Such duty to the drunkard let him do With soft low tongue and lowly courtesy, And say, “what is ‘t your honor will command, Wherein your lady and your humble wife May show her duty and make known her love?” And hen with kind embracements, tempting kisses, And with declining head into his bosom, Bid him shed tears, as being overjoy’d To see her noble lord restored to health, Who for this seven years hath esteemed him No better than a poor and loathsome beggar: And if the boy have not a woman’s gift To rain a shower of commanded tears, An onion will do well for such a shift, Which in a napkin being close convey’d Shall in despite enforce a watery eye.
In this excerpt from the Induction, the lord is describing in detail how he and his servants will trick the drunken Sly into believing that he is an affluent lord. The elegant way that the highly esteemed lord is speaking is achieved by a number of literary devices. As in most of Shakespeare’s works, the use of iambic pentameter makes the words flow and satisfying to the ear, such as in the line, “Such duty to the drunkard let him do.” Also in this line, the use of consonance adds interest and flow through the words “duty”, “drunkard”, and “do.” In the next line, he uses a play on words by stating “with soft low tongue and lowly courtesy.” The lord is telling his servants to speak Sly in a kind, low tone, and respect him in a lowly, or humble and insubordinate, manner. Shakepeare also uses a lot of repetition of the word “and”, further adding to the fluidity of the passage. This also helps express the lord’s excitement in executing the prank, as he keeps saying “and” to continue his stream of thoughts. Another literary device used is the metaphor in the line, “to rain a shower of commanded tears.” Comparing tears to a rain shower expresses the exaggerated tears the lady must shed to trick Sly into believing she is his wife. The word “rain” could also allude to its homonym, “reign”, in order to suggest that Sly will be reigning as a fake lord. In the ending lines, more consonance appears with the use of the words “such” and “shift”, as well as “close convey’d.” This device almost gives the lord a sassy tone, as he is so amused at the trickery he is using on Sly.
In “The Taming of the Shrew”, William Shakespeare includes an induction at the beginning of the play of a wealthy and powerful king who pulls a prank on a drunken slob he runs into. By taking the passed out man the Lord has his servants as well as himself act as if the drunk was actually the very wealthy and powerful lord, whom had been sleeping for the past fifteen years. Soon enough the man starts to believe the words of the Lord and the servants as true, and begins acting to fit the part. In scene II, the Sly says “Well, bring our lady hither to our sight; And once again, a pot o’ the smallest ale.” (Shakespeare 8). “ ‘T is much. Servants, leave me and her alone, Madam, undress you and come now to bed.” (9). “Well, we’ll see’t. Come , madame wife, sit by my side and let the world slip: we shall ne’er be younger. (10). These experts displays Sly’s actions in his new position as “Lord” and how he quickly adapts to new actions and behaviors. The significance of the induction, while completely different from the rest of the play, is the convey Shakespeare’s theme of how behaviors and actions are dependent on our surroundings. The point of the induction is to represent this theme (discussed through the later parts of the play) in the most simple way possible. Sly symbolizes the ease of changing one's entire self and forgetting an old life all due to new surroundings and behavior of others.
You had a very good insight on the induction; an insight that is actually almost exactly to mine. I agree with what you believe the theme to be is on taming of the shrew, but i would like to add more to this theme. You said that Sly quickly adapted to how he was treat and i believe this time span can be significant to the theme of the story. It may even support it even more. You can use this time span to also prove how susceptible people are to their environments since they are quickly deceived by this outside force. I thoughts this whole induction was an example of this human phenomenon. Anyways, good job on the blog.
In the Introduction, Shakespeare uses Sly to show that environment can change the way you think about a situation. During the first half of this introduction, Sly is confused, asking repeatedly, “Am not I Christopher Sly” (Ind. 2. 17-18.) and questioning if he is the actual master of the house. He repeatedly tries to justify that he is not the Lord of that house. However, when the actual Lord of the house reports that he, “hast a lady far more beautiful than any woman,” (Ind. 2. 62-63) Sly does not even think again of his past life when he was a drunkard. For the rest of the introduction he speaks in more formal language, instead of a script with no beat or rhyme to it. However, his main thoughts tend to drift back to his ‘wife’ and how he might ‘exploit’ her. Shakespeare uses this short interaction to create a tone of playfulness. This also starts to reveal the theme of how gender roles affect how we act and treat others. The Lord, much like the author is in control of the situation and finds it amusing that Sly even believes that Bartholomew is his wife and does not recognize his as the page that he is. This show the comedy that is about to ensue. Also, the mystery and the switching of roles, as in Bartholomew, foreshadows how others in the play will disguise themselves to get the response that they want. His shrewish actions in the beginning, becoming drunk, could also show that with the right environment, it is possible to change the demeanour of a person.
Your analysis brought up some new ideas I hadn’t considered before. I agree that environment can affect perception, but I also think that the way one perceives himself, such as Sly thinking of himself as a lord rather than a peasant, can affect their thoughts and expectations. Like you said, his manner of speaking changes when he comes to believe he is a lord. Before that, he spoke in short, choppy sentences that sounded less formal and of high status, such as “Y’ are a baggage: the Slys are no rogues; look in the chronicles; we came in with Richard Conqueror.”
Shakespeare begins with an induction to create a fundamental structure to the subject of the story. In the induction of “The Taming of the Shrew”, Shakespeare writes a story about a poor beggar who encounters a lord while he is passed out drunk. The lord decides to try to play a prank on him by ordering his servants to take him home and treat him like a lord, but simultaneously will answer the question “Would not the beggar forget himself?” (2). This question could be the framework for the theme of this play and may give insight on the purpose for the creation of this story. Shakespeare plans to show that environmental factors is what affects people and how they view themselves. The induction is comparable to a social experiment, with the same purpose; to give a better understanding of human nature. The lord uses horrendous diction when he first encounters Sly. Through the use of this diction, Shakespeare establishes the mindset the lord had towards beggars and potentially just the lower class. He comments that Sly was a “monstrous beast! How like swine he lies! Grim death, how foul and loathsome is thine image!” (2). By using such demining words, his thoughts about Sly and how despicable he is reflected onto the reader. Since Sly is the first major character introduced, the reader has a stronger connection with him rather than the lord. Due to this connection, in this scene, the reader feels belittled and disrespected; establishing the power and dominance that the lord has in the story. The induction helps the reader recall the concepts of power and dominance. This will then help them to understand the topic of “Taming of the Shrew”
In Act I, Lucentio uses allusions and diction to create a romantic tone and illustrate his profound love for her. First of all, he tells Tranio that he is as dear to him “as Anna to the Queen of Carthage” (I.i.15). According to ancient Greek sources, the Queen of Carthage adored her sister, Anna. Although this doesn’t connect to Bianca, this allusion still sets the tone for love and adoration. The next mythology reference appears when Lucentio says, “I saw sweet beauty in her face, / Such as the daughter of Agenor had, / That made great Jove to humble him to her hand, / When with his knees he kiss’d the Cretan strond” (I.i.16). Just as Jove, or Zeus, saw beauty in the daughter of Agenor, Europa, Lucentio immediately falls for Bianca. This allusion also reflects the theme of the objectification of women, as Zeus abducted Europa and sexually abused her on the island of Crete. Lucentio further expresses his feelings by using the word “kiss’d” to express something other than its literal meaning. More subtleties can be seen when Lucentio continues, “Tranio, I saw her coral lips to move / And with her breath she did perfume the air” (I.i.16). Using the color coral to describe Bianca’s lips allows the reader to imagine her beauty, Furthermore, the metaphor of her breath “perfuming the air” adds olfactory imagery and makes the reader think of a good-smelling, graceful, elegant young woman. Lucentio’s elegant use of language expresses the passionate feelings he has for her as well as mirroring Bianca’s own elegance throughout the scene.
I also found his constant referral to Greek mythology very intriguing. Also, that his passion would lead him to even switching places with his servant to better become acquainted with Bianca. When Biondello asks a simple question of why there clothes are switched, Shakespeare demonstrates though this interaction the humor of Lucentio when he replies with, “‘t is no time to jest” (1.1.18) when in fact he himself is acting the role of another and is being portrayed as the one who is actually jesting at the situation. Shakespeare also uses repetition to show Lucentio’s passion as he cries, “I burn, I pine, I perish,” (1.1.17) repeatedly showing the physical pain he has with not being with Bianca. In your last comment of how he describes loving her for just her physical beauty really made me think about why he would love her with so much passion from just seeing her once. Shakespeare could be foreshadowing that Bianca is only loved for her Physical appearance and not her actual inner qualities or lack of. Also relating to the societal norms of that time and not really caring about your wife other than to make the man look better as like with an accessory, also mentioned by the other two suiters in the previous interaction.
“Petruchio Signior Hortensio, ‘twixt such friends as we Few words suffice; and therefore, if thou know One rich enough to be Petruchio’s wife, As wealth is burden of my wooing dance, Be she as foul as a Florentius’s love, As old as Sibyl, and as curst and shrewd As Socrates’ Xanthippe, or a worse, She moves me not, or not removes at least Affection’s edge in me, where she as rough As are the swelling Adriatic seas. I come to wive it wealthily in Padua.” (I.ii.62-72)
This excerpt from act one, shows the introduction of the character Petruchio. Petruchio seems from this passage to be a person that enjoys material wealth. He talks about someone that is “rich enough to be Petruchio’s wife” (I.ii.65). The way that he talks about himself also gives the notion that he thinks that he is above other people. Talking about someone being rich enough to be his wide shows that he believes that he is above the lower classes, and that some people are not rich enough for him to even consider. Shakespeare purposely used these words so that the reader is able to understand Petruchio’s position in society as well as his mindset/personality. Shakespeare also tells the reader that money matters to Petruchio more than the qualities of his wife. He shows that he loves wealth, and says that it doesn't matter even if the woman is “foul” or “old”.
In the first act of William Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew, the audience is introduced to the first part of the actual story. Act one scene one introduces the audience to Katherine, who would be considered the story’s “shrew”. Katharine been seen as the town’s bad tempered aggressive woman, is the character in which the play’s title suggests will be “tamed”, or be “taught” how to properly act. In the first scene of act one the audience is bombarded with the feelings and views of Katherine that other characters posses, yet we see little of what Katherine is truly like or how she feels, the audience is yet to learn about her true motives and intentions, yet the audience assumes that she is a rude and bossy woman mainly based on the comments of others. This is seen in the very first line on the matter of Katherine from the character Gremio, reading "She's too rough for me" (1.1.55). And soon after that the audience hears another comment made by Gremio saying “though her father be very rich, any man is so very a fool to be married to hell" (1.1.115). However in Act one we hear very little from Katherine herself, with her only having four lines in the entire first act. Shakespeare purposely makes this character display very little character traits to the audience at the beginning of the book before we see Katherine’s actual character, yet the audience has already learned to despise this character before they know much about her. With Katherine Shakespeare is demonstrating how quickly we are to judge someone based off of other’s premonitions. This may also relate to the story of Christopher Sly, and how we while the audience knows nothing much of besides one scene, instantly judges him as a drunk slob who likely deserves such a prank to that, that is given to him in the induction.
Through the use of negative diction in Act 1 of “Taming of the Shrew”, Shakespeare diminishes the reputation of Katherine while the creating the effect of distaste on the reader. Imitating a social situation that frequently happens to many people, Katherine is introduced through secondary sources; from the characters Gremio and Horatio. Gremio and Horatio are evidently dissatisfied by the supposed personality of Katherine saying that “…she’s too rough for me” and “no mates for you, Unless you were of gentler, milder mould” (13). Gremio describes Katherine as being “too rough” or that her words and actions should be “gentler” and “milder”. These qualities that Bianca’s suitors use to portray Katherine to have, are considered to be distasteful which creates an impact on how the reader thinks about her. Because the readers don’t have any knowledge about the characterization of Katherine, they quickly accept the accusation the Gremio and Horatio make. It is also important to point out that the characterization of Katherine is forced about to the reader rather than their own interpretation of the character because this further destroys Katherine’s reputation. Since she does not have any actions to defend the accusations that are said unto her, the only association the reader has to her are the words “too rough” and that she should be more “gentler”. Following Gremio and Horatio, the readers feel that Katherine is an unpleasant character and may even conclude that she will become an antagonist. With such an arguably “unfair” characterization for Katherine, Shakespeare will later us this to introduce his theme and purpose of the story. But for Act 1, the way Katherine is characterized will set the foundation for the Shakespeare’s message.
