An Analysis Of ' Taming Of The Shrew '

Katherina may be a shrew, but Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew does not truly show a study of how a selfish, spoilt individual is made to conform to society’s expectations, or be tamed into a ‘proper’ woman. At the end of the play, Katherina is not, necessarily, tamed - she just realizes what she must to do in order to get the things she wants. Two main examples of her submitting to Petruchio in order to achieve her desires are in Act 4, scene 5, (the sun versus moon scene) as well as Act 5, scene 2 (the kiss me kate scene and her final monologue).

Katharina, also known as Kate, is the main protagonist and her fiery personality is the focal point of the Shakespeare play, “The Taming of the Shrew”. Her outspoken and quick-witted disposition is at odds with polite society thus earning her the offensive moniker ‘Shrew’, which essentially means a bad-tempered despicable old hag. Contrary to belief, she is, for the most part, an opinionated woman who has the courage to speak those opinions loudly to men that would prefer she’d be quiet. Throughout the play Kate’s demeanor evolves and shifts much like the incredible metamorphosis of a caterpillar turning into a butterfly; in this case a lovely socially acceptable butterfly. This essay will analyze Katharina’s performance throughout the play hence concluding that she is not befitting of the moniker Shrew.

Feminist and cultural historians have convincingly demonstrated that "rebellious women" were a concern for englishmen during the late sixteenth centuries (Detmer 273). The idea of “taming” a women is one that men can find useful, though women can also benefit from. Katherine cynically conforms to expectation, and in doing so displays how The Taming of the Shrew is a critique on gender essentialism. The Oxford English Dictionary states, essentialism is a belief that things have a set of characteristics which make them what they are. This theory in regards to gender refers to the fact that men and women have been born into particular roles which they must abide by. The men in this play measure their own fulfilment of gender roles through their relationships with women. Petruchio believes that if a man is unable to tame his woman, he himself is no better then a shrew. In this essay I will argue that Katherine 's transformation from miserable “shrew” to obedient wife signifies the necessity of assuming proper gender roles to survive in the patriarchal world of William Shakespeare 's The Taming of the Shrew. This is depicted through Katherine 's journey during the whole of the play, her actions, how she acts around others and how others act around her all come back to Katherine learning to play her part as the ideal 16th century woman.

The single most disturbing stereotype in both the play and movie is Kate’s. Kate is known for her shrewish behavior and untamable ways, which categorizes her in the unquiet woman stereotype. In The Taming of the Shrew, Hortensio goes to describe her as said before in saying, “Petruchio, shall I then come roundly to thee and wish thee to a shrewd, ill-favored wife? Thou’dst thank me but a little for my counsel. And yet I’ll promise thee she shall be rich, and very rich. But thou'rt too much my friend, and I’ll not wish thee to her”(1.2.58-63). In 10 Things I Hate About You, we continue to see the same tone about Katherine. Until Patrick comes along and changes her ways,

Associate Professor of English, Amy L. Smith in her article, “Performing marriage with a difference: wooing, wedding, and bedding in The Taming of the Shrew (Fall/Winter 2002-2003), claims that the marriages shown in the play do not focus on gender hierarchies, gender-based inequalities, and expectations of social convention that are dictated by the male dominant culture; instead , they escape from them without eschewing gender altogether. To support her argument, Smith does the following: first, she describes marriage as a unique set of sexual, parental and gender negotiations in a historically patriarchal culture; second, she describes marriage as a performance of dominance and submission that shapes, controls and challenges the marriage

A Speculation of the Shrew If a woman is superior to her husband in terms of imposing her opinion before his and expressing a surpassing amount of anger, one must not necessarily be hasty to judge that she is disrespecting him. Is Shakespeare conveying to his audience that a woman must submit to her husband? Has the Bard clearly expressed how a female with aggressive tendencies must be tamed for the sole purpose of pleasing her husband? From the initial standpoint, Katherine is viewed as indignant, violent, and most clearly the shrew of the play when she lashes out at her own sister, Bianca.

