The Taming of the Shrew
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The Taming of the Shrew is a comedy by William Shakespeare. It was one of his earlier plays, probably penned in 1594.
Plot summary
Prior to the first act, an Induction (sometimes omitted) frames the play as a "kind of history" played in front of a drunkard named Christopher Sly. Sly has been kicked out of an alehouse for refusing to pay for his alcohol, and a Lord, come newly from hunting, finds him lying asleep outside and decides to fool Sly into thinking that he himself is a lord. Sly is lumbered up to a classy apartment, and slipped into bed. When he awakes, he is told that he is a great lord who has lost his memory of his real identity through sickness, and that his ale-house rambles were no more than a dream. A young page, dressed in woman's attire, is brought to him and presented to him as his wife. Though offered a choice of entertainments, Sly prefers that this wife immediately join him for some play in bed. The page distracts him by diverting his attention to a comedy which some players have ready for him (he mistakenly identifies it as a 'comonty'), and this comedy is the story of Kate the Shrew that follows.
The "Shrew" is Katherina Minola, the eldest daughter of Baptista Minola, a merchant in Padua. Pretty, though not beautiful, her temper is extremely volatile and no man can control her. She ties her sister to a chair in one scene, demanding to know which of her suitors she likes best and strikes her sister when she cannot answer. In another scene she attacks a music tutor with his own lute. Her younger sister, Bianca Minola, is docile, beautiful, and much sought after by the noble men of the town. She is often remarked as "the ideal woman". Baptista has sworn not to allow his younger daughter to marry before Katharina is wed. Bianca has several suitors, and two of them agree that they will work together to marry off Katharina so that they will be free to compete for Bianca. One suitor, Gremio, is old and grey, and the other, Hortensio, is feisty and young.
The plot becomes considerably more complex when two strangers, Petruchio and Lucentio, arrive in town (in separate scenes). Lucentio, the son of the wealthy merchant Vincentio of Pisa, falls in love with Bianca at first sight, while Petruchio comes to gain riches.
When Baptista mentions that Bianca needs a tutor, both Gremio and Hortensio compete to find one for her in order to curry Baptista's favor. Gremio comes across Lucentio, who pretends to be a man of letters in order to woo Bianca. Hortensio disguises himself as a musician and convinces Petruchio to present him to Baptista as a music tutor. Thus, Lucentio and Hortensio, pretending to be teachers, woo Bianca behind her father's back.
Meanwhile, Petruchio is told by the suitors about the large dowry that would come with marrying Katharina. He attempts to woo the violent Katharina, calling her "Kate". In a scene he talks to Katherina and proves to the audience that he will not back down and is her intellectual equal. He quickly settles on the dowry, and attempts to woo her. The scene is amusing as Katherina turns around everything Petruchio says and creates complicated plays on words. Eventually Petruchio marries her and takes her home against her will. Once there, he begins his "taming" of his new wife - he keeps her from sleeping, invents reasons why she cannot eat, and buys her beautiful clothes only to rip them up. When Kate, profoundly shaken by her experiences, is told that they are to return to Padua for Bianca's wedding, she is only too happy to comply. By the time they arrive, Kate's taming is complete and she no longer resists Petruchio. She demonstrates her complete subordination to his will by agreeing that she will regard the moon as the sun, or the sun as the moon, if he demands her to do so.
Bianca is to be married to Lucentio, following a complex subplot involving Lucentio's servant masquerading as his master during his stint as a tutor. Hortensio is rejected because Lucentio's family is richer and can offer a greater dowry. Hortensio has married a rich widow. During the banquet, Petruchio brags that his wife, formerly untamable, is now completely obedient. Baptista, Hortensio, and Lucentio are incredulous and the latter two believe that their wives are more obedient. Petruchio proposes a wager in which each will send a servant to call for their wives, and whichever wife comes most obediently will have won the wager for her husband. Baptista, not believing that his shrewish Katharina has been tamed, offers an enormous second dowry in addition to the wager.
Kate is the only one who responds, winning for Petruchio a second dowry. At the end of the play, after the other two wives have been summoned as well, Kate gives a monologue explaining that wives should always obey their husbands and lords.
