The Taming of the Shrew Summary
William Shakespeare

Biography Essay"He was not of an age, but for all time." So wrote Ben Jonson in his dedicatory verses to the memory of William Shakespeare in 1623, and so we continue to affirm today. No other writer,... Read more

Considered by critics, scholars, and the theater-going public the most important dramatist in the history of English literature, William Shakespeare occupies a unique position in the pantheon of great... Read more

William Shakespeare's reputation is based primarily on his plays. With the partial exception of the Sonnets (1609), quarried since the early nineteenth century for autobiographical secrets allegedly ... Read more

In the following essay, Kahn describes The Taming of the Shrew as a farce in which Katherine “subverts her husband's power without attempting to challenge it,” and argues that the... Read more

In the following excerpt, Rutter provides an overview of twentieth-century performances of The Taming of the Shrew, discussing the effects of feminist theory on the interpretations. Mess. Your honor&#... Read more

In the following essay, Priest discusses the conversion of Kate, and draws parallels between Petruchio—who transforms the unworthy, thus freeing and enriching them—and Christ. What has h... Read more

In the essay below, Thompson discusses recent reactions from feminist critics to The Taming of the Shrew. In the second half of 1992 I committed myself to two developments in my career that seemed to ... Read more

In the following essay, Sirluck argues that The Taming of the Shrew satirizes Elizabethan patriarchal society. Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew has been read and directed in a variety of w... Read more

In the excerpt below, Hall discusses Petruchio's manipulation of Kate's self-identity. We have already considered the first of Shakespeare's comedies to make a major use of the tr... Read more

In the essay below, Saccio examines the farcical nature of The Taming of the Shrew. After highlighting the negative ideas generally associated with farce, Saccio provides a positive appraisal of the f... Read more

In the following review, Smith praises the way in which Lindsay Posner's production of The Taming of the Shrew was not afraid to depict the play's dark elements, such as domestic violenc... Read more

In the essay that follows, Daniell contends that The Taming of the Shrew takes marriage quite seriously, and in that sense it is a true Shakespearean marriage play. Daniell studies the play's v... Read more

In the essay below, Martin proposes an examination of The Taming of the Shrew based on an understanding of the play's contemporary context, arguing that such a reading reveals that Petruchio&#x... Read more

In the essay below, Maguire analyzes the three forms of cultural control found in The Taming of the Shrew: the hunt, music, and marriage. To say that Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew is a ... Read more

In the following essay, Burns asserts that the play's unity is established through the frame created by Sly's disappearance in the first act, and the “disappearance” of the... Read more

In the essay that follows, Perret is concerned with the methods by which Petruchio “tames” Katherina in The Taming of the Shrew, demonstrating that Petruchio teaches by example how a wif... Read more

In the following essay, Brown reviews the ways in which Katherina and Petruchio differ from the traditional shrews and tamers depicted in medieval and Renaissance literature, advocating the idea that ... Read more

In the review below, Cousin examines two productions of The Taming of the Shrew. The critic maintains that although The Medieval Players' production raised interesting questions concerning gend... Read more

In the following review of Liz Shipman's 2001 staging of The Taming of the Shrew, Bruckner finds nearly all of Shipman's directorial interpretations beneficial to the drama and approves ... Read more

In the following essay, Gottlieb contends that The Taming of the Shrew should not be viewed as a farce with a determinate happy ending, but rather that the play demonstrates Shakespeare's ambiv... Read more

In the following essay, Schneider presents a feminist-materialist assessment of the social world depicted in The Taming of the Shrew, and maintains that in the play, the theater becomes a site of ... Read more

In the following essay, Pearson considers stage representations of The Taming of the Shrew as they reflect the changing social perceptions of women. From its first performance in about 1594 to the pre... Read more

In the following review of director Mel Shapiro's production of The Taming of the Shrew for The Public Theater in New York City's Central Park, Isherwood laments that an overemphasis on ... Read more

In the following excerpted review, Morley describes a traveling production of The Taming of the Shrew directed by Lindsay Posner in 1999 as “noisily simplistic but generally joyous.” Of ... Read more

In the following review, Gardner comments on the retro, 1970s styling and music of Victoria Liberatori's staging of The Taming of the Shrew with the Princeton Repertory Theatre in 2000. Gardner... Read more

