Taming of the shrew
-written around 1590
-set in Padua, Italy → nursery of arts → known for universities and schools → borders
region of Lombardy & is close to Venice→ Lombardy was a financial district &
associated with wealth → Venice was famed for trade (Merchant of Venice)
-Farcical comedy (satirical comedy) → commedia dell’ arte (Italian form of play) → stock
characters, improv & elements of physical theatre in the form of slapstick comedy
-5 acts: Induction (intro) → Act 1: expo → 2: rising action → 3:climax → 4: rising action
→ 5: conclusion
-play is not meant to be misogynistic → critique & challenge status quo of differences
between men & women & gender roles → satire of how women were treated back
then→ tongue in cheek
Baptista→ father of Catherine aka Katherina aka Kate and Bianca → treats his
daughters as property based on their worth → is willing to pay for them to be educated
→ favours Bianca over Kate; does not defend Kate when the men talk shit about her but
protects Bianca by telling her to go back inside→ holds position of power; doesn’t have
to have as much dialogue as the others because he is in control of what happens to his
daughters
Petruchio → suitor/ eventual husband of Kate→ young, masculine/ physically strong→
abusive towards his servants (and towards Kate)→ upper class gentleman; gambled
some of his fortune away (implied but not shown) → came to Padua to find a rich wife to
restore his wealth; main objective throughout the entire play ( “I came to wife it wealthily
in Padua”) → has a lot of lengthy dialogue → violently abuses servant Grumio →
impulsive, dominant; has plenty of stage presence → authoritative → equal in status to
other suitors → speaks in prose and complex words→ courageous; manly man →
apparently succeeds in “taming” Kate at the end and peace is restored
Hortensio & Gremio → friends of Baptista and suitors of Bianca → Gremio is a creepy
and disgusting old man who is easily fooled → disrespects Kate → work together to find
a husband for Kate in order to free Bianca for marriage→ describes Kate as a “rotten
apple”, a “fiend of hell” and “hell” → implies that she is a prostitute ( “To cart her,
rather”) → equals in terms of power, status and class → Gremio is more afraid of
Kate’s wrath; will not insult Kate directly (says things about her under his breath as an
aside) → request permission from Baptista to marry Bianca; women had no say in
whom they married → misogynistic → neither are successful in courting Bianca;
Hortensio gives up halfway and chooses to marry a wealthy young widow who liked him
instead while Gremio sticks around to enjoy the wedding feast
, Lucentio → Bianca’s love interest → came to Padua as a scholar of philosophy (to look
beyond what is practical and realistic; hints at his idealistic viewpoint) but fell in love with
Bianca and starts pining over her after having only observed her for a few minutes→
master of Tranio and Biondello; respects Tranio and his opinions/ unique friendship→
upper class → young and naive → fickle; changes his mind quickly → does not have a
clear objective in mind→ gives orders to Biondello→ marries Bianca at the end but
discovers her true nature
Tranio→ assistant/ advisor to Lucentio → well-educated and smart (uses Latin and
Italian and quotes different philosophers) → higher-class servant → wise and intelligent
( gives advice for Lucentio to study but also enjoy life and try different things) → stock
character of faithful servant who is obedient and intellectually superior to his master →
takes on Lucentio’s identity for much of the play and ends only when Lucentio and
Bianca have eloped behind their dads’ backs → is later back to serving the others →
birth father is revealed to have been a “sailmaker from Bergamo” by Vincentio → hints
at having been sold off to Lucentio’s wealthier family at a young age due to poverty →
class and society; it was common for children of poorer families to be given away to
richer families as servants in exchange for money/ other benefits at the time → humble
origins
Grumio→ servant to Petruchio → ridiculous speech → brings humour into the play →
Biondello→ lower class servant → not very intelligent; does not understand what is ging
on between Lucentio and Tranio despite having everything explained to him→ servant
to Lucentio→ ignorant, stupid, humourous → knows his place in society and takes
orders from Lucentio → later becomes confused as time goes on and Tranio continues
to stay in Lucentio’s place → Vincentio is mad at him
Katherina (aka Kate)→ daughter of Baptista, wife of Petruchio and older sister to
Bianca→ shrewd/ quick-witted/ fiery tempered/ opinionated/ rough/ defensive and
aggressive/ shrewish/ violent/ wayward woman → learns to be subservient to husband
at the end→ is treated badly by men and speaks up about how much she hates this;
has a reason to be defensive→ does not fit the mould of being gentle and mild→
speaks despite not being addressed; breaks rules placed upon women at the time→
humiliated in public→ the 2 sisters are foils to each other→ both sisters are beautiful but
Kate is disliked mainly because of her behaviour and not because of her looks→ tends
to emasculate men (“To comb your noddle with a three-legged stool and paint your face
and use you like a fool”) → often feels left out → does not have a good relationship with
either her father or her sister; accuses her father of trying to make a fool out of her (“I
pray you, sir, is it your will to make a stale of me amongst these mates?”) → is
