The Universal Characteristic of William Shakespear in The Taming of the Shrew
In Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare, the author uses a variety of characters portraying all different types of mankind to show a general view of life. The reader directly relates to the conflicts in the plot, and using a mixture of both comedy and irony, Shakespeare is able to obtain an emotional, not critical, response from the audience. G. B. Harrison summarized this writing style by Shakespeare by stating, "When we try to analyze the universality of Shakespeare, we find that he is not particularly original as a thinker, nor is he the only English writer. Others, in various ways, have written poetry as memorable. But he is the most universal of all, because he is the wisest; that is, he can understand and sympathize more than any other men. He can see the whole picture of humanity and re-create it so that men of every kind, country, creed, and generation understand. Knowing humanity as no one else ever did, he is nevertheless neither a mocking nor a weeping philosopher. He views life with zest, and he is so great that he can refrain from moral judgements."
When Harrison states that Shakespeare is "the most universal of all," he means that the characters represented in Shakespeare's plays are represented and understood by all people of society, especially the characters in The Taming of the Shrew. A common feeling felt by many children in society is negligence or favoritism by their parents. Bianca, the younger of two daughters of Baptista, is presented as a young, modest girl with an angelic appearance. Baptista is directly seen as a biased father who shows favoritism towards his daughter, Bianca. In Scene I of Act I, Baptist...
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... towards her husband, Petruchio. Shakespeare neither mocks nor weeps at Kate's outcome, and plainly states that even though she was once a shrew, her love has been unlocked by that special someone indicating Shakespeare's zest for life.
William Shakespeare is a classic English writer who is universal, understanding, and has a keen knowledge of humanity which makes his plays so unique. In The Taming of the Shrew, Shakespeare is able to connect all these aspects of his writing and manipulate the reader's attention so that a fondness towards the characters is exerted rather than criticism and moral judgements.
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WORKS CITED
Harrison, G. B. Shakespeare, Major Plays and the Sonnets.
Michigan: Harcourt Brace and Company, 1958.
Shakespeare, William. The Taming of the Shrew.
New York: Washington Square Press, Inc., 1963.
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
In the beginning of the play Kate is “consistently in opposition to everything around her”2, meanwhile “Bianca obeys so gently and with such sweet submission that it is obvious why she is Baptista’s favorite daughter”2. In the end of the play, the roles switch and Katherina is submissive to every word of Petruchio and Bianca resists the commands of her new husband.
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.
In conclusion, Shakespeare does it again with Taming of the Shrew. On the surface, there is Kate who seems to be off the wall and kinda crazy but at the end of the play, you realize that by acting this way and learning “life’s little secrets,” she gets the life she always wanted.
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.
The Taming of a Shrew displays the significant dilemma of whether or not a female should be seen as her husband’s property or whether she can be perceived as an important social figure without the aid of one’s partner. In this play, the audience is able to depict the obvious frustrations of power struggle between Petruchio and his newly wedded, Kate. Kate is a very dominant figure in ways females aren’t usually perceived in this time period. She is in a constant battle with Petruchio to see who will quiver first in their never-ending game.
William Shakespeare has become landmark in English literature. One must be familiar with the early days of English literature in order to comprehend the foundation of much of more modern literature’s basis. Shakespeare’s modern influence is still seen clearly in many ways. The success of Shakespeare’s works helped to set the example for the development of modern dramas and plays. He is also acknowledged for being one of the first writers to use any modern prose in his writings.
In Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew the elements of farce are exemplified in terms of character, plot, and writing style. The stereotyped characters in The Taming of the Shrew are typical of a farce. Katherina is an outstanding example of a farcical character. Katherina, although stereotyped as a boisterous shrew, can be portrayed as a person needing sympathy due to Baptista's favoritism. The quote, "She is your treasure, she must have a husband: I must dance barefoot on her wedding day…" (A. II S. 1 L. 36-37), makes it obvious that Baptista favors Bianca. In terms of plot, Shakespeare devises the plot to resemble a situation comedy. Although the subplot is more romantic, both the subplot and the main plot revolve around the principle of a favoristic father who is outwitted by his child and her lover.
"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.
Shakespeare to create a lot of contrasts and moods, as and when he wants to.
By charming her with kind words, Petruchio is able to manipulate Katherine into marriage and woo her, but in an unaccustomed way, as Kate is not used to men being so nice and direct with her. Petruchio is able to achieve this end by manipulating Katherine’s words. He twists what Kate says and makes it seem as if she is coming on to him sexually, while in reality he is the one implying the sexual innuendo. This manipulation can be seen when they have an argument about whether or not the wasp carries his sting on his tail or tongue, and Petruchio says “What, with my tongue in your tail? Nay, come again, good Kate. I am a gentleman—” (II, 1; 230-231). By contorting the words he ...
The Taming of the Shrew, written by William Shakespeare, features an abundant number of puns and metaphors which are used in several different ways throughout the play. Among the most widely used metaphors and puns in the play are sexual, food, animal, and word play puns and metaphors. (I:i,31-33) "Let's be no stoics nor no stocks, or so devote to Aristotle's checks as Ovid be an outcast quite abjurd". The first sexual metaphor in the play is spoken by Tranio to Lucentio. In saying this to Lucentio, Tranio means he does not want to put aside his emotions and desire, and completely devote his life to Aristotle's teachings while ignoring Ovid's poems. The quote is a sexual metaphor because Tranio is saying although he wants to study, he also wants to have sex and not become deprived of life's pleasures.
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.