The Different Masks of the Characters in The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare
We think people act the way that their true identity is. Every person has disguised
their true identity at one point in time has. We display these false characters or put on
our masks for some personal gain. Many times, complicated situations occur because
of the changing of people’s masks between reality and illusion (Cahn 39). In a similar
way, The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare, does just that. He creates a
soap operasituation by placing different "masks" on his characters.
Katharina does not know how to properly act to gain attention, but instead she
places a "mask"on herself that becomes her reality. She is known throughout Padua as
the shrew of the town. In the story, you could imply that her mother is dead. Therefore,
when Katharina was young, she played the role of mother to Bianca (Leonard 23). As
the sisters grew older, Katharina did not need to play the maternal role to her younger
sibling by being harsh. However, Katherina could not switch the gears of that character
since everyone already knew her by that personality. She knows about Bianca’s
deceptive ways. Bianca is being courted by several men and has her choice of
prospective husbands. However, due to customs in that era, Katharina, must be married
before her younger sister.
In the early acts, Katharina’s attitude appears as if she does not care at all about
getting married. Instead, she yearns for her father’s attention, but she goes about
getting it in the wrong ways. Unlike her elder sister, Bianca appears to be of a more
complacent nature. Katharina dislikes her because their father shows favoritism
towards her. Katharina talks back to everyone with her cold but creative remarks
and makes her presence known in Act 1 Scene1:
Katharina: I’faith, sir, you shall never need to fear.
I wis it to not halfway to her heart -
But if it were, doubt not her care should be
William Shakespeare is a master of satire, and it is very evident in his work “The Taming Of The Shrew”. His use of exaggeration is impeccable, and he managed to make the entire work one giant parody. Through this satire, he makes a very important social commentary, using his influence to bring new ideas into people’s minds, and make them realize the flaws in their
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.
Shakespeare, William. _The Taming of the Shrew_. The Riverside Shakespeare. 2nd ed. Ed. Dean Johnson. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1997. 142-171.
Garner, Shirley Nelson. “The Taming of the Shrew:Inside or Outside of the Joke?” “Bad” Shakespeare: Revaluations of the Shakespeare Canon. Dickinson: Farleigh Dickinson U P, 1988. 105-19. Rpt. in Shakespeare for Students. Ed. Catherine C. Dominic. Detroit: Gale, 1997. 374-78. Print.
Appearances are but a mask, one which is crafted and molded to our benefit. This is true in everyday eventualities from applying for a job to even hypothetical scenarios such as the apocalypse where survival is a matter of not letting others know your weaknesses. For instance the writers of the series Quarantine: The Saints have adroitly layered out a story filled with half-truths and deceit, but also filled with an honest disposition of the characters trying to survive at all costs. This is especially true the sequel to Quarantine: The Loners. Where ordinary high school student’s lives destroyed in the previous book and now, we see their reactions. They have adapted, overcome and survived. Although if it’s for the better that they die or survive has yet to be resolved.
One of Shakespeare’s biggest accomplishments was appealing to all audiences. In a time rigidly divided by classes and gender roles, Shakespeare was able to appeal to the wealthy, the poor, men, and women. By showing both sides of the story and leaving some room for the imagination, Shakespeare was able to poke fun at the flaws in many groups of people for the amusement of the audience without offending those he joked about. In his play The Taming of the Shrew, Shakespeare manipulates gender roles through exaggeration in his characters and is able to comment about gender roles without turning a group of people away.
There are many comedic devices that work to develop the plot in The Taming of the Shrew. They are used throughout the story. A lot of examples of comedic devices has been used throughout the different Acts. The examples through acts one through five will be shown and explain as we go.
Shakespeare, William. The Taming of the Shrew. Edited by Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine,
Shakespeare, William. “The Taming of the Shrew.” Ed. Walter Cohen, Jean E. Howard, Katharine Eisaman Maus, and Andrew Gurr. The Norton Shakespeare: Comedies. By William Shakespeare. Ed. Stephen Jay. Greenblatt. 2nd ed. New York: W.W. Norton, 1997. 175-244. Print.
Stella-Rondo brings out jealousy in Sister that causes tension between them. Sister hates that Stella-Rondo married Mr. Whitaker since Sister supposedly had him first. She feels like Stella-Rondo broke them up by lying. Most likely, Sister is upset because she was not the one to end up with the guy she liked, but she displays her feelings childishly. Sister’s snide comments towards her sister are the real reason that Stella-Rondo turns their family against her. Stella-Rondo’s lies about her daughter, Shirley T., increase Sister’s jealous feelings. Stella-Rondo claims that Shirley-T. is adopted, but Sister does not believe her. Sister wants her family to see through Stella-Rondo’s lies and realize that this two-year old child is not adopted. She points out that Shirley-T. is the “spitting image of Papa-Daddy” (359). Sister cannot stand that Stella-Rondo left Mr. Whitaker after only staying married to him for two years. The fact that “the first thing she did was separate! From Mr. Whitaker!” when Stella-Rondo got married and moved away infuriates Sister (359). Consequently, Sister makes sure her family knows that she had him first. In the heat of the moment at the end of the story, Sister starts saying that Mr. Whitaker left Stella-Rondo, not vice versa, which only builds up more tension.
William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew is an interesting story that demonstrates the patriarchal ideas of how a marriage is suppose to be according to society, what is acceptable of a woman's role in a relationship. It's a story that has many things to show for it's been remade, and remade, even slightly altered to better relate to the teenage audience.
“SparkNote on The Taming of the Shrew.” SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. 2002. Web. 30 Apr. 2014.
The Taming of the Shrew, written by William Shakespeare, is historical proof that flirting and temptation, relating to the opposite sex, has been around since the earliest of times. Because males and females continue to interact, the complications in this play remain as relevant and humorous today as they did to Elizabethan audiences. This is a very fun play, full of comedy and sexual remarks. It's lasting impression imprints itself into the minds of its readers, for it is an unforgettable story of sex, flirting, and happiness. The Taming of the Shrew remains as relevant today because of its relation to the age-old story of the battle of the sexes and dynamics of marriage, as well as the woman's struggle with both of these.
Humanity is defined by one major factor: one’s understating of the self. By understanding one’s self, one can understand society and the world that surrounds themselves. There is one thing that can often distort one’s personality, one’s identity. By identifying as one thing a person can often change how they act or do certain things. This is often found to hide one’s true motives or intention, but it can also be used to hide hidden factors that aren’t as prevalent. One’s personality and identity are very closely linked, and tend to play off one another. This fact can be show in within multiple works. To name a few authors who demonstrate this fact: Clifford Geertz, Horace Miner, and Andrei Toom. Their works seek to dive deeper
The authors Benner and Pennington, speak of the damaging nature of the false self in contrast with the freedom of the true self. The false self is described as the reliance upon the attachments we form, to the things we attribute to making us special or proud of who we are. The reliance on these attributes are likened to the fig leaves that Adam and Eve used for the purpose of hiding behind, out of fear of being ‘seen’. The idea is expressed that we hide, in fear of people seeing the things we have at some point cast out of our lives in shame.