William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew as a Comedy

William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew as a Comedy

'The Taming of the Shrew', written by William Shakespeare between 1589

and 1594, is a romantic comedy set in the Italian city of Padua. Since

the play was written, the audience's idea of comedy has changed quite

dramatically. In the fifteen hundreds, an audience would have enjoyed

obvious, visual aspects of comedy such as we would see in a modern-day

pantomime, whereas an audience watching the play today would also

enjoy less obvious aspects such as sarcasm, irony and dry humour.

Shakespeare, although aware of Queen Elizabeth's position as a strong

and independent woman, also had to fulfil the expectations of the

time. This is why the 'feminist' of the play comes out 'Tamed' at the

end. Women were expected to be obedient to men, whether husband,

father or elder, in the same way as commoners were subservient to the

King and aristocracy, a model of society often referred to as the

Great Chain of Being. This hierarchy supported belief in the Divine

Right of Kings and, similarly, in man's superiority to woman.

The fact that the play is set in Italy further strengthens the link

with the Italian tradition of Commedia dell'Arte, one of the major

influences on modern pantomime. The subject of 'The Taming of the

Shrew' - who shall have sovereignty in marriage - is also part of a

long and well established tradition in English literature offering

many opportunities for comedy, for example Chaucer's 'Wife of Bath's

Tale' and Noah's wife in the Medieval Mystery Plays.

The play is primarily about love and respect between husband and wife,

though there are many other underlying themes: ...

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... would mean a message indicating that obedience is necessary

for a successful relationship - the production by the RSC hinted that

the whole obedient, subservient persona of Katherina at the end, is a

personal joke between her and Petruchio, thus indicating that sexual

chemistry, and a sense of humour are the essentials for a successful

relationship. There is also the suggestion that trickery and deception

may be necessary for success, and almost certainly a moral message

about appearances: to see this, we have only to compare the apparent

nature of the main female characters at the beginning of the play with

their behaviour when they are summoned as part of their husbands'

wager. Despite these serious elements, 'The Taming of the Shrew'

remains a witty comedy which deals with a very contentious subject

very enjoyably.