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The Taming of the Shrew

      The Taming Of The Shrew by William Shakespeare is 

probably one of Shakespeare's earliest comedies.  Its plot 

is derived from the popular 'war of the sexes' theme in 

which males and females are pitted against one another for 

dominance in marriage.  The play begins with an induction in 

which a drunkard, Christopher Sly, is fooled into believing 

he is a king and has a play performed for him.  The play he 

watches is what constitutes the main body of The Taming Of 

The Shrew.  In it, a wealthy land owner, Baptista Minola, 

attempts to have his two daughters married.  One is very 

shrewish, Katherine, while the other is the beautiful and 

gentle Bianca.  In order to ensure Katherine is married, 

Baptista disallows Bianca to be espoused until Katherine is 

wed, forcing the many suitors to Bianca to find a mate for 

Katherine in order for them to vie for Bianca's love.  Many 

critics of the play condemn it for the blatant sexist 

attitude it has toward women but closer examination of the 

play and the intricacies of its structure reveal that it is 

not merely a story of how men should 'put women in their 

place'.  The play is, in fact, a comedy about an assertive 

woman coping with how she is expected to act in the society 

of the late sixteenth century and of how one must obey the 

unwritten rules of a society to be accepted in it.  Although 

the play ends with her outwardly conforming to the norms of 

society, this is in action only, not in mind.  Although she 

assumes the role of the obedient wife, inwardly she still 

retains her assertiveness.



        Most of the play's humour comes from the way in 

which characters create false realities by disguising 

themselves as other people, a device first introduced in the 

induction.  Initially this is accomplished by having 

Christopher Sly believe he is someone he is not and then by 

having the main play performed for him.  By putting The 

Taming Of The Shrew in a 'play within a play' structure, 

Shakespeare immediately lets the audience know that the play 

is not real thus making all events in the play false 

realities.  Almost all characters in the play take on 

identities other than their own at some point of time during 

the play.  Sly as a king, Tranio as Lucentio, Lucentio as 

Cambio, Hortensio as Litio and the pedant as Vicentio are 

all examples of this.  Another example of this is Katherine 

as an obedient wife.



        In The Taming Of The Shrew, courtship and marriage 

are not so much the result of love but rather an institution 

of society that people are expected to take part in.  As a 

result of the removal of romance from marriage, suitors are 

judged, not by their love for a woman, but by how well they 

can provide for her.  All suitors compare the dowry each can 

bring to the marriage and the one with the most to offer 

'wins' the woman's hand in marriage.  This competition for 

marriage is like a game to the characters of the play.  

While discussing the courtship of Bianca with Gremio, 

Hortensio says "He that runs fastest gets\ The ring" (Act I, 

scene i, l. 140-141) likening receiving permission to wed 

Bianca to winning a race.  In the game, however, women are 

treated like objects that can be bought and sold rather than 

as human beings.  This is expected since the society is a 

patriarchal one.  For example, Lucentio, Tranio and 

Petruchio are all defined with reference to their fathers 

and all the elderly authority figures, like Baptista and 

Vicentio, are men.  The taming of Katherine is not a women's 

shrewishness being cured as much as it is a woman being 

taught the rules of the 'patriarchal game'.  Katherine has 

learned how to be assertive and with this knowledge is able 

to control men, and a woman controlling a man is considered 

'against the rules' of the game.



        The play ends with Katherine proving that she is 

truly cured of her 'shrewishness' and is the most obedient 

of the three newlywed wives at the end of the play.  This is 

demonstrated in her soliloquy when she lectures the other 

wives on the proper way in which a woman should behave:



             I am ashamed that women are so simple

             To offer war where they should kneel for peace,

             Or seek rule, supremacy, and sway,

             When they are bound to serve, love, and obey.

(Act V, scene ii, l. 161 - 164)



        Although most critics interpret the play as being 

that of a woman finally acting the way in which she is 

supposed to act, it is difficult to believe that a character 

as vibrant and strong-willed as Katherine is changed so 

easily.  Following with the device of false realities that 

Shakespeare set in place so early in the play, it would seem 

more logical that Katherine would simply be acting the part 

of 'the obedient wife' in order to be accepted in the 

society in which she lives.  Katherine can 'play a part' 

very well and can even enjoy doing it.  This is shown on the 

road to Padua from Petruchio's house when Kate is forced to 

address Vincentio as a woman and says, "Young budding 

virgin, fair and fresh and sweet" (Act IV, scene v, l. 37).



        The Taming Of The Shrew is a light-hearted comedy 

that is better seen than read.  This is especially true 

since a lot of the humour in it is physical or 'slapstick' 

humour which is possible only on stage.  The complexity of 

the play is refreshing, as many of the modern plays of today 

are quite linear and do little to keep a reader's attention. 

 Another favourable aspect of it is the subplot involving 

Lucentio and Bianca which lends itself as the basis for many 

humourous moments, most notably between Lucentio, Hortensio 

and Bianca.  The obvious sexist attitude of the play does 

not hinder it because of the reasons stated above.  One must 

also take into account the attitudes of sixteenth century 

England and the fact that the play is a comedy and is not 

meant to be taken seriously.

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