I agree with your insights on Katherine, and that she plays a major role in conveying the theme of the play. As you mentioned, she is a very flat character that is only described by the negative comments from other characters. Although this may not be apparent in Act I, her static character reflects the way that women were seen in this society; not dynamic or complex, but rather simple, unfeeling animals. I also think Shakespeare stresses the importance of Katherine’s shameful character in order to provide a contrast to Bianca, who is described as “sweet” and “beautiful” and even compared to a goddess, Minerva. These antithetical characters parallel to our opposite selves in our foil project!
In Act II, Shakespeare uses consonance and visual imagery to exaggerate the wealth of Bianca’s suitors while catching the audience’s interest with flowery language and thoughts of luxuries. Near the end of the act, Gremio and Tranio are arguing about who has more affluence to offer Bianca in order for Baptista to decide who should be her husband. Gremio starts off listing all the many things of value he has to offer, including “Tyrian tapestry”, “ivory coffers”, “cypress chests”, and “milch-kine to the pail” (II.i.39). This elaborate description is full of visual imagery and makes the reader/listener think of all the many fancy household objects one would like to have. There are also a lot of consonant sounds in these phrases, such as the “t”-sound, “s”-sound, and the “ch”-sound. This makes the passage richer and emulates the vast diversity of luxuries Gremio is discussing. Consonance is also included in his mention of “Valance of Venice”, which not only has alliteration that adds to the ornamental language, but also references the affluent city of Venice. Gremio’s very detailed and fanciful description is in vain, however, since Tranio ends up winning the argument to court Bianca. On a different note, this excerpt from Gremio adds to the comedic attitude of the play. Gremio is an old, arrogant man whom most audiences would not see fit for such a beautiful young girl as Bianca, so it is amusing that he tries so hard to win her marriage. Furthermore, this passage enforces Shakespeare’s insight that the suitor is judged merely by how much money he has, rather than how he will actually treat his wife. One could even argue that in this way, men are objectified by wealth just as women are by beauty.
I liked how you pointed out that the suitor is judged by the amount of money they possess rather than their personality or how they treat their wife. Though wealth is an attainable asset unlike beauty or appearance I think that wealth can actually be viewed as beauty. Standards of beauty change as time passes by, but the attractiveness of wealth has not gone away. While we do shun those who marry for money, it is interesting that all this time this standard of beauty has never changed. I feel like today, though we arranged marriages aren’t common, people are marrying people for their money anyways. I would also like to point out that Petruchenio wants to marry Katherine solely because her father is rich. So, women can also be objectified by wealth also.
In act II of William Shakespeare’s “The Taming of the Shrew”, the audience sees another glimpse of classic Shakespeare humor. In this one scene act, Petruchio attempts to “woo” Katherine, a task he knows to be impossible. With a plan of simply ignoring all terrible comments she makes, and pretending to view all her attributes as nothing but beautiful, Petruchio confuses Katherine. The back and forth dialogue between Katherine and Petruchio exemplifies a lot of humor within the play. PET: “Who knows not where a wasp does wear his sting? In his tail. KATH. In his tongue. PET. Whose tongue? KATH. Yours, if you talk of tales, and so farewell. PET. What, with my tongue in your tail? Nay, come again, Good Kate; I am a gentleman—” (2.1.210-215). Here there is clear innapropriate humor that Shakespeare uses to captivate the audience and make the emotions and feelings behind the story seem so very real. The importance of humor in Shakespeare’s play is to add a new layer to the story. With the use of humor, the audience does not only get a story but they are receiving an experience, with humor Shakespeare immediately captivates the audience and brings them emotionally closer to the story’s characters in order for them to care more about the ups and downs the story posses. Due to the classic and proper writing style that Shakespeare uses, the humor, especially that of crude humor can easily go over the reader's head if they are not paying attention, this makes Shakespeare’s sense of humor in his writing that more special and unique.
Throughout Act II, Petruchio’s main goal is to please all of the other people around him in order to make sure that he can marry Katherine. Petruchio is very friendly towards Katherine and complements everything about her.
“I find you passing gentle. ‘T was told me you were rough and coy and sullen, And now I find report a very liar; For thou art pleasant, gamesome, passing courteous, But slow in speech, yet sweet as springtime flowers” (II.35).
In this passage Petruchio comments on the qualities of Katherine and how great she is. Although it is uncalled for, as nothing in the conversation suggested that she was otherwise, Shakespeare decides to have this passage to emphasize Petruchio’s actions. He even turns a snide remark by Kate into a sexual joke.
“Petruchio. Who knows not where a wasp does wear his sting? In his tail. Kate. In his tongue. Petruchio. Whose tongue? Kate. Yours, if you talk of tales, and so farewell. Petruchio. What with my tongue in your tail? Nay, come again. Good Kate; I am a gentleman” (II.i.).
In this passage Katherine takes a shot back at Petruchio, but he plays it off and makes a joke out of it. Shakespeare puts this passage in to emphasize Petruchio’s behavior and to give the passage a slightly comedic effect.
In Act 2 of “Taming of the Shrew”, Shakespeare creates the dominant effect of surprise to convey the theme of the importance of first impressions. In the characterization of literary characters, the way the author introduces the character creates a lasting effect of how the reader portrays the character. This method actually uses the natural human tendency to judge people by their first impression. Shakespeare begins the next scene with a surprising setting; Bianca tied to a chair by Katherine. Katherine demands Bianca to tell her which suitor she prefers best, but Bianca will not tell her. By starting the scene with high energy and a negative appearance towards Katherine, the audience or reader become quick to judge about Katherine. They view her as horrible or maybe even crazy as their first impression of her. This first impression will later be used by Shakespeare that people should not be quick to judge when Katherine suddenly becomes silent when Petruchenio insists on marrying her. The silence she has symbolizes her true self in which people are not constantly bombarding her with insults. The reason why people do not favor her is because of the terrible first impressions she has on the different character. In the story, Shakespeare portrays Kate as being loud and irrational, using other character like her father saying “…for shame thou hilding…” (29). Starting early on with the disappointment of her father, this solidifies the reader’s negative view on Katherine. By solidifying this view, it will help the reader understand that Katherine is actually just misunderstood which supports the importance of first impressions
In Act II, Petrucio starts his taming of Katherine. At first they continually banter back and forth while both Gremio and Tranio, as Lucentio, try and woo Bianca. Katherine only has words of hate in the beginning, very witty and plays off of what Petruchio is saying. However, every time, Petricio changes these remarks into a somewhat sexual dialect. As when Petruchio seemingly asks Katherine to, “come, sit on [him]” (II. I. 34). Katherine tries to turn it back on him saying that Petruchio is more of the ass in the relationship. Once again, Petrucio replies with, “women are made to bear, and so are [you]” (II. I. 34). SHakespeare's use of banter and sexual innuendos show the humor of the situation and that Katherine has now found someone who does not at once leave her and not have a conversation with her. The turning point in this Act was the moment Petrucio proclaimed that, “upon Sunday is the wedding-day” (II. I. 37.). After Katherine's singular response of reject, she is internally silenced and does not speak the entire rest of the act. Baptista, contrary to what might be normal in this era, does not even ask Katherine, but replies by giving his acceptance of the marriage and agreeing to Sunday as the wedding date. This shows the repression of female opinion and they are treated like a piece of property only to be bought. This also appears with the ‘price’ of Bianca later in the Act where Gremio and Tranio argue about who would be able to provide for her when she is a widow, basically who has the most wealth. This turns into lavishing diction that Shakespeare uses to show how these two men boast their right to earn Bianca with wealth and never actually mention Bianca herself, but only as if she were a possession to add to their overwhelming sources of wealth.
In Act three of Taming of the Shrew, Shakespeare uses metaphor to reveal that Petruchio views Katherine as a servant rather than a romantic partner. After Petruchio and Katherine are married, Petruchio argues with Katherine about leaving immediately rather than attending the party after. In their conversation Petruchio reveals his thoughts about how he values his bride saying “Nay, look not big, nor stamp, nor stare, nor fret; I will be master of what is mine own” (52). Using a direct style of language Shakespeare creates a commanding tone in Petruchio’s comment. With this tone in mind, the sentence transitions into Petruchio’s declaration “I will be master of what is mine own”(52). Here Petruchio declares his supposed ownership of Katherine using the commanding tone that was earlier established. Saying that he owns Katherine, displays that he does not care about her emotions or opinions because he appears to view her as an object that you can own, rather than a human being. To further show his declaration of ownership over Katherine, he says “She is… My horse, my ox, my ass (52). Petruchio compares his bride to a “horse”, an “ox” and an “ass”; animals that are commonly used for farming and labor. The fact that he compares her to animals of labor clearly implies that he views her as a servant that serves him and he expects her to obey his orders. Not only to obey him, but also without question and with full subordination like a “master” to his “ass” (52). This follows the story’s theme of the objectification of women as the concept of ownership usually refers to objects or animals rather than wives like the newly wed Katherine.
Felix, I agree that this is what Petruchio is doing, however, I think this might be a bit of trickery on Patricio's part. Like almost giving her a taste of her own medicine, to ‘break her’ like an animal. I really liked how you mentioned that she once again is being called an animal and is being spoken about. Petrucio obviously changes character from the day that he first interacted with Katherine. However, Baptista does not seem to care in the least that his daughter is being treated this way, letting Petrucio take Kate away even before their wedding celebration. He moves straight into finding a husband for Bianca and saying that Bianca will now, “take her sister’s room,” (III. II. 52) a sign that she is now the most favored and important. Bianca also does not seem to have a problem with this saying that, "being mad herself, she's madly mated," (III. II. 52) showing that her sister has found the right match for her witty words.
In the beginning part of Act 3, the two ‘tutors’ try to woo Bianca while also trying to impress her with their skills of teaching. Lucentio, the literary tutor, recites a piece of Latin that has very little to do with anything and is like he is just reading out of a text book. When Bianca asks him to ‘construe it’ (III. I. 43.) or interpret what he's saying he replies with what is on his mind. He reveals that he himself is Lucentio and that their plan is to woo her with deception. THis however is interrupted by Hortensio, who speaks in more of a hurries tone with not half as many caesarea as when Lucentio is talking. This shows How more laid back Lucentio os and how much Hortensio really wants to woo Bianca. Shakespeare's adds the both of the tutors break the fourth wall in this scene, realizing that one another is trying to woo the same girl. When Hortensio breaks this fourth wall he comments about how, “fiery and forward” (III. I. 43) Lucentio is. Bianca however at the end of the quarrel between the two suitors seems to favor ‘Licio’ who is played by Lucentio. Although her last words are addressed to both and it shows how she know that she really has no choice in the matter and must treat both of them with respect, not favoring one over the other. When talking to Bianca, these men are most different with her then while talking ‘about’ Katherine. They woo directly to her, but with the response of her they seem to be more talking to the other, protecting what could be theirs. Shakespeare uses references to past greek mythology, Ajax, to compare his characteristic with that of the powerful male in the Trojan War. The uses of this gives a visual image in the reader's mind, but also might be used by Lucentio to try and once again impress Bianca.
