By William Shakespeare The Taming of the Shrew By William Shakespeare

Literary Notes Genre Themes Symbols Setting Plot Conflict Drama Tragedy Comedy Themes Symbols Setting Plot Conflict Writing Style Dramatic Conventions

Genre: category of literary composition, characterized by a particular style Poetry Short Stories Novels NonFiction Drama

Drama: A story written to be performed Tragedy - Romeo and Juliet - Macbeth Comedy - Taming of the Shrew - Twelfth Night

Farce (commedia de’ll arte) Uses impossible and/or exaggerated situations to achieve a comedic effect Modern examples might include Billy Madison or skits from The Chapelle Show

Comic methods used within the play: Situational Comedy: role exchanges; disguises Visual Comedy: facial expressions and antics Action Comedy Physical Appearance Comedy Verbal Humor Comedy: can often use puns (play on words)

Themes: the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary work Marriage as an institution The effect of social roles on individual happiness Appearance versus reality

Setting: the time and place of a narrative Induction: The English countryside outside an alehouse and at the Lord’s home Scenes I - V: Padua, Italy – 1593 –1594. Time span is about one week to ten days

Writing Style: Shakespeare often changed his style of writing based upon the social status of his characters Prose: Ordinary language used to emphasis characters of low social status Iambic Pentameter: Pattern of unstressed and stressed syllables that uses five patterns to a line; used to emphasis characters of high social status

*The structure of the play is unique, because it the only work by Shakespeare that is a play within a play. The Induction serves as a framework for the play, however the characters in the Induction are abandoned after Act I Scene I.

Dramatic Conventions: techniques that give the audience information that could not be given from the action of the play Concealment: allows a character to be seen by the audience while remaining hidden from the other actors

Dramatic Conventions Soliloquy: character talks to himself, revealing thoughts and feelings that would otherwise go unvoiced

Dramatic Conventions Aside: character speaks directly to the audience without being overheard by the other characters on stage

Dramatic Conventions Dramatic Irony- occurs when the audience knows information that might change the behavior of the characters if they were aware of it

Major Players Baptista Minola- rich gentleman of Padua; father of Katherine and Bianca Katherine Minola- the shrew Bianca Minola- younger daughter; acts innocent and sweet

Major Players Gremio- foolish old man; suitor to Bianca Hortensio- suitor to Bianca; disguises himself as a music teacher

Major Players Lucentio- gentleman from Pisa; falls in love w/ Bianca at first sight; disguises himself as a Latin teacher Tranio- Lucentio’s servant; disguises himself as Lucentio Biondello- Lucentio’s other servant Vincentio- Lucentio’s father from Pisa

Major Players Petruchio- gentleman from Verona; agrees to woo Katherine the shrew Grumio- Petruchio’s servant (often acts as the comic relief in the play)