The Taming of the Shrew

William Shakespeare

Remembering Shakespeare• Baptized on 26 April 1563

• Died 23 April 1616

• Grew up in Stratford-upon-Avon

• Married Anne Hathaway at age 18; had three children (two were twins)

• Poet and playwright; named greatest writer in English language

• His surviving work include 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems and several other poems

• Work was produced mostly around 1589-1613

Shakespeare’s Comedies

• Comedies (or Elizabethan comedies) include– Happy ending– Marriage occurs

between unmarried characters

– Light-hearted tone and style

• Also– Separation &

reunification– Mistaken identities– A clever servant– Heightened tensions,

often within a couple– One, intertwining plot– Frequent punning

Shakespearean Devices

• Play-within-a-play• Use of disguises• Love at first sight• Fluid action = fast-paced action• Asides = when the character speaks only for

the audience to hear• Soliloquy = an act of speaking one’s thought

either alone or with others present• Monologue = a long speech by a character

Understanding Puns

• Puns are – A play on words that

purposely brings about ambiguity between similar-sounding words that have different meanings for the sake of humor

– Double meanings

• Examples of puns– “The pun is mightier

than the word.”– Don't sweat the petty

things, and don't pet the sweaty things.

Puns from His Plays

• Claudius: “...But now, my cousin Hamlet, and my son...”

Hamlet [aside]: “A little more than kin, and less than kind.” – (Hamlet, 1.2.64-65).– Context: Hamlet is upset that his uncle

Claudius has married his mother. • Hint: Think of “kind” as also short for “kindred.”

A Very Famous One

• "No, 'tis not so deep as a well, nor so wide as a church-door, but 'tis enough, 'twill serve: ask for me tomorrow, and you shall find me a grave man." – (Romeo and Juliet, Act III, scene 1)

• Hint: Grave=serious, dead, sad.

Taming: The CharactersBaptista Minola

Katherina Minola Bianca Minola

Gremio

Hortensio Lucentio

Tranio

Petruchio

Grumio

father/daughters

Suitors of Bianca

master/servant

master/servants

suitor to Kate

Biondello

Vincentio

father/son

friends

Taming: The Plot

• Baptista Minola has two daughters: a gentle, beautiful, younger one (Bianca) who has many suitors and an older one (Katherina) who is considered a shrew.

• Bianca cannot marry until Katherina does.• Bianca’s suitors conspire to find a suitor for

Katherina, but there are very few choices.• Just by luck, Hortensio’s friend, Petruchio, comes to

town to find a wife!• Petruchio claims he does not mind Kate’s shrewish

behavior, because he plans to tame her.

Terms to Know• Shrew = a vexatious, scolding, brawling woman• Tame = to change from a wild state; to domesticate• Domesticated = to convert to home life; tame• Dowry = property or money brought by a wife to her

husband on their marriage• Patriarchy = a system or society of government in

which the father or eldest male is head of the family, and descent is traced through the male line

• Gender roles = the rules in which men and women are supposed to live by according to their society

Katherina’s Character

“She’s too rough for me.” (Gremio)

“No mates for youUnless you were of gentler, milder mould.” (Hortensio)

“…this fiend from hell” (Gremio)

“Her elder sister is so curst and shrewdThat, till her father rid his hands of her,Master, your love [Bianca] must live a maid at home.” (Tranio)

More of Kate’s Character

“Will you woo this wildcat?” (Gremio)

She’s “…famous for a scolding tongue.” (Tranio)

“I know she is an irksome, brawling scold.” (Petruchio)

“Her name is Katherina Minola,Renowned in Padua for her scolding tongue.” (Hortensio)

Gender Roles

Petruchio states this about his wife:

“I will be master of what is mine own,

She is my goods, my chattels; she is my house,My household-stuff, my field, my barn,My horse, my ox, my ass, my anything,And here she stands.”

Let’s Dissect

“I will be master of what is mine own,She is my goods, my chattels; she is my house,My household-stuff, my field, my barn,My horse, my ox, my ass, my anything,And here she stands.”

“I am in charge of all that is mine

[My wife] is my property, my possession, my home,

The things I own in my house, my field, my barn,

My horse, my ox, my donkey, everything I own,

And here she is.”

Chauvinism or Patriarchy?

Chauvinism = excessive patriotism for one’s own cause

Is Petruchio simply a male chauvinistic pig?

Patriarchy =

patri = father

archy = government

Or is he merely performing his patriarchal duty?

Relationships & Marriage

What do you think?

• Men and women are equal in marriage and society.• Men are considered to be higher in society than women.• The daughter can choose her husband and make her own

decisions.• The father makes all the decisions, including who his daughter

can marry.• Women are supposed to be obedient and do what the men tell

them to do.• Women are supposed to be independent and make their own

choices.• Marriage is like a business contract and money is an important

consideration.• The father paid money, called a dowry, to his daughter’s

husband.• Women are compared to animals to be tamed.• It is the custom that the eldest daughter has to get married first,

before the younger daughter.• Women need to be meek, mild and obedient to follow what is

expected of them.