Relationship of Petruchio and Katherina in William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew

Relationship of Petruchio and Katherina in William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew

"The Taming of the Shrew" by William Shakespeare is a humorous play

which focuses on Petruchio and Katherina's relationship. It explores

ideas of marriage including the impact of money in surrounding

characters lives. This creates ideal opportunities for dramatic

impact, which will vary in effect on the Elizabethan, and modern day

audiences especially when various dilemmas are presented. Shakespeare

uses a range of devices in order to achieve this.

Before Petruchio and Katherina meet, the audience is already aware of

the characters attitudes towards life and has thoughts of a fiery

first encounter between the two. Since arriving in Padua, Petruchio's

aim is to "wife and thrive" and thus becoming wealthy. This would come

as to no surprise to an Elizabethan audience as they freely accepted

that the principal of marriage was often financial. The use of rhyme

is suggestive of a jolly mood for Petruchio, which implies he is very

optimistic regarding his future in Padua. Some people today would not

approve of a male so arrogant and his attitude would not be accepted

in today's society as easily. Katherina is described by Hortensio as

"intolerable" "shrewd" and "forward" echoing other people's thoughts

in doing so. These adjectives provide the audience with evidence that

Katherina is very strong willed and she will not accept Petruchio

without a fight. This makes the audience eager to discover what will

happen when they first meet and creates a sense of excitement and

uncertainty.

To add to the tension, both characters display many similarities. Bo...

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...d with the replacement of equality in most marriages.

Petruchio is the victor while Katherina is left to be appreciative and

satisfied after eventually collapsing to Petruchios strategy. Mixed

and varied reactions emerge from on lookers about the situation.

Characters in the play especially Baptista and Bianca, represent

feelings of shock and disbelief as their relative has become a new

woman almost over night. They find it hard to believe that she has

been tamed considering what she was previously like. An Elizabethan

audience may accept the outcome as Katherina fits the bill of an

Elizabethan wife. And a modern audience would carry thoughts of regret

that Katherina should not have given in and lost her fire and

aggression so easily and early. The early promise for a conclusive and

surprising end has been fulfilled.