In the second and third scenes of Act III, Petruchio creates a chaotic scene and himiliates himself and Kate. From coming to his marriage dressed in rags to hitting the priest to forcing Kate to abruptly leave the ceremony with him, he has created a complete disaster. This chaos serves to show that no matter how a husband acts, his wife was expected to agree with him and stay loyal to him no matter what. In the beginning of the second scene, when Petruchio is lare for the ceremony, Katherina speakes her greivances by saying, "I must, forsooth, be forced / To give my hand, opposed against my heart, / Unto a mad-brain rudesby, full of spleen" (III.ii.45). Kate is distressed that she is forced to marry such a apthetic man against her will, which is expressed by the alliteration in repeating the "f"-sound, since it emulates disgust and shoves it in the reader's face. Shakespeare also uses synecdoche to provide a play on words with body parts. By using the expression "hand" to represent marriage, and "heart" to represent Kate's desire and free will, this clever line catches the reader's attention and lets them know that this is significant to the theme of the play. In addition, Kate's complaint has a sentimental tone, almost of defeat, in stark contrast to her snappy aggresiveness in the beginning of the play. Kate's, in essence, defeat demonstrates the strength of the societal push to become a subserviant women. Near the end of the act, Pertuchio claims, "They shall go forward, Kate, at thy command… I will be master of what is mine own: She is my goods, my chattels; she is my house, / My household stuff, my field, my barn…" (III.ii.52). Petruchio flat out states that Kate is his property and must obey him, but covers up this fact with sweet words and calling her Kate. Even with women who start out stubborn and independent, Shakespeare claims, women can easily be won over.
What I find interesting about your analysis is your comparison with Katherine and Petruchio’s servants. Like a blog post I did a while back, I explained that Katherine was more of a servant to Petruchio rather than a romantic partner since she compares her to different animals in the past. Actually, in the third scene Petruchio once again compares her to an animal. So I don’t believe there is actually much of a difference between the servants and Katherine except her boiling attitude. Katherine must still be tamed which is the reason why Petruchio is not treating her exactly like his servants. She is still not willing to submit to him. This treatment follows the story’s theme of the role of women in the family in which they pretty much serve their husband as if he were her master.
In the first scene of Act IV, Petruchio’s frustration and verbal abuse of his servants is expressed by the use of repetition and derogatory diction. Since Petruchio is probably a little stressed out in carrying out his plan of “taming” Katherina, and since his servants made some trivial mistakes, he flies into a rage about how useless they are. He starts when he arrives at the country house, saying, “Where be these knaves? What, no man at door / To hold my stirrup nor take my horse!” (IV.i.56) First, he calls his servants “knaves”, which basically means he’s calling them jerks or careless men, which is the beginning of the many pejorative names he will call them. Then, his complaints at no servant to take his horse not only express his discontent, but also suggest how demanding and dependent on servants the wealthy people are. Furthermore, when one of the servants frantically says that he is “here, sir”, Petruchio sneers mockingly, “Here sir! here sir! here, sir! here, sir!” (IV.i.56) Petruchio uses repetition here to display his impatience and excite the audience with a repeated phrase, for they get to see him become angry. Petruchio continues by exclaiming, “You logger-headed and unpolish’d grooms! What, no attendance? no regard? no duty?” (56) More derogatory diction can be seen as he refers to them by interesting and unique, but offensive, names. Later, he continues this pattern by using terms like “peasant swain” and “malt-horse drudge.” Using a variety of phrases like “logger-headed” not only further illustrates his contempt, but also keeps the audience interested by surprising them with novel and absurd epithets. Also in this line, parallel structure appears with the repetition of “no” and the repeated use of questions. This repletion helps the angry words tumble out of his mouth and demonstrate just how outraged he is. On another note, Petruchio’s manipulation of his servants almost mirrors that of Kate, since he is abusing her and controlling her throughout Act IV.
I agree that he is bossing around his servants in a degrading manner, but i thought this was more of an act than a rage. For one of his servants even mentioned that he was more shrewish than she. And the question of Nathaniel of, “Peter, didst ever see the like?” (4.1.173) This seems to reflect that this is not normally how Petrucio would act. This is again confirmed by Petruchio's monologue, stating that he has, “begun [his] reign,” (4.1.182) and that he will be in control of her. In order to do so, i think he understands that he has to put on an aggressive demeanor to make her feel lesser, more servant like. Treating her the same as her does with all of the servants she will then become as one of them, fitting into the role that society has on women during this time period. Also, when he speaks aside to his servants without Kate, he seems much less demanding and demeaning. As when he is talking to Hortensio saying, “thou wilt see the tailor paid,” making it nice and making a gesture that is not preposterous as he had just portrayed himself in the scene before (4.3.162).
Fulfilling the title of the story, Shakespeare uses metaphor, rhyme, and parallel structure to reveal how Petruchio tames Katherine. In the first scene, Petruchio explains how he will tame her newly wedded wife saying “My falcon now is sharp and passing empty; And till she stoop she must not be full-gorged, For then she never looks upon her lure” (58). Here Petruchio compares Katherine to a falcon, a predator in the animal kingdom. Like the falcon, Katherine is has a dominant or predatory attitude, driving away numerous men from courting her. To subdue Katherine, Petruchio plans to execute his plan the same way a falcon is trained. A falcon does not become simply deceived by decoys and knows the presence of a “lure”, but is best to “keep it watchful”. Falcons are at the top of the food chain and when something does not react to their attacks or presence, they begin to think that that thing must be more powerful than itself. Similar to the training of an actual hawk, Petruchio tempts Katherine of food and sleep to minimize her feeling of control over her condition, ignoring the falcon’s warnings and attempts to establish dominance. After continuously depriving her of dinner, Petruchio finally gives her food then saying, “ Will we return unto thy father’s house, And revel it as bravely as the best, With sulken coats and caps and golden rings, With ruffs and cuffs and fardingales and things” (65). By saying that he will “doll” Katherine up with fine things, he expects Katherine to submit to his control because she would feel indifferent to subordination since she will be lavished with such expensive objects. Using rhyming and parallel structure, Petruchio establishes a feeling of success on Katherine to allow her to be subdued. The taming of Katherine also follows the theme of objectifying women as once again Katherine is compared to an animal; something you can own and control.
In Act 4 there are two different ideas being discussed, but both relating to each other very much so. The first is the idea of ‘kill[ing] a wife with kindness”(4.1.201). This is portrayed in the way Petrucio treats Kate. However, with his constant side comments on keeping the stuff for later, saying that when she is ‘gentle,’ then she ‘shall have one too’ (4.3.71) referring to the hat and dress of the time and fashion. Kate is seemingly miserably married to this show of a husband. She had no choice, but their similarities sparked her interest from the very beginning. On the other hand, Bianca is being wooed only for her looks, Lucentio only sees her beauty, and even will put himself down to the status of a servant to woo her. Hortensio, making an oath to never woo her, after seeing her great love for another, decides to move on and search out another women. Hortensio seems to be the only one who actually wants, “kindness in women,” and “not their beauteous looks” (4.2.41). Once he deems that she does not love him, he moves on as though she were never there and he was never in love. This is quite odd for him however because in the previous acts, he has competed in battles of the tongue to see if him or Lucentio were better paired for her. However, he sees through just her beauty and does not seem to find kindness or a reciprocation of love to him. Shakespeare has both of these contrasting scenes in the same act to foreshadow how each marriage will ultimately end. One out of beauteous looks and one out of shared similarities and forced submission.
In act 3 of William Shakespeare's “The Taming of the Shrew”, The audience is thrown into one of the most important scenes of the play, that being the wedding. During the wedding in the second scene, Shakespeare uses symbolism to convey Petruchio’s attitude towards Katherine. One example of symbolism is the horse he rides on, “Why, Petruchio is coming in a new hat and an old jerkin, a pair of old breeches thrice turned, a pair of boots that have been candle-cases, one buckled, another laced, an old rusty sword ta'en out of the town-armory, with a broken hilt, and chapeless; with two broken points: his horse hipped with an old mothy saddle and stirrups of no kindred;” (III.II.42-48). Objects such as an old pair of breeches, the worn out boots (one buckled and one laced), a rusty sword and broken sword, and a mothy saddle on his horse all come together to show the reader how Petruchio chooses to present himself at this wedding, Petruchio wanting to come off as rather carefree and casual chooses to purposefully attend his own wedding in the worst fashion possible, not to mention late. These details included during the wedding scene symbolize Petruchio’s attitude of indifference towards the wedding, as well as demonstrates his methods in “taming” katherine. Another detail I realized from reading the passage about Petruchio's arrival is how Petruchio get’s the exact reaction he wants, causing much commotion when he arrives drawing much attention and angering his bride Katherine. Katherine eagerly wishes for Petruchio to stay and wishes that he loves her, “Let me entreat you...Are you content to stay?...Now, if you love me, stay.” Petruchio get’s what he wants in Katherine desiring his love and attendance at the wedding. Petruchio was very smartly and boldly playing hard to get.
In act 4 of William Shakespeare’s “The Taming of the Shrew” a quote in the third scene of act four is where the audience learns of Katherine's complete “taming”. The excerpt “Then God be blessed, it is the blessed sun, But sun it is not when you say it is not, And the moon changes even as your mind. What you will have it named, even that it is, And so it shall be still for Katherine. (IV.vi.19–23). Katherine receipts this excerpt after being told to tell Petruchio that the sun that she knows, and has always known, is truly the moon. Katherine has completely been transformed, or changed by Petruchio believing herself to live in his world, opposed to her own, in which she once lived in earlier in the book. This quotes's impact is to help readers digest how severe Katherine’s transformation truly is, from the once feisty and independent woman, to the loyal, almost slave like wife. Katherine’s transformation takes place all throughout the book with piling of arguments, conflict, and being put down or made to feel bad about herself, all part of Petruchio’s method to “tame” Katherine. In this scene Petruchio has completed his transformation or “taming” in full through his waves of mind games played on his victim Katherine. When Katherine says that the sun is not the sun when you say it is not, and the moon changes even as your mind, demonstrates her absent minded allegiance to Petruchio in an almost frightening way. While Katherine and others may view this codependent thought process as love, it really is manipulation by Petruchio.
In act 4, Shakespeare shows that Petruchio believes that he has tamed Katherine, as he shows her to the bedroom before they had even eaten. "That is, to watch her, as we watch these kites. That bate and beat and will not be obedient. She eat no meat today, nor none shall eat; last night she slept not, nor tonight she shall not;" (IV.i.169-172). Petruchio thinks that by denying Katherine one of the basic needs, to eat, she will be forced to do what he wants her to do. The readers know that this will not work because of Katherine’s stubborn nature, making this a scene of dramatic irony. Petruchio longs to “tame” Katherine because he believes that they won’t have a successful relationship with her resisting him all the time. I think that Petruchio is trying a new strategy to win her over after his failed attempt earlier in the story. Petruchio and Katherine will not have a happy relationship if one of them does not change for the other one. This is something that many people will avoid today, because it is not a welcome concept to have to change yourself to make a relationship work.
In Act IV of Taming of the Shrew, Katherine progresses more towards the ideal, subordinate wife (of the Elizabethan era), and farther from the stark snappy mouth that she was known for in the beginning. Although Katherine slowly turns from her quick witted, fiery tongued ways, moments of her former, reasoning self shine through at times: "Why, sir, I trust I may have leave to speak; And speak I will; I am no child, no babe: Your betters have endured me say my mind, And if you cannot, best you stop your ears. My tongue will tell the anger of my heart, Or else my heart concealed it will break; And rather than it shall, I will be free Even to the uttermost, as I please, in words." (IV.iii.73–80). This response to Petruchio trying to decide what she will wear and in the grand picture, what is good and bad for her and what her opinions should be (there is a history: of food, sleep, clothes). Katherine attempts to make a stand against Petruchio's control, but fails. Previously in stand offs with male figures, they cower away and disregard her as a beast, but Petruchio stands erect against her billowing attempts to bend his will. Slowly, this aspect of her fades; Petruchio, the only fit ting key to her unfitting attitude, is also the key that turns her and drastically overcomes her. At a later instant in Act IV, Katherine again challenges Petruchio's authority and reason, only to finally submit to his will and sovereignty, "Forward, I pray, since we have come so far, And it be the moon, or sun, or what you please: And if you say please to call it a rush-candle, Henceforth I vow it shall be so for me ... But sun it is not, when you say it is not; And the moon changes even as your mind. What you will have it named, even that it is; And so it shall be for Katherine." (IV.v.12-15, 20-23) This exchange of words, will, and power, displays Katherine: Submitting, meek, lowly in service; or perhaps mocking her unreasonable authority, appearing to abide with Petruchio's preference only to disprove and humiliate him at a later time. Either way, dutifully or devising, Katherine is metamorphosing, adapting, coming around and turning into to the ideal submissive wife Peteuchio, and the rest of their society, accepts as a valued role. Only then will Katherine find what she is in most search of, a place to fit, a place to be, and a place to be accepted. (Though she may not agree with what the society wants and expects from a woman, she submits her will to it. Perhaps this is a display of the pressures of the larger population, norms, ideas/ideals, and the need for an ultimate goal (Kate's want to have a role) to influence all other aspects of personal volition (lowering her feministic qualities).)
