure joy ride.

In my personal experience when one decides to read Shakespeare, one shouldn't treat it like one would any other book. His works, along with King James Bible and a few other literary works are some of the tallest and sturdiest giants on whose shoulders the whole English literature stands. Therefore it's important for one to commit to...more

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Jun 12, 2012 Michael Jones rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, honorable-romance, works-as-a-play

I really enjoyed this little play, and thanks to the people on librivox.org for reading it to me-- not bad!

Some of the other reviews on here are very harsh with PETRUCHIO for his methods of subduing KATE. Well, I read Shakespeare's plays and I see Christian imagery all over the place. Notice that the father's name is BAPTISTA.

I see in KATE the church, the bride of Christ! She is baptized, but she eventually needs to bring her will into conformity with Jesus the groom. Jesus has to use very sever...more

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Jun 03, 2012 Edward rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 1-my-shelves, cultural-britain, cultural-canada, classics, fiction, humour, shakespeare, film-radio-television, play-script

Since 1953 the Stratford Festival has been presenting theatrical performances that are world renowned for their excellent artistic standards. More recently thousands of television viewers have also been able to experience the excitement of the theatre in their own homes as a result of the CBC television production of several of the Stratford plays. Now CBC Enterprises, the entrepreneurial arm of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, makes these acclaimed theatrical events available to the reade...more

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Jun 02, 2012 Lottie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I heard once that 'The Taming of the Shrew' is a book that you either love or hate. I'm somewhere in between (how's that for decisive). It's amazingly fun to see a nasty tempered woman learn obedience, though I do like to think at least a bit of her 'attitude' is still there, otherwise the play would be a tragedy, about a woman whose spirit was broken (like a horses?) However, that less than flattering depiction is not what I saw happening, it seemed more of a lesson for the 'feminists' of today...more

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Mar 31, 2012 Stetsenko rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Интересный ход - дать гротескную историю на фоне другой, несколько более реалистичной, но в то же время заключающей в себе изначально некоторый обман, перевоплощение. И это перевоплощение происходит со зрителем-артистом-пьяницей-"лордом"!
Жаль, что в итоге это оказывается лишь "запускающим" пьесу элементом, но не преображающим её полностью. Я очень ждала в конце возвращения в первую сцену. Увы!
Впрочем, как подсказывают комментарии, в этом гениальность не Шекспира, но предшествующей ему традиции....more

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Aug 09, 2011 Emily Snyder rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I must admit that my rating of the play is based in large part on having directed a version of "Shrew" in 2010 that ranks among my all-time favorite play performances. (You can see the wooing scene here: http://youtu.be/xaebQOnnHMU. There are difficulties in the text. It's an early work, possibly written before Shakespeare had ever worked with actors, since it allows not time off for Petruchio in Act IV as well as several other amateur mistakes.

Most egregious, though, is that there is no scene...more

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Jul 22, 2011 David Sarkies rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: comedy

This is a very difficult play for us modern minds to come to grips with, though when one approaches this play one does need to consider that this play would have been difficult to stomach for the original theatre goers as well, however, if one does some research into the literature upon which this play is based, one can see that (pardon the pun) this play is quite tame compared to its sources. The source that I am referring to is a poem by Hugh Jackson, written in about 1550, entitled “Here Beg...more This is a very difficult play for us modern minds to come to grips with, though when one approaches this play one does need to consider that this play would have been difficult to stomach for the original theatre goers as well, however, if one does some research into the literature upon which this play is based, one can see that (pardon the pun) this play is quite tame compared to its sources. The source that I am referring to is a poem by Hugh Jackson, written in about 1550, entitled “Here Begynneth a Merry Jest of a Shrewde and Curste Wyfe, Lapped in Morelles Skin, for Her Good Behavyour”. In this poem the Shrew is beaten and kicked by her husband and then tied up and wrapped in a mule skin to cure her of her shrewdishness.
Having finally found a person that feels as uncomfortable about this play as I do, it is interesting to note that both the characters of Katherina and Petruchio are both uncomfortable, in that Kate is an obnoxious and violent person (as is seen at the beginning of the play as she drags her sister onto stage and begins to beat her) which Petruchio, while not beating her, starves her and forbids her sleep until she submits. This is not really acceptable behaviour, in our modern world, but was it acceptable in Shakespeares' time? Probably not, but in those days domestic violence (which includes psychological manipulation) would pass unpunished.
I believe Shakespeare wants us to be uncomfortable because a lot of his plays, especially the tragedies, are designed to make us uncomfortable. Take the Scottish play for example. We deal with a man who ascends the throne by killing the king, and then proceeds to murder everybody that could be a threat to his power. Then there is Othello, in which a very evil man goes about his task to destroying the life of the tragic hero (and I mention these two plays because both of them made me very uncomfortable when I first watched them).
Could one consider this to be a form of social criticism? Quite possibly, but the uncomfortable action within The Shrew has spawned a number of plays that attempt to tone down the uncomfortable aspects and make it appear that neither character is as bad as the play makes it out to be, or treats Kate as taking Petruchio for a ride. It is interesting that Germaine Greer offers her support for the play (as do quite a number of women I would have expected to have been offended). In some cases I guess we are hesitant to criticise Shakespeare on such anti-social conduct, or we simply try to lock it away into the past and simply say 'that is what it was like back then.' Personally, I think that is a cop out.
I don't think Petruchio is as bad as is suggested, though at the beginning he does manipulate Kate into marrying him. This is done simply by talking over her, and while she tries to object, all of the male characters push her to one side and and accept Petruchio's statement about marriage. Does Petruchio love Kate? Possibly, though Greer does suggest that for a shrew like Kate, Petruchio is really the only man for her, though he is brought into the play to assist Bianca's suitors to get married, as Baptista does not want to marry Bianca off until Kate is married. Some productions trying to make it appear that Kate still has her sharp wit and is really in control, but that seems to undermine the entire theme of the play. In the end, this is a very hard play to come to grips with, but like many of Shakespeare's works, it is still a masterpiece.
I'll finish off quoting George Bernard Shaw: the last scene is altogether disgusting to modern sensibility. No man with any decency of feeling can sit it out in the company of a woman without being extremely ashamed of the lord-of-creation moral implied in the wager and the speech put into the woman's own mouth. (1897)(less)

