Interpreting Katherina's Speech in William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew

The Katherina that gives the final speech in The Taming of the Shrew is quite a departure from the Katherina we were introduced to in Act I. This new Kate is modest, quiet and obedient. All of these qualities were not present until Act V. Such a profound personality change prompts the questions how this happened and what purpose do her changes serve?

The women during Elizabethan era were dependant on their males relatives to support them. They were used to forge alliances with other powerful families through arranged marriages. Women were generally tutored at home as there was no schools for girls. They can not heir to their father's title. They were not allowed to have vote and were not allowed to enter politics. Moreover, they were not allowed to act in theatres.

In The Taming of the Shrew, the audience sees the equilibrium between a man and woman through their relationship and their gender roles placed upon them because of their society and upbringing. In order to be tamed, Kate embarks on a journey to change her shrewish qualities. She transforms herself from a loud, vicious woman to the ideal wife that her husband Petruchio desired. In Act four, the audience experiences Kate’s tamed manner in a conversation between her and Petruchio, where she tells Petruchio that whatever he believes is right, to her, it is right as well. “…And be it moon, or sun, or what you please; / An if you please to call it a rush candle, / Henceforth I vow it shall be so for me” (4.5.13-15). Kate had finally submerged herself into the socially accepted role of wife. She puts all of her own faith and truth that she has learned in her

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).

Men had the authority to say whatever they wanted to, no matter what it was. Although they were allowed to do a lot more that women, they were also allowed to say a lot more than women. Men did not really have boundaries when it came to speaking. They were allowed to speak their mind and have an opinion. Men could speak to and about women in a disrespectful and derogatory way. Women were also allowed to have an opinion, but they were not allowed to express it to others. Women were voiceless. They were deprived of their right to speak. The title itself, The Taming of the Shrew, already proves how strong men were compared to women during that time period. If a woman wanted to speak their mind, they would be criticized and judged. They would gain a bad reputation because women were expected to listen to men and follow their commands. However, Katherine did not like that. Instead, she spoke her mind and refused to do certain things. As a result, nobody liked her. They viewed her as a “fiend of hell” (I.i.90). A man would not be called that though. On the other hand, if a man did the same thing, no one would care. “Much more of shrew of thy impatient humour.” (III.ii.29) This proves that even the woman’s father would call their daughter a “shrew”. This was also normal

That the film includes these elements of feminist material reflects its modern context of a society that is not unfamiliar with feminism. In this area it challenges the original text, where within the context of the Elizabethan era, Katherina’s rejection of her inferiority as a woman is unaccepted and repressed. As Hortensio mocks: ‘ ‘Mates’, maid? …No mates for you/Unless you were of gentler, milder mould’ (1.1.59-60), he manipulates Katherina’s reference to him as a ‘mate’- a crude man- to mean ‘husband’ in an attempt to silence her. Such repression- and that of Katherina at the hands of Petruchio- though exaggerated and outrageous, was acceptable and approved of in the context of Shakespeare’s play.

Taming of the Shrew is a romantic comedy written by William Shakespeare in the 1500’s. It takes place in the city of Padua, presumably during the Italian Renaissance. The major conflict of the play is ‘taming’ a hot-headed woman named Katherine and to overcome the rule her father holds on his two daughters where the eldest marries first. The script brings up a lot of attention in the feminist theory. But, Shakespeare’s play reflects on the archetypes of characters, situations, and symbols. These connections are made in the play to make the audience familiar with the text and provide a deeper understanding.

Women in the era of Queen Elizabeth I were often portrayed through stereotypes such as, “The Good and the Badde” by Nicholas Breton. In this work women have desired traits such as loyalty, obedience, and innocence. Undesirable traits would be just the opposite, disobedience, raunchiness, treachery, loudness, and being outspoken. The play, “The Taming of the Shrew” by William Shakespeare, plays heavily to these stereotypes with the two female main characters; Bianca and Kate. Whereas Kate plays the Un-quiet one in the beginning, but transitions to more of a quiet one or the good wife while Bianca plays The Virgin.

