The Life of William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1564.

His father, John, who took an active part in local politics, was an important man in the town.

Very little is known about the early years of William Shakespeare’s life, although it is believed that he was educated at the grammar school, where boys were instructed in Latin.

When he was eighteen years old the young Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway, who was eight years older than him. They had three children, Susanna, Hamnet and Judith.

Above: the ‘Flower’ portrait of Shakespeare. (Royal Shakespeare Theatre Collection, Stratford.)

It is not known what kind of work Shakespeare did in the few years that followed his marriage, although biographers have conjectured that he may have worked in his father’s glove factory or been employed as a tutor.

When he was about twenty-three years old Shakespeare went to London where he worked in the theatre, at first as an actor and then as a playwright. He became a member of the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, the most important theatrical company in London. This company built the famous Globe Theatre in London. The Lord Chamberlain’s Men became the King’s Men in 1603. Their principal theatre after 1609 was the Blackfriars.

Shakespeare wrote a total of thirty-eight plays, including histories, Roman plays, tragedies and comedies. His work was gathered together and published after his death.

He had a very successful career as a playwright and shareholder in the theatres where his plays were performed. It is estimated that his earnings as a shareholder were more than ten times the average earnings of a schoolmaster. At the end of his career Shakespeare had made enough money to retire in some style to his native town of Stratford-upon-Avon. He died on 23rd April 1616.

The Taming of the Shrew

It is not known exactly when Shakespeare wrote The Taming of the Shrew,but a likely date seems to be 1592. A play entitled The Taming of a Shrew was published in 1594, and this was thought for many years to be the main source for Shakespeare’s own play. Scholars now believe that the 1594 play was a corrupt version of Shakespeare’s work. The text of Shakespeare’s play was published in 1623.

The Taming of the Shrew is one of the most popular of Shakespeare’s comedies. The play begins with an induction, which is set in Warwickshire. A drunken tinker, Christopher Sly, is brought to a lord’s house, where he is dressed in fine clothes and persuaded that he is really a lord who has been mad for many years. Sly is then taken to see a performance of the play which follows. The main part of The Taming of the Shrew is set in Italy. It tells the story of a young man, Lucentio, who comes to Padua and falls in love with a merchant’s daughter, Bianca. He exchanges positions with his servant, Tranio, in order to gain admittance to Bianca’s house as a tutor. After a series of deceptions and intrigues Lucentio and Bianca are married.

Bianca has an older sister, Katharine, whom no one wants to marry because of her rude and quarrelsome behaviour. Another young man, Petruchio, comes to Padua in search of a rich wife. He decides to marry Katharine, and to make her change her behaviour. He undertakes to ‘tame’ her by depriving her of food and sleep, and forcing her to accept that whatever he says is true, even when he makes patently false statements. At the end of the play Katharine has learned a new way of behaving, and the marriage between her and Petruchio seems founded on genuine and mutual respect and love.

Dramatis Personae

In the Induction

A Lord

CHRISTOPHER SLY a drunken tinker A landladyPage Player Huntsmen Servants

Characters of the play-within-the-play

BAPTISTA a rich gentleman of Padua VINCENTIO an old gentleman of Pisa LUCENTIO son of Vincentio, in love with Bianca

PETRUCHIO a gentleman of Verona, suitor to Katharine

GREMIO

HORTENSIO

TRANIO

BIONDELLO

GRUMIO suitors to Bianca servants ofLucentio Petruchio’s servant

A merchant of Mantua KATHARINE BIANCA A widow Tailor Haberdasher^ Servants ofBaptista and Petruchio

Baptista’s daughters

Christopher Sly becomes a lord

The tavern door opened suddenly, and a man was pushed out into the road. He was very drunk and very angry. He fell onto the ground. Then he picked himself up, and shook the dust from his clothes. He turned round and glared.

‘You can’t treat me like this!’ he shouted to the landlady of the tavern. ‘How dare you throw me into the street!’

The landlady stood on the steps of the tavern, and looked down on the man. She, too, was angry, and her face was red.

‘Will you pay for the glasses you’ve broken?’ she demanded.

‘Never!’ cried the man. ‘My name is Sly, and my family is an old one. We’re not the kind of people you can treat without respect.’

