The Taming of the Shrew - How far would you agree with the statement that Petruchio is a purely farcical character?
How far would you agree with the statement that Petruchio is a purely farcical character? In this essay I intend to discuss the statement "Petruchio is a purely farcical character" and far I agree with it. I intend to explore Petruchios character further to determine whether he has other side to him apart from his comical side whether he is a purely farcical character. The Taming of the Shrew is a comedy, a farcical play with a lot of the humour being about the war between the sexes, which is shown in the major theme of marriage, and men trying to tame their women. Petruchio plays a big part in this with his wooing and marriage to Katherine. Petruchio is the main character in the play aswell as Katherine and he is also one of the main farcical characters who is often witty and farcical in his speeches is portrayed as a clown with a lot of comic scenes. They are quite slapstick humour as with his wedding outfit, his outfit shows him acting the clown. The description we get of his outfit is very comical and the image of the old horse. It is his wedding day and he doesn't take it at all seriously. Another example of his humour is in Act 1 scene 2 where Petruchio and Grumio have a comic misunderstanding at the door. All these scenes are very silly and slapstick and show Petruchio as perhaps a purely farcical character, but there are other sides to him. Deceit is a major theme
"Katherina and Petruchio's marriage is stronger and more exciting than any other in the play. Though the shrew may be tamed, she is certainly not defeated". Do you agree with this viewof the play?
"Katherina and Petruchio's marriage is stronger and more exciting than any other in the play. Though the shrew may be tamed, she is certainly not defeated". Do you agree with this view of the play? In 'Taming of the Shrew', Shakespeare is stressing whether marriages that have been arranged by parents are deemed to fall apart or make a marriage stronger as time goes on. Shakespeare also contends with the flaws in the dealings of marriage. Shakespeare puts an emphasis on the errors in the marriages set up by parents, which are often set up for their personal gain. Relationships in Shakespeare's time differed from ours today. In Shakespeare's time weddings were arranged by the parents, and often occurred when a reasonable amount of money was offered for a woman, also known as dowry as well of this a good parenthood and family name was important. The father's views on a suitor were also very important but not the feelings of the women that were being given away. This issue that this play covers is what brings the play into modern day terms, in some countries in the world this is still the way that marriage is arranged. Islamic views on marriage are consistent with the views of the characters in 'Taming of the Shrew'. This view can bring up the views and rights of women in all countries. 'Taming of the Shrew' offers a look into different relationships. This is accomplished through
How does Katherina in 'The Taming Of The Shrew' change and develop as the play progresses?
Ryan Pow How does Katherina in 'The Taming Of The Shrew' change and develop as the play progresses? In this essay I am going to be studying the character of Katherina from William Shakespeare's play 'The Taming Of The Shrew'. Katherina is a fiery, bad-tempered, violent 'shrew' that nobody likes. Men are petrified of her! Her sister Bianca has a great number of suitors and all the male attention. This includes her father who clearly favours Bianca. We first meet Kate in Act one, Scene one, L.50-54. Her father states that no one shall marry his youngest daughter (Bianca) until he finds a husband for Kate. 'To cart her rather! She's too rough for me.' Says Gremio, L.55, in response to Baptista's suggestion about finding a suitor for Kate, L.48-54. This obviously shows he doesn't like her much if he feels she should be treated like a prostitute, Hortensio then says, L.59-60, 'No mates for you unless you were of a gentler milder mould.' Obviously Gremio isn't the only one who believes she is too 'rough'. Katherina then speaks and we begin to understand why these men aren't too fond of her temper. '...to comb your noddle with a three-legg'd stool and paint your face and use you like a fool.' (L.64-65) She says she is going to hit him on the head with a stool and paint his face with blood. She is living up to her reputation! It seems first impressions aren't in Kate's
How does Shakespeare present the sisters in, 'The Taming of the shrew'?
English Essay How does Shakespeare present the sisters in, 'The Taming of the shrew'? This essay is on the playwright called The Taming of the shrew, and is written by William Shakespeare. The book or play was written in 1594 and was very successful. This play is about a group of villagers in everyday life but there are particular characters that stand out. The title of the play is, the taming of the shrew, and is based on trying to tame a particular person, in this case the person they are trying to tame is Katherina. Katherina is Baptista's eldest daughter and is very ill tempered and does not seem to have any respect for anybody. Baptista also has a younger daughter, Bianca, who comes across as quite quiet and cannot come out with a bad word. A man comes into the play, his name Petruchio. He comes from a place called Verona and seeks a wealthy wife and thus finds Katherina. In this essay I am going to show you how they are presented to the reader by William Shakespeare's way of writing. We see Katherina, the elder daughter enter firstly out of the two sisters and this is near the beginning of Act 1 scene 1. She enters with the line, "I pray you, sir, is it your will to make a stale of me amongst these mates?" This line does not give us any indication of what she is about or what her intension
Appearance and Personality in Taming of The Shrew
A person’s appearance can dictate their life, including how they act and how they are treated. If a person looks intimidating, they will be treated with respect since they seem so scary and are frightening. If a person looks sweet and kind, they may be manipulated and hurt. This is often proved with characters from books or plays. The character may be very sweet and kind, but once you change their appearance, they change as a person. This connects well to Shakespeare’s “Taming of the Shrew.” There are few characters in this play that truly represent this idea well. Those characters are Bianca, Katherine, and Petruchio. These characters all have very strong personalities and changing their appearance could easily change their personalities, as well aso their treatment of others and others treatment towards them. Bianca, one of the main characters in “The Taming of the Shrew,” seems too good to be true in the opening scene of the play. Even her name, which means 'white,' implies purity. Her acceptance of her father Baptista's claim that she will not be allowed to marry until her older sister Katherine does is almost angel-like. However, in most art depictions of Bianca, she’s not the prettiest girl. If Bianca was portrayed as someone whose beauty was overwhelming, how she would be treated and act like would be quite different. While her treatment would still be