In the following essay, Candido examines motifs of eating and drinking in The Taming of the Shrew. … it is clear that newly caught shrews always eat about their own weight of food daily. Ȃ... Read more

In the following essay, Blake argues that the critical reputation of The Taming of the Shrew has suffered because its comedic elements have often been considered farcical. In The Sense of Humor Stephe... Read more

In the following essay, Schleiner examines the characterization of Katherina from a feminist perspective. The new discipline of women's studies brings home more clearly than many others that hi... Read more

In the following essay, Maurer explores emendations in Shakespeare's play that substantially alter the characterization of Bianca, resulting in a less complex character than the playwright orig... Read more

In the following review, the Cooks contend that director Mark Lamos's 2003 Yale Repertory Theatre production of The Taming of the Shrew was disappointing, caused in part by the mediocre perform... Read more

In the following review of Phyllida Lloyd's 2003 Globe Theatre production of The Taming of the Shrew, Hemming contends that while Lloyd's all-female production “sacrifices subtlet... Read more

In the following essay, Detmer analyzes The Taming of the Shrew within the context of early modern reforms against wife-beating, and claims that Petruchio's manner of "taming" Kat... Read more

In the story of The Taming of the Shrew, by William Shakespeare, Christopher Sly plays a very minor part. At the beginning of the play he is kicked out an alehouse. While he's outside drunk a passi... Read more

Taming of the Shrew written by William Shakespeare and Ten Things I Hate about you, inspired by Shakespeare's play, Taming of the Shrew are two extravagant masterpieces that are able to capture an... Read more

William Shakespeare, author of 37 plays, 154 sonnets, and other works, has inspired the ancient world and still inspires the modern world with his brilliant use of words. One of his many plays, The T... Read more

`The Taming Of The Shrew' has been described as "Breathtakingly misogynist" and "Totally offensive to our age and society." Is this how you see the play" `The Taming Of The Shrew' was not only writ... Read more

In The Taming Of The Shrew, by William Shakespeare, main character Petruchio shows a very important change in attitudes, values, and behaviors in order to help his friend and be the Lord of his fam... Read more

"The Taming of the Shrew" is a play written by William Shakespeare of a "curst shrew" who goes through a vigorous transformation to become a "household Kate". "Ten Things I Hate About You" is a featur... Read more

23rd September Today is Sunday, the day I am scheduled to wed Petrucchio. We are all here gathered outside my father's house, except for Petrucchio, that is. It has now been two hours and there is s... Read more

Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew is about the taming of the feisty "shrew" Katherine by her husband, into a role of obedience. The play highlighted the marital situation that most in England duri... Read more

The Taming of the Shrew is essentially a play conveying many themes through one plot. The principal outline of the story shows a protective father (Baptista) allowing one of his daughters, Bianca; v... Read more

Many of William Shakespeare's plays were based on works written before him. The Taming of the Shrew was one of these. It was based on Supposes, but was changed fairly drastically from the original ... Read more

Men and Women In the 1400's and 1500's, most stories and fables consisted of men and husbands ruling and controlling the family, wife, and their women by force; the only means by which men set the s... Read more

The Taming of the Shrew is an amazing piece of literature from one of the world's most famous writers, William Shakespeare. Even though it is great it has been widely discussed around the world as bei... Read more

The Film, `10 Things I Hate About You', is a story which has been adapted from the play written by William Shakespeare known as 'The Taming of the Shrew'. The film, 10 Things I Hate About You is a ... Read more

William Shakespeare, a literary genius, composed a famous piece of literature in the late 16th Century that has defied time and became a universal text, valued for more than four hundred years. This f... Read more

Am I a lord, and have such a lady? Or do I dream? Or have I dreamed till now? I do not sleep. I see, I hear, I speak. I smell sweet savours, and I feel soft things. Upon my life, I am lord inde... Read more

The play "Taming of the Shrew" is a great play that expresses the idea of marriage and the notion of true love. Many people have mistaken true love for romance. However the two are quite different, th... Read more

Through a close analysis of William Shakespeare's `Taming of the Shrew" and Gil Junger's movie `Ten Things I Hate about You', a responder can identify with the values implicit in the society that pr... Read more

Taming of the Shrew Book Notes is a free study guide on Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare. Browse the summary below:   Author Biography / Context of the Work   One-Page Plot Sum... Read more