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The Taming of the Shrew Analysis. Essay Example, 707 words
The taming of the shrew short essay
Gender roles in elizabethan england
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It is impossible to avoid the pressure of societal expectations when living in a society where expectations are ever-present, and Shakespearian times were no different. Society had the pressing expectation that men were to exercise dominance in relationships, while women followed their orders. Petruchio and Kate, main characters of The Taming of the Shrew, may not have began the play as a perfect couple in the eyes of society, but when the play concluded, their marriage fit society's expectations. In The Taming of the Shrew, Shakespeare conveyed his support of society's expectation that men were in charge of their wives, illustrating this through Petruchio’s control over Kate, along with Kate’s transition from shrewish to tame demeanor.
Shakespeare
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This expectation specifically laid out to women how their relationship with their husband was to be, and with society promoting such a strict expectation, it only makes sense for Shakespeare to support the expectations he was surrounded by, doing so in The Taming of the Shrew. Kate may not have always followed expectations, but Petruchio had plans to fix this, and described himself as “He that knows better how to tame a shrew” (4.2.204). Petruchio’s intent to “tame” Kate, as well as his comparing her to a “shrew” suggests that Shakespeare was promoting society’s expectations by depicting the husband as the one in charge of a relationship. This quote could be interpreted as an exaggeration, as, Kate is not literally a shrew, which would allow for the possibility of Shakspeare refuting society’s expectations in this instance. Although Kate may not have actually been a shrew, Petruchio took charge over her actions, suggesting that this quote was not meant to be interpreted as an exaggeration. Throughout the book, Shakespeare showed …show more content…
When the play began, Kate was extremely outspoken and known as “Kate the curst”, but after marrying Petruchio, she began to change, and ended the play following Petruchio’s every request. Khan, a literary critic, noted that Kate changed throughout the play to fit into society’s mold of how a woman should act. “Though she flatly refuses to obey his first command to her as a wife, she exits mutely with him at the end of act III” (Kahn 2). This development of Kate’s character was done in a way that typically shows growth or improvement, suggesting that Shakespeare wanted readers to see fitting into the mold of society as a positive attribute. At the beginning of the play, Kate’s company was not perceived as pleasant; when Petruchio proposed to her, she responded with a charming “I’ll see thee hanged on Sunday first” (2.1.292). Being around someone who threatens to “see thee hanged” is anything but enjoyable, so by characterizing Kate in this way at the start of the play Shakespeare gives not following society’s expectations a negative portrayal. It could be argued that by including Kate, a character who does not follow society’s expectations, Shakespeare did not support these expectations. However, after she married Petruchio, Kate became more submissive, Shakespeare’s way of suggesting to readers that they too should change
“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.
"Women have a much better time than men in this world; there are far more things forbidden to them." -Oscar Wilde. This quote embodies the fight over gender roles and the views of women in society. Taming of the Shrew deals with Kate and Bianca, two sisters who are at the time to he married off. However, suitors who seek Bianca as a wife have to wait for her sister to be married first. Kate is seen as a shrew because she is strong willed and unlike most women of the time. In his 1603 play The Taming of the Shrew, William Shakespeare enforces traditional gender roles and demonstrates how little say women had in society. He accomplishes this through the strong personality of Kate, Baptista 's attitude towards his daughters as transactions, and
Although the The Taming of the Shrew is frequently regarded as a particularly sexist play, it is not sexist and demeaning towards women. Women’s rights are a household topic that has been around for the better part of the last century in America, however back when the play was written, women’s rights were unheard of. So when Petruchio didn’t let Kate eat or sleep after they eloped (IV.iii.47-48) “The poorest service is repaid with thanks, and so shall mine before you touch the meat.” Petruchio is controlling everything that Kate is doing, which includes whether she eats or not which is sexist nowadays, but back in the 16th century, it was normal behavior.
...ironic use of manipulation before and after the wedding, Petruchio is able to tame Kate. Or so he thinks. The only real change is that Kate agrees with him, but she only does this to get her way. Therefore she is manipulating him by pretending that he has been able to tame her. He has not tamed her, because she also utilizes the art of manipulation. Before, Kate’s only defense against patriarchy is to be outspoken; now, she negotiates her own sense of power within patriarchy by using manipulation. Shakespeare’s critic of the patriarchal social structure is therefore just, because not only are women denied the same legal power as men, but their manipulative power is also disregarded and considered a weakness. Therefore women are not to be blamed for utilizing this powerful form of control, because that is what the patriarchal social structure forces them into.
In the beginning, a lot of what we learn about Kate comes from what other people say about her. In Act I, she is only seen briefly and she speaks even less, but our picture of Kate is pretty clear. Shakespeare, sets up a teaching lesson, helping us to see the mistakes of our own judgment. When Baptista announces that Kate must marry before Bianca may take suitors, Gremio describes Kate by saying "She's too rough for me" (1.1.55). Later in the scene, Gremio reiterates his dislike for Kate, claiming she is a "fiend of hell" (88) and offering that "though her father may be very rich, any man is so very a fool to be married to hell" (124–126). He finishes by saying that to marry Kate is worse than to "take her dowry with this condition: to be whipped at the high cross every morning" (132–134). Hortensio, too, is quick to add to the situation, calling Kate a devil (66) and claiming that she is not likely to get a husband unless she is "of gentler, milder mold" (60). Tranio, Lucentio's servant, is perhaps the only man in this scene not to talk ugly about Kate, claiming she is either "stark mad or wonderful froward" (69).
