The Taming of the Shrew
'The Taming of the Shrew' is a play writen by William Shakaspeare. William Shakespeare was born to Mary Arden and John Shakespeare in a small British town outside of London called Stratford-on-Avon. His exact date of birth is unknown, however, Shakespeare is believed to have been born on either the 22nd or 23rd of April in 1564. He was educated at the King's Free School of Stratford, where he studied the Bible and Latin, and soon married the older Anne Hathaway at age 18. It was now that he began to find writing poetry as a profession to support his family. They had a daughter Susanna, and twins, Judith and Hamnet.
The play starts with the Induction where a trick is played by a nobleman on the drunkard Christopher Sly who arranges for an acting troupe to perform a play called 'The Taming of the Shrew' which means that The Taming of the Shrew is a play inside a play performance. The play within the play begins as the young noble scholar Lucentio enters a street in Padua {a place in Italy} with his servant, Tranio. He overhears Hortensio and Gremio discuss their affections for the youngest daughter of nobleman Baptista of Padua. When Lucentio sees the young daughter, Bianca, he also falls in love with her. The problem remains that Bianca is not allowed to marry until her older sister, Kate the shrew, is first married. Finding the task almost impossible, Lucentio and Hortensio both devise plans to woo Bianca. Lucentio changes clothing with Tranio and disguises himself as a schoolteacher named Cambio, so that he may live in Baptista's house and woo Bianca. Tranio will impersonate Lucentio and win her affection from Baptista. Likewise, Hortensio devises a plan that enables him to live in the house as a schoolteacher named Litio.
Petruchio of Verona comes to Padua to visit his old friend, Hortensio, as well as seek a new life and wife. Hortensio tells Petruchio of Kate, the shrew with a large dowry, and convinces him to tame and marry her. Petruchio introduces himself to Baptista as a suitor to Kate and offers Hortensio (dressed as Litio) as a teacher. Tranio (dressed as Lucentio) does the same to Baptista for Bianca's affections, and offers Lucentio (dressed as Cambio) as a teacher. Baptista accepts these teachers and gifts and welcomes the men into his home. He also agrees to give Petruchio Kate's hand in marriage and generous dowry.
Petruchio quickly marries Kate and takes her away to his country home. He is cruel, shrewish, and arrogant toward her and treats her worse than an unnecessary object. He also strikes her, yells at his servants, and strikes them. Because of his unruly behavior, everyone near Petruchio fears for his or her life. Meanwhile, Lucentio has revealed his true identity to Bianca and successfully won her affections. Tranio has made arrangements with Baptista for Lucentio to marry Bianca. Tranio also meets a Pendant on the streets of Padua and convinces him to impersonate Vincentio of Pisa (Lucentio's father) so that the deal of marriage may be completed. He agrees.
As Hortensio, Kate, and Petruchio make their way back to Padua, they come across Vincentio, Lucentio's father. They congratulate him on his son's engagement and bring him back to Padua with them. When Vincentio seeks Lucentio, he finds the Pendant and Tranio. The imposters call Vincentio a madman and a liar and ask that Baptista imprison him. However, when Lucentio appears on the scene, he bows down to his father and all truth is revealed.
The true Vincentio agrees to his son's marriage to Bianca, while Hortensio marries a doting and shrew-like widow when he realizes that ...
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As Hortensio, Kate, and Petruchio make their way back to Padua, they come across Vincentio, Lucentio's father. They congratulate him on his son's engagement and bring him back to Padua with them. When Vincentio seeks Lucentio, he finds the Pendant and Tranio. The imposters call Vincentio a madman and a liar and ask that Baptista imprison him. However, when Lucentio appears on the scene, he bows down to his father and all truth is revealed.
The true Vincentio agrees to his son's marriage to Bianca, while Hortensio marries a doting and shrew-like widow when he realizes that he has lost Bianca's affections. Petruchio continues to scold and treat Kate and his servants horrifically.
At the final banquet, celebrating the three nuptials - those of Kate and Petruchio, Bianca and Lucentio, and the widow and Hortensio - the men decide to make a wager. They intend to discover who is the shrewish of the three women. They ask Biondello to send for each of them. When both Bianca and the widow decline their husband's requests, Kate appears before them, obedient and tamed. She proclaims her ultimate loyalty to her husband and intends to live for him forever. As al three couples exit, Hortensio and Lucentio look to Petruchio in respect. Has he truly tamed the wild shrew? Or was that Shakespeare believe that a woman was in no way equal to a man or was this play tongue in cheek and was he portraying how men would simply like things to be? And also bare in mind is believed that 'The Taming of the Shrew' was first performed between 1593 and 1594. In the Elizabethan era there was a huge demand for new entertainment and 'The Taming of the Shrew' would have been produced immediately following the completion of the play; so was the pressure the purpose of this production? Or was because of the way Queen Elizabeth carry herself.