Analysis
There are many interpretations of The Taming of the Shrew. Viewed from a modern feminist perspective, the play seems at first to be undeniably misogynistic, and the ending in particular offends. Some critics respond that Petruchio suffers as much as Kate in order to tame her - he does not eat in order to starve her, he acts like a fool in order to make her seem foolish too, and he stays up all night in order to keep her from sleeping. Kate's hysterical violence seems to require Petruchio's severe methods in order to render her a fit member of society. Many point to this as an indication that the play is not as male-oriented as it at first seems.
In the “Taming of the Shrew” the Induction serves as an ironic commentary on the action of the play. The main theme raised in the Induction is that of appearance and reality, Sly is duped into thinking he is a lord, “am I a lord, and have I such a lady? Or do I dream?” This can be read in two ways. Sly has either given in to the thought that he has been “lunatic” for all these years or he plays along with the idea as he sees it is to his benefit. This is demonstrated when he attempts to use the eloquence of a lord in calling, “ow lady hither” then the refinement is forgotten as he calls for “a pot o’ the smallest ale.” This foreshadows Katherina giving into Petruchio’s taming method. The marriage to Petruchio benefits her; he has seen her fit enough to marry where others did not. “I love her ten times more than e’er I did.”
The Induction foreshadows much of the taming of Katherina whereby characters share the same interaction as Petruchio and Katherina do. An example of a foreshadowed event is the verbal sparring between Katherina and Petruchio where he is seen to be wearing her down with a combination of wit and intelligence. This is demonstrated in the wrong scene. The pair of “lovers” argue using special puns with Petruchio insisting he is the man “born to tame” Katherina. Shakespeare uses the technique of call and response. Katherina playing reminds Petruchio to “beware my sting.” His response is to “pluck out.” Her call is then to “find where it lies” and Petruchio’s reply is full of special innuendo “who knows not where a wasp does wear his sting? In his tail.” This repartee is foreshadowed in the Induction by Sly and the Hostess where they are arguing about the payment for the glasses he has broken. The pace of the speech increases, “I’ll feeze you in faith” The Hostesses’ response to this is “a pair of stocks you rogue.” This is very entertaining and opens the play on a lively note establishing the jocularity of the moment; Sly is obviously a funny character.
The fact that everything after the Induction is a play being watched by Sly suggests that none of the taming of Katherina is supposed to be taken seriously. Sly is also part of a “play” in the way he is being fooled and used as entertainment for the Lord and the players. If the induction were not to be used it would take away the reminder that the play is supposed to be a comedy not a serious drama. Some critics say that the Induction is completely useless but without it the multi-layered nature of the illusion would be lost. Including the Induction reinforces to the audience how far from reality all the events that follow are. The audience can relax and enjoy the humour rather than be encouraged to search for a more “political” interpretation.
As Sly does not have the choice between his real life or his make-believe life, Katherina doesn’t have the choice to refuse marriage. As Sly’s reality is worth so much less than what he is being offered, he doesn’t have anything to lose; this is the same for Katherina who cannot refuse this marriage because it’s probably her only chance to wed, so it is her best and only option, “I will marry you.”
Sly is a “tinker,” an outcast to polite society. The lord sees him as insignificant and described him as a “monstrous beast.” Katherina is thought of as inhuman, being described as “the devil” from which Hortensio, Gremio and Hortensio clearly find her alarming “deliver us.” She has a reputation as a bad-tempered scold “make her bear the penance of her tongue,” says Gremio. The desire for her to suffer and for her voice to be extinguished is made clear. She doesn’t comply to society’s expectations of the perfect woman; just as Sly is on the outside, so is Katherina, until she conforms and is tamed.
The comical change of Sly which “tames” him is a major form of entertainment to the Lord and the players, setting the audience up for the comical event of the wedding of Petruchio and Katherina where Katherina is publicly humiliated by her future husband. The visual comedy in this scene, such as Petruchio's late arrival to his wedding, being dressed in "mean-apparel", contributes to the humour. Biondella’s description is detailed and passes judgement, “an old hat, and the humour of forty fancies pricked isn’t for a feather; a monster.” It is clear Shakespeare expects the audience to laugh but also to recognize that the character Petruchio is not conforming to what is expected of a bridegroom. His tardiness suggests subversion and his choice of transport, behaviour at the church and refused to stay for the feast ignores all the social codes. All this behaviour humiliates Katherina and she attempts to regain her position, standing firm in hope that she will be able to attend the feast. “I’ll not be gone till I please myself.” The determination and recognition here that she is “to be made a fool” suggests she is aware of what Petruchio is doing but is powerless.