The landlady looked at him with disgust. She knew that Christopher Sly was not an important man at all - she could tell by the clothes he was wearing, and by the way he spoke and behaved.

‘Very well,’ she told him, ‘I’m going to call a constable. He’ll make you pay for those broken glasses!’

The landlady went back inside the tavern, and slammed the door shut.

‘A constable. You send for anyone you like!’ Christopher Sly shouted at the closed door. ‘What do I care? I’m staying here - I won’t move until he comes.’

Christopher Sly sat down on the ground. He was tired now, and his head was beginning to hurt. He had drunk a lot of beer, and he wanted to rest. He rolled over, and went to sleep under a bush. In a few minutes he was fast asleep, and snoring loudly.

Soon there was the sound of horses in the road. Someone blew a horn. It was a hunting party, returning from the field. The lord of the hunting party was talking to his servants. He loved hunting, and he was fond of his hounds.

‘Did you see how well Silver did today?’ he asked one of his men.

‘That dog is a marvel. I wouldn’t sell him for twenty pounds!’

‘Bellman’s a good dog, too, my lord,’ the man replied. ‘He did well in the field today, too. I think he’s better than Silver.’

‘You’re a fool. You don’t know what you’re talking about,’ the lord said coldly. ‘Now take all the hounds, and give them some food. I want to hunt again tomorrow. Look after them well, do you hear me?’

The lord looked down at the ground, and caught sight of Christopher Sly lying there. Sly was still sleeping soundly. The lord was disgusted - he hated drunkenness.

‘Look at that fellow,’ he said to one of his servants, ‘what a filthy animal he is!’ Then he had an idea. He began to smile. He spoke to the servant again.

‘What do you think that fellow would imagine,’ he asked, ‘if he found himself in a comfortable bed when he wakes - with jewels on his fingers, and servants standing round him? What would he do, do you think?’

‘He wouldn’t know what had happened,’ the servant replied. ‘He wouldn’t know who he was.’

‘We’ll play a trick on him, the drunken brute!’ the lord decided.

He told some of his servants what to do. He wanted them to carry Christopher Sly to his own house, and to put him to bed. They were to wash the dirt off him, and to dress him in fine clothes. Then, when he woke up, they were to make sure that musicians played wonderful music outside the door of the bedroom.

‘If he speaks to you,’ the lord told his men, ‘answer him with the greatest respect. Treat him as if he were me. Offer him everything he could want. Make him think he is a lord, and that he has been ill for a long time. If he says that he is Christopher Sly, explain that he has been mad for a long time - that he is really a great lord. Tell him that his wife is desperate because of his illness. Make him believe what you say.’

The servants did what they had been told to do by their master. They picked Christopher Sly up, and carried him very gently to the lord’s house. He was still asleep, and showed no sign of waking.

A group of travelling actors now appeared on the road. When they saw the hunting party they stopped, and greeted the lord politely. The lord enjoyed all forms of entertainment, and he was happy to see the actors.

‘Have you come to perform at my house?’ he asked them.

‘We would like to perform for you, sir,’ one of the actors replied.

‘Excellent!’ the lord cried. ‘I’m very glad to see you, and you can help me. I’m playing a trick on someone, and you can be a part of it. There’s an important lord staying in my house tonight,’ he told them. ‘He’s a strange man, and he’s never seen a play before. When you perform for us, pay no attention if he behaves strangely. Carry on as if you’d noticed nothing odd at all. Will you be able to do that, do you think?’ ‘Certainly we can, sir,’ one of the actors replied. ‘We are actors, we know how to control ourselves. Whatever he does, we will show no sign of surprise at his behaviour. I can promise you that.’

‘Then you are very welcome to my house,’ the lord told them.

The servants who were carrying Christopher Sly arrived at the house before the actors and their master. They did everything that their master had instructed. They put the sleeping man into the lord’s own bed. They washed him, and dressed him in fine clothes. They put jewellery on his fingers. Then they waited for him to wake up.

Christopher Sly groaned in his sleep, and turned over. Then he opened one eye, and immediately closed it again. He had drunk a lot of beer earlier in the day, and he had a headache. After a while, he moved again.

‘Beer!’ he called. ‘Bring me some beer. I need a drink.’