-written around 1590
-set in Padua, Italy → nursery of arts → known for universities and schools → borders
region of Lombardy & is close to Venice→ Lombardy was a financial district &
associated with wealth → Venice was famed for trade (Merchant of Venice)
-Farcical comedy (satirical comedy) → commedia dell’ arte (Italian form of play) → stock
characters, improv & elements of physical theatre in the form of slapstick comedy
-5 acts: Induction (intro) → Act 1: expo → 2: rising action → 3:climax → 4: rising action
→ 5: conclusion
-play is not meant to be misogynistic → critique & challenge status quo of differences
between men & women & gender roles → satire of how women were treated back
then→ tongue in cheek
Baptista→ father of Catherine aka Katherina aka Kate and Bianca → treats his
daughters as property based on their worth → is willing to pay for them to be educated
→ favours Bianca over Kate; does not defend Kate when the men talk shit about her but
protects Bianca by telling her to go back inside→ holds position of power; doesn’t have
to have as much dialogue as the others because he is in control of what happens to his
daughters
Petruchio → suitor/ eventual husband of Kate→ young, masculine/ physically strong→
abusive towards his servants (and towards Kate)→ upper class gentleman; gambled
some of his fortune away (implied but not shown) → came to Padua to find a rich wife to
restore his wealth; main objective throughout the entire play ( “I came to wife it wealthily
in Padua”) → has a lot of lengthy dialogue → violently abuses servant Grumio →
impulsive, dominant; has plenty of stage presence → authoritative → equal in status to
other suitors → speaks in prose and complex words→ courageous; manly man →
apparently succeeds in “taming” Kate at the end and peace is restored
Hortensio & Gremio → friends of Baptista and suitors of Bianca → Gremio is a creepy
and disgusting old man who is easily fooled → disrespects Kate → work together to find
a husband for Kate in order to free Bianca for marriage→ describes Kate as a “rotten
apple”, a “fiend of hell” and “hell” → implies that she is a prostitute ( “To cart her,
rather”) → equals in terms of power, status and class → Gremio is more afraid of
Kate’s wrath; will not insult Kate directly (says things about her under his breath as an
aside) → request permission from Baptista to marry Bianca; women had no say in
whom they married → misogynistic → neither are successful in courting Bianca;
Hortensio gives up halfway and chooses to marry a wealthy young widow who liked him
instead while Gremio sticks around to enjoy the wedding feast
, Lucentio → Bianca’s love interest → came to Padua as a scholar of philosophy (to look
beyond what is practical and realistic; hints at his idealistic viewpoint) but fell in love with
Bianca and starts pining over her after having only observed her for a few minutes→
master of Tranio and Biondello; respects Tranio and his opinions/ unique friendship→
upper class → young and naive → fickle; changes his mind quickly → does not have a
clear objective in mind→ gives orders to Biondello→ marries Bianca at the end but
discovers her true nature
Tranio→ assistant/ advisor to Lucentio → well-educated and smart (uses Latin and
Italian and quotes different philosophers) → higher-class servant → wise and intelligent
( gives advice for Lucentio to study but also enjoy life and try different things) → stock
character of faithful servant who is obedient and intellectually superior to his master →
takes on Lucentio’s identity for much of the play and ends only when Lucentio and
Bianca have eloped behind their dads’ backs → is later back to serving the others →
birth father is revealed to have been a “sailmaker from Bergamo” by Vincentio → hints
at having been sold off to Lucentio’s wealthier family at a young age due to poverty →
class and society; it was common for children of poorer families to be given away to
richer families as servants in exchange for money/ other benefits at the time → humble
origins
Grumio→ servant to Petruchio → ridiculous speech → brings humour into the play →
Biondello→ lower class servant → not very intelligent; does not understand what is ging
on between Lucentio and Tranio despite having everything explained to him→ servant
to Lucentio→ ignorant, stupid, humourous → knows his place in society and takes
orders from Lucentio → later becomes confused as time goes on and Tranio continues
to stay in Lucentio’s place → Vincentio is mad at him
Katherina (aka Kate)→ daughter of Baptista, wife of Petruchio and older sister to
Bianca→ shrewd/ quick-witted/ fiery tempered/ opinionated/ rough/ defensive and
aggressive/ shrewish/ violent/ wayward woman → learns to be subservient to husband
at the end→ is treated badly by men and speaks up about how much she hates this;
has a reason to be defensive→ does not fit the mould of being gentle and mild→
speaks despite not being addressed; breaks rules placed upon women at the time→
humiliated in public→ the 2 sisters are foils to each other→ both sisters are beautiful but
Kate is disliked mainly because of her behaviour and not because of her looks→ tends
to emasculate men (“To comb your noddle with a three-legged stool and paint your face
and use you like a fool”) → often feels left out → does not have a good relationship with
either her father or her sister; accuses her father of trying to make a fool out of her (“I
pray you, sir, is it your will to make a stale of me amongst these mates?”) → is
