FREE ESSAY ON THE TAMING OF THE SHREWW

THE TAMING OF THE SHREWW

Analytic Play Review
Of
The Taming Of The Shrew
By
Michael Christoff 12H
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.