The main characters of these play are:
Katherine (Kate the shrew): Katherine (Kate the shrew) is the central character of the play, after whom it is titled. As the older and shrewish sister, Kate must get married by a man before her sister Bianca. As a loud, harsh, violent, and cruel woman, Kate is 'sold' into marriage to Petruchio. Petruchio takes her away, treats her worse than she could ever imagine, and behaves even more shrew-like than she could ever dream. Petruchio's actions all lay in his ultimate plan to tame her. The way to tame a shrew is to act like one much worse.
Petruchio (of Verona): Petruchio is the man who agreed to marry Kate so that his friend, Hortensio, marry Bianca. He becomes an even greater shrew and madman in her eyes (and of those around him) in order to tame her. Petruchio carries her away, throws her in the mud, starves her, and forces her to wear rags in order to create a dignified obedient woman. Petruchio is in constant search for a kiss from Kate, and eventually falls in love with her, for she has matched his madness in spirit and form.
Bianca: Bianca is Baptista's youngest daughter and the prize after which three men seek victory. Lucentio, Hortensio, and Gremio are all in love with her and go to desperate measures to marry her. Although she speaks little throughout the play, she is beaten by Kate, loved by many men, and taught by the disguised teachers 'Litio' and 'Cambio.' She eventually falls in love with Lucentio and marries him. And although Kate is the shrew who must be tamed, it is Bianca who ultimately disobeys her husband at the end of the play.
Lucentio: Lucentio is a young wealthy man of Pisa, who has come to Padua and fallen madly in love with Bianca. He changes clothes with his servant, Tranio, and assumes the false identity of Cambio, a schoolteacher, in order to live within the walls of Baptista's house and secretly woo Bianca. He acts as Cambio throughout most of the play, and reveals himself to his beloved. They wed and eventually tell the truth to both parents and wooers around them.
Tranio: Tranio is Lucentio's servant. Upon command, he wears Lucentio's regal clothing and assumes his identity at the same time. He acts as Lucentio throughout most of the play, gaining the trust of Baptista, securing the dowry, and introducing the Pendant as his father, Vincentio of Pisa. Although the true Vincentio wants him punished for fraud, Tranio finds freedom and returns to his position as servant at the end of the play.
Baptista Minola (of Padua): Baptista Minola is the father of both Bianca and Kate. As a wealthy man of Padua, he has decreed that Bianca can not marry until his older daughter
(Kate) . Since Bianca has numerous suitors and Kate none, it seems a daunting task. He agrees to Petruchio's offer of marriage and later to Lucentio's and Bianca's. At the end of the play, it is Baptista who offers a second dowry to Petruchio for taming his untameable shrewish daughter, Katherine.
Hortensio: Hortensio is a suitor to Bianca and old friend of Petruchio. He lives in Padua and offers his home to Petruchio during his stay there and courtship with Kate. He assumes the identity of a schoolteacher named Litio in order to get behind the walls of Baptista's house and to get to know Bianca, as well. He is the man who suggests the idea of marrying Kate to Petruchio. When Hortensio realizes that Bianca loves Lucentio.
Gremio: Gremio is another of Bianca's suitors. A wealthy elderly gentleman, Gremio tries to marry her unsuccessfully. He is involved in the trickery throughout the play.
For the last four weeks I have been studying an act on this play which was "Act 2 scene 1" but I mostly concentrated on where Katherine has tied Bianca's hands, and is crossing questioning her about which suitor she loves the most. What basically happened was that Bianca and Kate enter Baptista's house {their father}, with Bianca's hands tied by Kate. Bianca pleads with her sister to let her free, for she has done no harm to her. Kate tells her to pick a suitor and be done with it. Bianca cannot do so, for she does not care for one man any more than the next. Kate wonders what's wrong with Hortensio, and Bianca tells Kate that she can have him. She wonders if Bianca wants more money and ponders Gremio. Bianca wonders why Kate envies her and make her so angry on. Baptista enters during this violent streak, cursing Kate and doting upon Bianca. Bianca exits in pain, while Baptista scolds Kate. Kate wonders why he feels the way he does about his two daughters. "She is your treasure, she must have a husband; I must dance barefoot on her wedding day, And, for your love to her, lead apes in hell. Talk not to me; I will go sit and weep Till I can find occasion of revenge" and she also adds "I am as peremptory as she proud-minded. And where two raging fires meet together They do consume the thing that makes them fury." then she exits.
