‘Sister, content you in my discontent.
Sir, to your pleasure humbly I subscribe,
My books and instruments shall be my company,
On them to look and practise by myself.’ (I, 1,80-83)
Bianca’s first words of the play establish her as a familiar ‘type’ and, significantly, she says little throughout the rest of the play. By contrast, Katherina is rude, violent and an enthusiastic feminist, a character who may have interested Queen Elizabeth. She treats men with no respect, often with disdain: “…comb your noddle with a three-legg’d stool…” [I, i, 64], and whilst there is obvious sexual chemistry between her and Petruchio, stubbornly refuses him as a matter of pride. She challenges an Elizabethan belief in ‘The Great Chain of Being’, a universal hierarchy where God comes first, then the angels, kings and so on but where men are placed above women. Katherina’s rebellious stance and disrespect for men in general challenge this model, and so to an Elizabethan audience, this would have been an exaggeration of the recognisable, stereotypical ‘shrew’. Shakespeare would make his audience laugh at the male characters’ reactions to Katherina, as in Act I, Scene 1:
Hortensio: ….to labour and effect one thing specially.
Gremio: What’s that, I pray?
Hortensio: Marry, sir, to get a husband for her sister.
Gremio: A husband? A devil.
Hortensio: I say a husband.
Gremio: I say a devil. Thinkest thou, Hortensio, though her father be very
Rich, any man is so very a fool to be married to hell? (119-125)
The quick pace of the witty dialogue here with its fiendish imagery about Katherina makes excellent comedy. Katherina, from her first entrance, is an exaggerated ‘type’, loud and strong-willed, a character who may have interested the Queen! She treats men with little respect, often with disdain: ‘combe your noddle with a three-legg’d stool’ she tells Hortensio in Act I, Scene 1. Such a homely insult would have delighted the audience who would also have enjoyed the obvious sexual chemistry between her and Petruchio which, even today, provides actors with opportunities to entertain their audiences. A good example of this is in Act II, Scene 1 where the two exchange insults and threats in more than fifty lines of brief, fast-paced dialogue, e.g.:
Katherina: What is your crest, a coxcomb?
Petruchio: A combless cock, so Kate will be my hen.
Katherina: No cock of mine, you crow too like a craven.
Petruchio: Nay, come, Kate, come; you must not look so sour.
Katherina: It is my fashion when I see a crab. (223-227)
The opportunities here for double-entendre and bawdy gesture are obvious!
Petruchio is the most flamboyant and eccentric male in the play. He dresses, talks and acts loudly and is sometimes drunk:“…Petruchio is coming in a new hat and an old jerkin; a pair of old breeches thrice turned…” [III, ii, 41-42]. This refers to Petruchio’s late arrival at his own wedding, drunk, and dressed so that guests look upon him as “a wondrous monument”. Further amusement is found in Gremio’s reports of Petruchio’s behaviour during the wedding, an account which would afford the actors much scope for slapstick and exaggeration:
‘I’ll tell you, Sir Lucentio, when the priest
Should ask if Katherine should be his wife,
‘Ay, by gogs-wouns,’ quoth he, and swore so loud
That all amaz’d the priest let fall the book,
And as he stoop’d again to take it up,
The mad-brain’s bridegroom took him such a cuff
That down fell priest and book, and book and priest.’ (156-160)
Although this is written in blank verse, there is an insistent rhythm in the harsh and monosyllabic words which adds to the humour.
Petruchio is a good source of comedy for the audience, who find much hilarity in his capers. Even in the final scene of the play he is jesting, wagering against his two friends that his new wife is more obedient than theirs: ‘I’ll venture so much of my hawk or hound,/But twenty times so much upon my wife.’ (72-73) Through him, Shakespeare continues the high spirits of the play right to the end
The two suitors of Bianca, Gremio and Hortensio, are also entertaining, though not so eccentric. They keep returning to Bianca, trying to win her love and, with wonderful irony, are beaten by Lucentio! He comes to Padua, unknown in the city, and falls in love with Bianca. Hearing Baptista’s proclamation – “That is, not to bestow my youngest daughter / Before I have a husband for the elder.” [I, i, 50-51], he disguises himself as a schoolmaster, allowing him to be with Bianca while Tranio takes his place in courtship. This deception and disguise would have provided much comedy for audiences 400 years ago as well as today on account of the dramatic irony: we, the audience, know what is going on while the characters do not. This causes amusement in scenes such as Act II, Scene 1 where Tranio and Gremio are quarrelling over Bianca, and Tranio is witty at his rival’s expense:
A vengeance on your crafty wither’d hide!