You voiced all my thoughts in your analysis. I completely agree that, gradually, societal roles are conquering Katherine and her strong will, forcing into the role of the "ideal, subordinate wife", as you said it. She also might be afraid of becoming an "old maid", since unmarried women had no hope for a prosperous future in medeival times. This is expressed earlier by her comment of distress, "I must dance bare-foot on her wedding day / And for your love to her lead apes in hell." Although women are much more equal today, there is still a similar role expected of them by society.
In the first scene of Act V, Tranio and the pedant's disguises are discovered and, in the next scene, Lucentio's scheme is revealed to the others as well. Their comic revelations continue Shakespeare's emphasis on disguise, and convey the theme that no disguise can last forever. Tranio even suggests this with his comment on Vincentio's angry behavior: "Sir, you seem a sober ancient gentleman by your habit, but / your words show you a madman" (V.i.78). In other words, Vincentio looks like a respectable man by his clothing, but his aggressive and angry way of speaking, although justified, is inappropriate and insolent. His words reveal his true attitude. Similarly, Tranio's luxurious clothing does not match his position as a servant. Although his disguise will prove effective for a while, eventually his true identity will be discovered. Still, it is impressive that Lucentio, the pedant, and Tranio's disguises had so much of an impact, allowing Lucentio to not only gain access to Bianca but also to get a fake father and approval for their marriage. Through the plot, Shakespeare has conveyed how much power one can gain from something trivial and absurd like clothing. He emphasizes this when Vincentio remarks, "O fine villain! A silken doublet! a velvet hose! a scarlet cloak! and a copatain hat! O, I am undone!" (V.i.78) His ornate visual descriptions of Tranio's clothing (disguised as Lucentio) remind the reader to think about clothing and the power it gave him. Vincentio lists off all of his fancy clothing, scolding him for dressing so excessively and expensively. Indeed, one can tell from his clothes that he is wealthy, and he is therefore treated with respect. Merely his clothing has given him control over others for the majority of the play, instead of him staying as a powerless servant. Therefore, through the disguise of characters, Shakespeare develops the theme that types of clothing play a major role in the social status of different people within a society.
People often say that the Taming of the Shrew is the most offensive work Shakespeare has ever written. This is due to the play’s discussion about the expectation of women to fully submit to the husband. Through the use of repetition, this can be shown in the end of Act V when the three newly married men, Lucentio, Petruchio, and Hortensio, place a bet to see whose wife was the most obedient. Succeeding in his plan and taming her, Petruchio’s wife Katharina was the only wife to obey the order to come to them allowing him to win the bet. Katherina is then ordered to gather the other two wives to confront their husbands why they did not obey. Petruchio then “charges” Katherine to elaborate the duties of women to their husbands (84). She says that the husband is “thy lord, thy life, thy keeper, thy head, thy sovereign” and expects “no other tribute at thy hands but love, fair looks and true obedience; too little payment for so great a debt” (85). Here the wife who should be offended by the idea of total submission to the husband actually agrees and follows this expectation. By the repeating the word “thy”, Katherine further glorifies the husband which in turn exposes her total submission to him. She also justifies this action saying that “obedience” is “too little payment for so great a debt” (85) It is clear to why people, especially women, are offended by this play because Shakespeare not only allows Katherine to justify her own mindless submission but continues on to saying “I am ashamed that women are so simple” (85) diminishing the value of the entire female sex! While it may not be the intent of Shakespeare, he has created quite an offending piece of work, but this might also be done on purpose. He may have actually made it so offensive, that the male audience members (some even husbands) to become aware of such a discriminatory belief of the total and mindless obedience of wives to their husbands.
In Act 5, scene 2 of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew the reader is able to witness to complete transformation of Katherine, similar to Act 4, Act 5 displays a lot of Katherine’s own original thought and feelings towards her husband. “ Thy husband is thy lord, thy life, thy keeper, Thy head, thy sovereign, one that cares for thee, And for thy maintenance commits his body. To painful labour both by sea and land, To watch the night in storms, the day in cold, Whilst thou liest warm at home, secure and safe, And craves no other tribute at thy hands But love, fair looks, and true obedience, Too little payment for so great a debt.” (V.ii.140-148). Here Katherine feels fortunate to have Petruchio in her life and feels as if she almost owes herself or her life to him. Katherine in this Act has completely transformed due to Petruchio’s manipulation. In the line “Thy life, thy keeper, Thy keeper” she has devoted her life to the man who she once despised. The very important question that this arises is how did such a major transformation take place? How was Petruchio so capable to taming such a shrew as Katherine? From the play I find that while Petruchio did “Domesticate” or “tame” Katherine like an animal, the more important change in her transformation was in her perspective of Petruchio and love in general. Not only was Katherine domesticated, or manipulated to act in a proper fashion but she truly believed the words she was saying, and felt she loved or owed her life to Petruchio. Kate’s perspective originally of Petruchio is a stuck up arrogant man, she later changes her perspective to seeing him a rude, or unwanting of her attention, something she isn't used to, eventually she finds herself longing for Petruchio’s attention and wanting him to be around her, changing her perspective of him. Here she truly and honestly feels as though she has fallen in love with Petruchio, not only due to the domestication process, but from her own personal perspective.
In Act V of William Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew, the strength of ideology and personal commitment are compared. Kate's speech, which is directed towards the other wives, chastising them for their disobedience and disrespect, displays how a strong head in any direction will result in boldness, even when redirected. It is complementary to the theme of how disguises will always unravel, be revealed, and exposed as faulty; but shows how the true core of a person can remain unshaken although outside expressions may change. Katherine's journey from a head strong, feministic, fiercely independent woman who had a deep unsurfaced fear of becoming an old maid displaced from society; to a submissive, tamed, obedient, servient wife, both extremes on a spectrum of conformity, show that although Kate's ideology and motivators changed drastically, her passion, devotion, and realization of her cause remained constant and firm. Whether she was determined to be a bashful criticizer of men, or an all loyal, husband serving wife, Kate's full commitment to her personal belief was unchanged. (This personal belief was altered, thus was the purpose of the story.) This change in Kate is seen when comparing the grace and control of her language in her speech to the out of control violence she committed in the beginning. Kate describes a husband as "...thy lord, thy life, thy keeper,/ Thy head, thy sovereign" (V.ii.140-1) and herself (the wife) as a, "... foul contending rebel,/ And graceless traitor to her loving lord" (V.ii.152-3). In opposition, Kate started as a bully to her sister, an embarrassment to her father, and screecher of men. Kate's control and eloquence and ability to submit herself comes from her taming and bridle, which was just as much her doing (choice) as Petruchio's.
In Act 5 of Taming of the Shrew, Shakespeare shows that Petruchio has finally tamed Katherine. He shows this by setting up a scene in which Petruchio, Lucentio, and Hortensio argue about who has the best wife. Katherine’s dialogue in this part of the act shows how she has finally given in to Petruchio. She outlines all of the duties that a wife should provide for her husband, and it is quite a lengthy speech. The only reason that Katherine said these things is because Petruchio was in a bet with two other men. This may show how women were objectified during the time period that the story was set in. I think that this also sheds a new light on what marriage meant to people during that time period. I think that marriage was a way for the father to “give away” the daughter rather than her choosing someone that may be ideal for her. This however, doesn't seem to be portrayed by Shakespeare as an abnormal event, and may be how most marriages were at the time.
I like how you pointed out that the father was essentially "giving away" his daughter especially when it is encouraged with money. What I do find have to disagree with is that this is not really the case with Baptista and his two daughters, Katherine and Bianca. Baptista never asked the two daughters to marry rich men, in fact he was actually fine with any suitor that can tame Katherine's fiery temper. In terms of freedom of choice, Bianca, who had much more suitors than her sister, could have married any suitor she wanted. In fact, her marriage with Lucentio was actually her choice rather than her father's. This reminds me to the reaction of the father when Katherine acted totally submissive to Petruchio and was treated like a servant. He was actually happy that her daughter is submissive to her husband. This follows the theme of the role of women in the household because not only did it apply to the new generation, t also applied for the old judging by the reaction of Katherine's father.
Act 5 really brings everything together, with Lucentio revealing who he is and Katherine proving that she has truly understood the reason behind her taming. Lucentio and Bianca’s marriage which is short and done without permission, is one that i found very interesting. The coincidence of the real Vincentio showing up only adds to the already chaos ensued by Lucentio in the beginning of the play. One of his major characteristics is that he is headstrong and thinks that everything will go as planned. The first instance is when he arrives and asks to, “Pardon, sweet father” (5.1.109.) while kneeling to his father. These are the first words spoken to his father after he has just been harassed by tranio and baptista, who were about to take him to prison. Lucentio puts on a sort of false innocence. By kneeling he is showing respect, but this might also be a son trying to get on his good side before breaking the news of his deception by disguising himself. His characteristic of not taking blame also comes out in this scene as well as the following. He blames his deception on ‘love’, that “Bianca’s love made [him] exchange [his] state with Tranio” (5.1.122-123.). However, he had not earned Bianca’s love before deciding to switch with Tranio. He tries to turn this back off of him, when actually, it was his love for Bianca that caused him to become deceitful. In the last scene, when they are calling their wives, Lucentio has over confidence in his wife, that their love will be enough. He even boasts and says that all of the money that he wins will be his own and Baptista will have no say in halves. When later entreating Bianca of why she did not come she replies with, “what a foolish duty call you this?” (5.2.125.). He yet again blames her for not coming and him then losing a hundred crowns. Lucentio has very short vision and even after Kate tells of how a woman should be loyal and commit to her husband, Lucentio finds fault with this saying that she should not be forward and should keep in their roles. Shakespeare is commenting on the roles of women through the role of Lucentio. He shows how men are overpowering and how they are overconfident that their plan will always work. Shakespeare is using Lucentio to show the extreme of a man who thinks that love is all that is needed and that a wife should be quiet like a possession. Through this play, Kate and Petruchio are seen as the odd ones in this play, starving and forbbing sleep, but this is what would have been good in that society. To have a woman speak out and to have her be a part and a base for her husband. However, Lucentio and Hortensio can only look after this ideal, for they think only to have to change their wives, when Shakespeare is also pointing to the men saying how their characteristics must also be changed.
You included a lot of good commentary on the last act in your post. I agree that Lucentio was pleading for mercy he didn't really deserve, after lying to his father and indirectly causing his abuse by Tranio and the pedant. I also think this suggests that disguise can be powerful in getting what one wants, but it can also hurt relationships, such as Lucent with his father, Vincentio. You also mentioned that Lucentio thinks that all you need in a relationship is love, and I think this ignorance is proved wrong when Bianca refuses to obey him as the end. Ironically, Katherine and Petruchio seem to have a terrible relationship full of abuse and seemingly without love, yet he is the one who is successful in "taming" his wife.
Such duty to the drunkard let him do
ReplyDeleteWith soft low tongue and lowly courtesy,
And say, “what is ‘t your honor will command,
Wherein your lady and your humble wife
May show her duty and make known her love?”
And hen with kind embracements, tempting kisses,
And with declining head into his bosom,
Bid him shed tears, as being overjoy’d
To see her noble lord restored to health,
Who for this seven years hath esteemed him
No better than a poor and loathsome beggar:
And if the boy have not a woman’s gift
To rain a shower of commanded tears,
An onion will do well for such a shift,
Which in a napkin being close convey’d
Shall in despite enforce a watery eye.
