The English Renaissance &
Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew
1485-1660:
A BRIEF BACKGROUND
The Renaissance: Historical Context
The Monarchy & the Church
The Elizabethan Era
 Writers influenced by rulers.
 1558: Elizabeth I
 Henry VIII married Catherine of
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Aragon.
Martin Luther wrote 95
arguments against Roman
Catholicism.
Henry VIII breaks away from
Rome and becomes head of the
Church of England.
“Bloody” Mary (Catholic)
succeeds Henry VIII.
Puritan reformers gain power.
(protestant) succeeds
Mary.
 Defeated the Spanish
armada, establishing
England as a super
power.
 1603: Elizabeth I is
succeeded by James I,
who begins the Stuart
line.
The Renaissance: Historical Context
The Rise of the Stuarts
The Defeat of the Monarchy
 1605: Gunpowder Plot
 English Civil War
(led by Guy Fawkes,
Catholic)
 1625: Charles I succeeds
his father, James
 1629: Charles I dismisses
Parliament
 1640: Charles reconvenes
Parliament, which strips
the kings of many of his
powers

Royalists
 Catholics, Anglicans, & nobility

Supporters of Parliament
 Puritans, small landowners, &
middle class
 Oliver Cromwell



led Puritan army
defeated Royalists
established a commonwealth
 After Cromwell’s death, Charles
II is invited back to England

The Renaissance: Cultural Influences
 Renaissance = “rebirth” or “revival”
 Marked by a surge of creative energy and a modern
worldview

Renaissance Worldview is marked by a concern for
life (unlike
the medieval concern for the
life) and human potential
 Time of Shakespeare, Galileo, & Columbus
 Invention of compass allowed for greater exploration
 Gutenberg's printing press made books available

By 1530, more than 50% of England’s population could read
 Theater and literature thrive
 King James commissioned a new translation of the bible
The Renaissance: Literature
…Elizabethan Drama
Elizabethan Drama…
 Elizabethan drama emerges
from 3 sources:
1.
2.
3.
Medieval drama—mystery,
miracle, & morality plays, which
were religious
Interludes, which ridiculed the
manners & customs of commoners
Latin & Greek dramas
 New dramas dealt with the
complexities of human life on
earth
 Plays staged in court, homes of
the wealthy, & early theaters
 Shakespeare’s Influence

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37 plays
Tragedies, comedies, & histories
Marked by clever wordplay,
memorable characters, & complex
plots
 Other playwrights

Christopher Marlowe


Psychological probing
Ben Jonson

Masques (elaborate scenery,
costumes, music, dance, etc.)
 1649—Puritans close theaters
Shakespearean Comedy
Dramatic Conventions &
Writing Style

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Soliloquy
Aside
Monologue
Dramatic Irony
Prose

Ordinary language used to
emphasis characters of low
social status
 Iambic Pentameter
 Stylized language used to
emphasize characters of
high social status
Conventions of
Shakespeare's Comedy
 Comedy through language
 Word play, metaphors, insults
 Love
 Thematic
 Also, pairs of lovers
 Complex plots
 Intricate plot
 5-part plot w/ induction
 Mistaken identities
 Disguises
 Gender relations
The Taming of the Shrew
 Contains 3 stories of
deception
 Play-within-a-play
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Similarly used in Hamlet
Petruchio pretends to be a
male shrew, beating and
berating servants
Goal is to give Kate a taste of
her own medicine
 Role of deception and
disguise
 Gender expectation and
roles

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The play mirrors societal
attitudes of Shakespeare’s
time.
Shrew was a stock character
in comedy.

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An uncontrollable,
unreasonably angry, and
sometimes cruel woman
Shrew usually gets “was she
deserve[s]”
Shakespeare treats the shrew
with a little more dignity
The Taming of the Shrew: Major Players
 Baptista Minola: A rich gentleman of Padua and
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the father of Katherine and Bianca
Katharina Minola: Called the shrew
Bianca Minola: Younger daughter who acts
innocent and sweet
Gremio: A foolish old man and suitor to Bianca
Hortensio: A suitor to Bianca who disguises
himself as a music teacher
The Taming of the Shrew: Major Players
• Lucentio: Disguises himself as a Latin teacher to
•
•
•
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spend time with Bianca
Tranio: Lucentio’s servant who disguises himself
as Lucentio
Biondello: Lucentio’s other servant
Vincentio: Lucentio’s father from Pisa
Petruchio: Suitor to Katherine the shrew
Grumio: Petruchio’s servant (often acts as the
comic relief in the play)