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Analysis of shakespeare's play the taming of the shrew
Analysis of shakespeare's play the taming of the shrew
Taming of the shrew analysis
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Tragedy, irony and modernism are only a few interpretations of the valued play The Taming of the Shrew by the respected writer William Shakespeare. However, one of the most intriguing and popular of these analyses is comedy. Shakespeare is recognized for writing several plays with comedic genres, a few of which include Much Ado About Nothing and The Comedy of Errors. Comedy, being a complex genre, is composed of many different concepts. This particular play can be interpreted as a Shakespearian comedy, a screwball comedy, a farce, or slapstick.
A Shakespearian comedy is made up of primarily five components. Cross-dressing and disguising constitute the first of these factors, which is immediately evident in the Induction, where two characters entirely transform into different identities. One example is Christopher Sly, a tinker who is convinced he is a Lord. This becomes apparent in his query “Am I a Lord…?” (Ind.2.68) to which his servants respond by saying “O, how we joy to see your wit restored!” (Ind.2.78). In the same scene we also have a page dressed up as a lady because he was commanded to do so by his Lord. The Lord says “And see him dressed in all suits like a lady.” (Ind.1.106). Shakespeare incorporates this particular male playing a female into his play to further add humor to it. It also foreshadows that the rest of the play will have characters dressed up as people they are not supposed to be. The first character in The Taming of the Shrew who adopt a pseudo identity is Lucentio, who pretends to be Cambio, a schoolmaster, so he may pursue Bianca’s love. His servant, Tranio, who dresses up proudly as him, assists him in his venture. This is made explicit when Tranio says, “I am content to be Lucentio” (1.1.216). The pu...
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...e, not for an age, but for all time”, making this play enjoyable from whichever perspective it is approached.
Works Cited
Murphy, Joe . "The Taming of the Shrew: tragedy, comedy or farce?." Times Higher Education 25 July 2013: n. pag. Print.
Shakespeare, Wiliam, and Sylvan Barnet. The Taming of the Shrew. . Reprint. London: New American Library, 1998. Print.
Shmoop Editorial Team. "The Taming of the Shrew Genre." Shmoop.com. Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 24 May 2014.
Tertipes, David . "Open Source Education: Shakespeare.": Taming of the Shrew and Shakespeare's Comedies. 5 Feb. 2011. Web. 25 May 2014.
"The Taming of the Shrew - Literary Elements." Peel District School Board, 8 Sept. 2010. Web. 23 May 2014
Zhu, Mei. ""Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew and the Tradition of Screwball Comedy." Purdue University Press, 1 Jan. 2004. Web. 20 May 2014.
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...." Studies In The Literary Imagination 36.2 (2003): 61-70. MLA International Bibliography. Web. 6 Dec. 2013.
Examine the different ways in which Shakespeare presents the attitude towards marriage in the play, ‘The Taming of the Shrew.’
American Literature. 6th Edition. Vol. A. Ed. Nina Baym. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. 2003. 783-791
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.
2nd ed. of the book. New York: St. James Press, 1995. Literature Resource Center -. Web.
“The Taming Of The Shrew” by William Shakespeare is a work of satire created to criticize the misogynistic outlooks of the 16th century. With this play, Shakespeare is trying to say that the idea and role of women in his society is deeply flawed and should be fixed, as well as to make other social commentaries, such as on the treatment of servants. Through exaggeration and parody, Shakespeare makes society look silly.
Shakespeare has written three different ‘types of genre’ in his plays. One of these is his Tragedies like ‘Macbeth’ and ‘Romeo and Juliet’. Another genre he writes within is Comedy, an example of which is ‘Much Ado About Nothing’.
In the play The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare, Petrucio recognizes, respects and desires Katherine’s strength of character. Petrucio is a clever man who sees beyond facades because he uses them himself. (II, i 46) (II, I 283 - 89) He is stimulated by Katherine’s sharp tongue and harsh actions. He proves this many times throughout the play.
In most societies, women are seen as subordinates to men. During the Elizabethan period of England, men were superior to women, because women were looked upon as less valuable during this period of time. Occasionally, women gained recognition from men. However, men took responsibilities, and were seen as more important. In the Shakespearean comedy, Taming of the Shrew, author William Shakespeare displays disrespect towards women by including sexist remarks. He also portrays women as being obedient to men, who are more significant in that time. Shakespeare portrays women being obedient to their husbands and the men being more appreciated and significant in his play Taming of the Shrew.
Manlove, Colin. "The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe." "The Chronicles of Narnia": The Patterning of a Fantastic World. Twayne Publishers, 1993. 30-42. Rpt. in Novels for Students. Ed. Ira Mark Milne. Vol. 24. Detroit: Gale, 2007. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 21 Jan. 2014.
Cohen, Walter, J.E. Howard, K. Eisaman Maus. The Norton Shakespeare. Vol. 2 Stephen Greenblatt, General Editor. New York, London. 2008. ISBN 978-0-393-92991-1
In The Taming of the Shrew, Shakespeare creates humour through his characters by creating false realities (as demonstrated by Petruchio’s behaviour and attire in the scene of his wedding) and by the use of subterfuge and mistaken identity (shown in the final scenes with the transformation of Kate and Bianca’s respective personas). He also uses irony quite extensively, especially towards the end of the play (as can be seen in the final ‘wager’ scene).
A satirical comedy is an attempt to ridicule a certain aspect of government, religion, or another aspect of society to bring about change through the use of comedy to lighten the blow. Tartuffe is a prime example of a satirical comedy. Molière used this play to point out one of the biggest flaws of organized religion during his time, religious hypocrisy. Although he may not have directly intended it to be about the Catholic Church, it was interpreted by them as such so they made the king ban it for a period of time. By making it into a play, Molière was able to reach a larger audience. People tend to enjoy plays more so due to their quick, lively nature. Plays are always changing, and they are stories being brought to life. A reader may not be interested by a short story or novella, but a play could be the very thing to draw in their attention. Molière was able to reach more people by making this into a play, therefore making the problem of religious hypocrisy more widely