In this excerpt from the Induction, the lord is describing in detail how he and his servants will trick the drunken Sly into believing that he is an affluent lord. The elegant way that the highly esteemed lord is speaking is achieved by a number of literary devices. As in most of Shakespeare’s works, the use of iambic pentameter makes the words flow and satisfying to the ear, such as in the line, “Such duty to the drunkard let him do.” Also in this line, the use of consonance adds interest and flow through the words “duty”, “drunkard”, and “do.” In the next line, he uses a play on words by stating “with soft low tongue and lowly courtesy.” The lord is telling his servants to speak Sly in a kind, low tone, and respect him in a lowly, or humble and insubordinate, manner. Shakepeare also uses a lot of repetition of the word “and”, further adding to the fluidity of the passage. This also helps express the lord’s excitement in executing the prank, as he keeps saying “and” to continue his stream of thoughts. Another literary device used is the metaphor in the line, “to rain a shower of commanded tears.” Comparing tears to a rain shower expresses the exaggerated tears the lady must shed to trick Sly into believing she is his wife. The word “rain” could also allude to its homonym, “reign”, in order to suggest that Sly will be reigning as a fake lord. In the ending lines, more consonance appears with the use of the words “such” and “shift”, as well as “close convey’d.” This device almost gives the lord a sassy tone, as he is so amused at the trickery he is using on Sly.
In “The Taming of the Shrew”, William Shakespeare includes an induction at the beginning of the play of a wealthy and powerful king who pulls a prank on a drunken slob he runs into. By taking the passed out man the Lord has his servants as well as himself act as if the drunk was actually the very wealthy and powerful lord, whom had been sleeping for the past fifteen years. Soon enough the man starts to believe the words of the Lord and the servants as true, and begins acting to fit the part. In scene II, the Sly says “Well, bring our lady hither to our sight; And once again, a pot o’ the smallest ale.” (Shakespeare 8). “ ‘T is much. Servants, leave me and her alone, Madam, undress you and come now to bed.” (9). “Well, we’ll see’t. Come , madame wife, sit by my side and let the world slip: we shall ne’er be younger. (10). These experts displays Sly’s actions in his new position as “Lord” and how he quickly adapts to new actions and behaviors. The significance of the induction, while completely different from the rest of the play, is the convey Shakespeare’s theme of how behaviors and actions are dependent on our surroundings. The point of the induction is to represent this theme (discussed through the later parts of the play) in the most simple way possible. Sly symbolizes the ease of changing one's entire self and forgetting an old life all due to new surroundings and behavior of others.
ReplyDeleteYou had a very good insight on the induction; an insight that is actually almost exactly to mine. I agree with what you believe the theme to be is on taming of the shrew, but i would like to add more to this theme. You said that Sly quickly adapted to how he was treat and i believe this time span can be significant to the theme of the story. It may even support it even more. You can use this time span to also prove how susceptible people are to their environments since they are quickly deceived by this outside force. I thoughts this whole induction was an example of this human phenomenon. Anyways, good job on the blog.
DeleteIn the Introduction, Shakespeare uses Sly to show that environment can change the way you think about a situation. During the first half of this introduction, Sly is confused, asking repeatedly, “Am not I Christopher Sly” (Ind. 2. 17-18.) and questioning if he is the actual master of the house. He repeatedly tries to justify that he is not the Lord of that house. However, when the actual Lord of the house reports that he, “hast a lady far more beautiful than any woman,” (Ind. 2. 62-63) Sly does not even think again of his past life when he was a drunkard. For the rest of the introduction he speaks in more formal language, instead of a script with no beat or rhyme to it. However, his main thoughts tend to drift back to his ‘wife’ and how he might ‘exploit’ her. Shakespeare uses this short interaction to create a tone of playfulness. This also starts to reveal the theme of how gender roles affect how we act and treat others. The Lord, much like the author is in control of the situation and finds it amusing that Sly even believes that Bartholomew is his wife and does not recognize his as the page that he is. This show the comedy that is about to ensue. Also, the mystery and the switching of roles, as in Bartholomew, foreshadows how others in the play will disguise themselves to get the response that they want. His shrewish actions in the beginning, becoming drunk, could also show that with the right environment, it is possible to change the demeanour of a person.
ReplyDeleteYour analysis brought up some new ideas I hadn’t considered before. I agree that environment can affect perception, but I also think that the way one perceives himself, such as Sly thinking of himself as a lord rather than a peasant, can affect their thoughts and expectations. Like you said, his manner of speaking changes when he comes to believe he is a lord. Before that, he spoke in short, choppy sentences that sounded less formal and of high status, such as “Y’ are a baggage: the Slys are no rogues; look in the chronicles; we came in with Richard Conqueror.”
DeleteShakespeare begins with an induction to create a fundamental structure to the subject of the story. In the induction of “The Taming of the Shrew”, Shakespeare writes a story about a poor beggar who encounters a lord while he is passed out drunk. The lord decides to try to play a prank on him by ordering his servants to take him home and treat him like a lord, but simultaneously will answer the question “Would not the beggar forget himself?” (2). This question could be the framework for the theme of this play and may give insight on the purpose for the creation of this story. Shakespeare plans to show that environmental factors is what affects people and how they view themselves. The induction is comparable to a social experiment, with the same purpose; to give a better understanding of human nature. The lord uses horrendous diction when he first encounters Sly. Through the use of this diction, Shakespeare establishes the mindset the lord had towards beggars and potentially just the lower class. He comments that Sly was a “monstrous beast! How like swine he lies! Grim death, how foul and loathsome is thine image!” (2). By using such demining words, his thoughts about Sly and how despicable he is reflected onto the reader. Since Sly is the first major character introduced, the reader has a stronger connection with him rather than the lord. Due to this connection, in this scene, the reader feels belittled and disrespected; establishing the power and dominance that the lord has in the story. The induction helps the reader recall the concepts of power and dominance. This will then help them to understand the topic of “Taming of the Shrew”
ReplyDeleteIn Act I, Lucentio uses allusions and diction to create a romantic tone and illustrate his profound love for her. First of all, he tells Tranio that he is as dear to him “as Anna to the Queen of Carthage” (I.i.15). According to ancient Greek sources, the Queen of Carthage adored her sister, Anna. Although this doesn’t connect to Bianca, this allusion still sets the tone for love and adoration. The next mythology reference appears when Lucentio says, “I saw sweet beauty in her face, / Such as the daughter of Agenor had, / That made great Jove to humble him to her hand, / When with his knees he kiss’d the Cretan strond” (I.i.16). Just as Jove, or Zeus, saw beauty in the daughter of Agenor, Europa, Lucentio immediately falls for Bianca. This allusion also reflects the theme of the objectification of women, as Zeus abducted Europa and sexually abused her on the island of Crete. Lucentio further expresses his feelings by using the word “kiss’d” to express something other than its literal meaning. More subtleties can be seen when Lucentio continues, “Tranio, I saw her coral lips to move / And with her breath she did perfume the air” (I.i.16). Using the color coral to describe Bianca’s lips allows the reader to imagine her beauty, Furthermore, the metaphor of her breath “perfuming the air” adds olfactory imagery and makes the reader think of a good-smelling, graceful, elegant young woman. Lucentio’s elegant use of language expresses the passionate feelings he has for her as well as mirroring Bianca’s own elegance throughout the scene.
ReplyDeleteI also found his constant referral to Greek mythology very intriguing. Also, that his passion would lead him to even switching places with his servant to better become acquainted with Bianca. When Biondello asks a simple question of why there clothes are switched, Shakespeare demonstrates though this interaction the humor of Lucentio when he replies with, “‘t is no time to jest” (1.1.18) when in fact he himself is acting the role of another and is being portrayed as the one who is actually jesting at the situation. Shakespeare also uses repetition to show Lucentio’s passion as he cries, “I burn, I pine, I perish,” (1.1.17) repeatedly showing the physical pain he has with not being with Bianca. In your last comment of how he describes loving her for just her physical beauty really made me think about why he would love her with so much passion from just seeing her once. Shakespeare could be foreshadowing that Bianca is only loved for her Physical appearance and not her actual inner qualities or lack of. Also relating to the societal norms of that time and not really caring about your wife other than to make the man look better as like with an accessory, also mentioned by the other two suiters in the previous interaction.
Delete“Petruchio
ReplyDeleteSignior Hortensio, ‘twixt such friends as we
Few words suffice; and therefore, if thou know
One rich enough to be Petruchio’s wife,
As wealth is burden of my wooing dance,
Be she as foul as a Florentius’s love,
As old as Sibyl, and as curst and shrewd
As Socrates’ Xanthippe, or a worse,
She moves me not, or not removes at least
Affection’s edge in me, where she as rough
As are the swelling Adriatic seas.
I come to wive it wealthily in Padua.”
(I.ii.62-72)
This excerpt from act one, shows the introduction of the character Petruchio. Petruchio seems from this passage to be a person that enjoys material wealth. He talks about someone that is “rich enough to be Petruchio’s wife” (I.ii.65). The way that he talks about himself also gives the notion that he thinks that he is above other people. Talking about someone being rich enough to be his wide shows that he believes that he is above the lower classes, and that some people are not rich enough for him to even consider. Shakespeare purposely used these words so that the reader is able to understand Petruchio’s position in society as well as his mindset/personality. Shakespeare also tells the reader that money matters to Petruchio more than the qualities of his wife. He shows that he loves wealth, and says that it doesn't matter even if the woman is “foul” or “old”.
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ReplyDeleteIn the first act of William Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew, the audience is introduced to the first part of the actual story. Act one scene one introduces the audience to Katherine, who would be considered the story’s “shrew”. Katharine been seen as the town’s bad tempered aggressive woman, is the character in which the play’s title suggests will be “tamed”, or be “taught” how to properly act. In the first scene of act one the audience is bombarded with the feelings and views of Katherine that other characters posses, yet we see little of what Katherine is truly like or how she feels, the audience is yet to learn about her true motives and intentions, yet the audience assumes that she is a rude and bossy woman mainly based on the comments of others. This is seen in the very first line on the matter of Katherine from the character Gremio, reading "She's too rough for me" (1.1.55). And soon after that the audience hears another comment made by Gremio saying “though her father be very rich, any man is so very a fool to be married to hell" (1.1.115). However in Act one we hear very little from Katherine herself, with her only having four lines in the entire first act. Shakespeare purposely makes this character display very little character traits to the audience at the beginning of the book before we see Katherine’s actual character, yet the audience has already learned to despise this character before they know much about her. With Katherine Shakespeare is demonstrating how quickly we are to judge someone based off of other’s premonitions. This may also relate to the story of Christopher Sly, and how we while the audience knows nothing much of besides one scene, instantly judges him as a drunk slob who likely deserves such a prank to that, that is given to him in the induction.
ReplyDeleteThrough the use of negative diction in Act 1 of “Taming of the Shrew”, Shakespeare diminishes the reputation of Katherine while the creating the effect of distaste on the reader. Imitating a social situation that frequently happens to many people, Katherine is introduced through secondary sources; from the characters Gremio and Horatio. Gremio and Horatio are evidently dissatisfied by the supposed personality of Katherine saying that “…she’s too rough for me” and “no mates for you, Unless you were of gentler, milder mould” (13). Gremio describes Katherine as being “too rough” or that her words and actions should be “gentler” and “milder”. These qualities that Bianca’s suitors use to portray Katherine to have, are considered to be distasteful which creates an impact on how the reader thinks about her. Because the readers don’t have any knowledge about the characterization of Katherine, they quickly accept the accusation the Gremio and Horatio make. It is also important to point out that the characterization of Katherine is forced about to the reader rather than their own interpretation of the character because this further destroys Katherine’s reputation. Since she does not have any actions to defend the accusations that are said unto her, the only association the reader has to her are the words “too rough” and that she should be more “gentler”. Following Gremio and Horatio, the readers feel that Katherine is an unpleasant character and may even conclude that she will become an antagonist. With such an arguably “unfair” characterization for Katherine, Shakespeare will later us this to introduce his theme and purpose of the story. But for Act 1, the way Katherine is characterized will set the foundation for the Shakespeare’s message.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your insights on Katherine, and that she plays a major role in conveying the theme of the play. As you mentioned, she is a very flat character that is only described by the negative comments from other characters. Although this may not be apparent in Act I, her static character reflects the way that women were seen in this society; not dynamic or complex, but rather simple, unfeeling animals. I also think Shakespeare stresses the importance of Katherine’s shameful character in order to provide a contrast to Bianca, who is described as “sweet” and “beautiful” and even compared to a goddess, Minerva. These antithetical characters parallel to our opposite selves in our foil project!
