Taming Of The Shrew Research Paper

“When love speaks the voice of all the gods makes heaven drowsy with the harmony,” Taming of the Shrew, Act IV, scene II.

Examine the different ways in which Shakespeare presents the attitude towards marriage in the play, ‘The Taming of the Shrew.’

Shakespeare wrote his plays without a thought that they would ever not be performed on stage. Many of Shakespeare’s plays have been performed since his death 400 years ago. And with time comes advances, as many of Shakespeare’s play have been adapted from text to film. Some films take Shakespeare’s original plot and twist it to be more modern, while others stick with the classic. In Franco Zeffirelli’s 1968 film version of The Taming of the Shrew, he recreates Shakespeare’s loved play. Although Zeffirelli stays close to Shakespeare’s original text, he does omit and add lines and scenes that weren’t originally in the play. Zeffirelli also adds body language and stage directions where they aren’t in the play. These directorial decisions change the way the romance looks between Katherina and Petruccio in the text. The relationship between the two characters in Zeffirelli 's film is attempted to be seen as more consensual than in the text.

Taming of the Shrew Character Profile · Romantic comedy Time and place written · Around 1592, London Date of first publication · 1623 Tone · The overall tone of the play is light and comic, though the exploration of larger social questions, such as the proper relation of the sexes in marriage, lends much of the comedy a more serious tone. Settings (Time) · Unspecific, though presumably sometime during the Italian Renaissance Settings (Place) · Padua, a city-state in Italy prominent during the Renaissance Major conflict · Petruccio's attempt to "tame" Katherine; that is, to assert his authority in their marriage and overcome her hotheaded

	Today women have many rights. We can vote, work, and even voice our own opinions. In the past women were seen as mothers and housekeepers, always taught to respect, listen, and serve there husbands or the man of the house. In those days this was considered normal, therefore women had no choice but to obey and do as they were told. In Hamlet, Shakespeare portrays a similar relationship between women and men. He allows men to hold the higher position in the causing, them to treat women as lesser people and believed that women should listen to them and do as they were told.

The Taming of the Shrew by Shakespeare is about a mean screw name Katherine who becomes tamed by the end of the novel. Katherine fought her husband until the very end. One might say that she became tamed because she had no choice. Another theory could be that Kathrine tamed herself but one thing is certain that without the primary character changing in some way by the experience of the story, the story has less meaning. Katherine sees herself in Petruchio's behavior and they both become tamed in relation to how they were acting prior to marriage.

In the Elizabethan era, men were looked at as the dominant figure in the relationship. The ideal male of that time was supposed to be assertive when it came to making the decisions for the couple. However, there were some women that felt otherwise. The women of the Elizabethan era were morally obligated to be obedient to their husband. In The Taming of the Shrew, written by William Shakespeare, Katherine is a woman who ignores the normal standards of a wife. She is so rude that no man wants to marry her. Ironically, there is one man who is willing to try his hand at marrying Kate. This man’s name is Petruchio and he knows that Kate is stuck in her shrewish ways, but he feels that he can guide her in the right direction to knowing her role of

The plot development in The Taming of The Shrew was vastly assisted by the use of various comedic devices.  Throughout, it has shown that if a shrew is given the same treatment as they give, they can be changed. You are kept invested in the story, because it makes you wonder how Katherine is going to eventually be tamed by Petruchio, by the use of these comedic devices. Events such as clever witty language, unexpected plot twists, and drama within a family help develop the plot. A story is formed from the entirety of these events, in which a woman is tremendously changed by the man which she did not wish to marry.

In Shakespeare’s plays it is important to understand the historical context of women in the Elizabethan Age and their role. The Shakespearean era consisted of a misogynistic and patriarchal society which contrasted with Queen Elizabeth being the head of the state. Even though the most important person in England was a woman, the common woman was still very limited in her power and in her independence. Women in this era were dependent on men socially, economically and sexually. Married women were not allowed to be in the public without their husbands, they were bound to the domestic area. Women in general were believed to be less rational than men and always needed male protection and guidance. As they were thought to be incapable of caring for themselves, it was the men’s duty to control their sexuality; the father had to guarantee that his daughter marries as a virgin and the husband had to control his wife so she would only bear his children. Economically women were dependent on men because they were not allowed to have their own business or be involved in trade. They were seen as objects of bartering that men traded with and treated as if they were property. Women were believed to be passive objects, this idea of male dominance above women is represented in theology and philosophy and even supported by medical science: “The fact that female sex organs were inside was

William Shakespeare, an internationally renowned playwright, wrote many texts that are still performed to this day. The Taming of the Shrew is no exception. Because of its popularity, the text was released as a film in 1967 and 1999. The original adaptation follows a similar storyline to the Shakespearean text. It incorporates the same values and ideologies of love depicted in the initial play created in 1590. 10 Things I Hate About You is somewhat of a modernized film version of the earlier text; it compliments more modern cultural values. Based on my beliefs and interpretations of both films, I have reached the conclusion that The Taming of the Shrew is an exercise of misogyny. This contradicts my perspective of the more recent film adaptation;

During the time of Shakespeare women lived in a male dominated society. Women In this period had virtually no legal power and lost all right to own all personal property when they married. Men were expected to be the heads of the households. Once a boy turned eight he no longer was required to obey his mother. The ideal woman was believed to be a virgin and a faithful wife. Female honour and social respectability were tied so closely to sexuality that death was often presented as preferable to the loss of female chastity. The relationships between Men and Women In this play do reflect the status between them at the time.

In Shakespeare's comedy, The Taming of the Shrew, Shakespeare has a woman as one of the story's main characters. Katherine Minola (Kate) is off the wall, and kinda crazy. Because of her actions, the “male centered world” around her doesn't know what to do with her.

Equal rights have always been a major issue and dispute. Analysing the role of women in the Elizabethan Era, through Shakespeare’s representation in Romeo and Juliet, and comparing them to the role of women in the 21st century, will help to demonstrate that equality of the sexes has been achieved, and come a long way in the past 400 years. Three ways in which equality of the sexes has been achieved is the role of a married, and unmarried woman, and roles of women in society.

I am currently reading The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare, and I am on page 41. This book starts with a drunken beggar called Christopher Sly. A rich lord of the town decides to play a trick on Sly when he finds the beggar passed out after getting kicked out of a bar. The lord dresses Sly in finery and has his servants trick Sly into believing that he is a lord. Suddenly, a troupe of actors arrives to perform a comedy for the dressed up beggar. The play, which occupies the entire story, is about three suitors trying to win the hand of a beautiful girl who cannot be married before her unpleasant sister. In this journal I will be predicting and evaluating.

Battle of the Sexes would have been another appropriate title for this play because the entire play is women verses men, men verses women. This battle of the sexes shows no boundaries between the rich and poor, young or old, man or women. The basis of all the rivalry stems from the fact that the men in this play look at the women as if they were objects, instead of human beings with feelings. This theory that women are merely objects creates an environment that the women have to adapt to and survive in and the environment of a person will depict what he or she will become, resulting in a battle between the sexes.