Yet have I fac’d it with a card of ten.
‘Tis in my head to do my master good.
I see no reason but suppos’d Lucentio
Must get a father, call’d suppos’s Vencentio.
And that’s a wonder. Fathers commonly
Do get their children. (397-403)
A good example of a dim servant would be Petruchio’s man, Grumio. When they first come to Padua, there is a comical scene where Petruchio bids him knock on Hortensio’s door – “Knock sir? Whom should I knock? Is there any man has rebused your worship?” [I, ii, 6-7]. The word play here would amuse an audience, as well as the obvious opportunities for slapstick humour in lines such as ‘I’ll knock your knave’s pate’ and the stage-direction ‘He wrings him by the ears.’. The verbal punning on ‘knock’ is a typical comic device, especially when employed by a lowly character such as a servant.
There is also humour in Petruchio’s attempts to make a grand impression, which are being undermined by Grumio’s foolishness.
Tranio, Lucentio’s man, is different however. He is educated and does not play the part of a fool like Grumio, as we see when he takes his master’ place to court Bianca. For example, in the RSC production of ‘The Taming of the Shrew’ at Stratford, Roy Kinnear – playing Tranio- made the most of his teasing lines in Act IV, Scene 2 : ‘And here I take the like unfeigned oath/Never to marry with her though she would entreat.’ He used a variety of gestures and expressions to share the joke of the dramatic irony with the audience. Tranio’s dry wit is amusing because of its rebellious humour – it displaces stereotypes of master on top, servant below, as in this ironic response in Act I, Scene 1:
‘In brief, sir, sith it your pleasure is,
And I am tied to be obedient –
For so your father charg’d me at our parting,
‘Be serviceable to my son’ quoth he,
Although I think ‘twas in another sense – ‘ (211-215)
Another comic device used by Shakespeare in the play is to challenge the audience’s perceptions of normality, such as when masters exchange positions with their servants and characters go into disguise. Shakespeare has done this in several comedies, notably in ‘Twelfth Night’ and ‘The Comedy of Errors’. “And offer me disguis’d in sober robes / To old Baptista as a school master” - Hortensio becomes Litio, a schoolmaster so that he can be with Bianca. Later in the play, a false Vicentio must also be found to take the place of Lucentio’s father. As well as being physically amusing, these tricks further the dramatic irony in the play.
Many of the funnier scenes are indebted to the Italian tradition of Commedia dell’Arte, or comedy of professional actors, where comic plays were improvised by travelling companies of ‘Players’, revolving around a standard plot. The comedy in ‘The Taming of the shrew’comes from changing and adding parts to stock characters such
as Bianca and Katherina, Petruchio, Hortensio, Lucentio and Gremio). By altering stereotypes, Shakespeare makes each character amusing in an individual way: Petruchio with his loudmouthed and arrogant remarks, Lucentio’s and Tranio’s personality-swap, and Katherina’s rebellious attitude towards men.
One of the funniest scenes, and also most clever is when Petruchio and Katherina first meet in Act II, Scene 1. The word play and the quick fire responses make the scene very humorous :
You were a movable.
Why, what’s a movable?
A joint-stool.
Thou hast hit it. Come, sit on me.
Asses are made to bear, and so are you. (196-200)
There is sexual innuendo here and bawdy humour which would be enjoyed by audiences. This amusing interchange shows a flirtatious, ‘cheeky’ side to both characters, and it is in a way quite heart-warming to see a softer side to Katherina, a side where she smiles and enjoys herself.
The play is written mostly in blank verse according to Shakespeare’s habit with prose being traditionally spoken by the comic characters. Thus Biondello’s earnest description of Petruchio’s attire in the wedding scene is in prose; other servants such as Grumio and Curtis speak in prose, though sometimes they speak in verse often creating clever comic effects, for example – “Katherine the Curst,/A title for a maid of all titles the worst.” [I, ii, 128-129] Grumio’s rhyming couplet here adds humour, especially in the insult to Katherina.
