The Taming of The Shrew
William Shakespeare
A study guide
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)
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.
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)
TURN AND TALK:
All students answer this.
What is your opinion of the verse commanding women to be
submissive to their husbands?
Females answer this.
Girls, are you willing to obey this command? Why? Think about problems
that come up in marriages--- lack of money, kids giving trouble (or just
babies crying!), or living situations.
Males Answer this:
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.
.
Sources of the play
From great classical authors like Ovid and Seneca,
to English historians like Holinshed, Shakespeare's
greatest influences were the works of other great
writers. With the exception of A Midsummer
Night's Dream, Love's Labour's Lost and The
Tempest, which are wholly original stories,
Shakespeare borrowed his plots, down to fine
detail.
Mabillard, Amanda. What Inspired Shakespeare? Shakespeare Online. 20 Aug.
2000. < http://www.shakespeare-online.com/faq/shakespeareinspired.html >
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.
•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 like:
•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)
•The wagering on the
wives’ obedience
occurs in The Book of
the Knight of La
Tourlandry (1484)
•The sub-plot in which
the characters play
different roles to gain
access to the young
woman is from
Gascoinge’s Supposes
(1566)
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.
Added to these characters and actions is the
INDUCTION scene which orginated in the story:
The Sleeper Awakened from The Arabian
Nights. A story popular in the 16th Century.
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.
Reasons she 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?
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.
PETRUCHIO
He knows what he wants.
He wants a happy household--her money is
a bonus)
His strategy is to woo and win Kate by
mirroring to her the opposite of each of her
behaviors.
Reverse psychology!
The Foils
Bianca
Kate’s younger and
much sweeter sister
Lucentio
(pretends to be Cambio
Bianca’s teacher)
…Lucentio really likes Bianca,
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.
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.
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.

What’s the
st
1
Conflict?
several reasons:
The dad refuses
to “marry off”
the younger
daughter before
the older one gets
married
• 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.
3 characteristics of a
Shakespearean Comedy
1. Happy Ending
2. Love
 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.
3. Mistaken
Identities
 In Shrew,
Tranio becomes
Lucentio and
Lucentio becomes
“Cambio”, Bianca’s
teacher, in order
to get close to her.
The most significant characteristic
of Shakespeare’s mature comedies:
• A philosophical
aspect involving
weightier issues and
themes
• In Shrew, Kate’s
personal identity
changes…
• She experiences a total
“turnaround” in her
character
• …She recognizes the
importance of love in
human existence, and
changes her behavior.
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.
So, you decide -
WAS SHAKESPEARE MAKING
FUN OF THE TREATMENT OF
WOMEN OF HIS TIME?
OR
WAS HE SUPPORTING THE
TREATMENT OF WOMEN AT
HIS TIME?