THE TAMING OF THE SHREW William Shakespeare

Setting (time and place) Padua, Italy (Kate and Bianca’s house) Verona Petruchio’s country house Time could be medieval, Elizabethan, or modern (see BBC’s newest version!) Kiss Me Kate is set in 1953 America

3 characteristics of a Shakespearean Comedy 1. Happy Ending 2. Love 3. Mistaken Identities The would-be lovers must overcome obstacles, before they have a harmonious union (often a wedding). The theme of love is prevalent in every Shakespeare comedy. In Shrew, Tranio becomes Lucentio and Lucentio becomes “Cambio”, Bianca’s teacher, in order to get close to her.

4. The most significant characteristic of Shakespeare’s mature comedies: 4. A philosophical aspect involving weightier issues and themes In Shrew, Kate’s personal identity changes… …She recognizes the importance of love in human existence, and changes her behavior. She experiences a total “turnaround” in her character from “wild woman” … … to “obedient wife.”

1. Shrew Small mouselike mammal with a long snout; related to moles. Known for its ugly temper  Also, a woman with a bad temper (unfortunately, a BeeOtch)

shrewd clever, always able to get your way through smarts Annabelle is so shrewd;she can manipulate her mom to get her whatever she wants at the store. a shrewd gambler got his money

In his strategy soliloquy, Pete shows he’s shrewd. He knows what he wants. He wants a happy household--her money is a bonus) page 109, Act II, sc. i His strategy is to woo and win Kate by mirroring to her the opposite of each of her behaviors.

Reasons Kate might be shrewish: furious at the world (unfair era for women) motherless; perhaps no good guidance? jealous of Baptista’s overt love and kindness to Bianca. angry that no one likes her? “no one ever taught me how to play nice… poor me…”

The Dad Baptista (the girls’ dad– kind of a hard-nosed guy) Won’t marry off the younger sister Bianca, until he gets rid of Kate the Shrew. Bummer for Bianca and Lucentio. 

The DADS VINCENTIO BAPTISTA father to the girls “venerable father” (old man on the road) father to Lucentio, who is pretending to be a teacher he knows that Tranio is just a servant BAPTISTA father to the girls

foil Two items which contrast with one another are foils Kim Kardashian is a perfect foil for Taylor Swift. dark hair “skanky” blondie, “good girl”

(pretends to be Cambio Bianca’s teacher) The Foils Bianca Kate’s younger and much sweeter sister Lucentio (pretends to be Cambio Bianca’s teacher) …Lucentio really likes Bianca, but…

Servants Tranio--- helps Lucentio by pretending to be Lucentio Luc’s servants Tranio--- helps Lucentio by pretending to be Lucentio Biondello Grumio--the fool of the play. He provides comic relief by pretending to misunderstand Petruchio and getting into ridiculous arguments with him. Curtis Pedant– a man who is a “know-it-all” Tailor– a guy who makes clothes Haberdasher– a guy who sells clothing goods Petruchio’s servants Baptista’s helpers

Get em straight. Grumio is Petruchio’s servant. Like a horse’s “groom” in a stable Gremio is one of several guys who likes Bianca “Why yes, splendid, Grumio. Thank you so much.” “Will that be all, Sir?” Spoiler: Lucentio gets her, and Hortensio ends up marrying the widow.

What’s the 1st Conflict? The dad refuses to “marry off” the younger daughter before the older one gets married several reasons: 1. he has to give a substantial dowry for each girl– this is expensive. 2. he has to live with Kate forever if Bianca gets married, and he likes Bianca better.

What’s the main Conflict? Petruchio must “tame” wild Kate. He begins taming her even before their wedding (she has no choice but to marry him). Girls had to do what their fathers told them to do, regardless of their own feelings.

Elizabethan Attitude Toward Women The Elizabethan era was named after Queen Elizabeth (1546-1603) Elizabethan Attitude Toward Women Wives are to be “obedient, humble, and modest” (like Bianca) They shouldn’t go tearing up the house (like Kate) and disobeying fathers, brothers, husbands. They certainly shouldn’t have minds of their own.

1 Peter 3:1-6 “Wives, likewise, be submissive to your own husbands, that even if some do not obey the word, even if some do not obey the word, they, without a word, may be won by the conduct of their wives, when they observe your chaste conduct accompanied by fear (respect).”

1 Peter continued “Do not let your adornment be merely outward– arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel,-- rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God.”