My group and I decided to change everything about this play as are audience were no longer adults but was instead teenagers. The story of taming of the shrew is a story that we all believed in our group that it is really base on teenages life today, especially the act and the scene that we were given to learn about "Act2 scene1". our script changement was from this: William Shakespeare version
BIANCA: Good sister, wrong me not, nor wrong yourself,
To make a bondmaid and a slave of me;
That I disdain: but for these other gawds,
Unbind my hands, I'll pull them off myself,
Yea, all my raiment, to my petticoat;
Or what you will command me will I do,
So well I know my duty to my elders.
KATHARINA: Of all thy suitors, here I charge thee, tell
Whom thou lovest best: see thou dissemble not.
BIANCA: Believe me, sister, of all the men alive
I never yet beheld that special face
Which I could fancy more than any other.
KATHARINA: Minion, thou liest. Is't not Hortensio?
BIANCA: If you affect him, sister, here I swear
I'll plead for you myself, but you shall have
him.
KATHARINA: O then, belike, you fancy riches more:
You will have Gremio to keep you fair.
BIANCA: Is it for him you do envy me so?
Nay then you jest, and now I well perceive
You have but jested with me all this while:
I prithee, sister Kate, untie my hands.
KATHARINA: If that be jest, then all the rest was so.
Strikes her
Enter BAPTISTA
BAPTISTA: Why, how now, dame! whence grows this insolence?
Bianca, stand aside. Poor girl! she weeps.
Go ply thy needle; meddle not with her.
For shame, thou helding of a devilish spirit,
Why dost thou wrong her that did ne'er wrong thee?
When did she cross thee with a bitter word?
KATHARINA: Her silence flouts me, and I'll be revenged.
Flies after BIANCA
BAPTISTA: What, in my sight? Bianca, get thee in.
Exit BIANCA
KATHARINA: What, will you not suffer me? Nay, now I see
She is your treasure, she must have a husband;
I must dance bare-foot on her wedding day
And for your love to her lead apes in hell.
Talk not to me: I will go sit and weep
Till I can find occasion of revenge.
Exit
Our version:
Kate: Bianca, get your butt out here, where is my usher cd
There is no respons from Bianca
Kate: Bianca, are you deaf or something (going towards Bianca's bedroom door) open this door and come with my cd along with you
Still no answer for Bianca
Kate: stupid girl ain't you going to get ready for school (she kits her door open and starting the search for her cd through Bianca's stuff) oh my days! (kate finds a letter from the clinic to Bianca, she opens it and reads it).
Kate: Bianca, WAKE UP (she shoutes to her ears to wake her up) what the hell is this saying sister?
Bianca suddenly wakes from her sleep
Bianca: stop going through my stuff, and give me that (snatches the paper from her sister)
Kate: did you just had an arbotion? DID YOU?( she shouts and screams)
Bianca: keep your voice down before dad hear us
Kate: did you/ (she ask with a softly voice)
Bianca: yes, and it none of your business
Kate slaps Bianca twice
Kate: dad is going to know about this, he has to find out what his 'angel' daughter been up to
Bianca: promise me, please sister I plead to you that you wouldn't say a word
Kate: Oh no, no he is going to find out about this actually at this right moment
Biance: please I beg you
Kate: oh, by the way who was the father of your dead innoncent child?
Bianca: it was Adraim
Kate: what?! I swear that you only met the boy once
Bianca: it just happened
Kate: you are so selfish, little brat
Bianca: don't talk to me like that, who do you think you are
They both started arguein, and their father Mr Bucker enters Bianca's room
Dad: what the hell is going on in here
Kate: dad, Bianca has got something to tell you
Dad: what is it? Bianca my angel please tell me
Bianca: nothing dad, well realy is just kate she can't stop disturbing me that is the reason why we were just having a argument.
Dad: oh Kate you can be so selfish sometimes you know that your sister has been styding all night, and you come here to disturb her sleep
Kate: but dad,bian-
Dad: I don't want to hear it, now you get out of here at this right moment go
Kate: but-
Dad: I said Go
Mr Buckeland blames kate even before hearing her and as always take Bianca side once again, which made Kate really upset and even more angrier. She leaves to go to school.