The Taming of the Shrew is one of Shakespeare's most famous plays, and has weathered well into our modern era. For all the praises it has garnered throughout the centuries, it is curious to note that many have considered it to be one of his most controversial in his treatment of women. The "taming" of Katherine has been contended as being excessively cruel by many writers and critics of the modern era. George Bernard Shaw himself pressed for its banning during the 19th century. The subservience of Katherine has been labeled as barbaric, antiquated, and generally demeaning. The play centers on her and her lack of suitors. It establishes in the first act her shrewish demeanor and its repercussions on her family. It is only with the introduction of the witty Petruchio as her suitor, that one begins to see an evolution in her character. Through an elaborate charade of humiliating behavior, Petruchio humbles her and by the end

In Shakespeare’s play The Taming of the Shrew, the main character, Katharina Minola is portrayed as a shrew. Her behavior emanated from the fact that a father who treated her with indifference raised her and there was a lack of a motherly influence in her life. “Shakespeare sketches her character with a depth the typical shrew lacks” (“The Taming and Comic Tradition” 1) so her behavior is a defense mechanism used to protect herself from rejection. Katharina “is aggressive and belligerent, but she recognizes her own repulsiveness and ultimately responds positively to love” (“The Taming and Comic Tradition” 1). Once Katharina meets Petruchio, her intended husband, her behavior starts to transform into that of a socially acceptable wife. Katharina’s metamorphosis in behavior is

On the contrary as the play approaches the finale, Shakespeare concentrates on how Katherine is gradually transformed back to the moral nature she hinted she had from the commencement. Katherine’s soliloquy brings about an exuberant conclusion to The Taming of the Shrew; Katherine, in comprehending her iniquitous ways, made the men feel extremely self-confident of their status in the Elizabethan society and effectively reinforced their philosophies about their own strength. Shakespeare succeeds in producing a feeling of fortification for the female audience while making the men feel defended as Katherine somberly insults the defiant women telling them to "Come, come, you forward and unable worms!” It may also be said that this play, as well

“How would a modern audience view this play in a different way to an audience in Shakespeare’s time, particularly in relation to the role and status of women and attitudes to marriage and courtship?

Their roles were still emphasized as wives and mothers. Women were viewed as naturally suited to a different social role than men, and sometimes known as inferior to men. This was a social issue because woman had to be told where they were allowed to go and what they were allowed to do according to their husbands.

The film itself is iconic in its own ways, however, it has been designed to fit the expectations of love and marriage at the Elizabethan era. Franco Zeffirelli himself directed the movie in the 1960s which can have a different approach to how he views the themes of love and marriage. During the 1960, many events occurred that changed the social laws and expectations of people. Being single was seen acceptable yet still not admirable. With this change, divorce was soon introduced as well. Yet as Zeffirelli himself grew up meeting the expectations of the Elizabethan era, he found the new system contrasting, wanting to follow the system that already existed. This concept allowed him to construct the Taming of the Shrew without modernising and changing the concept of the play written by Shakespeare. Within the film, these ideas and concepts are evident, with one specific example being Katherina's monologue near the end. As Shakespeare's play is a written script, it gives little indication of the tone of the characters throughout the whole film, in this case, making the confusion of whether Kate is sincerely tamed or simply playing along with Petruchio's

The role of woman in the society has always been really controversial, whether it was 400 years ago or now. Shakespeare's two very famous comedy plays, The Taming of the Shrew and The Merchant of Venice challenge a very serious social issue, the role and importance of woman in society. We all know the stereotypical image of woman in the society but Shakespeare questions the society on these thoughts through his plays. While Shakespeare expresses his ideas in a very unique way in each of his plays, this issue is common in both plays and is portrayed very similarly. Whether it is the way woman are treated, portrayed or judged, Shakespeare repeats the same idea through difference acts and events between the two comedies. There are some