Taming of the Shrew
In Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew, one topic that has been debated, interpreted, discussed, reinterpreted and adapted has been the character of Katharine, the shrew, and whether she was tamed, liberated, or just a good enough actress to make everyone think she was in fact, tamed. There are many arguments for and against each of these points, as well as an argument that discusses one television adaptation of Taming of the Shrew that presents Katherine not as the expected shrew, but as Petruccio's tamer. In addition to the television show, two different movies also discuss the present different adaptations of Katherine. The first movie is the Franco Zaffirelli adaptation staring Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor. This movie presents an adaptation in which Petruccio tames Katherine, but leaves it open for the viewers to interpret whether or not Katherine is just acting. The other example I am using is a movie called 10 Things I Hate About You. This movie is a 1999 adaptation of the Taming of the Shrew. Although the directors have changed almost every part of the Shakespearean play, the underlying story is mostly the same. Kat and Patrick are thrown together, and it becomes Patrick's job to tame Kat. In this adaptation, both Kat and Patrick learn and change from each other. Though there are many adaptations and interpretations of Katherine and the way she turns out, she is
Taming Of The Shrew -
Tom Atkins, 10S 05-12-2002 Taming Of The Shrew Coursework Topic 3: "Write about any two characters you find interesting. Bring out any contrasts or similarities you find between the characters you have chosen." My two favourite characters from the play, The Taming of the Shrew, which was written by William Shakespeare, are Katharina and Petruchio. I find them extremely interesting, not just because they are the main characters, but because of their contrast, chemistry and similarity between them. They go from hating each other at the beginning of the book and by the end, Katharina is obedient, the taming is complete and they are married living happily together. Petruchio has one of the main parts to play in the book as 'the tamer' while Katahrina is alongside him as 'the shrew', which in turn makes up the title of the story. Katharina is very argumentative, disagreeable and violent with all her suitors and indeed Bianca, for example the stage directions say that, "Katharina with a whip stands over Bianca, who crouches by the wall, her hands tied behind her." (Act 2, Scene 1, Stage Directions) This shows that she is extremely violent and willing to beat a confession out of anyone. Because Katharina is this way, no man wishes to marry her, although many of tried. But Petruchio comes along
Taming of the Shrew
Taming of the Shrew "'The Taming of the Shrew' by William Shakespeare was considered to be a comedy in his time. Its plot is the theme in which males and females are pitted against one another for dominance in marriage. The play appears to be about an assertive woman, Katharina, who is coping with how she is supposed to act in the late sixteenth century society. She is expected to obey the unwritten laws of her society in order to be accepted by it. The play ends with Katharina outwardly conforming to the norms of the society. Inwardly, however she could be retaining her assertiveness, although she assumes the role of the obedient wife". The Taming of the Shrew is principally about the power of men in a patriarchal society. Through the play the men compare the two sisters as Very Good (Bianca) and Very Bad (Katherina) This shows the ideal women of society. He then starts to bribe her with gifts of great treasure, wishing for her to come to her father's house. He then says that he will only give her gifts if she is more lady-like: "When you are gentle you shall have one too, And not till then." Yet she claims that she does not care if he loves her or not, she will still have the cap that he promises her: "Love me or love me not, I like the cap, And it I will have, or I will have none." We still she that she does have some strength in her mind and she can still
The Taming of the Shrew.
On face value the last line of The Taming of the Shrew, concludes the story of the bitter taming of Katharina a spirited woman, by the chauvinist Petruchio however there are many subtle indications in the play to suggest that the female protagonist, Katharina Minola is in fact not tamed. The last line acts as a rhetorical question inviting the audience to reflect upon the central themes of mistaken identities and psychological disguises in the play when deciding on whether Katharina has simply changed her shrewish exterior instead. There is even evidence to suggest that not only is Katharina not tamed but that the relationship between the hawk and hunter is ironically a partnership based on interdependency and mutual agreements. The last line of The Taming of the Shrew is an excellent summary of a typical Elizabethan males' view on women and marriage as well as being a clever remark upon the more enigmatic themes of appearances versus reality and public behaviour versus private behaviour. The inner transformation of Katharina into a woman as opposed to simply being tamed " from a wild Kate to a Kate, conformable as other household Kates" (266-267) begins to become evident in Act 4 Scene 5 where they are journeying to Baptista Minola's house in Padua. Her character develops from a jealous girl lashing out in defence against her father's favouritism, " She is your treasure,
The Taming of the Shrew
The Taming of the Shrew By William Shakespeare What do you consider to be the main reason for Kate's shrewish behaviour at the beginning of the play, and how far do you believe Kate's position in the family and in her society to be responsible? Discuss the methods used by Petruchio to tame Kate consider whether his treatment of her if fair. 'The Taming of the Shrew' is set in the late 1590's in Italy. This is at a time when women had hardly any personal freedoms. They could not vote or even choose whom they wished marry. Their fathers owned them and when they married, their husbands owned them. The passing over of ownership is still shown in our contemporary wedding service when the father 'gives away' the bride to the husband, handing over his ancient legal powers of ownership. Kate is in a trap in this society; she has very little room to develop her personal freedom. Kate is from a well-off family as her father, Baptista, is a rich merchant of Padua. The choice of Kate's husband is up to her father. Shakespeare explores this idea in many of his plays. Some examples are 'A Midsummer Night Dream,' where Egeus wants Hermia to marry Demetrius and 'Romeo and Juliet,' where Capulet forbids Juliet to see her true love, with disastrous consequences. The power of the father is also strongly shown in Shakespeare's 'Merchant of Venice,' as even in death the father arranges his