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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is Katharina’s response to Petruchio’s line, “Nay, come, Kate, come; you must not look so sour”?

2. What is Baptista’s last name in the play?

3. By what saint does Petruchio swear in Act II, Scene I?

4. Christopher Sly claims that the Slys are no rogues and that they came in with whom in Scene I of the Induction?

5. From where is Lucentio traveling in Act I, Scene I?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is an “induction”? What is the subject of the Induction in The Taming of the Shrew?

2. What can be discerned about Baptista’s daughters from the conversation in Act I, Scene I?

3. From where does Petruchio arrive in Act I, Scene II? What is his objective in Padua?

4. What matter of business does Baptista attend to after agreeing to Katharina’s marriage in Act II?

5. How would you characterize Tranio’s performance in his disguise in the play?

6. How does the character of Petruchio feel about social conventions?

7. How does the theme of disguise and role-playing apply to the Induction?

8. What characters (in disguise) are introduced in Act I, Scene II?

9. What takes place between Katharina and Bianca in the opening of Act II?

10. What plot do Lucentio and Tranio concoct in Act I, Scene I? What is their objective with this scheme?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the importance of dowers and dowries in the marriage contracts of sixteenth and seventeenth century Europe. How accurate is Shakespeare’s depiction in the play? What is the dowry agreed upon for Katharina? How much does Petruchio offer as a dower?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the setting of Padua and the cities of Pisa and Lombardy described in Act I, Scene I. How big is the city of Padua? Why has Lucentio stopped here in his travels? What clues from the text indicate the time period in which the narrative is set?

Essay Topic 3

Compare and contrast the characters of Katharina and Bianca in the play. How old are these sisters? How do their relationships with their father differ? How does Shakespeare effectively use contrast in illustrating Katharina and Bianca?

(see the answer keys)

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