William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew
Introduction
This newsletter is dedicated to providing clear, in-depth analysis of Shakespeare's works for students. Our focus for this issue is one of Shakespeare's most vibrant and contentious early comedies, The Taming of the Shrew. A play that delights and disconcerts in equal measure, it remains a hotbed for critical debate concerning gender, power, and social performance.
This guide will break down the play's plot, characters, and major themes. Crucially, we will explain all key literary and technical terms in detail to build a solid foundation for your understanding and essays. Whether you are encountering the play for the first time or revisiting it for advanced study, this newsletter aims to be your essential companion.
The Plot
The Taming of the Shrew is structured as a ‘play-within-a-play’. The main story is presented as a comedy performed for a drunken tinker named Christopher Sly, who is tricked into believing he is a nobleman.
The Frame Story (Induction): A wealthy lord finds Christopher Sly drunk and plays a trick on him. Sly is dressed in fine clothes, waited on by servants, and convinced he has been a lord all along, suffering from amnesia. The play of The Taming of the Shrew is then performed for his amusement.
The Main Plot:
In Padua, the wealthy Baptista Minola declares that his gentle, beautiful younger daughter, Bianca, cannot marry until her older sister, the sharp-tongued and wilful Katherina (Kate), finds a husband.
Bianca has several suitors, including Hortensio and the newly arrived Lucentio, who disguises himself as a Latin tutor named Cambio to woo her.
Petruchio, a brash gentleman from Verona, arrives in Padua seeking a wealthy wife. Hearing of Katherina’s large dowry, he resolves to marry her, undeterred by her reputation as a "shrew."
After a fiery and witty courtship, Petruchio marries Kate. He then begins his "taming" process: he behaves erratically, denies her food and sleep, and contradicts her reality (e.g., calling the sun the moon) until she agrees with him.
The sub-plot follows Lucentio’s successful, though deceptive, courtship of Bianca.
The Climax: At a wedding feast for Bianca and Lucentio, Petruchio makes a wager with the other new husbands: which of their wives is the most obedient? To everyone's astonishment, Katherina is the only one who comes when summoned. She then delivers a famous speech exhorting wives to submit to their husbands, stating that a woman's duty is to serve her "lord, thy king, thy governor."
About the Author: William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
William Shakespeare is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language. He was a playwright, poet, and actor.
His Works: He wrote at least 39 plays (tragedies like Hamlet and Macbeth, comedies like A Midsummer Night's Dream, and histories like Henry V), 154 sonnets, and several long narrative poems.
Historical Context: Shakespeare wrote during the Elizabethan Era (the reign of Queen Elizabeth I) and the early Jacobean Era (the reign of King James I). This was a time of significant change in England, with a growing interest in humanism, exploration, and the arts. However, society was also strictly patriarchal, meaning men held primary power and authority.
Character Sketches:
Katherina (Kate) the "Shrew":
The titular "shrew" – a term for a bad-tempered or aggressive woman. She is known for her sharp tongue and rebellious spirit.
Modern interpretations often see her anger as a response to her father’s clear favouritism towards Bianca and a society that rejects strong-willed women. She is a complex figure: vulnerable beneath a defensive exterior.
Her transformation from a defiant woman to a seemingly obedient wife is the central controversy of the play. Is she truly "tamed," or is she performing obedience as a survival strategy?
Petruchio:
A confident, boisterous, and sometimes brutal gentleman from Verona.
He openly states he has come to Padua to "wive it wealthily." He is attracted by Kate’s dowry but also seems to enjoy the challenge of matching wits with her.
His "taming" tactics are extreme and theatrical, involving psychological manipulation that critics have compared to falconry (training a wild bird of prey) – a metaphor he uses himself.
Bianca:
Initially presented as the ideal Elizabethan woman: sweet, gentle, and obedient.
She serves as a foil to Katherina, highlighting Kate’s "shrewish" behaviour. However, by the end of the play, she reveals a stubborn streak, refusing to come when her husband, Lucentio, calls her. This complexity suggests that her docility might have been a performance.
Baptista Minola:
The father of Kate and Bianca.
He treats marriage as a financial transaction. His decree that Bianca cannot wed until Kate is married sets the main plot in motion. His clear preference for Bianca contributes to Kate’s isolation and anger.
Lucentio:
A young, romantic student who falls instantly in love with Bianca.
His plotline, involving disguise and deception, is a classic element of Shakespearean comedy. He represents the ideal of love-based marriage, albeit achieved through dishonest means.
Major Themes
Gender Roles and Marriage:
This is the play's central theme. It explores the expected behaviours of men and women in a patriarchal society. The institution of marriage is portrayed not primarily as a union of love, but as an economic and social arrangement where women are treated as property to be transferred from father to husband.