One of the lord’s servants stepped forward.

‘Would your lordship care for some wine?’ he asked.

Another servant stepped forward. ‘Perhaps your lordship would like something delicate to eat?’ he enquired. A third servant stepped forward. ‘What will your lordship wear today?’ he asked.

‘Eh! What’s all this?’ Christopher Sly said. He looked around the room. He did not know where he was. He had never seen such luxury before.

‘Why are you calling me “your lordship”, and asking me about wine, and food, and clothes? My name is Christopher Sly. I’ve never drunk wine in my life - I don’t eat “delicate” things, I eat beef. And why are you asking me about what clothes I want to wear? I’ve only got one set of clothes!’

At that moment the lord entered the bedroom. He thought the joke was going very well, and he was amused at Christopher Sly’s confusion. He began to speak.

‘What a pity it is,’ he said very sadly, ‘to see a great nobleman as mad as this!’

Christopher Sly looked at him doubtfully.

‘What do you mean?’ he asked. ‘I’m Christopher Sly, I tell you! Ask the landlady of the tavern at Wincot who I am. She’ll tell you all about me, and how much I owe her for beer.’

One of the servants offered Christopher Sly a glass, and he began to drink greedily.

‘This is the cause of the problem,’ the lord said. ‘You drink too much. This is why your family avoids you, and why you went mad. Please think carefully, your lordship. Remember who you are, and forget these dreams about Christopher Sly. He doesn’t exist. He’s just a sign of your illness.’

Christopher Sly was more confused than ever now. Perhaps it was all true. Perhaps he really was an important and rich lord, as everyone was saying!

‘Remember all the pleasures that wait for you,’ the lord continued softly. ‘You can have anything you want,’ he said. ‘If you want music, here it is - the sweetest music in the world!’

Suddenly the musicians outside the room began to play.

‘You own a beautiful estate that you can walk around,’ the lord told him. ‘And wonderful horses, if you want to ride. Your hounds are ready for you, if you want to hunt. Or if you want to look at beautiful pictures, you have a fine collection of those. You are a lord, I tell you,’ he repeated. ‘And you have a wife who loves you - she’s a beautiful woman, and your illness has made her very unhappy.’

Now Christopher Sly was convinced.

‘I really am a lord, then?’ he said. ‘And you say I’ve got a beautiful wife who loves me?’

He turned to one of the servants.

‘Bring her to me at once. And bring me some beer, as well,’ he commanded.

‘We’re so happy to see you well once more!’ one of the servants told him. ‘You’ve been mad for a long time, my lord. Fifteen years it’s been since you knew who you were!’

‘Fifteen years!’ Christopher Sly said slowly. ‘But in all that time, didn’t I say anything? Didn’t I speak at all?’

‘You spoke, my lord,’ the servant said, ‘but you spoke nonsense all the time. You talked about Christopher Sly. You spoke about taverns and arguments about paying for beer. Nothing you said made any sense.’

‘It was all a dream, then!’ Christopher Sly said. ‘I’ve been dreaming all this time. I don’t know what to say.’

Now a lady in fine clothes entered the room. The lady was really the lord’s page, i He, too, was obeying his master’s orders.

‘My lord,’ the page said. ‘I’m happy to see you.’

‘Are you my wife?’ Christopher Sly asked. ‘Why do you call me “lord”, and not “husband”?’

‘Forgive me, husband,’ said the page. ‘You are both my husband and my lord.’

‘What’s her name?’ Christopher Sly asked one of the servants. ‘What do I call her?’

‘You call her “madam”,’ the lord told him. ‘That’s how lords address their ladies.’ Christopher Sly looked at the page in the woman’s clothes. He thought he was a lucky man to have such a fine wife.

‘Leave us!’ he ordered the servants. ‘My wife and I wish to be alone for a while.’

The servants and the lord left the room. It was difficult for them not to laugh. They were pleased at the success of the joke against Christopher Sly.

‘Come here, my dear,’ Sly commanded. ‘They tell me we have not been together for fifteen years. Come to bed with me.’

The page had been instructed what to say by the lord.

‘We must be patient,’ he said. ‘The doctors want you to be very quiet for a few days. They think that excitement might bring back your madness. We must wait.’