Kate desires love, regardless of how mean and crude she begins. In act one, scene one, when Kate ties her sister’s arms, she questions Bianca of all of the suitors that are after Bianca. Bianca recognizes this cruel act as jealousy and a choice to be loved when she states, “is it for Gremio you do envy me so?”. It is not gremio or any other suitor that kate feels jealousy closer to; she feels jealous of Bianca and how every body, even their father, views her as the favored sister. Bianca is Katherina's more youthful, extra appropriate sister. While she is higher liked by most characters than Katherina, she has a slightly smaller position in the play. While she does talk, she shows herself to be smart, as while she flirts and trades witticisms with lucentio while he's "coaching" her. On the stop of the play, she refuses to return when referred to as via lucentio, showing with the aid of contrast how obedient Katherina has emerged as.

Katherine Minola is a character who is pivotal to the progression of the exposition in Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew. The dynamic Kate faces everything from being unsolicited and undesirable by men, being forced into marriage, and falling in love with someone who undoubtedly mistreats her from the beginning. Being tossed and thrown from one end of the spectrum to the other allows room for drastic change in attitude, values, and behavior. There is much evidence of a revolution of character in Baptista’s daughter and Petruchio’s wife, Katherine. Reader’s can follow the transformation of an untamable shrew of society to a well loved and respectable woman figure of the upper class.

This is often called anachronism. Her shrewish behaviours were unsuitable for women of the time, as they were taught to be subservient to men. Her sister, Bianca, followed this social standard, and was happy to do so. Katherine, alternatively, initially rejected this standard and was the complete opposite, which to everyone made her a shrew. I speculate that Katherine did crave love, but the label placed on her denied her that chance, as no one had a desire to marry her or show her any love.

“The Taming of the Shrew ‘ is undoubtedly amongst Shakespeare’s most popular and debated comedies .The main subject of contention amongst critics is the apparent misogynistic elements offered in the play.Some ,like Stevie Davies argue that ‘The Taming of The Shrew ‘ celebrates ‘ female subjugation and mistreatment ‘ .Others see it is a parody of ‘female subjugation’ which grotesquely exaggerates Petruchio’s ‘taming’ of shrewish Katherina and portrays their relationship as a ‘game’ .Whether the play is a ‘parody’ or a celebration of the mistreatment of women depends very much on how we perceive the actions of characters and how social ,political and gender issues influence that perception .

Katherine, commonly referred to as the “shrew” throughout the play, had a sense of confidence about her which suggests that Shakespeare intended to create an extremely free-willed and independent woman. Katherine wasn’t concerned with

Love is an ever-changing concept which varies from one person to the next. Not all love is positive for some is toxic and destructive. Shakespeare’s 1590s play ‘The taming of the shrew’ is a representation of mainstream society views and ideologies of the Elizabethan era. The play display what woman should do and not do. The play is a precise preservation of how female and males acted towards one another and singularly. Since the play has first be released ideas and belief over certain genders and their roles have changed. The play ‘The taming of the shrew’ which once embodied a love story is now seen a misogynistic story. The play has since been constructed into a few films. The most well-known films are the 1967 film

Katherine, who is known throughout Padua to be a shrew, is short tempered and sharp tounged at the start of the play. She is constantly insulting the men around her and is angered easily, sometimes she may even physically attack people. While most people in the play think that Katherine was just born that way, it is entirely reasonable to think that her bad behavior stems from some sort of unhappiness. There are a few sources of her unhappiness. For one, she shows jealousy of her father's treatment of her sister. Her unhappiness may also stem from her own undesirability, the possibility that she may never have a husband. Katherine basically feels out of place in her society. Because she is intelligent and independent, she is unwilling to play

It was Halloween; I didn’t want to go to school of course, but I had to. This school day was a bit different however, while I technically had to attend school, I didn’t have to attend any of my regular classes. Instead, I got to spend a few hours on a bus to Pocatello and see a play. It was a mediocre play, but nevertheless it was better than going to school. I slept most of the way to and from Pocatello, so the bus ride didn’t bother me too much. Overall, it wasn’t necessarily a bad show, it was alright, but I had fun nonetheless.

The above passages can also be seen as placing an emphasis on the degradation Baptista inflicts on Katherine for coming across as the opposite of an ideal woman. Unlike Bianca, who comes across as mild-mannered and respectful to others, Katherine is established as an antagonistic woman who lashes out at those around her on the slightest provocation. But while her threat to "comb [Hortensio's] noodle with a three-legg'd stool/And paint [his] face, and use [him] like a fool" accentuates her fiery personality, it also suggests that her shrewish behavior is a statement that condemns the