As seen in quotations above, all characters make use of paronomasia, but especially the servants, who ‘need’ to use puns to strengthen their positions as the comedians of the play. Puns were popular amongst Shakespearian audiences, who found the confusion they entailed hilarious.
Bawdy humour is used, between male characters, but most notably between males and Katherina – “To cart her rather. She’s too rough for me.” [I, i, 55]. T o be so abrupt and rude towards a lady could have been shocking but bawdy humour would be particularly amusing to members of the audience, encouraged by the actors’ gestures and emphasis.
Verbal comedy is also provided by the exaggerated speech of some characters, notably Petruchio who uses hyperbole in his taming of Katherina – “I tell thee, Kate, ‘twas burnt and dried away…” [IV, i, 157]. The meat, as the audience well know, is fine, but Petruchio exaggerates its condition to make sure Katherina doesn’t eat it. This is amusing because of its ridiculous exaggeration and dramatic irony, and the insistent rhythm of the hyperbole strengthens its effect. The title of the play itself could also almost be described as hyperbole: ‘The Taming of the Shrew’ – throughout, Katherina’s identification as a ‘shrew’ and Petruchio’s ‘taming’ are deliberately exaggerated for comic effect.
There are also examples of risqué or lewd double entendres: “What, with my tongue in your tail?” [II, i, 216] These are amusing to both modern and Elizabethan audiences since sexual references are a part of human nature.
Verbal misunderstandings are rife: for example when Biondello announces his master’s arrival at the wedding, the interchange between him and Baptista is amusing, and certainly found very funny at the RSC production at Stratford :
Is he come?
Why, no, sir.
What then?
He is coming.[III, ii, 34-37]
Most verbal misunderstandings have the same effect as puns, in confusing characters and so amusing audiences.
As in most Shakespeare comedies, written to be performed not read, a major aspect of comedy is visual. Arising from the Commedie dell’Arte of Italy, the slapstick style now seen in our modern Pantomimes was comedy for the masses, and still is found funny. Entrances are a big part. When characters sweep through doors, there is often someone on the other side hit in the face by the door. Biondello’s entrance with Lucentio’s baggage caused laughter in the theatre when he came charging in and fell over, sliding along the stage. Other aspects of visual comedy such as over-exaggerated poses make the audience laugh with no need for words or explanation. One can draw similarities with slapstick comedies of the 1900’s such as Charlie Chaplin and Laurel and Hardy, who also depended very much on visual comedy. The script of ‘The Taming of the Shrew’ provides opportunities for visual comedy through, for example, several beatings and throwing of objects, as in Act IV, Scene 1 with the food.
In the production, characters entered from different positions, some from the wings, some from behind the array of doors on the stage (placed to give a simple image of busy shop fronts and houses), and some (in Petruchio’s house) on raised platforms above and behind the main part of the stage. In contrast to Elizabethan stage craft, we did not see any entrances from above or below to indicate Heavenly/ Hellish status, nor was a canopy of stars in place. The props though, were simple as they would have been in Shakespeare’s time, with only a few doors, or screens, a table etc, leaving most to the imagination.
Both Elizabethan and modern audiences can relate to the humour used in ‘The Taming of the Shrew’. There are comic aspects from both times – the marriage fiasco, including complications like the dowry and more, would be better appreciated by an Elizabethan audience, whilst the dry, sarcastic wit so often used in modern advertising strikes a chord with modern audiences. Marriage, though, and love are easy to relate to for both audiences.
The moral message that Shakespeare put across in this play is a complicated one. Katherina could be seen to be crushed at the end – and this would mean a message indicating that obedience is necessary for a successful relationship – the production by the RSC hinted that the whole obedient, subservient persona of Katherina at the end, is a personal joke between her and Petruchio, thus indicating that sexual chemistry, and a sense of humour are the essentials for a successful relationship. There is also the suggestion that trickery and deception may be necessary for success, and almost certainly a moral message about appearances: to see this, we have only to compare the apparent nature of the main female characters at the beginning of the play with their behaviour when they are summoned as part of their husbands’ wager. Despite these serious elements, ‘The Taming of the Shrew’ remains a witty comedy which deals with a very contentious subject very enjoyably.