Deceit in The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare
‘The Taming of the Shrew’ is a play written by William Shakespeare, an
English playwright and poet born in 1564. It was first performed in
1593 in Shakespeare’s first period as a playwright. It was later
published for the first time in 1623, seven years after Shakespeare’s
death. Despite the fact that Shakespeare is mostly known for his
tragedian plays, here in ‘The Taming of the Shrew’, he proves that he
was capable of writing comedies as well.
The word ‘comedy’ is described by the Collins English dictionary as ‘a
dramatic work of light and amusing character’. The same dictionary
defines ‘deceit’ as ‘the act or practice of deceiving’, which means to
mislead by deliberate misrepresentation or lies.
The element of controversy in the play is very important as ‘the
Taming of the Shrew’ incorporates many components that, in the time
that the play was written, would have been both unethical and
unacceptable, for instance the change of social classes between
Lucientio and Tranio following their role changes. The dramatic irony
linked to the ideas of disguise is due to the induction involving the
deception by the lord that leads sly to believe that he in fact is
also a lord that has been asleep for fifteen years, where in actual
fact he is just a drunken man that the lord believes need teaching a
lesson.
The effect that disguise would have on the audience, and on the rest
of the play is that it creates suspense and tension, as the audience
not only have to remember whom is disguised as whom, but also don’t
know when the disguises will be unveiled to the other characters in
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... as they are rich and can support his daughters well. In
some views this would be seen as a righteous act but in Elizabethan
culture there would have been many more elements to a husband that
should be taken into account for a daughter’s husband, not just wealth
and social class ‘Thou can assure my daughter greatest dower shall
have my Bianca’s love’. We can surmise from this that Baptista had
little respect or concern for the eventual husband of Bianca, and
demonstrates yet another type of deceit in the play.
To conclude, the play constantly indulges in the ideas of deceit,
enlisting in deceptive behaviours and actions to achieve something.
This leads us to believe that deceit is therefore a very key factor in
the entire play and without it the Taming of the Shrew would be
unsuccessful in its intentions as a comedy.
The term deceit is defined as an inclination or practice of misleading other people through lies or trickery. The word deceit has garnered a negative connotation in many people’s minds as it is commonly associated with ill intention and reserved for the antagonists of the story. However, the theme of deceit can take on a positive connotation because the authors can use deceit as a way to convey a critique of society during their time period. The author Molière, regarded as one of the greatest writers in the French language, published a comedy stage play titled Tartuffe in 1664 during the reign of Louis XIV. Tartuffe was a significant work because it criticized religious fanaticism in French society by using a form of deceit called hypocrisy,
In this world rumors and dishonesty happen to be everywhere, no matter where you are. Nowaday people start rumors just to hurt and insult people’s feelings that later on lead to dramatic events. In the story “Much Ado about Nothing”, we encounter different scenes that lead to rumors and deception. One scene that we encounter is when Don John, the bastard brother spreads rumors about Hero being disloyal to Claudio and Don Pedro to corrupt Claudio’s and Hero’s relationship. Another scene that we run into is when Ursula and Hero have a talk in the garden about how Benedick has love affection towards Beatrice. Later on, these two scenes play a huge role and become dramatic elements of the story. We will encounter on how rumors and dishonesty can destroy and corrupt not just one person, but many.
Petruchio physically asks her to sit on his lap “come sit on me” in a
As people live their lives, they will be met with various partial truths and misleading pieces of evidence, but Shakespeare reminds us in Macbeth that people should be cautious of the words they believe. They should judge the speaker’s character before they accept anything spoken by them even if there is partial truth in the words being spoken. Set in eleventh century Great Britain, Macbeth begins with the titular character, Macbeth, killing the armies of the Irish and Norwegians for his king, Duncan. He then receives a prophecy from three witches that he will be the future king of Scotland, which leads him down a dark and bloodied road. Deception is a key theme of this book for it is how the protagonist, Macbeth, is lead astray from loyalty to his king.
The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare What does the play say about attitudes toward love and marriage and about the relationship between the sexes? What might be the reaction of a modern audience to what takes place on stage? It could be said that “The Taming of the Shrew” by William Shakespeare is focused entirely on attitudes toward love and marriage and the relationship between the sexes. This is demonstrated in many ways throughout the play. For example in Act 1 Scene 1, Baptista Minola is telling his younger daughter’s suitors that they cannot pursue her until his older daughter, Katherina, is married.
in this play, women are used as a symbol of male power, or lack of it.
Power is the capability of influencing others in their behavior. It all connects to him trying to tame Katherine. He wants to change her behavior and he contains the power of doing this because at the end she respects him more than any other female would respect their husband. Throughout the play, The Taming of the Shrew, by William Shakespeare, Petruchio, Katherine 's husband, contains the power in the relationship because he is able to change her behavior.
