TAMING OF THE SHREW

Kiss Me Kate

SHAKESPEARES CAREER
Wrote 37 plays.
Wrote comedies,
tragedies, histories, and
romances.
Also wrote 154 sonnets.
He was an actor, writer,
director, and businessman.
Became known for his
creative use of language
and the timelessness of
his work.

THE TAMING OF THE SHREW

Whats a shrew??

A TYPE OF MOUSE!

Key Facts
The Taming of the Shrew
By William Shakespeare
Play within a play!
Comedy
Written around 1592 in London
Its known as Shakespeares first comedy
date of first publication 1623
Tone
The overall tone of the play is light and comic, though the
exploration of larger social questions, such as the proper
relation of the sexes in marriage, lends much of the
comedy a more serious tone.
settings (place)
Padua, a city-state in Italy prominent during the
Renaissance

What is a Shrew?
The character of the "shrew"
a word used to indicate an
opinionated, domineering, and
sharp-tongued womanis
found in the folklore and
literature of many cultures.
How to deal with a Shrew?
In the sixteenth century
shrewish wives were featured
in a number of plays, many of
which depicted cruel physical
punishments for the shrew.

An old ballad about a

shrewish woman.

Treatment
of Wives
The idea of
beating
ones wife to
make her
obey was
acceptable
behaviour.

Sources of the play

Shakespeare appears to have gotten his ideas
for the play from several sources popular in
this time such as:
A Play called:

The Taming of a Shrew.

Cruel and Unusual Punishment in Songs
and Literature
In this song the wife is beaten until she
bleeds. Then wrapped in a skin of an old
lame plough horse.
The husband threatens to keep her in the
skin and treat her like the horse unless she
obeys him.

Comic methods used

within the play:
Situational Comedy:
There are role exchanges and
disguises
Action Comedy
Verbal Humor Comedy:

Shakespeare often uses puns or

a play on words.
Visual Comedy:
Facial expressions and antics
Physical Appearance Comedy

Shakespeare
relied on physical
comedy much like
the three stooges
did in their movies.

Major Characters

Katherine
Katherine Minola- (or the
shrew) is a spoilt
household bully who
tyrannises her sister,
defies her father, strikes
her sister, tutor and suitor
without provocation.
The Shrew

Petruchio
Petruchio is a gentleman from Verona.
Objective is to take a wife for
money.
He is loud, boisterous, eccentric, quickwitted, and frequently drunk, he has come to
Padua to wive and thrive.
Disregards everyones warnings
about Kate.
He wishes for nothing more than a woman
with an enormous dowry, and he finds Kate
to be the perfect fit.

LUCENTIO

Arrives in Padua to attend the university.

Falls in love with Bianca upon first seeing her
in the city.

Gremio

Hortensio

-They are two gentlemen of Padua.

-Gremio and Hortensio are Biancas suitors.
-Though they are rivals, these older men also
become
friends during their mutual frustration with and
rejection
by Bianca.

Baptista Minola

Minola Baptista is one of the

wealthiest men in Padua, and
his daughters become the
prey of many suitors due to
the substantial dowries he can
offer.
Strictly Old-fashioned
He is desperate to find his
eldest daughter a suitor,
having decided that she must
marry before Bianca does.

Bianca Minola The younger daughter of Baptista.

A Real Sweetheart
She is the direct opposite of Kate
She acts innocent and sweet
Has Many Suitors
Because of her large dowry and her
mild behavior, several men vie for
her hand.

MINOR PLAYERS

Tranio- Lucentios servant; disguises himself as

Lucentio

Biondello- Lucentios other servant

Vincentio- Lucentios father from Pisa

Setting

Induction
The Induction is set in English
countryside outside an alehouse
and at the Lords home.
Acts I-V
The rest of the play is set in
Padua, Italy 1593 1594.
Time span is about one week
to ten days

Dramatic
Conventions
Techniques that give the
audience information
that could not be given
from the action of the
play.

1. Concealment
Allows a character to be
seen by the audience
while remaining hidden
from the other actors

2. Dramatic Irony
This occurs when the audience knows
information that might change the behavior of the
characters if they were aware of it.
3. Soliloquy
This is when a character talks to himself,
revealing thoughts and feelings that would
otherwise go unvoiced.

4. Aside
This is when a character speaks directly to the
audience without being overheard by the other
characters on stage.

Themes
1. Marriage as an Economic Institution

2. Appearance vs. Reality

3. The Effect of Social Roles on Individual

Happiness