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Katherine and Bianca in William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew

Good Essays

Katherine and Bianca in William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew shows two sisters: Katherina and Bianca, as two complete contrasts to each other. He used various techniques to achieve these effects. The same techniques are used for both sisters to show comparisons between their characters. Shakespeare created two different characters by making the outcome of the techniques very different from each other. Shakespeare has used the theme of deception and disguise and based the play on the idea that things are not always as they seem. One of the techniques used is presentation of the two girls based on their behaviour and speech. The oldest of the sisters is …show more content…

Bianca always comes across as if she is saying sweet and kind things but underneath the original meaning it is almost as if there is a hidden depth to her speech and it goes back to the original meaning behind the play of deception and disguise. After Bianca's' wooing scene she says "farewell, sweet masters both, I must be gone" she comes across to be flirting with them, but she is not interested in either of them and is confusing them. Shakespeare gets the point across about the two sisters by using how others react to them and also what others say about them, either to them or about them. Kate does not have a very good reputation and so people are used to what she is like. They are horrified at some of the things that she says but not at all surprised because everyone knows Kate as the Shrew. When Petruchio first meets Kate he thinks that he can tame her; "For I am he am born to tame you, Kate", he thinks that underneath the ill-tempered behaviour and the bad mannered speech that there is something else there that no one can see, he thinks that it needs bringing out. He wants to have a wife so he thinks that she will be a perfect challenge. Baptista gives up hope on Kate because he thinks that she will never calm down and be like Bianca, he asks her "Why, how now, daughter Katherine in your dumps?" This is because she has been

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