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Jul 08, 2011 Edward rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

TAMING OF THE SHREW - not one of my favorite Shakespeare plays nor one of his best works. It reminded me of MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR, Shakespeare showing off in a set piece what he could do with a "character". Of course, we know Falstaff already, and MERRY WIVES in which he is the main character, is a sequel to the great Henry IV and Henry V plays In SHREW, Kate is quickly set up as the "shrew", averse to smart-ass men, especially ones with marriage on their minds.
She meets her match in Petruch...more

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Apr 13, 2011 Brittini Smith added it · review of another edition

"The Taming of the Shrew" by William Shakespeare is one of Shakespeare's more fun plays. It's easier to understand than most of his other plays and it was adapted into the film "10 Things I Hate About You," making it more modern and relatable. it's about two sisters, Katherine and Bianca, whose father won't let Bianca marry until her older sister does. However, Katherine is detestable and many would call her a 'shrew.' Lucentio, like many other men, is in love with Bianca and wishes to marry her...more

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Jun 24, 2010 Andrew MacIntire rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was the first Shakespeare play I read, and thus it holds a special place in my heart like no other work of literature. It is not his best piece by any means - neither his greatest achievement nor his most uproarious comedy – but it succeeds admirably at its intentions. It features delightful characters and madcap hi-jinks that really should appeal to any audience, even those not familiar with Renaissance drama. Indeed, it would be my first recommendation for those who aren’t familiar with t...more

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Jun 17, 2010 Rinchen added it · review of another edition

This is a comedy play by Shakespeare, and is about the love and courting of Katherine by Petruchio. Petruchio is from Verona and is a pretty well rounded gentleman, while Katherine is more of the rough and tough woman contrary to what we believe of woman from the 1500s. Before leading to this main romance focus, we also experience Bianca, Katherine’s sister, who is the prettier one, and how she gets all the suitors, forming competition between the two siblings.
Analysis of a Plot:
One theme which...more

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Jun 04, 2010 Rowland Bismark rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The Taming of the Shrew is one of Shakespeare’s earliest comedies, and it shares many essential characteristics with his other romantic comedies, such as Much Ado About Nothing and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. These characteristics include lighthearted and slapstick humor, disguises and deception, and a happy ending in which most of the characters come out satisfied. The lightheartedness of these romantic comedies contrasts sharply with the darker humor and deeper characterization of Shakespeare’s...more The Taming of the Shrew is one of Shakespeare’s earliest comedies, and it shares many essential characteristics with his other romantic comedies, such as Much Ado About Nothing and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. These characteristics include lighthearted and slapstick humor, disguises and deception, and a happy ending in which most of the characters come out satisfied. The lightheartedness of these romantic comedies contrasts sharply with the darker humor and deeper characterization of Shakespeare’s later plays, both comic and tragic. The youthfulness of the playwright can be seen in the whimsical spirit of the early plays. Like the other romantic comedies, The Taming of the Shrew focuses on courtship and marriage, but, unlike most of them, it devotes a great deal of attention to married life after the wedding. The other comedies usually conclude with the wedding ceremony itself.

