Shakespeare's Comedies- The Taming of The Shrew

Shakespeare's Comedies- The Taming of The Shrew

Introduction

The Taming of the Shrew (1592-93) has emerged as one of Shakespeare's most controversial works because of its forthright depiction and apparent endorsement of misogyny and domestic abuse. It is considered one of the funniest comedies of Shakespeare. Catherine unbearable girl character must be married. No one-least of the parent-imagine how to get someone to accept it. Until Petruchio appears and decides to take the opportunity and a challenge: to become a submissive wife and charming. To "tame" must resort to intrigues and entanglements of the most comical.

Most critics maintain that The Taming of the Shrew (1592-93) is representative of Shakespeare's immature early work, observing that the play is marked by lengthy speeches, formal verse, and an excessive use of puns. The comedy bears striking similarities to the anonymous The Taming of a Shrew, recorded in the Stationers' Register in 1594. Scholars have long debated the relationship between the two plays: some critics maintain that The Taming of the Shrew is a brilliant rewriting of the 1594 play; others contend that the 1594 play is a pirated version of Shakespeare's comedy, possibly composed from memory by a group of actors. A third possibility advanced by critics is that both works drew from a third, lost play.

Discussion

The play featuring the wealthy merchant Baptista and his two daughters, the shrewish Kate and the beloved Bianca. While Bianca is pursued by a number of suitors, Baptista will not allow his youngest daughter to marry until he can secure a husband for Kate. One of Bianca's suitors, Lucentio, persuades a gentleman from Verona named Petruchio to woo and marry Kate, a feat he accomplishes against Kate's will. Petruchio's taming of Kate begins at their first meeting and ends at a banquet held by Baptista, during which Petruchio publicly displays his wife's obedience for the benefit of the other men. Kate concludes the play with a speech that outlines a wife's unconditional duties to her husband. While some modern scholars have focused on the thematic and cultural similarities between The Taming of the Shrew and The Taming of a Shrew, the majority of critics have sought instead to elucidate Shakespeare's controversial dramatic rendering of domestic violence, taming practices, and spousal obedience.

Commentators who are sympathetic to the character of Kate view The Taming of the Shrew as a social critique of early modern England. Researchers contends that Kate is victimized first by Baptista, who marries her off without her consent, and later by Petruchio, who fails to provide for Kate's most basic needs during the taming process. Kate's victimization culminates in the banquet scene, the critic writes, when Petruchio "even wagers money on her compliance, forcing her to perform like an animal for handouts and affection." Many posits that the domestic tyranny of the play is meant to satirize the political tyranny of Elizabethan England. Many considers The Taming of the Shrew to be a "problem play" because she finds the violence associated with ...