Sly is not humiliated yet he is still threatened with humiliation by being put in “the stocks” by the hostess. This is one instance where opposites are used to foreshadow differences between classes in other areas of the play. Sly is spoilt and indulged in luxurious cuisine and riches, while Katherina is deprived of food and sleep by Petruchio, an opposite method to taming, “he throws the food and dishes at them.” This way of showing Katherina the food and taking it away inserts his power, and relates back to how the Lord has power over Sly because it is him who can make or break the fairy tale that has been created for him to live.
Shakespeare establishes the comedy in the Induction, in particular the slapstick aspect. The two main creators of this comical value are the players and Petruchio. The main “player” who creates the farcical edge and slapstick approach is Page, Sly’s make-believe wife. This is farcical because it is made obvious that it is a man dressed as a woman. In its time this would have been a hilarious sight, and this humour still works on today’s audiences. The main slapstick that Petruchio causes is physical, he is repeatedly seen “striking” his servants. Katherina even results to threatening violence when she is embarrassed publicly, “I’ll comb your noddle with a three legged stool.” Even though this wasn’t carried out the sheer imagination of the event is comedy in itself.
Both the Lord and Petruchio are the characters with the intelligence to plan and create dreams. However the Lord hides his real motive which is to gain a hilarious memory at the expense of Sly. However Petruchio is not “wiving it wealthfully in Padua” at anybody’s expense, he actually helps Katherina gain respect by taming her. This is demonstrated in the final scene. All seated around the table, the wager is set and the wives tested to see who is the best. Although some critics suggest that the total submission of Katherina “thy husband is thy lord, thy life, thy keeper” emphasises her powerlessness. It can be read differently, she is listened to, she holds the stage and she is publicly given affection and the respect by her husband. She says that a wife should be prepared to “place hand below husband’s foot.” Petruchio’s response is “why, there’s a wench! Come on and kiss me, Kate.” The phrasing suggests he’s full of admiration and also suggests that maybe both of them have prepared, between themselves, this demise. They win the wager and the admiration of all.
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Selected stage productions
- 1986, Clwyd Theatr Cymru and Haymarket Theatre, Timothy Dalton and Vanessa Redgrave in the title roles.
Film and television adaptations
- The earliest known film adaptation is the 1908 silent version directed by D.W. Griffith.
- The first sound version on film is the 1929 adaptation starring Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks. It is infamous for the title card "By William Shakespeare, with additional dialogue by Sam Taylor".
- The 1967 film adaptation directed by Franco Zeffirelli and starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton is the most widely seen version of the play.
- In 1980, the BBC produced a version of the play starring John Cleese as Petruchio.
- The movie 10 Things I Hate about You is a loose adaptation of the play.
- In 2005, part of their "ShakespeaRe-Told" series, the BBC produced a modern adaptation starring Shirley Henderson and Rufus Sewell. This modern version still has Kate stating it is a woman's duty to love and obey her husband, but with the requirement that he do precisely the same for her.
Derivations
A number of later works have been derived from The Taming of the Shrew, including the Cole Porter musical Kiss Me, Kate; the Ermanna Wolf-Ferrarie hopera Sly; the classic 1952 film The Quiet Man; the 1999 teen motion picture 10 Things I Hate about You; the 2003 motion picture Deliver Us From Eva; and the 2000 Brazilian soap opera O Cravo e a Rosa ([link]).The television series Moonlighting also produced one episode ("Atomic Shakespeare") which recast the show's main characters in a comedic parody of The Taming of the Shrew.
Shakespeare's contemporary John Fletcher wrote a comedic sequel titled The Tamer Tamed in 1611, just 20 years after Shakespeare wrote the original. It is said Fletcher wrote this play to attract Shakespeare's attention, and it seems to have worked — the two went on to collaborate on at least three plays (Fletcher wrote about 42 plays in his life, 21 of which were collaborations with other known dramatists).
The BBC One ShakespeaRe-Told series sets the story in modern-day Britain, with Katherine (played by Shirley Henderson) as an abrasive career politician who is told she must find a husband as a public relations exercise.
External links
- [The Taming of the Shrew] - searchable, indexed e-text
- [The Taming of the Shrew] - HTML version of this title.
- [The Taming of the Shrew] - plain vanilla text from Project Gutenberg
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