In one interpretation, petruchio teaches or brainwashes kate how to follow societal gender roles. Believing he has tamed the shrew, petruchio takes katherine back to her fathers. The the taming of the shrew characters covered include. Because christopher sly makes taming of the shrew the most ironic of shakespeares plays, as sly becomes a parody of audience bad behavior. The taming of the shrew study guide utah shakespeare. By the end of the play, it becomes our knowledge that petruchio has succeeded in taming kate, because of the fact that she comes to him when she is called or demanded to. Volume i book xi 5 the taming of the shrew induction scene i before an alehouse on a heath. Role of women in shakespears the taming of the shrew. Volume i book xi 5 the taming of the shrew induction scene i before an alehouse on a. In taming of the shrew in particular, we have completely lost the point of the christopher sly sections of the play, which is why they are usually omitted entirely from modern productions. By examining shakespeares interrogation of humanism as an effective form of training, this paper argues that petruchio s use of humanist methodology achieves a degree of success that has gone unrecognized by critics.
In shakespeares, the taming of the shrew the relationship between the sisters katherine and bianca appears to be strained with rampant jealousy. The taming of the shrew is a comedy by william shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1592 the play begins with a framing device, often referred to as the induction, in which a mischievous nobleman tricks a drunken tinker named christopher sly into believing he is actually a nobleman himself. See for example muriel bradbrook, dramatic role as social image. Litcharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in the taming of the shrew, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work. Shakespeares supreme innovation, actually, is his petruchioa. One named katherine, who was strong willed and no one wanted and one named bianca who was gracious that all the men wanted. In the play, set in padua, lucentio and other suitors pursue bianca, but. Sydney theatre company education 2007, the taming of the shrew. Tranio lucentios servant who has accompanied lucentio from pisa.
Some i havior in the taming of the shrew as an attempt to. Although kate is one of shakespeares most enigmatic heroines, she is not the only complicated character in the taming of the shrew. Contains character profiles for characters in the play. When he gets fed up with what he sees as biancas loose behavior, he decides to marry the widow. Speeches lines for petruchio in taming of the shrew total. A play is staged for sly the play that we know as the taming of the shrew. Aside from the fact that petruchio is a jerk, we should think about how his character speaks to the idea that social roles are performative that is, the idea that getting along in the world requires one to do a lot of acting. The katherina that gives the final speech in the taming of the shrew is quite a departure from the katherina we were introduced to in act i. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one. Petruchio character analysis in the taming of the shrew.
Love and marriage are the concerns of shakespeares the taming of the shrew. In the taming of the shrew, petruchio was the only suitor willing to court kate, the more undesirable of baptistas two daughters. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans. A list of all the characters in the taming of the shrew. Petruchios charactermost notably in the famous good morrow.
Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of the taming of the shrew and what it means. Petruchio the sophist and language as creation in the taming of. The taming of the shrew begins with an induction in which a nobleman plays a trick on a beggar, christopher sly, treating sly as if he is a nobleman who has lost his memory. Themes marriage love and money class, role and social status motifs recurring elements and patterns of imagery in the taming of the shrew which support the plays themes.
Lucentios marriage to bianca is prompted by his idealized love of an apparently ideal woman. In the other interpretation the one i like best, kate acts like a good wife without believing in the role shes playing. He disguises himself as a classics nstructor named cambio to win biancas heart. Her father eagerly agrees to arrange a wedding, and soon petruchio and katharina are locked in a battle of wills. Taming of the shrew list of roles in order of appearance lucentio a young student from pisa, the goodnatured and intrepid lucentio comes to padua to study at the city.
All speeches lines for petruchio in taming of the shrew. T he role of women in society has been one of the most controversial and enjoyable topics in theatre and literature throughout the ages. Taming of the shrew list of roles in order of appearance lucentio a young student from pisa, the goodnatured and intrepid lucentio comes to padua to study at the city s renowned. The taming of the shrew is the story of how petruchio, the moneygrubbing wife hunter.
Synopsis of the taming of the shrew classic theatre for. Try to figure out his general character and desires. Shakespeare develops the character petruchio into a ludicrous example of a patriarchal husband and katherina into the ultimate shrewish wife. The taming of the shrew katherine essay essay sample. Taming of the shrew s titular theme is petruchio taming his shrewish wife, katharina, which was a common theme for plays during elizabethan england. For instance, purposely arriving late, wearing conspicuously inappropriate attire, and behaving in a completely improper manner at the wedding mark petruchio s initial steps in getting a wife worth. Petruchio s taming of kate, actually compelling her into subservience, doesnt play well with modern audiences. On a visit to padua someone tells him about a shrewish woman in the city whose family is trying to marry her off so that her younger, beautiful, sweettempered, sister, bianca, can be married.
Shakespeares the taming of the shrew is a comedy focusing on the taming of the aggressive and verbose katherine by petruchio, and through this taming process, as well other elements of the play, the theme of love resonates. Initially, katherina is an unwilling participant in the relationship, but petruchio tempers her with various psychological torments the taming until she becomes a compliant and obedient bride. Philip eoute as petruchio and annette pait as kate, classic players 2014. The taming of the shrew s ongoing appeal is easy to understand it offers almost productionproof farce, plus the perennially popular joke of the battle of the sexes but katherinas story, and the joke of taming an unruly woman have become increasingly controversial. The gender roles in the taming of the shrew free essay. Get the entire the taming of the shrew litchart as a printable pdf. Her groom, petruchio, has nearly as much mystery surrounding him as does kate herself. Gender and misogyny theme in the taming of the shrew. To do this, he runs off to petruchio s taming school, where he hopes to learn how to keep his more experienced lady in line. The taming of the shrew was written somewhere between 1592 and 1594 bevington 2.
