Katharina and Petruchio from The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare
My two favourite characters from the play, The Taming of the Shrew,
which was written by William Shakespeare, are Katharina and Petruchio.
I find them extremely interesting, not just because they are the main
characters, but because of their contrast, chemistry and similarity
between them. They go from hating each other at the beginning of the
book and by the end, Katharina is obedient, the taming is complete and
they are married living happily together.
Petruchio has one of the main parts to play in the book as 'the tamer'
while Katahrina is alongside him as 'the shrew', which in turn makes
up the title of the story. Katharina is very argumentative,
disagreeable and violent with all her suitors and indeed Bianca, for
example the stage directions say that,
"Katharina with a whip stands over Bianca, who crouches by the wall,
her hands tied behind her." (Act 2, Scene 1, Stage Directions)
This shows that she is extremely violent and willing to beat a
confession out of anyone. Because Katharina is this way, no man wishes
to marry her, although many of tried. But Petruchio comes along and he
finds a challenge and, of course, a fair amount of money to profit
from the venture. He is interested in the money from the dowry in
particular because he enquires,
"Then tell me - if I got your daughter's love, what dowry shall I have
with her to wife?" (Act 2, Scene 1, Lines 119 - 120)
This shows he is probably more interested in the dowry than in
Katharina. Now we know that Petruchio is greedy as well as rich!
A good scene to show as an example of both Petruchio and Katharina in
conversation is Act 2, Scene 1. While Petruchio is in...
... middle of paper ...
... none shall eat; Last night she slept not,
nor tonight she shall not." (Act 4, Scene 1, Lines 182 - 183)
This shows us that Petruchio is starving Katharina of her food and
also depriving her of sleep. Hopefully this will turn her into a good
person! Petruchio mentions one last thing near to the end of his
second soliloquy, which tells us exactly why he is doing this:
"This is a way to kill a wife with kindness." (Act 4, Scene 1, Line
193)
In conclusion I think the two make an entertaining pair, which make
the story thoroughly enjoyable for many people. The 'tamer' and 'the
shrew' are amazingly similar in different ways and in the end
Petruchio and Katharina bonded. Katharina becomes extremely well
behaved and obedient even more so than Bianca, the total opposite to
what she used to be. The taming of the shrew is complete and thus, the
story ends.
marriage as well as being a wife is the proper role in life as did
The Taming of the Shrew written by William Shakespeare depicts the story of Petruchio a man who takes on the challenge of taming a shrew, a woman named Katherine (or Kate). By the end of the play, it becomes our knowledge that Petruchio has succeeded in taming Kate, because of the fact that she comes to him when she is called (or demanded to), while the other wives do not. The icing on the cake is her final speech which enforces the idea that she has been tamed by Petruchio. But it can also be seen that Kate’s final speech creates the idea that she is a powerful, smart and clever woman who was never truly tamed and instead only acting like she was. In the beginning of the play, when Kate and Petruchio first meet, her answers towards him are
way in taming a shrew. “This is a way to kill a wife with kindness,”
Shakespeare's Taming of the shrew Act 1 contains two parts, including the induction. None of Shakespeare's other plays begins with this, in which a full five-act play is performed within another play.
Nay, now I see she is your treasure, she must have a husband; I must
The next passage is Act 1 sc. 7 line 49. In this passage Lady Macbeth
find a wife. "I come to wives it wealthy in Padua; If wealthy, then happily in
Courtship in the context of the Shakespeare 's time is vastly different from that of todays. The action of a man pursuing a certain woman had to be first sanctioned by the father, or eldest male in the family if the father was not present. The woman had no public say in who she “dated” or eventually married. In Shakespeare 's The Taming of the Shrew an interesting comparison is draw in how both sides of the courting game where supposed to act and how sometimes they broke the “norm” much to the surprise and disdain of their peers. Petruchio, the main courting male character in the play is portrayed as a what in todays culture would be referred to as a man’s man. Petruchio forged his own path and did not pay alot of attention or care very much
Of course, everyone observing this incredible change in Kate's character is astounded, as she has demonstrated, most convincingly, just how effective Petruchio's work has been. And thus Petruchio's unconventional methods have tamed the cursed shrew.
Katherine and Bianca in The Taming of the Shrew. & nbsp; The Taming of the Shrew brings out the comedic side of Shakespeare. where irony and puns carry the play throughout. In my paper, I will. concentrate on the irony of the play, the introduction of the two. sisters. These two sisters begin off with the elder, Katherine, viewed as. a shrew, and Bianca as the angelic younger of the two. However, as the play proceeds, we begin to see the true sides of the two sisters and their roles totally turn around. I will try to analyze the method in which Shakespeare introduces the two sisters and how he hints at their true identity.
In the play The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare, Petrucio recognizes, respects and desires Katherine’s strength of character. Petrucio is a clever man who sees beyond facades because he uses them himself. (II, i 46) (II, I 283 - 89) He is stimulated by Katherine’s sharp tongue and harsh actions. He proves this many times throughout the play.
Relationships have differentiated greatly in the last few decades. Equal rights has become the slogan to bettering people all around the globe, however, there wasn’t always times when it was this way. From the beginning of time people have thought they were better than others. During the Industrial Revolution the Europeans believed they were better than others. Theories like Social Darwinism have been stated to justify the actions associated with one group or race believing superiority to another. Throughout time relationships have been affected because one person is “better” than another. The relationships in The Taming of the Shrew are accurate portrayals of relationships in the time period and how power in said relationships was divided.
The Taming of the Shrew unravels to reveal a wild beastly Katharine lacking respect for her family, herself and others around her. Kate is a very outspoken and vulgar woman without respect to authority. Katharine, although depicted as a beautiful woman quickly becomes the talk of Padua. Kate has found that if she is loud and obnoxious she can have her way. She screams and grunts and pushes those who she does not get along with. The general character of Katharine seems to be that of a small child.
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.
“SparkNote on The Taming of the Shrew.” SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. 2002. Web. 30 Apr. 2014.