‘Very well,’ Christopher Sly agreed. ‘We’ll wait for a few days. I don’t want to go mad again.’

A servant now came into the room.

‘The actors are ready, my lord,’ the servant announced. ‘They have heard that you are better, and they want to perform for you. The doctors think a play would be good for you.’

‘A play? I don’t mind seeing a play,’ Christopher Sly decided. ‘Come on, madam, let’s go and see this performance. You can sit by my side.’

Lucentio comes to Padua hristopher Sly settled himself into a comfortable chair in the chamber where the play was to be performed.

He had never seen a play before.

‘Sit next to me, madam,’ he commanded the page. ‘We’ll enjoy the play together.’

The actors came onto the stage, and began their performance. The play was set in Italy. It concerned a young man, Lucentio ... .

Lucentio was the son of a wealthy merchant. His father wanted him to acquire a good education. The young man travelled to Padua to study philosophy at the university there. He arrived in the city with one of his servants, Tranio. His other servant, Biondello, was to arrive later with the luggage.

Lucentio and Tranio did not know anyone in Padua, and they spent part of the day walking around the city, and admiring the sights.i At last they came to a large square in the centre of the city. This was the part of the city where rich people lived, and Lucentio looked at the grand houses with pleasure. Suddenly the door of one of the large houses opened, and a party of people emerged into the square. There were three men and two young girls. The people who came out of the house were all talking excitedly, and they paid no attention to Lucentio and his servant.

‘I wonder what they’re so excited about,’ Lucentio said to Tranio. ‘Let’s go behind this tree, and listen to what they’re saying.’

Soon they could hear one man’s voice raised above the others. This was Baptista, who was the father of the two girls.

‘No more, gentleman, please,’ he said. ‘I have made my decision, and I’m not the kind of man who changes his mind. I will not let my younger daughter marry until I’ve found a husband for my older one.’

Baptista looked at the two men who had come out of the house with himself and his daughters. One of the men was quite old, and the other was young and handsome.

‘You know I like both of you,’ he went on, ‘and if one of you wants to marry my older girl Katharine, I’ll be happy to agree to the marriage .straight away.’

Now, Gremio, the older of the two men spoke. He had come to Baptista’s house because he wanted permission to marry the younger sister, Bianca. Gremio was a rich man, but he was old, and he wanted a quiet life.

‘My friend,’ he said to Baptista, ‘you know I want to marry Bianca. Katharine is too rude and aggressive for my liking.’ He paused for a minute, and then turned to the young man with an ironical smile.

‘But perhaps you, Hortensio, would like to marry Katharine?’

‘Me!’ cried Hortensio angrily. ‘You know I love Bianca.’

The older of the two girls now interrupted the conversation. She was red in the face with anger.

‘You insult me, father!’ Katharine cried angrily. ‘How dare you offer me to these men? This is no way to choose a husband for your daughter.’ ‘You needn’t be afraid,’ Hortensio told her. ‘No man will ever marry you until you learn to be polite and friendly.’

‘And you’re a fool,’ Katharine replied. ‘When you do marry, your wife will treat you badly for it, you can be sure of that!’

Tranio was enjoying this scene, and he nudged Lucentio and smiled.

‘What a dreadful girl!’ he whispered. ‘She’s either mad or she doesn’t care what people think of her at all.’

But Lucentio was looking at the younger sister, Bianca. He thought she was very beautiful. He sighed deeply.

‘So that’s my decision, gentlemen,’ Baptista said to Gremio and Hortensio. ‘No one can marry Bianca until Katharine has a husband. Please come inside now, Bianca,’ he said gently to his younger daughter. ‘And don’t be angry with your father, my dear. You know I love you.’

Katharine looked angrily at Bianca.

‘Spoilt brat!’ she sneered.

Bianca tried to ignore her sister’s unkindness. She spoke to their father.

‘I will do as you ask, father,’ she said sadly. ‘From now on I shall devote myself to my books and music.’

‘Surely, sir, this is unkind to Bianca,’ Hortensio argued.

‘I agree,’ Gremio said. ‘It’s not fair to keep one daughter locked in the house, for the sake of the other one. Why, you’re punishing Bianca for Katharine’s rudeness!’

