Taming Of The Shrew Research Paper

The earliest tragedies of love explore social issues and a well-known conflict, the one between generations. As Othello`s script has more challenges than Romeo and Juliet, newer generations of viewers find racist and sexist language quite offensive and expect a leading actor of color.

In Shakespeare’s dramatic comedy, “The Taming of the Shrew,” Shakespeare chooses to have one of the main characters played as a woman, despite the time the play was written. Back then it was a male centered world, so they did not know how to deal with Katherine’s erratic and bold behaviors. Kate was known for her sharp tongue and her quick temper, especially to those that tried to win her love. Many of her sister’s suitors would often avoid Katherine in fear of getting knocked around or verbally abused. On of them, an old man named Gremio went so far as to refer to her as, “a fiend of hell” (1.1 89). She would not be satisfied with such pathetic and weak men as Gremio or any of Bianca’s other suitors, but who would dare to take their shot at taming the mighty Shrew?

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.

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

Through the ages, women have always had a powerful role, whether or not it was recognized by society. They cook, clean, give birth, and nurture which all are more than necessary jobs. However, also throughout the ages, women have been separated by society and seen as a lesser being and not being granted the same rights and equality as men. Specifically this can be seen in the Elizabethan age. Queen Elizabeth fought for women to be seen as equals to men through her reign. But in loving the theatre, she never allowed women to be on the stage; forcing men to play the role of men and women makes her ideals and society's hypocritical.

During the 1500s, the roles of men and women differed immensely throughout society. Even though the roles of different people based on gender have equalized in the United States, there continues to be controversy over whether gender defines one’s role in society or not. In the play, The Taming of the Shrew, by William Shakespeare, there is a lot of hierarchical power based on gender between characters along with society. Although some people may argue that gender does not define one’s role in society, more evidence supports that gender does define one’s role; because the roles of men and women during Shakespeare’s time differed considerably from the roles of men and women today as men were viewed as superior and women were labeled and treated unjustly.

This was the only woman in Europe who truly had power. Aside from queen Elizabeth, Shakespeare was in a time where men ruled and women followed. Women cleaned, took care of the kids, and obeyed their husbands. The women of this time were groomed. They learned from a young age that boys had more privileges and they were to do whatever the men deemed them worthy of doing. The women were rarely educated and knew nothing other than what they were taught by the men. The women’s sole purpose was to get approval from first their father and then eventually a husband once (once approved by her father). For them, there was little reason or opportunity to do anything beyond domestic tasks. When not performing these tasks, their role was to sit doll-like, looking prim and

	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.

Baptista Minola, the heavy-handed father in The Taming of the Shrew, can be characterized as having difficulty expressing his love effectively to his daughters Bianca and Katherine. While Bianca is charming, tranquil, and stunning, Katherine, being the shrew of the play, is hostile, peevish, and quick witted. After raising both daughters until the day of their marriage, Baptista has been caught in the middle of their opposing characteristics. Understandingly, his actions to deal with this discrepancy can be viewed as cruel and tyrannical; however, he is a loving father that cares deeply for his daughters and their well-being. Many readers only consider Baptista’s concern for the marriage of his daughters as cruel and the amount of wealth they may inherit as greedy when describing his manner and personality, but he acts with logic in each situation and values the happiness of his daughters.

The topic of transformation is focused on throughout Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew and can be developed into the themes of as time goes on people change, people are influenced to change, and force can cause change in others. Shakespeare’s characters experience transformation throughout the play and therefore create the related themes, these changes and transitions are an important part of life, this concept of change can be seen throughout our world today.

In Elizabethan times, gender roles were dominant in society. Women were regarded as the weaker sex and were taught from birth to cook, clean, and do similar tasks so they could marry and their husbands would be proud (Ram, Pham, Sok, Hamsafar, and Wilhemsen, “Gender Roles in Elizabethan Society.”). Women were expected to bear children and take great pride in being mothers (Ram, Pham, Sok, Hamsafar, and Wilhemsen, “Gender Roles in Elizabethan Society.”). They had few rights; they could not vote, choose a profession, receive an actual education, join the army or navy, or generally provide for themselves (Ram, Pham, Sok, Hamsafar, and Wilhemsen, “Gender Roles in Elizabethan Society.”). Men, on the other hand, were to provide for the women in their families, make all decisions, and have ownership of the family’s land and home (Ram, Pham, Sok, Hamsafar, and Wilhemsen, “Gender Roles in Elizabethan Society.”; Petit, “A Look at Male Gender Roles in Shakespeare’s Renaissance.").. The men could vote and all actors on stage were men. In general, men had every advantage in that time period (Ram, Pham, Sok, Hamsafar, and Wilhemsen, “Gender Roles in Elizabethan Society.”; Petit, “A Look at Male Gender Roles in Shakespeare’s Renaissance.").

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

What is a woman’s role in society? Today this question would cause uproar of answers from both feminists and anti-feminists. Despite the disagreement, the most popular response would be, without a doubt, that women’s role in society is equal to men’s. Currently, women can vote, hold a stable job, and lead a successful life without a husband. However, back in medieval times there were no such luxuries for women. Examples of their treatment can be found in Chaucer’s story, The Knights Tale. From being forced into marriage, to oppression by men, it is clear to see that women were treated as objects.

Women are a very important part of this world although they are sometimes not portrayed that way. One would think they would be seen as significant because of the fact that women make up almost half of the world’s population. Throughout all of history, females have been considered the weaker sex. In the play, Hamlet, written by William Shakespeare, women are portrayed as weak minded and unfaithful. The inability to correctly make important life decisions, a weakened mental state, and complete obedience to men all contribute to this point.

Shakespeare and the members of the Elizabethan era would be appalled at the freedoms women experience today.  The docility of Elizabethan women is almost a forgotten way of life. What we see throughout Shakespeare’s plays is an insight into the female character as perceived by Elizabethan culture.  Shakespeare’s female characters reflect the Elizabethan era’s image of women; they were to be virtuous and obedient and those that were not were portrayed as undesirable and even evil.