A long time ago, a drunken man fell asleep outside an alehouse. This man, Christopher Sly, was discovered by a mischievous lord who took him into his home. The witty lord then convinced Sly that he was a lord, as well. The lord then put on a play for him. The play, The Taming of the Shrew, was about the two young daughters of Baptista. The youngest daughter, Bianca, wished to wed but her father, Baptista, would not allow this until his eldest daughter, Katherina, was married. Under normal circumstances, it would be easy to find a husband for Katherina with all her beauty, but all her beauty was covered by her shrewd personality. By this time Bianca's suitors were growing very impatient, so they decide to team up and find a husband for Katherina. In jest they mentioned their plan to a friend, Petruchio, who surprisingly agreed to marry Katherina. All her beauty and wealth were enough for him. Katherina reluctantly was wed to Petruchio and she was taken to his home to be tamed. With Katherina out of the way, Bianca was now allowed to marry Lucentio, who offered her father the highest dowry for her. In the final scenes of the play, Katherina proves that she is tamed by winning an obedience contest at a dinner party. Katherina is now even more in accordance with her wifely duties than Bianca. A fare is a type of comedy based on a ridiculous situation. The Taming of the Shrew, an eminent example of a farce, is the first of three farces written by Shakespeare.
Shakespeare's play "Macbeth" is considered one of his great tragedies. The play fully uses plot, character, setting, atmosphere, diction and imagery to create a compelling drama. The general setting of Macbeth is tenth and eleventh century Scotland. The play is about a once loyal and trusted noble of Scotland who, after a meeting with three witches, becomes ambitious and plans the murder of the king. After doing so and claiming the throne, he faces the other nobles of Scotland who try to stop him. In the play, Macbeth faces an internal conflict with his opposing decisions. On one hand, he has to decide of he is to assassinate the king in order to claim his throne. This would result in his death for treason if he is caught, and he would also have to kill his friend. On the other hand, if he is to not kill him, he may never realize his ambitious dreams of ruling Scotland. Another of his internal struggles is his decision of killing his friend Banquo. After hiring murderers to kill him, Macbeth begins to see Banquo's ghost which drives him crazy, possibly a result of his guilty conscience. Macbeth's external conflict is with Macduff and his forces trying to avenge the king and end Macbeth's reign over Scotland. One specific motif is considered the major theme, which represents the overall atmosphere throughout the play. This motif is "fair is foul and foul is fair."
In the play Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare, the motif of disguise presented throughout the story. Each individual impersonates a different person in order to achieve their own goals, whether is love, money, or even their life. The characters gain from concealing their identity. However, not all people benefit from disguising themselves.
Firstly, William Shakespeare in his play demonstrates the use of manipulation though the main character Hamlet. Hamlet acts mad in order to manipulate Ophelia into believing he is gone crazy. Hamlet planned to create a dominos effect that would start with Ophelia thinking he has gone mad which would lead her to pass this information onto Polonius further passing it onto Claudius. His actions are illustrated through this quote from the text, “Alas, my lord, I have been so affrighted!... My lord, as I was sewing in my closet, Lord Hamlet, with his doublet all unbraced; No hat upon his head; his stockings fouled, Ungarter’d, and down-g...
Words alone are not the only means by which imposters operate. A far more effective mode is one that fools the eye for it cannot pierce through the surface. Portia, the new wife of Antonio's friend, dresses as a lawyer in order to deceive the court. However, unlike Shylock's motive, Portia's intent is far more noble and selfless. She manipulates the law in such a way to save Antonio from certain death by the hand of Shylock. Through the eyes of the law, the imposture of a lawyer, especially by a woman at that time, was seen as extremely illicit.
Many would perceive madness and corruption to play the most influential role in Hamlet. However, it could be argued that the central theme in the tragedy is Shakespeare's presentation of actors and acting and the way it acts as a framework on which madness and corruption are built. Shakespeare manifests the theme of actors and acting in the disassembly of his characters, the façades that the individuals assume and the presentation of the `play within a play'. This intertwined pretence allows certain characters to manipulate the actions and thoughts of others. For this reason, it could be perceived that Shakespeare views the `Elsinorean' tragedy as one great puppet show, "I could see the puppets dallying".
Iago, a man with a cold heart and no care for any other. Within William Shakespeare’s tragedy, Othello, Iago uses tricks of deceit to ruin the lives of Cassio, Othello and his dear beloved, Desdemona. By using lies of adultery, Iago pushes loved ones and dear trustworthy friends apart. The choices he makes throughout Othello, reflect his dark personality that will eventually come back to him. Iago’s moment of choice, that is quick to ruin the lives of those around him, is when he used his betrayal by Othello to conceive a plan that frames Cassio and Desdemona of having a love affair.
The passage below is found in the opening act of one of Shakespeare's most illusive plays of control and manipulation. The word "deception" is defined as "the act of misleading" or "to trick, cheat, lie, and mislead". From this definition, it is obvious that deception is normally perceived to be evil and results in the harm of others mentally and physically. It leads to broken hearts, untold truths, or even unpunished murder. However, in Shakespeare's The Tempest, deception is used as a virtuous art to manipulate an unjust situation and rectify it.