DeleteIn Act II, Shakespeare uses consonance and visual imagery to exaggerate the wealth of Bianca’s suitors while catching the audience’s interest with flowery language and thoughts of luxuries. Near the end of the act, Gremio and Tranio are arguing about who has more affluence to offer Bianca in order for Baptista to decide who should be her husband. Gremio starts off listing all the many things of value he has to offer, including “Tyrian tapestry”, “ivory coffers”, “cypress chests”, and “milch-kine to the pail” (II.i.39). This elaborate description is full of visual imagery and makes the reader/listener think of all the many fancy household objects one would like to have. There are also a lot of consonant sounds in these phrases, such as the “t”-sound, “s”-sound, and the “ch”-sound. This makes the passage richer and emulates the vast diversity of luxuries Gremio is discussing. Consonance is also included in his mention of “Valance of Venice”, which not only has alliteration that adds to the ornamental language, but also references the affluent city of Venice. Gremio’s very detailed and fanciful description is in vain, however, since Tranio ends up winning the argument to court Bianca. On a different note, this excerpt from Gremio adds to the comedic attitude of the play. Gremio is an old, arrogant man whom most audiences would not see fit for such a beautiful young girl as Bianca, so it is amusing that he tries so hard to win her marriage. Furthermore, this passage enforces Shakespeare’s insight that the suitor is judged merely by how much money he has, rather than how he will actually treat his wife. One could even argue that in this way, men are objectified by wealth just as women are by beauty.
ReplyDeleteI liked how you pointed out that the suitor is judged by the amount of money they possess rather than their personality or how they treat their wife. Though wealth is an attainable asset unlike beauty or appearance I think that wealth can actually be viewed as beauty. Standards of beauty change as time passes by, but the attractiveness of wealth has not gone away. While we do shun those who marry for money, it is interesting that all this time this standard of beauty has never changed. I feel like today, though we arranged marriages aren’t common, people are marrying people for their money anyways. I would also like to point out that Petruchenio wants to marry Katherine solely because her father is rich. So, women can also be objectified by wealth also.
DeleteIn act II of William Shakespeare’s “The Taming of the Shrew”, the audience sees another glimpse of classic Shakespeare humor. In this one scene act, Petruchio attempts to “woo” Katherine, a task he knows to be impossible. With a plan of simply ignoring all terrible comments she makes, and pretending to view all her attributes as nothing but beautiful, Petruchio confuses Katherine. The back and forth dialogue between Katherine and Petruchio exemplifies a lot of humor within the play. PET: “Who knows not where a wasp does wear his sting? In his tail. KATH. In his tongue. PET. Whose tongue? KATH. Yours, if you talk of tales, and so farewell. PET. What, with my tongue in your tail? Nay, come again, Good Kate; I am a gentleman—” (2.1.210-215). Here there is clear innapropriate humor that Shakespeare uses to captivate the audience and make the emotions and feelings behind the story seem so very real. The importance of humor in Shakespeare’s play is to add a new layer to the story. With the use of humor, the audience does not only get a story but they are receiving an experience, with humor Shakespeare immediately captivates the audience and brings them emotionally closer to the story’s characters in order for them to care more about the ups and downs the story posses. Due to the classic and proper writing style that Shakespeare uses, the humor, especially that of crude humor can easily go over the reader's head if they are not paying attention, this makes Shakespeare’s sense of humor in his writing that more special and unique.
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ReplyDeleteThroughout Act II, Petruchio’s main goal is to please all of the other people around him in order to make sure that he can marry Katherine. Petruchio is very friendly towards Katherine and complements everything about her.
ReplyDelete“I find you passing gentle. ‘T was told me you were rough and coy and sullen, And now I find report a very liar; For thou art pleasant, gamesome, passing courteous, But slow in speech, yet sweet as springtime flowers” (II.35).
In this passage Petruchio comments on the qualities of Katherine and how great she is. Although it is uncalled for, as nothing in the conversation suggested that she was otherwise, Shakespeare decides to have this passage to emphasize Petruchio’s actions. He even turns a snide remark by Kate into a sexual joke.
“Petruchio. Who knows not where a wasp does wear his sting? In his tail.
Kate. In his tongue.
Petruchio. Whose tongue?
Kate. Yours, if you talk of tales, and so farewell.
Petruchio. What with my tongue in your tail? Nay, come again.
Good Kate; I am a gentleman” (II.i.).
In this passage Katherine takes a shot back at Petruchio, but he plays it off and makes a joke out of it. Shakespeare puts this passage in to emphasize Petruchio’s behavior and to give the passage a slightly comedic effect.
In Act 2 of “Taming of the Shrew”, Shakespeare creates the dominant effect of surprise to convey the theme of the importance of first impressions. In the characterization of literary characters, the way the author introduces the character creates a lasting effect of how the reader portrays the character. This method actually uses the natural human tendency to judge people by their first impression. Shakespeare begins the next scene with a surprising setting; Bianca tied to a chair by Katherine. Katherine demands Bianca to tell her which suitor she prefers best, but Bianca will not tell her. By starting the scene with high energy and a negative appearance towards Katherine, the audience or reader become quick to judge about Katherine. They view her as horrible or maybe even crazy as their first impression of her. This first impression will later be used by Shakespeare that people should not be quick to judge when Katherine suddenly becomes silent when Petruchenio insists on marrying her. The silence she has symbolizes her true self in which people are not constantly bombarding her with insults. The reason why people do not favor her is because of the terrible first impressions she has on the different character. In the story, Shakespeare portrays Kate as being loud and irrational, using other character like her father saying “…for shame thou hilding…” (29). Starting early on with the disappointment of her father, this solidifies the reader’s negative view on Katherine. By solidifying this view, it will help the reader understand that Katherine is actually just misunderstood which supports the importance of first impressions
ReplyDeleteIn Act II, Petrucio starts his taming of Katherine. At first they continually banter back and forth while both Gremio and Tranio, as Lucentio, try and woo Bianca. Katherine only has words of hate in the beginning, very witty and plays off of what Petruchio is saying. However, every time, Petricio changes these remarks into a somewhat sexual dialect. As when Petruchio seemingly asks Katherine to, “come, sit on [him]” (II. I. 34). Katherine tries to turn it back on him saying that Petruchio is more of the ass in the relationship. Once again, Petrucio replies with, “women are made to bear, and so are [you]” (II. I. 34). SHakespeare's use of banter and sexual innuendos show the humor of the situation and that Katherine has now found someone who does not at once leave her and not have a conversation with her. The turning point in this Act was the moment Petrucio proclaimed that, “upon Sunday is the wedding-day” (II. I. 37.). After Katherine's singular response of reject, she is internally silenced and does not speak the entire rest of the act. Baptista, contrary to what might be normal in this era, does not even ask Katherine, but replies by giving his acceptance of the marriage and agreeing to Sunday as the wedding date. This shows the repression of female opinion and they are treated like a piece of property only to be bought. This also appears with the ‘price’ of Bianca later in the Act where Gremio and Tranio argue about who would be able to provide for her when she is a widow, basically who has the most wealth. This turns into lavishing diction that Shakespeare uses to show how these two men boast their right to earn Bianca with wealth and never actually mention Bianca herself, but only as if she were a possession to add to their overwhelming sources of wealth.
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ReplyDeleteIn Act three of Taming of the Shrew, Shakespeare uses metaphor to reveal that Petruchio views Katherine as a servant rather than a romantic partner. After Petruchio and Katherine are married, Petruchio argues with Katherine about leaving immediately rather than attending the party after. In their conversation Petruchio reveals his thoughts about how he values his bride saying “Nay, look not big, nor stamp, nor stare, nor fret; I will be master of what is mine own” (52). Using a direct style of language Shakespeare creates a commanding tone in Petruchio’s comment. With this tone in mind, the sentence transitions into Petruchio’s declaration “I will be master of what is mine own”(52). Here Petruchio declares his supposed ownership of Katherine using the commanding tone that was earlier established. Saying that he owns Katherine, displays that he does not care about her emotions or opinions because he appears to view her as an object that you can own, rather than a human being. To further show his declaration of ownership over Katherine, he says “She is… My horse, my ox, my ass (52). Petruchio compares his bride to a “horse”, an “ox” and an “ass”; animals that are commonly used for farming and labor. The fact that he compares her to animals of labor clearly implies that he views her as a servant that serves him and he expects her to obey his orders. Not only to obey him, but also without question and with full subordination like a “master” to his “ass” (52). This follows the story’s theme of the objectification of women as the concept of ownership usually refers to objects or animals rather than wives like the newly wed Katherine.
ReplyDeleteFelix, I agree that this is what Petruchio is doing, however, I think this might be a bit of trickery on Patricio's part. Like almost giving her a taste of her own medicine, to ‘break her’ like an animal. I really liked how you mentioned that she once again is being called an animal and is being spoken about. Petrucio obviously changes character from the day that he first interacted with Katherine. However, Baptista does not seem to care in the least that his daughter is being treated this way, letting Petrucio take Kate away even before their wedding celebration. He moves straight into finding a husband for Bianca and saying that Bianca will now, “take her sister’s room,” (III. II. 52) a sign that she is now the most favored and important. Bianca also does not seem to have a problem with this saying that, "being mad herself, she's madly mated," (III. II. 52) showing that her sister has found the right match for her witty words.
DeleteIn the beginning part of Act 3, the two ‘tutors’ try to woo Bianca while also trying to impress her with their skills of teaching. Lucentio, the literary tutor, recites a piece of Latin that has very little to do with anything and is like he is just reading out of a text book. When Bianca asks him to ‘construe it’ (III. I. 43.) or interpret what he's saying he replies with what is on his mind. He reveals that he himself is Lucentio and that their plan is to woo her with deception. THis however is interrupted by Hortensio, who speaks in more of a hurries tone with not half as many caesarea as when Lucentio is talking. This shows How more laid back Lucentio os and how much Hortensio really wants to woo Bianca. Shakespeare's adds the both of the tutors break the fourth wall in this scene, realizing that one another is trying to woo the same girl. When Hortensio breaks this fourth wall he comments about how, “fiery and forward” (III. I. 43) Lucentio is. Bianca however at the end of the quarrel between the two suitors seems to favor ‘Licio’ who is played by Lucentio. Although her last words are addressed to both and it shows how she know that she really has no choice in the matter and must treat both of them with respect, not favoring one over the other. When talking to Bianca, these men are most different with her then while talking ‘about’ Katherine. They woo directly to her, but with the response of her they seem to be more talking to the other, protecting what could be theirs. Shakespeare uses references to past greek mythology, Ajax, to compare his characteristic with that of the powerful male in the Trojan War. The uses of this gives a visual image in the reader's mind, but also might be used by Lucentio to try and once again impress Bianca.
