Petruchio uses a pun to make fun of Katherine. 'Pet. For dainties are all Kates.' The pun is on the word ‘cates.’ These are a form of delicate food. This connotes the idea that Kate is delicate and lady-like. This riles Katherine as, as well as using the name that she does not like he is seeing her as the opposite she sees herself and by seeing through her façade he knows how to gain power over her. The repetition of her name also serves to make fun of her. ‘Pet. You lie in faith, for you are call’d plain Kate, And bonny Kate, and sometimes Kate the curst;’ By repeating her name in these noun phrases he is showing he doesn’t care that she does not like the name, and shows that her sharp tongue has no affect on him, allowing him to maintain the power between them, and eventually to ‘tame the shrew.’ The repetition of her name also gives the utterance a steady rhythm which serves to make Petruchio seem more intelligent as he seems to have control of his speech and words.
Katherine uses metaphor to insult Petruchio’s intelligence. ‘Kath. Asses are made to bear and so are you.’ The ass is typically seen as a stupid animal so this noun is suggesting that he is stupid. The verb phrase ‘to bear’ which means to carry something, connotes the idea that Petruchio is little more than muscle. This gives Katherine the power of the exchange as it is in fact Petruchio’s intelligence that makes them equal and by insulting this she is suggesting that he is inferior. She also reminds him of the fact that she is equal to him in intelligence and power. ‘Kath. Too light for such a swain as you to catch.’ Katherine turns the adjective ‘light’ around to connote that she is more quick-witted than Petruchio, whereas he had used it to say she was sexually promiscuous. This shows that they are of equal power and are able to feed off of each other to maintain the power balance. In contrast Petruchio tries to use compliments to break Katherine down. ‘Pet. Say that she frown, I’ll say she looks as clear as morning roses newly wash’d with dew. Say she be mute and will not speak a word, then I’ll commend her volubility.’ The lexical fields of nature give the play a lexical cohesion. The noun 'nightingale' and the phrase 'roses newly wash'd with dew' are things that are generally seen as beautiful and by comparing Katherine to them, Petruchio is suggesting that she is also beautiful. This makes it seem as though he sees in her, things that nobody else can see and as he can see through her he can stay on her conversational level and maintain the power balance. The use of the infinitive verb in these sentences is a form of ellipsis. ‘Say she be mute.’ This is another form of covert prestige as Petruchio uses non-standard forms whereas Katherina is expected to use standard forms and correct tenses. This again shows, according to Jacobean society men were more dominant than women and suggests Petruchio is confident that he will have power in the exchange.
Pet. ‘Say that she rail, why then I’ll tell her plain she sings as sweetly as a nightingale.’ The adverb ‘sweetly’ is very positive and portrays Katherine in a favourable light, whereas she is in fact hated and feared by many. Petruchio uses many of these similes in his soliloquy such as ‘Say that she frown, I’ll say she looks as clear as morning roses newly wash’d with dew,’, which appears to be in the form of a sonnet. This is ironic as sonnets were generally written when the poet was in love and Petruchio is not in love with Katherine.
Petruchio uses imperatives to show he has dominance in the conversation. ‘Pet. Come, sit on me.’ The imperative shows he feels powerful enough to order Katherine about and is not deterred by the fact that she is able to confidently rebuff any advances he makes. The use of the sexual innuendo is also a form of covert prestige. Peter Trudgill (1975) suggested that men use non-standard English and taboo language in an effort to appear manlier. By using this form of covert prestige Petruchio is establishing himself in the dominant position typically given to the man by society.
As language equalled power in the Jacobean era, the length of the utterances or how much a person spoke also signalled their power. Petruchio uses lengthy utterances. ‘Pet. You lie, in faith, for you are call’d plain Kate, And bonny Kate, and sometimes Kate the curst…’ This connotes the idea that he is very witty and therefore very powerful. In contrast Katherine uses significantly shorter utterances. ‘Kath. A joint stool.’ This suggests that she in fact has less dominance and less power in the conversation, although the phrase connotes the idea that she over looked Petruchio as a stool was a small and not very noticeable piece of furniture. This suggests that she does not think he was the wit or power to match her words.
Petruchio also uses rhyme to make him seem witty. ‘Say that she rail, why then I’ll tell her plain she sings as sweetly as a nightingale.’ There is a half rhyme with ‘rail’ and ‘plain’ and an internal rhyme with ‘rail’ and ‘nightingale’. The fact that he can rhyme in his speech, makes him seem more intelligent and therefore more powerful to Katherine.
Although Katherine’s utterances aren’t as long as Petruchio’s, she uses a pun to show her wit can match his. ‘Well have you heard, but something hard of hearing;’ In the time that the play was written the verb ‘heard’ and the adjective ‘hard’ were both pronounced in the same way so this would have been a pun, although a modern audience may have trouble understanding this.
Throughout the play Shakespeare uses many effective linguistic techniques to show the power struggle between Katherine and Petruchio. The two characters are of equal intelligence and wit, and this shows in conversation and how they are able to feed off of each others words. ‘Pet. For knowing thee to be but young and light – Kath. Too light for such a swain as you to catch.’ Katherine takes the adjective ‘light’ which Petruchio has used in a negative light and changes its context to show her in a positive light. Both characters use this to their advantage. Petruchio to show Katherine that he is equal to her and able to ‘tame the shrew’ and Katherine to counter his proposal and show that she does not want him.
