There is a lot of dramatic irony present in the play, like when Baptista and Petruchio make an arrangement that if Petruchio marries Katharina he would be awarded a sum of money.
At the beginning of the second scene Petruchio states the techniques he will exploit to “tame her”. He will contradict everything she has to say, aggravating her in the process, “say that she frowns, and ill say she looks as clear as morning roses”. Petruchio is utilizing reverse psychology by this approach towards her. Every time Katharina formulates an effort to be discourteous to him, he praises her for doing the opposite to her original action. If Katharina is “mute” and fails to “speak a word”, Petruchio will praise her “volubility”, her fluent speech, to get her silence and agreement. Petruchio commends very feminine qualities in Katharina, when he contradicts her speech, “She sings as sweet as a nightingale”.
Shakespeare employs contrasts in Petruchio’s soliloquy, the contrast will help the audience empathise with Katharina’s real character, on the first meeting.
Petruchio believes that he can instantly gain full control of Katharina; on meeting her he calls her “Kate”. Petruchio continues to exploit his actions by his use of repetition of the name “Kate”. He regards himself as superior to Katharina, and believes he can call her what he wants, when he wants. He utilizes a range of phrases to put his point across to her, conveying his lack of respect for her, “bonny Kate”, “Kate of Kate hall”, “Super-dainty Kate”. He infuriates her and wears her down, by calling her “Kate”, draining any resilience she has left in her. Petruchio reinforces his authority over Katharina every time he calls her “Kate”. His tone is also portrayed sarcastically during his first speech with her. An Elizabethian audience viewing the score would be astonished and outraged by Katharina’s actions and insubordination, and would regard the treatment she is receiving judicious after all her wrong doing. Conversely a modern audience would sympathise with her, they would recognise that she is receiving a lot of distress and mental pain for simply sticking up for her rights.
As Katharina and Petruchio commenced to the prime stage of there conflict, they exchanged a series of puns with one another, Katharina rants to Petruchio “Asses are made to bear, and so are you” while he reply’s “Woman are made to bear, and so are you”. Petruchio replies Katharina also using “bear” in his expression, but with a different meaning to hers, it expresses his arrogant and sexist character to the audience.
Shakespeare conveys Katharina’s intelligent and witty character through her response to Petruchio, by her unusual knowledge about sex, which would have gone against a typical woman of her period. Petruchio counters on her previous pun by saying “Who knows not where a wasp does where its sting? In his tail” Katharina replies “in his tongue”. Her mastery of the language is also conveyed as she can understand and sarcastically respond to Petruchio’s naughty comments, a modern audience would admire her strength of character for being able to strike back any comments made to her.
In act two, scene two, Shakespeare write the stage direction “she strikes him”. This act of violence will illustrate to the audience viewing the play, all of Katharina’s gradual frustration has built up and now she can’t cope with anymore so she resorts to violence, portraying that Petruchio is winning the battle as his psychological warfare is getting to her. Katharina’s break in character is also depicted.
For Shakespeare to convey the Katharina’s vehemence, he intensifies the force of the argument by exploiting sharp alliteration in there arguments. “What is your crest? A coxcomb” she depicts her anger to the audience by insulting him. Shakespeare also utilizes hard alliteration of the “c” sounds, words such as “crest”, “comb less”, “cock” “crow” and “craven” are repeatedly used in the same sentences, there all harsh sounds, there are no affectionate sounds with “s” as there is no love between the two characters at this point.
Petruchio uses similes to derisively depict Katharina during his continued war of words with her in act two scenes two. He describes her as “Sweet as spring-time flowers” to praise her appearance, and conveys that her outer appearance is also imperative to him, “Kate like the hazel-twig”. Petruchio uses similes to try and make Katharina feel “comfortable”, hoping she would be more submissive towards him as a consequence.
As Katharina’s and Petruchio’s untamed conversation came to a close, Petruchio unites with Baptista once more, although this time Katharina was present. Katharina is outraged by her fathers’ verdict to make her marry Petruchio, She had expectations that her father would at least respect her enough to withdraw Petruchio offer. Katharina’s so distraught at her dads unexpected decision she asks him in rage “call me your daughter”.
