Tuesday, August 4, 2009
The Taming of the Shrew
I found this play similar in certain areas to another one of Shakespeare's plays, Much Ado About Nothing. This play and The Taming of the Shrew both convey to be a romantic comedy, as well as involve disguise. The Taming of the Shrew is a comical play because disguise and deception are used throughout it and it keeps the reader intrigued. The concept of money based marriages are what drives two of the three weddings in this play. Baptista, the father of Bianca and Katherina, only allow them to marry once the suitor has stated what he has to offer in materialistic items such as money, land, and a home. When it comes time to pick a suitor for Katherina, there is only one because she is has a foul disposition. Bianca, however, has three men after her, two of which take on a disguise of an educator to become close to her. Shakespeare's play becomes confusing once the characters begins to switch roles, but once I was able to overcome the role playing I could understand what was happening and began to for see where the comedy was in the play. My favorite concept of the play was the whole idea of "taming the shrew." Katherina, with her foul disposition was the shrew and her husband Petruchio was her tamer. He plans on taming Katherina by starvation and lack of sleep, which is how a falcon is trained. I found this to be quite humorous because Petruchio's behavior was over the top and completely outrageous. This behavior is a symbol for the power he has over her because she continues to not eat and sleep and to wear unsuitable clothing. In the end of the play Shakespeare gives the reader a glance at what life is like for each character after the weddings have taken place, thus bringing the play to a close.
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Well from what you've written about the Taming of the Shrew it seems evident to me that Shakespeare's purpose in this play had something to do with sharing his opinions of various social aspects of his time. I imagine he makes the behaviors of the Tamer so extreme to exaggerate the power of men over women. Shakespeare's reference to marriages driven by money reminds me of The Tempest in which he criticizes people for being too "status-conscious."
ReplyDeleteIt seems as though the main point of this story is how much power men can have over women. Katherina seems to have no problem being treated poorly by her husband, simply because no other man will have her because of her "foul disposition." I was wondering how Katherina's life is after her wedding, and if Shakespeare revealed anything more about his disposition on what the roles of marriage are because it seems as though Shakespeare observed a certain marriage, perhaps his own or his parents, that was similar to this.
ReplyDeleteThat is a very interesting description of the play, it would seem to me that Shakespeare was trying to portray "over the top" caricatures with the various characters in the play as a way to create uniquely funny situations. Without reading the play itself, I'm not sure if Shakespeare was trying to make a point about something (as Abbey mentioned above about the "power of men over women") or rather he was just trying to make funny characters and situations for a play. I tend to lean towards the latter, since this is a romantic comedy, after all.
ReplyDeleteI have never read this play but how you described it seems interesting. I know 10 Things I Hate About You, but in that movie it seemed like Katherine held her own for most of the movie. It is interestin to see that she was "overpowerd" by her husband. It goes to show how hollywood changes things a bit...or a lot sometimes. That was just a thought you can ignore it if you want.
ReplyDeleteI thought the part about the falcon was interesting. I honestly never knew that was how you trained a falcon. Of Course I have never tried but that was pretty cool. And in that respect it seems like the men were treating the woman like animals. Just a thought.
Wow, this play is oddly similar to King Lear in the whole suitors, money, disguises, and deception. Deception is always great to read about and I think it is brilliant that two plays like King Lear and The Taming of the Shrew can take one concept like that. One is a tragedy and one is a comedy (I hope). Deception is not funny at all, but the way Shakespeare wrote it to seem fun and entertaining is genius. I am definetly not underestimating him anymore (see my comment on Danielle's The Tempest post).
ReplyDeleteI would assume that Katherina's "taming" is the most or one of the most important conflicts of the play, but what about Bianca? Because so many men pursue her, does that mean she's the opposite of Katherina: kind and submissive? How do the sisters' marriages differ?
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting to see the differences in male/female relationships between the play you described and modern day society. I think it is great that Shakespeare seemed to over do the faults of the characters. I think had he not done that, the people of the time (and even today) may not have understood the point it seems (from your description) he was trying to make about men being overly controlling and the strictness of society. However, this play does seem inetresting and worth reading.
ReplyDeleteTaming of the Shrew sounds like a very complex play. Shakespeare must have loved using deception in his plays, especially in these three plays we read, and in Much Ado About Nothing. Could he be pointing out it is a major flaw in humans?
ReplyDeleteI think there are many flaws in humans that haven't even been discovered. Things happen and you fid out what people are really like. It is sad sometimes and it is thought-provoking at other times. But in the end I think Shakespeare was a profound observer. If you spend a day at school without any contact with anyone and just listen and watch what other people do, you will notice things you normally wouldn't because you were too busy to care. Taking the time to understand human kind opens your eyes up to an entirely different species. You figure out that some people are truly nice despite the horrible things that have happened to them. You also figure out some people have a truly evil side. But these characteristics do not overpower people. Not unless you allow them to. Everyone has these evil, deceptive, or kind tendencies somewhere deep inside of them. It just takes the right time and the right place for them to slowly be discovered. Once we all discover our flaws and our strength and embrace them then we can truly understand our species. I think this is exactly what Shakespeare is trying to tell me at least when I read his work.
ReplyDeleteEm, what a great description of the play. Shakespeare seems to love deception and disguises, he uses them so often, sometimes it's hard to keep the chracters straight! Shakespeare also had a wonderful knack for showing real human crises and real human flaws in a way that is both funny and quite an eye-opener.
ReplyDeleteShakespeare also captures the men/women roles that in some places are still alive and well today. It makes you thankful that you're in a free country, marry whom you please.
The play seems exciting and entertaining and totally worth reading.
It seems to me that one of the underlying themes in the play was the power that men had over women during Shakespeare’s time, and in some cases, today. I assume that Katherina is the main character of the play, because she’s the shrew that’s being tamed. Is her sister similar to her in anyway? I mean, she has multiple men after her, so it seems she’d be quite the opposite of Katherina. Does that play into the story at all?
ReplyDelete