ReplyDeleteIn the second and third scenes of Act III, Petruchio creates a chaotic scene and himiliates himself and Kate. From coming to his marriage dressed in rags to hitting the priest to forcing Kate to abruptly leave the ceremony with him, he has created a complete disaster. This chaos serves to show that no matter how a husband acts, his wife was expected to agree with him and stay loyal to him no matter what. In the beginning of the second scene, when Petruchio is lare for the ceremony, Katherina speakes her greivances by saying, "I must, forsooth, be forced / To give my hand, opposed against my heart, / Unto a mad-brain rudesby, full of spleen" (III.ii.45). Kate is distressed that she is forced to marry such a apthetic man against her will, which is expressed by the alliteration in repeating the "f"-sound, since it emulates disgust and shoves it in the reader's face. Shakespeare also uses synecdoche to provide a play on words with body parts. By using the expression "hand" to represent marriage, and "heart" to represent Kate's desire and free will, this clever line catches the reader's attention and lets them know that this is significant to the theme of the play. In addition, Kate's complaint has a sentimental tone, almost of defeat, in stark contrast to her snappy aggresiveness in the beginning of the play. Kate's, in essence, defeat demonstrates the strength of the societal push to become a subserviant women. Near the end of the act, Pertuchio claims, "They shall go forward, Kate, at thy command… I will be master of what is mine own: She is my goods, my chattels; she is my house, / My household stuff, my field, my barn…" (III.ii.52). Petruchio flat out states that Kate is his property and must obey him, but covers up this fact with sweet words and calling her Kate. Even with women who start out stubborn and independent, Shakespeare claims, women can easily be won over.
ReplyDeleteWhat I find interesting about your analysis is your comparison with Katherine and Petruchio’s servants. Like a blog post I did a while back, I explained that Katherine was more of a servant to Petruchio rather than a romantic partner since she compares her to different animals in the past. Actually, in the third scene Petruchio once again compares her to an animal. So I don’t believe there is actually much of a difference between the servants and Katherine except her boiling attitude. Katherine must still be tamed which is the reason why Petruchio is not treating her exactly like his servants. She is still not willing to submit to him. This treatment follows the story’s theme of the role of women in the family in which they pretty much serve their husband as if he were her master.
DeleteIn the first scene of Act IV, Petruchio’s frustration and verbal abuse of his servants is expressed by the use of repetition and derogatory diction. Since Petruchio is probably a little stressed out in carrying out his plan of “taming” Katherina, and since his servants made some trivial mistakes, he flies into a rage about how useless they are. He starts when he arrives at the country house, saying, “Where be these knaves? What, no man at door / To hold my stirrup nor take my horse!” (IV.i.56) First, he calls his servants “knaves”, which basically means he’s calling them jerks or careless men, which is the beginning of the many pejorative names he will call them. Then, his complaints at no servant to take his horse not only express his discontent, but also suggest how demanding and dependent on servants the wealthy people are. Furthermore, when one of the servants frantically says that he is “here, sir”, Petruchio sneers mockingly, “Here sir! here sir! here, sir! here, sir!” (IV.i.56) Petruchio uses repetition here to display his impatience and excite the audience with a repeated phrase, for they get to see him become angry. Petruchio continues by exclaiming, “You logger-headed and unpolish’d grooms! What, no attendance? no regard? no duty?” (56) More derogatory diction can be seen as he refers to them by interesting and unique, but offensive, names. Later, he continues this pattern by using terms like “peasant swain” and “malt-horse drudge.” Using a variety of phrases like “logger-headed” not only further illustrates his contempt, but also keeps the audience interested by surprising them with novel and absurd epithets. Also in this line, parallel structure appears with the repetition of “no” and the repeated use of questions. This repletion helps the angry words tumble out of his mouth and demonstrate just how outraged he is. On another note, Petruchio’s manipulation of his servants almost mirrors that of Kate, since he is abusing her and controlling her throughout Act IV.
ReplyDeleteI agree that he is bossing around his servants in a degrading manner, but i thought this was more of an act than a rage. For one of his servants even mentioned that he was more shrewish than she. And the question of Nathaniel of, “Peter, didst ever see the like?” (4.1.173) This seems to reflect that this is not normally how Petrucio would act. This is again confirmed by Petruchio's monologue, stating that he has, “begun [his] reign,” (4.1.182) and that he will be in control of her. In order to do so, i think he understands that he has to put on an aggressive demeanor to make her feel lesser, more servant like. Treating her the same as her does with all of the servants she will then become as one of them, fitting into the role that society has on women during this time period. Also, when he speaks aside to his servants without Kate, he seems much less demanding and demeaning. As when he is talking to Hortensio saying, “thou wilt see the tailor paid,” making it nice and making a gesture that is not preposterous as he had just portrayed himself in the scene before (4.3.162).
DeleteFulfilling the title of the story, Shakespeare uses metaphor, rhyme, and parallel structure to reveal how Petruchio tames Katherine. In the first scene, Petruchio explains how he will tame her newly wedded wife saying “My falcon now is sharp and passing empty; And till she stoop she must not be full-gorged, For then she never looks upon her lure” (58). Here Petruchio compares Katherine to a falcon, a predator in the animal kingdom. Like the falcon, Katherine is has a dominant or predatory attitude, driving away numerous men from courting her. To subdue Katherine, Petruchio plans to execute his plan the same way a falcon is trained. A falcon does not become simply deceived by decoys and knows the presence of a “lure”, but is best to “keep it watchful”. Falcons are at the top of the food chain and when something does not react to their attacks or presence, they begin to think that that thing must be more powerful than itself. Similar to the training of an actual hawk, Petruchio tempts Katherine of food and sleep to minimize her feeling of control over her condition, ignoring the falcon’s warnings and attempts to establish dominance. After continuously depriving her of dinner, Petruchio finally gives her food then saying, “ Will we return unto thy father’s house, And revel it as bravely as the best, With sulken coats and caps and golden rings, With ruffs and cuffs and fardingales and things” (65). By saying that he will “doll” Katherine up with fine things, he expects Katherine to submit to his control because she would feel indifferent to subordination since she will be lavished with such expensive objects. Using rhyming and parallel structure, Petruchio establishes a feeling of success on Katherine to allow her to be subdued. The taming of Katherine also follows the theme of objectifying women as once again Katherine is compared to an animal; something you can own and control.
ReplyDeleteIn Act 4 there are two different ideas being discussed, but both relating to each other very much so. The first is the idea of ‘kill[ing] a wife with kindness”(4.1.201). This is portrayed in the way Petrucio treats Kate. However, with his constant side comments on keeping the stuff for later, saying that when she is ‘gentle,’ then she ‘shall have one too’ (4.3.71) referring to the hat and dress of the time and fashion. Kate is seemingly miserably married to this show of a husband. She had no choice, but their similarities sparked her interest from the very beginning.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, Bianca is being wooed only for her looks, Lucentio only sees her beauty, and even will put himself down to the status of a servant to woo her. Hortensio, making an oath to never woo her, after seeing her great love for another, decides to move on and search out another women. Hortensio seems to be the only one who actually wants, “kindness in women,” and “not their beauteous looks” (4.2.41). Once he deems that she does not love him, he moves on as though she were never there and he was never in love. This is quite odd for him however because in the previous acts, he has competed in battles of the tongue to see if him or Lucentio were better paired for her. However, he sees through just her beauty and does not seem to find kindness or a reciprocation of love to him. Shakespeare has both of these contrasting scenes in the same act to foreshadow how each marriage will ultimately end. One out of beauteous looks and one out of shared similarities and forced submission.
In act 3 of William Shakespeare's “The Taming of the Shrew”, The audience is thrown into one of the most important scenes of the play, that being the wedding. During the wedding in the second scene, Shakespeare uses symbolism to convey Petruchio’s attitude towards Katherine. One example of symbolism is the horse he rides on, “Why, Petruchio is coming in a new hat and an old jerkin, a pair of old breeches thrice turned, a pair of boots that have been candle-cases, one buckled, another laced, an old rusty sword ta'en out of the town-armory, with a broken hilt, and chapeless; with two broken points: his horse hipped with an old mothy saddle and stirrups of no kindred;” (III.II.42-48). Objects such as an old pair of breeches, the worn out boots (one buckled and one laced), a rusty sword and broken sword, and a mothy saddle on his horse all come together to show the reader how Petruchio chooses to present himself at this wedding, Petruchio wanting to come off as rather carefree and casual chooses to purposefully attend his own wedding in the worst fashion possible, not to mention late. These details included during the wedding scene symbolize Petruchio’s attitude of indifference towards the wedding, as well as demonstrates his methods in “taming” katherine. Another detail I realized from reading the passage about Petruchio's arrival is how Petruchio get’s the exact reaction he wants, causing much commotion when he arrives drawing much attention and angering his bride Katherine. Katherine eagerly wishes for Petruchio to stay and wishes that he loves her, “Let me entreat you...Are you content to stay?...Now, if you love me, stay.” Petruchio get’s what he wants in Katherine desiring his love and attendance at the wedding. Petruchio was very smartly and boldly playing hard to get.
ReplyDeleteIn act 4 of William Shakespeare’s “The Taming of the Shrew” a quote in the third scene of act four is where the audience learns of Katherine's complete “taming”. The excerpt “Then God be blessed, it is the blessed sun, But sun it is not when you say it is not, And the moon changes even as your mind. What you will have it named, even that it is, And so it shall be still for Katherine. (IV.vi.19–23). Katherine receipts this excerpt after being told to tell Petruchio that the sun that she knows, and has always known, is truly the moon. Katherine has completely been transformed, or changed by Petruchio believing herself to live in his world, opposed to her own, in which she once lived in earlier in the book. This quotes's impact is to help readers digest how severe Katherine’s transformation truly is, from the once feisty and independent woman, to the loyal, almost slave like wife. Katherine’s transformation takes place all throughout the book with piling of arguments, conflict, and being put down or made to feel bad about herself, all part of Petruchio’s method to “tame” Katherine. In this scene Petruchio has completed his transformation or “taming” in full through his waves of mind games played on his victim Katherine. When Katherine says that the sun is not the sun when you say it is not, and the moon changes even as your mind, demonstrates her absent minded allegiance to Petruchio in an almost frightening way. While Katherine and others may view this codependent thought process as love, it really is manipulation by Petruchio.
ReplyDeleteIn act 4, Shakespeare shows that Petruchio believes that he has tamed Katherine, as he shows her to the bedroom before they had even eaten. "That is, to watch her, as we watch these kites. That bate and beat and will not be obedient. She eat no meat today, nor none shall eat; last night she slept not, nor tonight she shall not;" (IV.i.169-172). Petruchio thinks that by denying Katherine one of the basic needs, to eat, she will be forced to do what he wants her to do. The readers know that this will not work because of Katherine’s stubborn nature, making this a scene of dramatic irony. Petruchio longs to “tame” Katherine because he believes that they won’t have a successful relationship with her resisting him all the time. I think that Petruchio is trying a new strategy to win her over after his failed attempt earlier in the story. Petruchio and Katherine will not have a happy relationship if one of them does not change for the other one. This is something that many people will avoid today, because it is not a welcome concept to have to change yourself to make a relationship work.
ReplyDeleteIn Act IV of Taming of the Shrew, Katherine progresses more towards the ideal, subordinate wife (of the Elizabethan era), and farther from the stark snappy mouth that she was known for in the beginning. Although Katherine slowly turns from her quick witted, fiery tongued ways, moments of her former, reasoning self shine through at times: "Why, sir, I trust I may have leave to speak;
ReplyDeleteAnd speak I will; I am no child, no babe:
Your betters have endured me say my mind,
And if you cannot, best you stop your ears.
My tongue will tell the anger of my heart,
Or else my heart concealed it will break;
And rather than it shall, I will be free
Even to the uttermost, as I please, in words." (IV.iii.73–80). This response to Petruchio trying to decide what she will wear and in the grand picture, what is good and bad for her and what her opinions should be (there is a history: of food, sleep, clothes). Katherine attempts to make a stand against Petruchio's control, but fails. Previously in stand offs with male figures, they cower away and disregard her as a beast, but Petruchio stands erect against her billowing attempts to bend his will. Slowly, this aspect of her fades; Petruchio, the only fit ting key to her unfitting attitude, is also the key that turns her and drastically overcomes her.