Shakespeare once again exploits stage directions, however this time he uses them to convey both Katharina and Petruchio leaving “separately”. It is a physical symbol to clearly highlight that there is no affection and physical attraction between the two characters.
Between ‘act two’ and ‘act five’ Petruchio and Katharina are eventually married. Petruchio instantly takes Katharina to his home, forcing her to miss the reception, agitating her as a result. Petruchio then attempts to “tame” Katharina by depriving her of any food after she insulted him. Both of these actions seem to have dramatically changed Katharina’s character as in latter stages of the scene Katharina appears to be “tamed”.
Consequently Petruchio allows Katharina to visit her family for the first tie after their marriage, to attend Bianca’s marriage to Hortensio. At the wedding dinner at the master table Petruchio, Hortensio and Baptista table a bet to determine whose wife is the most submissive. Unexpectedly Katharina is the only wife to return to her husbands’ commands, stunning everyone attending the ceremony in the process.
Katharina then delivers a speech to all the invited individuals and the other wives, after dragging them with her, conveying fully her unanticipated change in character. She refers to her husband as “thy lord, thy king, thy governor”, and previously in act two she called him a “fool”. Her change in character and the fact Petruchio has won the battle, he has “tamed” her, is conveyed by the two contrasting quotes. During Katharina’s speech to teach woman how to treat their husbands, she depicts woman using a simile “A woman moved is a fountain troubled”. Shakespeare exploits this simile to illustrate the comparison of woman to beauty, woman and beauty must be kept tranquil to retain beautiful. Another poetic devise Shakespeare utilizes is a metaphor of “unable worms”, Katharina proclaims the position of woman in marriage, as a result. She suggests that women are feeble creatures, they have no authority or hardly any say in the decision made in the marriage and they are dependant upon their husbands, they rely on them to protect them in life.
There are indications in her lecture that she may have given up, as a result of her feeling ineffectual towards Petruchio. She exploits another metaphor, “But now I see our lances are but straws”, revealing that she has nothing to fight for anymore as anything she attempts to do, Petruchio comes out winning, the power and control she felt she once had she has no more.
Katharina’s use of hyperbole has many different interpretations in her speech, “place your hands below your husband’s foot”. The audiences viewing the play would deem that Katharina mocking Petruchio and talking it a bit too far then the customary.
At the beginning of the play, the audience see Katharina as a violent and rebellious character who is pugnacious unalike other women of her era. The audience gradually witness Katharina’s character breaking down, by a self-centred and sexist man “Petruchio” who only wishes to marry Katharina, for the handsome compensation he will receive for accepting Baptista’s offer. During Petruchio’s challenge in act two scene two, when he attempts to “tame” Katharina the audience notice and realise that she is unlike other women, as she is an intelligent and independent woman. She is aware of and comprehends issues she shouldn’t, like her understanding about sex, exploited when she herself and Petruchio exchange a series of puns with one another.
Her dramatic transformation in character is partially portrayed at the end of the play when she delivers her lecture to the audience. Even though the conclusion in Katharina’s character can be interpretated differently, the fact remains that she has been “tamed” by Petruchio.
Audiences from the present era and the Elizabethan era would have totally contrasting emotions on her change in character. A modern audience would want Katharina to maintain her character, as they would be proud and respect that she is sticking up for herself and being a spokesperson for woman in the play. An Elizabethan audience would be bewildered by Katharina’s character as it wasn’t something they’d witness before as men had total domination and respect in there era. They would approve the affliction she receives by Petruchio as he “tames” her and would be pleased with Katharina’s dramatic change in character at the end of the play. An Elizabethan audience is more likely to believe she has completely converted as a person and is speaking from her heart when she delivers her speech, this is because in there era it would have been more believable for a woman to praise her husband even to Katharina’s extent rather then cursing and fighting with them. However a modern audience wouldn’t be fooled so easily and is more likely to believe she is faking her speech. They would believe that she only said what she stated in her speech as she’s simply given up and she can’t don’t anything else but conduct herself in the way which is expected of her by everyone. This attitude would be conveyed as in modern society where males and females are considered equal, contrasting previous beliefs undoubted by an Elizabethan audience that females are inferior to males.