The Taming of the Shrew is a Shakespearian dramatic comedy, focusing on the popular subject of the ‘shrew’, who were women considered to be ‘bad tempered’. This has caused a lot of controversy especially during the 20th and 21st centuries due to the emergence of feminism. This has created many different views on how women are presented in the play.
Feminist literary criticism is literary criticism informed by feminist theory. In the simplest terms, ‘feminist literary criticism is concerned with the politics of women's authorship and the representation of women's condition within literature’ . However it wasn’t a concept until at least 300 years after Shakespeare’s death. Shakespeare therefore cannot be considered a feminist because of the society at that time saw women differently- inferior to men as they lived in a patriarchal society. Many critics have stated that due to The Taming of the Shrew Shakespeare was not a feminist. George Bernard Shaw said its tongue-in-cheek chauvinism was ‘altogether disgusting to the modern sensibility’ portraying how differently people view it over time as the views on women’s rights evolve.
Katherina, in The Taming of the Shrew is constantly referred to as a possession, either her fathers or Petruchio’s. Bianca is not allowed to marry until after Katherina, conveying how little freedom and few rights women had. Baptista wants to ‘sell’ Katherina first because it would be easier to get rid of her as Bianca has many suitors, portraying them as goods to be sold. Petruchio refers to Katherina as ”my goods, my chattels”, after they are married, making it clear she has been sold from one owner- her father, to the next- Petruchio, her husband. This presents the idea that all the power lies with the m...
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...he Shrew. 'A Second Grissel' (no date)
Carolyn E. Brown, University of San Francisco
Available at http://www.enotes.com/topics/taming-of-the-shrew/critical-essays/katherine-taming-shrew-second-grissel#sthash.qDyX9eNC.dpufK
(Accessed: 8th December 2013)
Shaw, George Bernard, Letter, dated June 8, 1888, is reproduced in full in Archibald Henderson, George Bernard Shaw: His Life and Works, a Critical Biography, Montana: Kessinger, 2004, 196
From Nehad Selaiha Review (6 - 12 May 2010)
Available at http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2010/997/cu1.htm
(Accessed: 8th December 2013)
Shakespeare, W, The Taming of the Shrew, Wordsworth Classics 2004
ISBN: 978-1-85326-079-7
SparkNotes (no date)
Available at http://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/shrew/
(Accessed: 8th December 2013)
Warren, Rebecca, York Notes The Taming of the Shrew, Longman/York Press, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-4058-0706-7
Women As Propriety In Shakespeare's The Merchant Of Venice and The Taming Of the Shrew
In the beginning of “The Taming of the Shrew”, some say Shakespeare portrays Katherina as a very shrewish figure. Others may argue that she is not shrewish but just a very strong willed person. At the end of the play some people say she is transformed into a very kind and gentle person, while again others will argue that she is not “tamed” but just putting on an act to “show up” her younger sister Bianca, whom has always been more beautiful and charming. Kate is “like a wasp, like a foal, like foal that kicks from his halter; pert, quick and determined, but full of good heart.” 1. This statement made by one author, shows clearly that he does not see her as shrew-like, even at the beginning of the play. The same author states that at the end of the play she has not really transformed, rather she has just fallen in love with Petruchio, in essence she is free from torment because she is no longer seen as the shrew.
In William Shakespeare 's play, The Taming of the Shrew, was written in 1590’s to 1610. This time period was very hard for a women. The culture was very misogynistic, the culture demanded that a women
Taming of the Shrew, had a great story line, which can be related to several movies that exist today i.e. Othello, 10 Things I Hate about You, and The Lion King. In William Shakespeare's play, The Taming of the Shrew, the shrew played by Katherine, had a terrible perspective on life and just about everything else. Her negativity was caused by her younger, more pulchritudinous sister Bianca. Bianca wanted to get espoused. She had all of the men's hearts, Katherine retained none. If Katherine got espoused then Bianca could get espoused. She authentically was a shrew who needed to be tamed.
Over the past 400 or so years since Shakespeare wrote _The Taming of the Shrew_, many writers, painters, musicians and directors have adapted and reformed this play of control and subjugation into timeless pieces of art. In _10 Things I Hate About You_ and Kiss Me Kate from two very different times in the twentieth century, and paintings of Katherina and Bianca from the late nineteenth century, the creators of these adaptations have chosen to focus on the role of the two main female characters in the play. The ideas surrounding these women have changed through the years, from Katherina and Bianca simply being young women who deviated from the norm of Shakespeare’s time to women who embody feminist ideals and stereotypes of the more modern world.