Does the play reinforce these oppressive norms, or does it use satire and exaggeration to critique them?
Disguise and Deception:
Many characters adopt disguises. Lucentio becomes Cambio the tutor, and his servant Tranio impersonates him. This theme highlights how identity is not fixed but can be performed. Petruchio also "disguises" himself as a madman to tame Kate.
Dramatic Irony: This occurs when the audience knows something the characters do not (e.g., we know Cambio is really Lucentio). This creates humour and suspense.
Power and Submission:
The play is a battle of wills. Petruchio’s goal is to establish his dominance, or supremacy, in the marriage. Katherina’s final speech is the ultimate expression of female submission. Critics debate whether this ending validates Petruchio’s power or exposes the absurdity of such absolute control.
Social Class and Hierarchy:
The play reflects the rigid class structure of its time. Characters like Christopher Sly in the induction and the servants in the main plot highlight the boundaries between social classes. The disguises also comment on how appearance and clothing can influence perceived social status.
Literary Techniques and Style
Shakespeare employs a range of techniques that are essential to understand for critical appreciation.
Iambic Pentameter:
The most common meter (rhythmic pattern) in English poetry. Each line has ten syllables, with a stress on every second syllable (da-DUM, da-DUM, da-DUM, da-DUM, da-DUM).
"I’ll see thee hang’d on Sunday first before."
It creates a natural, speech-like rhythm. Noble characters often speak in verse, while lower-class characters speak in prose, signalling their social status.
Prose:
Ordinary written or spoken language, without a metrical structure.
Shakespeare uses prose for comic scenes, for characters of lower social standing, and sometimes for moments of madness or intimacy. Petruchio’s wild speeches are often in prose, highlighting his disruptive nature.
Puns and Wordplay:
A joke exploiting the different possible meanings of a word or words that sound similar but have different meanings.
Petruchio’s servant Grumio puns on the word "knock," meaning both to hit and to have sex. This adds layers of humour and meaning.
It demonstrates wit and intelligence, particularly in the verbal sparring (stichomythia – see below) between Kate and Petruchio.
Stichomythia:
A technique in dialogue where characters speak alternate, short, often sharp, repetitive lines.
The rapid-fire exchange during Kate and Petruchio’s first meeting (Act 2, Scene 1). This creates a sense of conflict, speed, and equality in wit.
Satire:
The use of humour, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticise people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues.
Many scholars argue that the play is not endorsing wife-taming but is instead a satire that makes Petruchio’s methods so exaggerated and ridiculous that the audience is forced to question the very idea of "taming" a person.
Critical Appreciation:
The Traditional (Patriarchal) Reading:
This view takes the play at face value. Katherina is a problematic woman who needs to be tamed for the social order to function. Petruchio is the heroic male who, through firm but (in this reading) ultimately benevolent methods, civilises her and brings her to happiness. Her final speech is a sincere endorsement of wifely duty.
The Feminist Reading:
This reading, supported by much modern scholarship, sees the play as a critique of patriarchy. Petruchio’s behaviour is seen as abusive and grotesque. Katherina’s submission is interpreted as ironic – she is not truly tamed but has learned to play the game, performing obedience to secure a peaceful life. Her speech can be seen as a sarcastic commentary on the very expectations it seems to uphold. The absurd play-within-a-play structure further suggests that the "taming" is a farce, not a model to be taken seriously.
Famous Excerpt: Katherina’s Final Speech (Act 5, Scene 2)
"Thy husband is thy lord, thy life, thy keeper,
Thy head, thy sovereign; one that cares for thee,
And for thy maintenance commits his body
To painful labour both by sea and land...
I am ashamed that women are so simple
To offer war where they should kneel for peace,
Or seek for rule, supremacy, and sway,
When they are bound to serve, love, and obey."
Analysis: This is the most debated part of the play. Is Kate sincere? Is she defeated? Or is she being deeply ironic, saying what she knows Petruchio and society want to hear? The speech perfectly encapsulates the play's central conflict. Notice the use of political language: "lord," "sovereign," "rule," "supremacy." This frames marriage as a political hierarchy.
Summary
The Taming of the Shrew is a complex comedy that explores gender, power, and performance.
Its controversial ending allows for multiple interpretations, from a straightforward endorsement of patriarchal order to a satirical critique of it.
Shakespeare uses literary techniques like iambic pentameter, prose, pun, and satire to create meaning and humour.
Understanding the Elizabethan context is crucial, but the play continues to resonate because it asks enduring questions about the dynamics of relationships and social roles.
