FREE ESSAY ON TAMING OF THE SHREW BY WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

TAMING OF THE SHREW BY WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

The Taming Of The Shrew by William Shakespeare isprobably 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 inwhich a drunkard, Christopher Sly, is fooled into
believing
he is a king and has a play performed for him. The play hewatches is what constitutes the
main body of The Taming OfThe Shrew. In it, a wealthy land owner, Baptista Minola,
attempts to have his two daughters married. One is veryshrewish, 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 dentities 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 simpleTo 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 f '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.