The themes in The Taming of the Shrew
The taming of the shrew by William Shakespeare is a dramatic play that takes places in a era that women’s rights were not even thought about, writers of the 1500’s used issues taking place in society to describe their stories. The issues addressed were women’s rights due to a system of power exerted over women to control them as respect and submission to the male was the principle requirement. The women were sold to there future husbands by the headman of the family choice. There was no courtship evolved much was determined on how much money would be exchanged. There was hierarchy in the family to marry the oldest daughter first as not to have a daughter left behind to be an old main rejected by many suitors.
…show more content…
The following themes of marriage, disguise and parental love are elements of social norms in the 1590’s as evidence by the play The Taming of the Shrew.
The taming of the shrew focuses on the coming together of a couple to eventually be bonded in marriage, however there are obstacles to overcome. “Before I have a husband for the elder:” (I.i.51). Batista couldn’t not allow marriage to his younger daughter, whom was more beautiful and mild manner. Another obstacle was the fact Kate was difficult to get along with and wasn’t well like by others. “I know she is an irksome brawling scold:/If that be all, masters, I hear no harm (I.ii.184-185). As said by Petruchio to Gremio, Petruchio is warned by Batista Kate’s father to be ready for her unkind words when he meets her and has been warned by his friends, he takes it on as a challenge. “Now, by the world, it is a lusty wench;/I love her ten times more than e 'er I did:(II.i.160-161). Upon meeting Kate he woe’s her with his flatter and desire to marry her. Kate replies with insults and sarcasm. “Petruchio sees beneath Kate’s defensive shield of a sharp tongue into her true worth, and taming, transcending its offensiveness to modern sensibilities, is the process
…show more content…
Disguise is used to deceive the rules of Batista, the two daughters Katherine and Bianca’s father. There are five characters that disguise themselves thought the story. When Bianca’s suitors are sent away because Batista states “Gentlemen, importune me no farther, /For how I firmly am resolved you know; /That is, not bestow my youngest daughter /Before I have a husband for the elder:” (I.i. 48-51). Batista tells the suitors that they can help him by finding tutors “And for I know she taketh most delight/In music, instruments and poetry,/Schoolmasters will I keep within my house,/Fit to instruct her youth. If you, Hortensio, /Or Signior Gremio, you, know any such,/Prefer them hither; for to cunning men/I will be very kind, and liberal” (I.i. 93-99). This statement by Batista is what promotes the physical disguise in the story. The first character to disguise himself is Hortensio one of Bianca’s suitors, he disguise himself as a music tutor named Lito. This allows him to get closer to Bianca and earn her love. Hortensio isn’t very successful as she is more attracted to her other tutor. The other tutor is a man named Lucentio who disguises himself as a Latin tutor named Cambio, to also get closer to Bianca and earn her love. Lucentio is supposed to be in Padua to study at university so one of his servants Tranio disguises himself to be Lucentio. To make Tranio’s disguise, as Lucentio seem
Kate and The Taming of the Shrew describes the progression of the outspoken and headstrong Kate, wife of Petruchio, as she gradually transitions into an almost perfect example of an archetypal loyal wife. This classic female archetype can be expressed through blind and ignorant support of their husband without any personal opinion or any priorities and objectives other than to satisfy the needs and desires of their husbands. While Kate begins possessing traits that oppose the loyal wife archetype due to her strong willed personality, her shift to obedience. However she continues to think with cunning strategy throughout the entire play, regardless of her weakened mental state caused by Petruchio limiting her food and sleep.
Examine the different ways in which Shakespeare presents the attitude towards marriage in the play, ‘The Taming of the Shrew.’
“The Taming Of The Shrew” by William Shakespeare is a work of satire created to criticize the misogynistic outlooks of the 16th century. With this play, Shakespeare is trying to say that the idea and role of women in his society is deeply flawed and should be fixed, as well as to make other social commentaries, such as on the treatment of servants. Through exaggeration and parody, Shakespeare makes society look silly.
Schneider, Gary. “The Public, the Private, and the Shaming of the Shrew.” SEL Studies in English Literature 1500-1900 42.2 (2002): 235-258. Project Muse. Westfield State College Library, MA. 15 April 2005.
In Shakespeare's comedy, The Taming of the Shrew, Shakespeare has a woman as one of the story's main characters. Katherine Minola (Kate) is off the wall, and kinda crazy. Because of her actions, the “male centered world” around her doesn't know what to do with her.
The Taming of the Shrew written by William Shakespeare depicts the common roles of men and women in the early seventeenth century. Shakespeare writes of Petruchio and Kate, a male and female who sharply oppose each other. Petruicho must "tame" his wife Kate without breaking her true inner spirit.
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.
"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
Katherine reveals this attitude in Act 2 Scene 1, lines 31-35, "nay, now I see she is your treasure, she must have a husband; I must dance barefoot on my wedding day, and for your love for her, lead the apes to hell." Talk not to me, I will sit and weep!.. " This anger is not concealed, it serves to provide motivation as to why a rational person would rebuke Petrucchio so rudely upon first encountering him. Katherine surely realizes that Petruchio is interested in her for ulterior motives other than love. Be it purse that the dowry will bring or the actions of an insincere lunatic who, "woo's a thousand.
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.
The Taming of the Shrew is set in a time period that did not accept women as we do today. In today's society, women who are strong and independent and quick witted are praised. In Elizabethan times women were supposed to know their role in life, being good to their husbands, making children and taking care of them. There were no women in politics, there were no women in business, it was only acceptable for women to participate in domestic areas of life. Women could not live a respectable life in this time period without a male figure to take care of them, rendering them helpless without men. If there was anything that must be done involving economics or education, it was up to the men. Men were the ones who worked and brought home the money to support the family. The roles of men and women were very distinct, and it resulted in giving the men the majority of the power.
In The Taming of the Shrew, the concept of love is a means of emotional manipulation, and manipulation is nothing more than a means of control between men and women. William Shakespeare critiques the patriarchal social structure by ironically employing the manipulative stance Petruchio takes towards winning Katherine as his wife by charming her with words and manipulating her psychologically, and then taming her after their marriage through legal, physical, financial, and psychological control and manipulation. Though Petruchio may think he yields power over his wife, Katherine uses obedience as a tool of manipulation and has the control of the household, as can be seen by her ironic speech at the end of the play, where she claims women must serve their men. Shakespeare uses the irony of a man using manipulation as a tool for control to magnify the significance of the power women yield through manipulation, thus proving that men and women engage in a power-shifting struggle.
of the men who desired Bianca needed somebody to marry Kate, as it was customary
During The Taming of the Shrew, Shakespeare has used pleasure and pain in order to tell the story of Petruchio and Katherina’s courtship. This is problematic for modern day audiences, as they do not find the courtship methods that Petruchio employs to woo Katherina particularly comical. However, it could be argued that Shakespeare crafted The Taming of the Shrew precisely for this reason, to feature his views on patriarchy and to make the audience see what was happening through a new perspective. The Elizabethan audience would have been shocked at the methods used in order to achieve the taming, even though it was well within a man’s right to discipline his wife if she was deemed unfit. From the very beginning of The Taming of the Shrew, Shakespeare indicates that this play will not follow traditional rules of decorum, and that it is intended to both give pleasure and cause pain in order to make both Elizabethan and modern audiences take note of his underlying message.