A play focusing on the concerns of married life would have seemed particularly relevant to English audiences of the Renaissance period. Theirs was a society concerned with marriage in general, thanks in part to Henry VIII’s separation of England from the Catholic Church in 1534 in order to secure a divorce that the pope had refused to grant him. Henry’s troubles highlight one important aspect of Elizabethan marriages among the upper class: they were most often arranged for money, land, or power, rather than for love. Moreover, unless you were the king of England, the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries offered few ways out of an unhappy marriage. Thus, the resolution of marital disputes became an important topic in the popular literature of the era.

Of particular worry to this society were “shrews” or “scolds”—that is, cantankerous or gossipy wives, who resisted or undermined the assumed authority of the husband within a marriage. A large number of sermons, plays, and pamphlets of the time address related topics: the taming of shrews by their husbands or the public punishment of scolds by, for example, repeatedly dunking them in a river. Part of this body of literature took a very diplomatic attitude toward women, although much of it was extremely misogynistic. In some of this literature, it is difficult to distinguish between behavior that is being parodied and behavior that is presented as an ideal. This ambiguity may also be found in The Taming of the Shrew, which manages to lampoon chauvinistic behavior while simultaneously reaffirming its social validity. The play celebrates the quick wit and fiery spirit of its heroine even while reveling in her humiliation.

IN THE ENGLISH COUNTRYSIDE, a poor tinker named Christopher Sly becomes the target of a prank by a local lord. Finding Sly drunk out of his wits in front of an alehouse, the lord has his men take Sly to his manor, dress him in his finery, and treat him as a lord. When Sly recovers, the men tell him that he is a lord and that he only believes himself to be a tinker because he has been insane for the past several years. Waking in the lord’s bed, Sly at first refuses to accept the men’s story, but when he hears of his “wife,” a pageboy dressed in women’s clothing, he readily agrees that he is the lord they purport him to be. Sly wants to be left alone with his wife, but the servants tell him that a troupe of actors has arrived to present a play for him. The play that Sly watches makes up the main story of The Taming of the Shrew.

As a romantic comedy, the play focuses principally on the romantic relationships between men and women as they develop from initial interest into marriage. In this respect, the play is a typical romantic comedy. However, unlike other Shakespearean comedies, The Taming of the Shrew does not conclude its examination of love and marriage with the wedding. Rather, it offers a significant glimpse into the future lives of married couples, one that serves to round out its exploration of the social dimension of love.

Unlike in Romeo and Juliet, inner emotional desire plays only a secondary role in The Taming of the Shrew’s exploration of love. Instead,The Taming of the Shrew emphasizes the economic aspects of marriage—specifically, how economic considerations determine who marries whom. The play tends to explore romantic relationships from a social perspective, addressing the institutions of courtship and marriage rather than the inner passions of lovers. Moreover, the play focuses on how courtship affects not just the lovers themselves, but also their parents, their servants, and their friends. In general, while the husband and the wife conduct the marriage relationship after the wedding, the courtship relationship is negotiated between the future husband and the father of the future wife. As such, marriage becomes a transaction involving the transfer of money. Lucentio wins Bianca’s heart, but he is given permission to marry her only after he is able to convince Baptista that he is fabulously rich. Had Hortensio offered more money, he would have married Bianca, regardless of whether she loved Lucentio.

Each person in the play occupies a specific social position that carries with it certain expectations about how that person should behave. A character’s social position is defined by such things as his or her wealth, age, gender, profession, parentage, and education; the rules governing how each of them should behave are harshly enforced by family, friends, and society as a whole. For instance, Lucentio occupies the social role of a wealthy young student, Tranio that of a servant, and Bianca and Katherine the roles of upper-class young maidens-in-waiting. At the very least, they are supposed to occupy these roles—but, as the play shows, in reality, Kate wants nothing to do with her social role, and her shrewishness results directly from her frustration concerning her position. Because she does not live up to the behavioral expectations of her society, she faces the cold disapproval of that society, and, due to her alienation, she becomes miserably unhappy. Kate is only one of the many characters in The Taming of the Shrew who attempt to circumvent or deny their socially defined roles, however: Lucentio transforms himself into a working-class Latin tutor, Tranio transforms himself into a wealthy young aristocrat, Christopher Sly is transformed from a tinker into a lord, and so forth.

