2. The Taming of The Shrew William Shakespeare A study guide

3. The Taming of the Shrew The idea of beating one’s wife to make her obey was acceptable behaviour in Medieval times. The Taming of the Shrew presents a different, more radical alternative.

4. Introduction to The Taming of the Shrew Shrew = a sharp-tempered scolding woman Impossible to date the play exactly but evidence marks it as one of Shakespeare’s earliest comedies (most likely written in the late 1580’s or early 1590’s). Written 8-10 years before Much Ado about Nothing (often compared with Shrew)

5. The primary plot, the story of Katherine and Petruchio, finds its roots in folk tales and songs common in Shakespeare’s day. In fact, while growing up, Shakespeare was surrounded by a very public debate over the nature of women, including specific arguments on a woman’s duty and role in marriage and family.

6. Sources of the play Shakespeare appears to have got his ideas for the play from several sources popular in this time. A Ballad: “A Merry Jest of a Shrewd and Curst Wife Lapped” in a Morel’s Skin for her Good Behaviour. In this song the wife is beaten until she bleeds. Then wrapped in a skin of an old lame plough horse, Morel, killed and flayed for the occasion. The husband threatens to keep her in the skin and treat her like the horse unless she obeys him.

7. Erasmus advocated, in “A Merry Dialogue Declaring the Properties of Shrewd Shrews and Honest Wives” (1557) a taming method more akin to that used by Petruchio. In this the husband uses the techniques of taming a bird or animal to “tame” his wife. The other episodes: The ranting a tailor for cutting the gown in an outrageous manner is from: Accidence of Amory (1562) by Leigh. The wife agreeing with her husband in the assertion of what is obviously not is from El Conde Laconor of Don Juan Manuel (1350) Sources of the play

8. The wagering on the wives’ obedience occurs in The Book of the Knight of La Tour- Landry (1484) The sub-plot in which the characters play different roles to gain access to the young woman is from Gascoinge’s Supposes (1566) Sources of the play

9. The Plot of The Supposes : A young man succeeds in possessing the girl he loves by outwitting the character who blocks his access to her - in this case Lucentio outwits Gremio to court and marry Bianca. Lucentio achieves this by means of disguise and allowing Tranio to pretend that he is Lucentio. Hortensio, Shakespeare’s invention, is introduced to add further complication.

10. The idea of Love, Sex and Marriage during the 17 th Century The term ‘family’ commonly used in the Renaissance to denote a household (including servants) and in this age the law regarded women ‘as either married or to be married’ to be in one It is quite common for girls to married at the age of 12 and boys at 14 in the 16 th century (a practice less tolerated during Shakespeare’s time) Hence courtship and matrimony involved emotional and personal significance as well as prime public importance

11. Nonetheless entry into a married state was not as rigidly controlled as one assumed Girls and boys are allowed to be married once they reach their teen and parental consent is not required Regardless of where Shakespeare drew the basis for the text, the fact remains that he masterfully presents us with a well-founded, carefully developed drama.

12. Marriage in the Renaissance England  Marriage statistics indicate that the mean marriage age for the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras was higher than many people realize. Data taken from birthdates of women and marriage certificates reveals mean marriage ages to have been as follows:  1566-1619 - 27.0 years  1647-1719 - 29.6 years  1719-1779 - 26.8 years  1770-1837 - 25.1 years

13.  The marriage age of men was probably the same or a bit older than that of women. (In 1619, it was about 23 for women, 26 for men.) The age of consent was 12 for a girl, 14 for a boy, but for most children puberty came two or three years later than it does today.  Oddly enough, there seems to be a period in the late sixteenth century when the mean marriage age of women in and around the area of Stratford-on- Avon dropped as low as 21 years: the mean marriage age from 1580 to 1589 was about 20.6 years, and it was in this decade that Shakespeare, at the age of eighteen, married Anne Hathaway.

14.  The reason for late marriage among labourers and the middle class was simple enough: it took a long time for a couple to acquire enough belongings to set up housekeeping, even in a room of their parents' home.  Young love, however romantic, had to be kept in check if the two lovers were to survive in a world where subsistence earnings would not purchase a roof over their heads and put food on the table.  Children of noble birth ran a great risk if they tried to marry without the approval of their parents, since they would be left without resources.

15. The INDUCTION scene which originated in the story “The Sleeper Awakened” from The Arabian Nights, a story popular in the 16th Century. The induction (part of the play which lies outside, but leads into, the main action) of the play also has its roots in popular debate. Although inductions were common in 16th and 17th dramas, Shrew is the only play in which Shakespeare features this framing device. Induction in the play

17. Setting

18. Characters appearing in the Induction:

19. Protagonist of the story:

20. Major Characters

21. Minor Characters

22. Structure

23. Petruchio & Kate Kate is a spoilt household bully who tyrannises her sister, defies her father, strikes her sister, tutor and suitor without provocation. She is in a choleric ill humour and must be redirected.

24. PETRUCHIO The man born to tame Kate by curing her of her chronic bad temper. He realises that her choler is an ill humour and sets about restoring her to a balance with his sanguine humour. He “drowns her” in her own ill humour and provides a mirror to show her what she could become.

25. Shakespeare’s Dramaturgical skill LUCENTIO - BIANCA - HORTENSIO Lucentio is full of stock Elizabethan love poetry when he first sees Bianca. A contrast to Petruchio’s bluntness.

26. Bianca’s actions contrast to Kate’s behaviour both earlier and at the end of the play. She has a will of her own which she uses to effect to provide her own entertainment. Hortensio provides more complication for Act III sci. He is a link between Petruchio and Padua and is essential for the last scene where the betting needs suspense to be effective.