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Discourse In Shakespeare's Taming Of The Shrew

Decent Essays

Shakespeare's works reflect the values andk of his era, with the theme of societal conformity and unity necessary for harmony. The rigid stratification of societal roles evident in Taming of the Shrew are directly derived from the Elizabethan hierarchy, with power dynamics based on wealth, family name and gender, and costuming defining one's role. Discourse arises in Shakespeare's plays when a character does not conform to the expectations and code of their prescribed societal role, evident in Katherina's outgoing nature and aversion to playing her part described as a ‘intolerable curst, shrewd, and forward’----. The play concludes once Katherina appears to have conformed to her position as an upper-class wife and daughter, and societal harmony is achieved once more. This social disharmony is repeated numerous times throughout the play, as disguise and role reversals appear initially established in Christopher Sly, ‘Sly’s called a lord, but still is not a lord’ 2.6.1, the disguise of both Lucentio the wealthy student into a tutor and Tranio his servant into Lucentio himself. The most interesting use of costume is in Petruchio’s marriage apparel, claiming ‘To me she’s [Katherina] married, not unto my clothes’ 3.2.113, as he wears lowly, poor attire. Petruchio illustrated both the inability to transgress one’s self through disguise and deception, and his inherit contradiction, attempting to change Katherina’s nature, she may act the wife, but she is still Katherina. Shakespeare’s use of disguise and deceit adds humor to the play and creates a conclusive ending as each character’s transformations are undone, with no one permanently transgressing their societal roles. Similarly, 10 Things I Hate About You utilizes characterization through contemporary American stereotypes to display a simplified social structure. This replicated Shakespeare’s use of traditional social structure, within the first 5 minutes of the film, a montage of each stereotype and their corresponding place in the social hierarchy’s displayed, with Michael listing each one. This archetype is prevalent throughout the teen film genre over the last 30 years, with one’s wealth, physical appearance, and alignment to traditional characteristic of

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