Disguise figures prominently in The Taming of the Shrew: Sly dresses as a lord, Lucentio dresses as a Latin tutor, Tranio dresses as Lucentio, Hortensio dresses as a music tutor, and the pedant dresses as Vincentio. These disguises enable the characters to transgress barriers in social position and class, and, for a time, each of them is successful. The play thus poses the question of whether clothes make the man—that is, whether a person can change his or her role by putting on new clothes. The ultimate answer is no, of course. In The Taming of the Shrew, society involves a web of antecedents that are always able to uncover one’s true nature, no matter how differently one wishes to portray oneself. Tranio, disguised as Lucentio, needs only to bump into Vincentio, and his true identity surfaces. As Petruchio implies on his wedding day, a garment is simply a garment, and the person beneath remains the same no matter what disguise is worn.

Compared with Katherine’s more serious anguish about her role, the other characters’ attempts to circumvent social expectations seem like harmless fun. However, the play illustrates that each transformation must be undone before conventional life can resume at the end of the play. Ultimately, society’s happiness depends upon everyone playing his or her prescribed roles. Through the motif of disguise, the play entertains the idea that a person’s apparel determines his or her social position, but it ultimately affirms that this is not the case. A servant may put on the clothes of a lord, but he remains a servant, one who must return to his place, as we see with Tranio. Likewise, Lucentio must reveal his subterfuge to his father and to Baptista before moving forward with Bianca. Kate’s development over the course of the play is basically determined by her gradual adaptation to her new social role as wife. She complies with Petruchio’s humiliating regimen of taming because she knows on some level that, whether she likes the role of wife or not, she will be happier accepting her social obligations than living as she has been at odds with everyone connected to her. In fact, the primary excitement in The Taming of the Shrew stems from its permeable social boundaries, crisscrossed continually by those who employ a disguise or a clever lie. In the end, however, the conventional order reestablishes itself, and those characters who harmonize with that order achieve personal happiness.(less)

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Apr 16, 2010 Bruce rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A play within a play. Act I, Scene 1 uses familiar devices of an elder daughter needing to be married before the younger, and the exchange of identities to gain access to the beloved. In this case, the elder daughter is Katherine, the “shrew,” and the younger is Bianca, loved by several men.

This is indeed a “problem play.” Is one to see it simply as demonstrating the gender roles of the time in which it was written? Is it a satire? Petruccio makes no secret at the beginning that he pursues Kathe...more

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Apr 13, 2010 Jenny rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classics

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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About William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare (baptised 26 April 1564) was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon" (or simply "The Bard"). His surviving works consist of 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and several other poems. His plays have been tr...more William Shakespeare (baptised 26 April 1564) was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon" (or simply "The Bard"). His surviving works consist of 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and several other poems. His plays have been translated into every major living language, and are performed more often than those of any other playwright.

Shakespeare was born and raised in Stratford-upon-Avon. Scholars believe that he died on his fifty-second birthday, coinciding with St George’s Day. It is an interesting idea that English writer is so closely identified with the Patron Saint of England!

At the age of 18 he married Anne Hathaway, who bore him three children: Susanna, and twins Hamnet and Judith. Between 1585 and 1592 he began a successful career in London as an actor, writer, and part owner of the playing company the Lord Chamberlain's Men, later known as the King's Men. He appears to have retired to Stratford around 1613, where he died three years later. Few records of Shakespeare's private life survive, and there has been considerable speculation about such matters as his sexuality, religious beliefs, and whether the works attributed to him were written by others.

Shakespeare produced most of his known work between 1590 and 1613. His early plays were mainly comedies and histories, genres he raised to the peak of sophistication and artistry by the end of the sixteenth century. Next he wrote mainly tragedies until about 1608, including Hamlet, King Lear, and Macbeth, considered some of the finest examples in the English language. In his last phase, he wrote tragicomedies, also known as romances, and collaborated with other playwrights. Many of his plays were published in editions of varying quality and accuracy during his lifetime, and in 1623, two of his former theatrical colleagues published the First Folio, a collected edition of his dramatic works that included all but two of the plays now recognised as Shakespeare's.

Shakespeare was a respected poet and playwright in his own day, but his reputation did not rise to its present heights until the nineteenth century. The Romantics, in particular, acclaimed Shakespeare's genius, and the Victorians hero-worshipped Shakespeare with a reverence that George Bernard Shaw called "bardolatry". In the twentieth century, his work was repeatedly adopted and rediscovered by new movements in scholarship and performance. His plays remain highly popular today and are consistently performed and reinterpreted in diverse cultural and political contexts throughout the world.

According to historians, Shakespeare write 37 plays and 154 sonnets throughout the span of his life. Shakespeare's writing average was 1.5 plays a year since he first started writing in 1589. There have been plays and sonnets contributed to Shakespeare that were not authentically written by the great master of language and literature.
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