At a later instant in Act IV, Katherine again challenges Petruchio's authority and reason, only to finally submit to his will and sovereignty,
"Forward, I pray, since we have come so far,
And it be the moon, or sun, or what you please:
And if you say please to call it a rush-candle,
Henceforth I vow it shall be so for me
...
But sun it is not, when you say it is not;
And the moon changes even as your mind.
What you will have it named, even that it is;
And so it shall be for Katherine."
(IV.v.12-15, 20-23)
This exchange of words, will, and power, displays Katherine: Submitting, meek, lowly in service; or perhaps mocking her unreasonable authority, appearing to abide with Petruchio's preference only to disprove and humiliate him at a later time.
Either way, dutifully or devising, Katherine is metamorphosing, adapting, coming around and turning into to the ideal submissive wife Peteuchio, and the rest of their society, accepts as a valued role. Only then will Katherine find what she is in most search of, a place to fit, a place to be, and a place to be accepted. (Though she may not agree with what the society wants and expects from a woman, she submits her will to it. Perhaps this is a display of the pressures of the larger population, norms, ideas/ideals, and the need for an ultimate goal (Kate's want to have a role) to influence all other aspects of personal volition (lowering her feministic qualities).)
You voiced all my thoughts in your analysis. I completely agree that, gradually, societal roles are conquering Katherine and her strong will, forcing into the role of the "ideal, subordinate wife", as you said it. She also might be afraid of becoming an "old maid", since unmarried women had no hope for a prosperous future in medeival times. This is expressed earlier by her comment of distress, "I must dance bare-foot on her wedding day / And for your love to her lead apes in hell." Although women are much more equal today, there is still a similar role expected of them by society.
DeleteIn the first scene of Act V, Tranio and the pedant's disguises are discovered and, in the next scene, Lucentio's scheme is revealed to the others as well. Their comic revelations continue Shakespeare's emphasis on disguise, and convey the theme that no disguise can last forever. Tranio even suggests this with his comment on Vincentio's angry behavior: "Sir, you seem a sober ancient gentleman by your habit, but / your words show you a madman" (V.i.78). In other words, Vincentio looks like a respectable man by his clothing, but his aggressive and angry way of speaking, although justified, is inappropriate and insolent. His words reveal his true attitude. Similarly, Tranio's luxurious clothing does not match his position as a servant. Although his disguise will prove effective for a while, eventually his true identity will be discovered. Still, it is impressive that Lucentio, the pedant, and Tranio's disguises had so much of an impact, allowing Lucentio to not only gain access to Bianca but also to get a fake father and approval for their marriage. Through the plot, Shakespeare has conveyed how much power one can gain from something trivial and absurd like clothing. He emphasizes this when Vincentio remarks, "O fine villain! A silken doublet! a velvet hose! a scarlet cloak! and a copatain hat! O, I am undone!" (V.i.78) His ornate visual descriptions of Tranio's clothing (disguised as Lucentio) remind the reader to think about clothing and the power it gave him. Vincentio lists off all of his fancy clothing, scolding him for dressing so excessively and expensively. Indeed, one can tell from his clothes that he is wealthy, and he is therefore treated with respect. Merely his clothing has given him control over others for the majority of the play, instead of him staying as a powerless servant. Therefore, through the disguise of characters, Shakespeare develops the theme that types of clothing play a major role in the social status of different people within a society.
ReplyDeletePeople often say that the Taming of the Shrew is the most offensive work Shakespeare has ever written. This is due to the play’s discussion about the expectation of women to fully submit to the husband. Through the use of repetition, this can be shown in the end of Act V when the three newly married men, Lucentio, Petruchio, and Hortensio, place a bet to see whose wife was the most obedient. Succeeding in his plan and taming her, Petruchio’s wife Katharina was the only wife to obey the order to come to them allowing him to win the bet. Katherina is then ordered to gather the other two wives to confront their husbands why they did not obey. Petruchio then “charges” Katherine to elaborate the duties of women to their husbands (84). She says that the husband is “thy lord, thy life, thy keeper, thy head, thy sovereign” and expects “no other tribute at thy hands but love, fair looks and true obedience; too little payment for so great a debt” (85). Here the wife who should be offended by the idea of total submission to the husband actually agrees and follows this expectation. By the repeating the word “thy”, Katherine further glorifies the husband which in turn exposes her total submission to him. She also justifies this action saying that “obedience” is “too little payment for so great a debt” (85) It is clear to why people, especially women, are offended by this play because Shakespeare not only allows Katherine to justify her own mindless submission but continues on to saying “I am ashamed that women are so simple” (85) diminishing the value of the entire female sex! While it may not be the intent of Shakespeare, he has created quite an offending piece of work, but this might also be done on purpose. He may have actually made it so offensive, that the male audience members (some even husbands) to become aware of such a discriminatory belief of the total and mindless obedience of wives to their husbands.
ReplyDeleteIn Act 5, scene 2 of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew the reader is able to witness to complete transformation of Katherine, similar to Act 4, Act 5 displays a lot of Katherine’s own original thought and feelings towards her husband. “ Thy husband is thy lord, thy life, thy keeper, Thy head, thy sovereign, one that cares for thee, And for thy maintenance commits his body. To painful labour both by sea and land, To watch the night in storms, the day in cold, Whilst thou liest warm at home, secure and safe, And craves no other tribute at thy hands But love, fair looks, and true obedience, Too little payment for so great a debt.” (V.ii.140-148). Here Katherine feels fortunate to have Petruchio in her life and feels as if she almost owes herself or her life to him. Katherine in this Act has completely transformed due to Petruchio’s manipulation. In the line “Thy life, thy keeper, Thy keeper” she has devoted her life to the man who she once despised. The very important question that this arises is how did such a major transformation take place? How was Petruchio so capable to taming such a shrew as Katherine? From the play I find that while Petruchio did “Domesticate” or “tame” Katherine like an animal, the more important change in her transformation was in her perspective of Petruchio and love in general. Not only was Katherine domesticated, or manipulated to act in a proper fashion but she truly believed the words she was saying, and felt she loved or owed her life to Petruchio. Kate’s perspective originally of Petruchio is a stuck up arrogant man, she later changes her perspective to seeing him a rude, or unwanting of her attention, something she isn't used to, eventually she finds herself longing for Petruchio’s attention and wanting him to be around her, changing her perspective of him. Here she truly and honestly feels as though she has fallen in love with Petruchio, not only due to the domestication process, but from her own personal perspective.
ReplyDeleteIn Act V of William Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew, the strength of ideology and personal commitment are compared. Kate's speech, which is directed towards the other wives, chastising them for their disobedience and disrespect, displays how a strong head in any direction will result in boldness, even when redirected. It is complementary to the theme of how disguises will always unravel, be revealed, and exposed as faulty; but shows how the true core of a person can remain unshaken although outside expressions may change. Katherine's journey from a head strong, feministic, fiercely independent woman who had a deep unsurfaced fear of becoming an old maid displaced from society; to a submissive, tamed, obedient, servient wife, both extremes on a spectrum of conformity, show that although Kate's ideology and motivators changed drastically, her passion, devotion, and realization of her cause remained constant and firm. Whether she was determined to be a bashful criticizer of men, or an all loyal, husband serving wife, Kate's full commitment to her personal belief was unchanged. (This personal belief was altered, thus was the purpose of the story.)
ReplyDeleteThis change in Kate is seen when comparing the grace and control of her language in her speech to the out of control violence she committed in the beginning. Kate describes a husband as "...thy lord, thy life, thy keeper,/ Thy head, thy sovereign" (V.ii.140-1) and herself (the wife) as a, "... foul contending rebel,/ And graceless traitor to her loving lord" (V.ii.152-3). In opposition, Kate started as a bully to her sister, an embarrassment to her father, and screecher of men. Kate's control and eloquence and ability to submit herself comes from her taming and bridle, which was just as much her doing (choice) as Petruchio's.
In Act 5 of Taming of the Shrew, Shakespeare shows that Petruchio has finally tamed Katherine. He shows this by setting up a scene in which Petruchio, Lucentio, and Hortensio argue about who has the best wife. Katherine’s dialogue in this part of the act shows how she has finally given in to Petruchio. She outlines all of the duties that a wife should provide for her husband, and it is quite a lengthy speech. The only reason that Katherine said these things is because Petruchio was in a bet with two other men. This may show how women were objectified during the time period that the story was set in. I think that this also sheds a new light on what marriage meant to people during that time period. I think that marriage was a way for the father to “give away” the daughter rather than her choosing someone that may be ideal for her. This however, doesn't seem to be portrayed by Shakespeare as an abnormal event, and may be how most marriages were at the time.
ReplyDeleteI like how you pointed out that the father was essentially "giving away" his daughter especially when it is encouraged with money. What I do find have to disagree with is that this is not really the case with Baptista and his two daughters, Katherine and Bianca. Baptista never asked the two daughters to marry rich men, in fact he was actually fine with any suitor that can tame Katherine's fiery temper. In terms of freedom of choice, Bianca, who had much more suitors than her sister, could have married any suitor she wanted. In fact, her marriage with Lucentio was actually her choice rather than her father's. This reminds me to the reaction of the father when Katherine acted totally submissive to Petruchio and was treated like a servant. He was actually happy that her daughter is submissive to her husband. This follows the theme of the role of women in the household because not only did it apply to the new generation, t also applied for the old judging by the reaction of Katherine's father.
DeleteAct 5 really brings everything together, with Lucentio revealing who he is and Katherine proving that she has truly understood the reason behind her taming. Lucentio and Bianca’s marriage which is short and done without permission, is one that i found very interesting. The coincidence of the real Vincentio showing up only adds to the already chaos ensued by Lucentio in the beginning of the play. One of his major characteristics is that he is headstrong and thinks that everything will go as planned. The first instance is when he arrives and asks to, “Pardon, sweet father” (5.1.109.) while kneeling to his father. These are the first words spoken to his father after he has just been harassed by tranio and baptista, who were about to take him to prison. Lucentio puts on a sort of false innocence. By kneeling he is showing respect, but this might also be a son trying to get on his good side before breaking the news of his deception by disguising himself. His characteristic of not taking blame also comes out in this scene as well as the following. He blames his deception on ‘love’, that “Bianca’s love made [him] exchange [his] state with Tranio” (5.1.122-123.). However, he had not earned Bianca’s love before deciding to switch with Tranio. He tries to turn this back off of him, when actually, it was his love for Bianca that caused him to become deceitful. In the last scene, when they are calling their wives, Lucentio has over confidence in his wife, that their love will be enough. He even boasts and says that all of the money that he wins will be his own and Baptista will have no say in halves. When later entreating Bianca of why she did not come she replies with, “what a foolish duty call you this?” (5.2.125.). He yet again blames her for not coming and him then losing a hundred crowns. Lucentio has very short vision and even after Kate tells of how a woman should be loyal and commit to her husband, Lucentio finds fault with this saying that she should not be forward and should keep in their roles. Shakespeare is commenting on the roles of women through the role of Lucentio. He shows how men are overpowering and how they are overconfident that their plan will always work. Shakespeare is using Lucentio to show the extreme of a man who thinks that love is all that is needed and that a wife should be quiet like a possession. Through this play, Kate and Petruchio are seen as the odd ones in this play, starving and forbbing sleep, but this is what would have been good in that society. To have a woman speak out and to have her be a part and a base for her husband. However, Lucentio and Hortensio can only look after this ideal, for they think only to have to change their wives, when Shakespeare is also pointing to the men saying how their characteristics must also be changed.
ReplyDeleteYou included a lot of good commentary on the last act in your post. I agree that Lucentio was pleading for mercy he didn't really deserve, after lying to his father and indirectly causing his abuse by Tranio and the pedant. I also think this suggests that disguise can be powerful in getting what one wants, but it can also hurt relationships, such as Lucent with his father, Vincentio. You also mentioned that Lucentio thinks that all you need in a relationship is love, and I think this ignorance is proved wrong when Bianca refuses to obey him as the end. Ironically, Katherine and Petruchio seem to have a terrible relationship full of abuse and seemingly without love, yet he is the one who is successful in "taming" his wife.
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