Examples Of Miscommunication In The Taming Of The Shrew

In The Taming of the Shrew, Shakespeare creates a strident language between Petruchio and Grumio that catalyzes the philosophical aims of the play by complementing Petruchio’s relationship with Kate, and also by allowing the interrogation of how individuals within the play are or are not tamed. This construction of language allows investigation into the play’s ideas about miscommunication and its consequences. The interactions between the two characters can also be used to analyze the theme of performance within the play. Further, Petruchio and Grumio’s contentious connection reveals what Shakespeare attempted to communicate about dominance and submission and how the two affect relationships.
Shakespeare enlists miscommunication between Petruchio and Grumio throughout the

play to emphasize Petruchio’s use of rage and ferocity as a means of attempting to tame Kate. After arriving in Padua, Grumio misinterprets Petruchio’s desire for knocking at the gate as a desire for violence and states, “My master grows quarrelsome.” (2.1.13). Shakespeare purposefully has Grumio use the word my to imply that this line is not directed toward Petruchio. Rather, it serves as a warning to the audience and to Grumio himself. Grumio continues with, “I should knock you first, / And then I know after who comes by the worst” (2.1.13–14). With the first line, Grumio is almost considering provoking Petruchio—and perhaps he would be validated in doing so. However, with the continuation into the next line, Grumio realizes his place and recognizes the precarious consequences that would follow if he were to strike his master. It is valuable to recognize this thought process as it mirrors Kate’s towards the end of the play. These lines hold particular significance when one considers that they occur during Petruchio’s first appearance in the play. This establishes Petruchio’s character as well as how others will respond to his actions.
Many times, performance is employed by Shakespeare within the dialogue between Petruchio and Grumio to suggest that both the act of taming and that of being tamed are simply feigned.

One such example of this occurs in 3.3 after the journey back to Petruchio’s home from Padua results in a horrific episode. A furious Petruchio calls out to Grumio upon entering his home, to which Grumio responds, “Here, sir, as foolish as I was before” (3.3.110). It is clear that Grumio does not believe himself to be a fool—this is obvious is his telling of the journey’s tale to Curtis. However, he performs the role of fool for his master—perhaps out of fear or simply as a means of playing along. Petruchio then hurls insults towards Grumio saying, “You peasant swain. You whoreson malt-horse drudge. / Did I not bid thee meet me in the park, / And bring along these rascal knaves with thee?” (3.3.111–13). One could argue that the overly foul language here is a sort of performance, because even in Petruchio’s anger earlier in the play, he was a bit gentler with his insults. Petruchio realizes that Kate is watching, and his performance establishes a precedent of how those who do not submit to his will can be

treated.
Shakespeare utilizes the tension created by Petruchio’s dominance and Grumio’s submission to elicit the underlying meaning of what that dichotomy produces in a relationship. A second misunderstanding occurs between Petruchio and Grumio during this exchange:
PETRUCHIO. Go, take it up unto thy masters use.
GRUMIO Villain, not for thy life. Take up my mistress’ gown
for thy master’s use.
PETRUCHIO Why, sir, what’s your conceit in that?
GRUMIO O, sir, the conceit is deeper than you think for:
Take up my mistress’ gown to his master’s use!
O, fie, fie, fie! (4.1.155-161)
On the surface, this is a passage that simply serves as sexual innuendo—Grumio’s misconception for the word use as sexual use as well as the employment of the pun in the word conceit make sure of that—but observing the language of this passage more closely elevates it to something above just comic relief. First, Grumio utilizes a powerful word like villain when Kate’s chastity comes into play, possibly revealing a deeper connection between the two as Grumio understands what it is like to be tortured by Petruchio. This argument can be advanced by Grumio’s claim that “the conceit is deeper than [Petruchio] think[s] for:” (4.1.159), because it discloses that Grumio is disturbed by the minimal amount of thought that Petruchio uses concerning those that are required to succumb to his command. Taking all of this into account and analyzing Grumio’s final line, “O, fie, fie, fie!” (4.1.161), allows for it to become more than just a playful exclamation. Rather, it is transformed into a melancholy statement that reveals Grumio’s disgust for Petruchio’s taming of Kate, as well as his disappointment that Kate may allow herself to be tamed. Realizing that these are Grumio’s final words in the play are key to interpreting the relationship he has with Petruchio. Perhaps Grumio no longer needs to speak because shortly after this moment Kate is either tamed or pretending to be tamed, and the place that Grumio served in the beginning of the play—one who submits to Petruchio—has been filled by Kate. Grumio’s use of fie as his last line establishes another link to Kate, because she begins her final speech with the word fie. One could argue that the end of Grumio’s importance to Petruchio is the beginning of Kate’s.
With the help of Petruchio and Grumio’s course conversations, Shakespeare was able to create dynamic questions about the characterization of human relationships. The language between Petruchio and Grumio is manipulated in such a way that creates an association between Grumio and Kate, which provides important parallels about how people react to domineering figures. Through the miscommunication that occurs between Petruchio and Grumio, Shakespeare meditates on how much of a relationship deals with people reacting to being misunderstood, and how misinterpreted messages can create complications that would, otherwise, not have existed. The performances put on by both Petruchio and Grumio demonstrate that much of a relationship is simply an act put on by two people, and thus a query is created about whether it is possible to tame another human being. Further, Petruchio’s dominance over Grumio—which eventually fades as Petruchio begins to control Kate—exposes Shakespeare’s inquiry about the balance of power within a relationship. Importantly, rather than answering these questions, Shakespeare leaves them open and allows those who experience the play to construct their own answers.