The Taming of the Shrew, by William Shakespeare, deals with marriage. The ideas explored are primarily shown through the characters of Petruchio and Katharina. We are introduced to the trials and tribulation's which present themselves in their everyday lives. The characters bring up a traditional concept of male domination. Through the play we see the need for domination through Petruchio, and the methods he uses to dominate. While these ideas of male domination have remained a constant throughout the years, however recently there has been a change toward equality.
The first Shakespeare play which Zeffirelli adopted to the cinema, The Taming of the Shrew, deals with the theme of gender roles. In a grander scale the play explores the behavior expectations of males and females both in society at large and within a domestic relationship. For many years, most critics agreed that the heart of the play suggested male domination and female submission, especially to the authority of their husbands, as the accepted male-female dynamic. This view went unchanged for many years and audiences widely accepted Petruchio's “taming” of Katherina as politically correct.
"The Taming of the Shrew" is a great example of Shakespear's use of women. Shakespeare indeed does transcend the stereotypes of his own time.
Greene, Lenz, Neely, eds. The Woman's Part: Feminist Criticism of Shakespeare. Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1980.
"Women have a much better time than men in this world; there are far more things forbidden to them." -Oscar Wilde. This quote embodies the fight over gender roles and the views of women in society. Taming of the Shrew deals with Kate and Bianca, two sisters who are at the time to he married off. However, suitors who seek Bianca as a wife have to wait for her sister to be married first. Kate is seen as a shrew because she is strong willed and unlike most women of the time. In his 1603 play The Taming of the Shrew, William Shakespeare enforces traditional gender roles and demonstrates how little say women had in society. He accomplishes this through the strong personality of Kate, Baptista 's attitude towards his daughters as transactions, and
The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare is a play that is ahead of its time in its views toward gender roles within society. Katherine is a woman who is intelligent, and is not afraid to assert her views on any given situation. She is paired with another obstinate character in Pertuchio. The Marriage formed between the two is a match made in heaven for two reasons. First Because Katherine is strong enough to assert her views, and more importantly, she realizes when she should assert them. The second reason the bond survives is that Petruchio is strong enough to accept the fact that Katherine has a mind and, more importantly he loves her for that reason. Petruchio cleverly weaves the relationship into the framework of society without compromising the integrity of the relationship. Petruchio does this by comparing Katherine’s at attitude to repulsive clothing. Carefully and calculatingly, Petruchio forges a relationship that is envied by all who witness it.
The Taming of the Shrew is one of the earliest comedies written by William Shakespeare. The Taming of the Shrew focuses a great deal on courtship and marriage. Especially the life after marriage, which was generally not focused on in other comedies. Notably, the play focuses on the social roles that each character plays, and how each character faces the major struggles of their social roles. Which plays into one of the most prevalent themes of The Taming of the Shrew. The theme of how social roles play into a person’s individual happiness. This is displayed through the characters in the play that desperately try to break out of the social roles that are forced upon them. This exemplified through the character, Katherine, an upper-class young maiden-in-waiting, who wishes to have nothing to do with her role.
In the taming of the shrew, the play focused on two women in particular, Baptista's daughters, Bianca and Katherine. These women lived in this environment that gave men power for all their lives...
Some have made the claim that Shakespeare was pro-feminist and did all he could to illuminate the wrong done to women of his time by creating some overwhelmingly misogynistic characters. This was his way of showing men the errors of their ways and shaming them into showing women more respect. This is an interesting hypothesis for a number of reasons. First of all, there are no signs that it worked, if Shakespeare did indeed intend to reform men. Could the Bard, supposing that he was trying to shame men into changing, influence men in this manner? Can we blame him if he failed? Secondly, and by far more interesting to me, is that, in some cases, feminists seem to be more interested in martyring the Bard than in promoting feminist agendas What proof do we have that Shakespeare was really that enlightened?
A Shakespearean scholar expanded on this, “The play enacts the defeat of the threat of a woman’s revolt; it does so in a comic form – thus so offers the audience the chance to revel in and reinforce their misogyny while at the same time feeling good” (Gay). The Taming of the Shrew at many points is just praising the men in the novel despite their behavior and putting down the women for being anything but perfect. The novel makes the actions happening comedic and the reader does not get upset at the things happening, but in reading further into it and comparing it to modern day, it is not hard to see the plain and simple abuse. Although gender roles are still prominent in today’s society, they are toned back. In contemporary versions of The Taming of The Shrew, such as 10 Things I Hate About You and Kiss Me Kate, the character Kate is always mitigated.