The Taming of the Shrew written by William Shakespeare depicts the common roles of men and women in the early seventeenth century. Shakespeare writes of Petruchio and Kate, a male and female who sharply oppose each other. Petruicho must "tame" his wife Kate without breaking her true inner spirit.
The Taming of the Shrew, by William Shakespeare, deals with marriage. The ideas explored are primarily shown through the characters of Petruchio and Katharina. We are introduced to the trials and tribulation's which present themselves in their everyday lives. The characters bring up a traditional concept of male domination. Through the play we see the need for domination through Petruchio, and the methods he uses to dominate. While these ideas of male domination have remained a constant throughout the years, however recently there has been a change toward equality.
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
The first Shakespeare play which Zeffirelli adopted to the cinema, The Taming of the Shrew, deals with the theme of gender roles. In a grander scale the play explores the behavior expectations of males and females both in society at large and within a domestic relationship. For many years, most critics agreed that the heart of the play suggested male domination and female submission, especially to the authority of their husbands, as the accepted male-female dynamic. This view went unchanged for many years and audiences widely accepted Petruchio's “taming” of Katherina as politically correct.
When someone is a female their first thought should not be weak or nurturing, just as when someone is male their first though shouldn’t always be powerful. Unfortunately it has becomes so ingrained in societies mentality that this is the way that things work. The Taming of the Shrew is a past writing piece that expands on a mentality that is modern. The male gender cannot be put into this same constraint. Petruchio is the epitome of what society would describe a male as. He thinks he is in charge and always the superior to women. He expects Katherine to always do what he tells her to do, because he believes that is her duty as his wife. Moreover he should not be expected to do that for her. Furthermore, Bianca is what many would describe as the perfect woman. She is nurturing and she does not speak out against what she is told. When she does speak she always speaks like a lady. She exists merely for decoration in the home and to serve her husband. Katherine is the inconsistency in this stereotype on femininity. Her purpose in the novel originally is to rebel against this biased thought on female gender roles. Katherine is not afraid to speak out against the things that she is told to do. If she disagrees with something she will act on it and she is just as strong as the men in the novel; which is why many of the men actually fear her. Katherine is not submissive and does not believe that the only reason that she exists is to serve a husband. Katherine does not want to be just the damsel in distress, she wants to be in charge. At the end of the novel there is a switch in the personalities of Katherine and Bianca. This alteration provides the purpose of showing that gender is not something that someone can be confined in just because they were born a female. A woman can have many different traits and still be feminine. It is impossible to put femininity in a box because there are no real qualities for what
In the Taming of the Shrew, the battle of the sexes is more so in the mind of each and every woman, rather than an actual battle between men and women. It is a battle that the women have to overcome in order to be able to enjoy life and to love their husbands, and situations like the fights between Katherine and Petruchio are symbolic of this. When a woman, like Katherine is able to see that love is something that has no roles, or expectations, is when she and her husband can "live happily ever after".
The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare is a play that is ahead of its time in its views toward gender roles within society. Katherine is a woman who is intelligent, and is not afraid to assert her views on any given situation. She is paired with another obstinate character in Pertuchio. The Marriage formed between the two is a match made in heaven for two reasons. First Because Katherine is strong enough to assert her views, and more importantly, she realizes when she should assert them. The second reason the bond survives is that Petruchio is strong enough to accept the fact that Katherine has a mind and, more importantly he loves her for that reason. Petruchio cleverly weaves the relationship into the framework of society without compromising the integrity of the relationship. Petruchio does this by comparing Katherine’s at attitude to repulsive clothing. Carefully and calculatingly, Petruchio forges a relationship that is envied by all who witness it.
During The Taming of the Shrew, Shakespeare has used pleasure and pain in order to tell the story of Petruchio and Katherina’s courtship. This is problematic for modern day audiences, as they do not find the courtship methods that Petruchio employs to woo Katherina particularly comical. However, it could be argued that Shakespeare crafted The Taming of the Shrew precisely for this reason, to feature his views on patriarchy and to make the audience see what was happening through a new perspective. The Elizabethan audience would have been shocked at the methods used in order to achieve the taming, even though it was well within a man’s right to discipline his wife if she was deemed unfit. From the very beginning of The Taming of the Shrew, Shakespeare indicates that this play will not follow traditional rules of decorum, and that it is intended to both give pleasure and cause pain in order to make both Elizabethan and modern audiences take note of his underlying message.
The Taming of the Shrew is one of the earliest comedies written by William Shakespeare. The Taming of the Shrew focuses a great deal on courtship and marriage. Especially the life after marriage, which was generally not focused on in other comedies. Notably, the play focuses on the social roles that each character plays, and how each character faces the major struggles of their social roles. Which plays into one of the most prevalent themes of The Taming of the Shrew. The theme of how social roles play into a person’s individual happiness. This is displayed through the characters in the play that desperately try to break out of the social roles that are forced upon them. This exemplified through the character, Katherine, an upper-class young maiden-in-waiting, who wishes to have nothing to do with her role.
: Throughout The Taming of the Shrew, Shakespeare manipulates mostly female gender roles of the time period. Kate is a prime example of his commentary, because she swings, through the duration of play, from one extreme of femininity to the other, from extreme outspokenness to extreme submissiveness. The ideal role of a woman is clearly laid out at the beginning of the play, when Gremio and Hortensio are pining for Bianca, yet Baptista tells them, “That is, not to bestow my youngest daughter/ Before I have a husband for the elder” (I.i.12). Shakespeare mocks, from the beginning, the societal norm that an older daughter should be married off before the younger, as it’s just so shameful for a woman to be unloved and unwed.