Taming Of The Shrew Research Paper

I must and will have Katherine to my wife. (Act 2, Scene 1, Page 13)

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 Taming of the Shrew, written by William Shakespeare, is historical proof that flirting and temptation, relating to the opposite sex, has been around since the earliest of times. Because males and females continue to interact, the complications in this play remain as relevant and humorous today as they did to Elizabethan audiences. This is a very fun play, full of comedy and sexual remarks. It's lasting impression imprints itself into the minds of its readers, for it is an unforgettable story of sex, flirting, and happiness. The Taming of the Shrew remains as relevant today because of its relation to the age-old story of the battle of the sexes and dynamics of marriage, as well as the woman's struggle with both of these.

In Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen introduces the major thematic concept of marriage and financial wealth. Throughout the novel, Austen depicts various relationships that exhibit the two recurring themes. Set during the regency period, the perception of marriage revolves around a universal truth. Austen claims that a single man “must be in want of a wife.” Hence, the social stature and wealth of men were of principal importance for women. Austen, however, hints that the opposite may prove more exact: a single woman, under the social limitations, is in want of a husband. Through this speculation, Austen acknowledges that the economic pressure of social acceptance serves as a foundation for a proper marriage.

Marriage is presented in Shakespeare?s play The Taming of the Shrew, in a complex manner allowing readers to view the play literally as a brutal taming or ironically as a subversive manifesto. Yet, Shakespeare intends to present marriage to be full of mutual love where neither male nor female dominate but compliment each other thriving together in a loved filled relationship. The portrayal of a deep understanding, which exists in an analogical relationship and the gentle transformation, which occurs in marriage, clearly outlines marriage in the play to be a celebration of a mutual love relationship within the patriarchal foundations of society.

In the Renaissance period, marriage was far different and much longer process than it is today. Particularly in the Elizabethan era, marriages were frequently arranged so that both families involved would benefit. Marriages would be arranged to bring prestige, honour and wealth to the family. For the upper class, marriage rarely involved love. Courting outside of one’s class was strictly forbidden and punishable by death in some circumstances. Marriage followed a strict set of protocols that signify maturity and coming into one’s own. In this time, dowries often played a large part in the decision to marry. A dowry, is the custom in which involves an interchange of cash, jewels, foods, estates between the father

In this respect, the play is a typical romantic comedy. However, unlike other Shakespearean comedies, The Taming of the Shrew does not conclude its examination of love and marriage with the wedding. Rather, it offers a significant glimpse into the future lives of married couples, one that serves to round out its exploration of the social dimension of love. Unlike in Romeo and Juliet, inner emotional desire plays only a secondary role in The Taming of the Shrew’s exploration of love. Instead, The Taming of the Shrew emphasizes the economic aspects of marriage; specifically, how economic considerations determine who marries whom. The play tends to explore romantic relationships from a social perspective, addressing the institutions of courtship and marriage rather than the inner passions of lovers. Moreover, the play focuses on how courtship affects not just the lovers themselves, but also their parents, their servants, and their

Early modern marriage could be likened to a financial trade which was mutually beneficial to both parties. Therefore in Othello, upon learning of his daughter’s clandestine marriage, Brabanzio’s refers to Othello as a ‘thief’ , because he considers Desdemona ta possession which he believed was his to trade but has been ‘stol’n’. Similarly in Taming of the Shrew, Petruchio regards Kate as a mean to a dowry as he states that he could put up with all her faults provided there was ‘money enough’. Furthermore, during the wooing scene with Kate he expresses his intention to change her into the ‘other household Kates’. This term has been interpreted by the scholar Natasha Korda as Petruchio’s assertion over Kate, she states that ‘Cates are thus by definition … commodities’ and the wordplay on the name Kate suggests that he simply views her as another household object. The fact that women were viewed as commodities and objects and not humans is an indicator of why they were subject to domestic abuse.

Baptista was the father of two daughters; he was a wealthy man and could meet the expense of two respectable dowries. One of his two daughters was seen to be a shrew amongst the people of Padua, this therefore making it extremely difficult for him to find a suitor for her. Money therefore played an immense part in the marriage of Katherina. Without Petruchio turning up in Padua, looking for a wife it could have looked dreadful for Baptista, not being able to locate a suitor. “I come to wive it wealthily in Padua,” admits Petruchio. He himself along with Hortensio and Baptista are very money orientated. Hortensio talks about Petruchio saying, “will undertake to woo Katherina, yea, and marry her, if her dowry please.” He suggests that she is only worth marrying if the dowry is high enough.

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

This article delves into the different aspects of Shakespeare’s play “the taming of the shrew”. It summarizes how Petruchio, a gentleman of Verona, “tames” Katherina, the shrew. Petruchio uses reverse psychology until Katherina becomes an obedient and compliant wife. While that is going on, there is also a competition between the suitors of Katherina’s more desirable sister, Bianca. Also, the article details the many adaptations of the play such as film, opera, ballet, and radio. One of the many themes it mentions, a major one is that money has an amazing amount of power as well as gender politics. The amount of information in this article is astonishing however the source is not very trustworthy. Anyone using this article must be careful

In Shakespeare’s comedy, “The Taming of the Shrew”, the author depicts the subjection of a willful woman to the will of her husband. 2 The female protagonist in the play, Kate, has a shrill tongue, a hot temper and irrational attitude giving her the reputation of a “shrew”. The first way Shakespeare portrays marriage in this play is by showing the female subject to being married as the victim who is passed from her father to the suoiter of her father’s choosing. In “The Taming of the Shrew”, Kate is seen as an object in her courting and marriage to Petruchio .

Even though many people read the same exact material, they all could interpret it differently depending on who they are and how they think. When literary analysts review this concept, they believe that it is because we, as readers, are trying to find meaning where there is none, creating a plethora of possible interpretations. If one were to examine how often people analyze literature, this idea could make sense. However, authors actually create multiple layers of thematic material to connect with a differing audience like William Shakespeare does in The Taming of the Shrew. By putting many layers of themes into The Taming of the Shrew, Shakespeare makes his plays relatable and reflective to people from all classes with varying viewpoints.

The idea of marriage that is presented in the play differs from what we see marriage as

“As long as she thinks of a man, nobody objects to a woman thinking” (Woolf). One of a woman’s prescribed roles in society is to think about her husband and her children. This quotation shows that if she does so, she is accepted and liked by others. This ideology is shown in Shakespeare’s play, The Taming of the Shrew. Based on the action thus far within Shakespeare’s play, The Taming of the Shrew, it is more beneficial to adhere to society’s prescribed social roles.