Petruchios wooing of katherine, however, is free of idealism. Synopsis of the taming of the shrew shakespeare theatre. This is a two paged word document for students from gcse level to a level. Issues related to gender are hugely important in this play, which centers around petruchio taming katherine and forcing her into the traditionally submissive role of a wife. My students cant get enough of your charts and their results have gone through the roof. Petruchio character analysis in the taming of the shrew litcharts. See below for a full list of allof shakespeares the taming of the shrew characters. Theme of disguise in the taming of the shrew 752 words. Petruchio is a fortune seeker who enters into a marriage with a strongwilled young woman named kate and then proceeds to tame her temperamental spirit. Brian vaughn left as petruchio and melinda pfundstein as katherine in the taming of the shrew, 2015. Christopher sly, a tinker, hostess, page, players, huntsmen, and servants, persons in the induction.
Taming of the shrew has many aspects of farce and slapstick, which can be very funny in performance although they sometimes dont appear obviously so when the play is read. Petruchio s wooing of katherine, however, is free of idealism. William shakespeares the taming of the shrew play character profile summary word document. The taming of the shrew key themes the taming of the shrew s stance on gender roles is either affirming male dominance and female submission or ironically. Interpreting the power dynamics between men and women, in the taming of the shrew, an in particular the central couple katherina and petruchio, is a problem from the outset. With notes on shakespeare and the globe theatre and love and marriage in the taming of the shrew. Whether you see the relationships in the play as harmlessly boisterous and knockabout or tragically violent and oppressive, shakespeare is clearly offering us his take on. Can petruchio tame her with his outrageous behaviour. Taming of the shrew list of roles in order of appearance.
The tales have been retold using accessible language and with the help of tony rosss engaging blackandwhite illustrations, each play is vividly brought to life allowing these culturally. The story of katherina minola and her marriage to petruchio has been popular in the theatre for four centuries. Petruchio arranges with baptista to marry kate, pretending that. The taming of the shrew by william shakespeare 123 help me. Enter hostess and sly sly ill pheeze you, in faith. Curtis nathaniel nicholas joseph philip peter katharina the shrew daughters to bianca baptista. The main plot depicts the courtship of petruchio, a gentleman of verona, and katherina, the headstrong, obdurate shrew. Shakespeare indeed does transcend the stereotypes of his own time.
Enter baptista, katharina, bianca, gremio, and hortensio. The taming of the shrew book by william shakespeare, dr. By the wedding scene, petruchio has come to this realization. Brutish, fortunehunting scoundrel petruchio richard burton tames his wealthy, shrewish wife, katharina dame elizabeth taylor. Kate was never described as unattractive elizabeth taylor played her role in one film of the production, but was known for her shrewish behavior around all of padua. The taming of the shrew by william shakespeare is a controversial play that arouses a debate over the role of katherine. In the taming of the shrew, act ii, scene i, list words petruchio uses to describe katharina and. The taming of the shrew written by william shakespeare depicts the story of petruchio a man who takes on the challenge of taming a shrew, a woman named katherine or kate.
Many critics point out that petruchio teaches kate how to playact, to perform a role other than shrew. The nobleman then has the play performed for slys diversion. Disguising and role playing of all sorts fill the scenes of the taming of the shrew. The untamed shrew aachal gowan 10th grade william shakespeares play the taming of the shrew is set in padua, where katherine, the stubborn shrew the title refers to, is pursued by a bachelor named petruchio who is in search of a wealthy wife. Why this ambiguous coalescence between petruchio the dominant husband and l. But her badtempered sister katharina interrupts, deals with the men roughly and chases them out. Power and gender in the taming of the shrew the british. Other roles gremio, grumio, vincentio, widow,tailor, curtis, servant in final scene plus nonspeaking roles of.
The taming of the shrew was written around 1590 by william shakespeare. However, in fact, if we delve into it, adapting feminist. To leave frivolous circumstances, i pray you tell signior lucentio that his father is come from pisa, and is here 2375 at the door to speak with him. The the taming of the shrew quotes below are all either spoken by petruchio or refer to petruchio. In the taming of the shrew, what were katharina and. The boastful, selfish, mercurial petruchio is one of the most difficult characters in the taming of the shrew. A summary of symbols in william shakespeares the taming of the shrew. In addition to advancing the general plot, the pervasive disguising and metadramatic nature of the play suggest that role players abound and that, as wary spectators, we must be like petruchio, careful not to take things at face value because we are surrounded. Only petruchio, just arrived in town, wants to court katharina. Petruchio is one of two central characters along with katherine in shakespeares play, the taming of the shrew petruchio is a wealthy young bachelor looking for an equally rich wife. Petruchio an anglicisation of the italian name petruccio. The taming of the shrew, free pdf, ebook global grey. With elizabeth taylor, richard burton, cyril cusack, michael hordern.
Role of women in the taming of the shrew the taming of the shrew is a great example of shakespears use of women. The taming of the shrew essay theme of love in the. Taming of the shrew character profiles teaching resources. The taming of the shrew fits squarely within the genre of courtship dramas that hinge on the societal expectations and the roles in marriage for men and women. Nay, i told you your son was well beloved in padua. Some people regard katherine as an antifeminist protagonist. Includes short individual summary and quotes with references for each of the characters. There are a couple different ways to look at gender roles in the taming of the shrew.