The husband verse which follows: “Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered.” (v. 7)

Elizabethans took Bible commands very literally Guys answer. Guys, as husbands, do you believe that men should be the heads of the household and the woman should defer to you? Why? Think about problems that come up in marriages--- lack of money, kids giving trouble (or just babies crying!), or living situations. Give at least 3 solid reasons

Symbolism of Bianca’s name Meaning: “white”– inference: pure, good, blameless

Animal allusions in Taming of the Shrew “I can haz cheezburger now?” 1. CAT: Punning on the name "Kate" and "cat," Petruchio threatens to turn Kate from a "wild Kate" to a "household Kate" (2.1.39)

Continued comparisons of people to animals 2. “cart her rather” (like a horse) 3. “shrew” 4. “Wasp” 5. “buzzard” (Kate to Petruchio) 6. Petruchio later compares her to a falcon, a bird of prey that he must starve and deprive of sleep in order to break or tame. 7. the Lord refers to Sly as a "swine" and a "beast" 8. numerous references to Kate as the devil (also thought of as a beast) .

ANIMALS,continued Subhuman status and romantic insults? Why do people who love each other insult each other? Roberts also notes that "a great deal of the humor of the first meeting between Kate and her suitor […] depends on the determination of each to reduce the other to subhuman status." “…You never bring me fresh meat any more, you big, lazy, hairy, animal…..!!!!”

Allusions, Act 1, scene i To Minerva (goddess wisdom) Contrasting animals to gods or civil, classically - educated human beings with manners To Minerva (goddess wisdom) To Aristotle, Ovid (classical lit) “as Anna to the Queen of Carthage was” “great Jove”

Shrew Vocab 1.prose (n.) 2.pun (n.) 3.farce (n.) 4.slapstick (n) 5. monologue/soliloquy basic talking or writing, NO rhyming A play on words Hamlet’s famous soliloquy begins with “To be, or not to be

pun-- a form of word play which suggests two or more meanings An example of a “pun” is: “Wild Kate”– instead of a “wild cat”

more puns The guitarist passed out on stage…he must have rocked himself to sleep.

farce a comedy that is full of coincidence and ridiculous events. Coincidence is where things happen together randomly. An example of a “farce” is: “The Taming of the Shrew”, a farcical play. Bugs Bunny cartoons are farcical.

slap the actor with a stick!” slapstick -- a form of comedy with obvious physical play literally “you slap the actor with a stick!” Examples of “slapstick comedy” are: “The 3 Stooges” or “Tom and Jerry”. Slapstick is when Petruchio kisses Kate so loudly it is heard throughout the church

theme: ORDER VS. DISORDER Kate’s home in Padua (Not in order) Directions: For Acts 1-3, write at least 7 Act, Scene, and line examples in which you find Kate misbehaving. Disorderly home Kate throwing dishes, chairs Kate screaming and disrespecting Pet and Dad hitting Bianca and tying her hands (bullying

theme: ORDER VS. DISORDER Orderly home Kate begins to plea for order “Husband, be patient.” Husband, have a little understanding” (the meat was fine) “Thank you.” Acceptance Manners Disorderly home things begin to come “into line” as Pete keeps up his “abuse” of Kate. Directions: next to each in the left column, write the Act, scene, and line in which you find them

Pete’s country home in Verona Orderly home not at all in Verona! Disorderly home Petruchio shouting at his servants (Act 4.)

Copyright Debora B. Schwartz, 1996-2002 Some information taken from http://cla.calpoly.edu/~dschwart/engl339/comedy.html Copyright Debora B. Schwartz, 1996-2002 

Petruchio's wedding getup and Kate's dirty old dress Petruchio's ridiculous wedding digs are just one kind of disguise we see in the play. Petruchio doesn't normally dress this way – it's all part of his strategy to "tame" Kate by playing the role of erratic and excessively domineering husband. (You can read more about the other kinds of disguises in our discussion of the theme "Art and Culture.") When Petruchio arrives at the wedding ceremony late and dressed like Rainbow Brite's twin brother, he demonstrates his ability to embarrass and publicly humiliate his bride (and her father). Petruchio's outrageous getup makes it perfectly clear that Kate has absolutely no control over what Petruchio wears or how he behaves. Baptista doesn't have any control over Petruchio either. When the old man asks Petruchio to change into something more appropriate, Petruchio replies that Kate is marrying the man, not his clothes. Petruchio is being a jerk, of course, but there's a whole lot of truth in what he says. Outward appearances are not necessarily indicative of a person's true identity, a lesson we learn over and over throughout the play. This point is lost on Baptista when Petruchio follows it up by saying something like: "By the way, dad, I can't wait for your daughter to wear me out in the sack tonight. Wink, wink." Petruchio also exercises his control over Kate by controlling what she wears later on in the play. Before the pair set off for Bianca's wedding in Act 4, Petruchio causes a big ruckus over the clothes and hat that have been custom made for Katherine. Petruchio claims they're not up to snuff and insists that he and Kate wear old rags to Bianca's wedding. Kate is livid – like a toddler, she's not even allowed to pick out her own clothes. She's also not allowed to complain about this because Petruchio tells her to zip it, or else they're not going to Padua. A. Disguise B. Appearance vs. Reality C. Control http://www.shmoop.com/taming-of-the-shrew/petruchio-wedding-getup-kate-dirty-old-dress-symbol.html