‘No more, gentlemen, please,’ Baptista replied to them. ‘I’ve made up my mind, I tell you. Bianca will stay in the house until her sister marries. She will study her books and her music. I have decided to employ tutors for her. If either of you gentlemen know of any tutors,

I would be grateful.’

Baptista and his daughters went back into the house. Hortensio and Gremio were left standing outside. They were both unhappy with Baptista’s decision regarding Bianca.

‘There it is, my young friend,’ Gremio said. ‘There’s nothing we can do about it. We both love Bianca, and neither of us can see her now. There is only one thing I can do,’ he went on. ‘I’ll send Bianca a good tutor for her studies.’

‘Listen to me,’ said Hortensio eagerly. ‘We two are rivals for Bianca’s love. That makes us enemies, I know. But I think we should forget our enmity for a while. Why don’t we work together?’

‘To achieve what?’ Gremio asked.

‘We’ve got to find a husband for Katharine!’ Hortensio said. ‘Until Katharine marries, we won’t be able to see Bianca. What do you say, Gremio - shall we work together?’

‘A husband for Katharine!’ Gremio said incredulously. ‘Who would want to marry her? I know Baptista’s a very rich man, Hortensio, and he’s sure to give her a lot of money when she marries - but no man would marry that girl. It’s impossible, I tell you, quite impossible.’

‘I don’t agree,’ Hortensio told him. ‘There must be a man somewhere who would marry her! Anyway, if we want to see Bianca again, it’s our only hope. We’ve got to find a husband for the older sister.’ ‘All right,’ Gremio replied thoughtfully. ‘I agree that we should work together to find a husband for Katharine.’

‘Excellent!’ cried Hortensio. ‘We’ll forget our rivalry for a while.’ Hortensio and Gremio went off together.

Tranio turned to his young master with a smile. He had enjoyed watching the conversations in front of Baptista’s house. He thought the situation was an amusing one, and he wanted to discuss the matter with his master.

Lucentio did not smile when Tranio looked at him. He was very pale, and he looked ill.

‘What’s the matter?’ Tranio asked. ‘Are you all right, sir?’

‘I’m in love,’ Lucentio replied. ‘I never believed in love at first sight,

Tranio. But now I do - I love Bianca, and I must have her! Tell me what to do, Tranio - I need your advice!’

Tranio was not surprised at the sudden change in Lucentio.

He, too, was a young man, and he understood the importance of love for a young man. He considered carefully for a moment.

‘Perhaps I’ve got an idea,’ Tranio said slowly. ‘Did you hear what Baptista said?’ he asked his master. ‘The only men who can see Bianca now are her tutors - do you remember that?’

‘Yes, I remember that,’ Lucentio replied. ‘And that gives me an idea, Tranio. But tell me your idea first.

Perhaps we’ve both got the same idea!’

‘You must become a tutor, Lucentio,’ his servant told him. ‘It’s the only way to see Bianca.’

‘My idea exactly!’ cried Lucentio excitedly. ‘I’ll become Bianca’s tutor. That way I’ll be able to go into her house, and talk to her every day.’

Lucentio was smiling now. He thought this would be an exciting adventure, and it pleased him. Tranio was smiling, too. He, too, thought it would be a great adventure.

The two young men began to discuss how they would put their plan into action. No one in Padua knew Lucentio and Tranio, because they had just arrived in the city. They decided that Tranio would pretend to be Lucentio, and Lucentio would pretend to be a tutor. They exchanged clothes, so that Tranio would look like a rich young man.

Tranio was enjoying himself, and he laughed happily at the sight of Lucentio in his servant’s clothes. ‘Your father told me to be useful to you while we were in Padua,’ he joked. ‘Though I don’t think he meant me to be useful in quite this way!’

Soon they were joined in the square by Lucentio’s second servant, Biondello. He was very surprised to see Tranio dressed in Lucentio’s fine clothes, and his young master wearing servant’s clothing.

‘What’s going on?’ Biondello asked. ‘Why have you swapped clothes?’

‘Ssh!’ hissed Lucentio. ‘You’ll ruin everything if you make a noise, Biondello. We’ve changed clothes because I’m in trouble. I had an argument when we came ashore, and I killed a man. No one can recognise me now. From now on, you must treat Tranio as if he were me - do you understand?’

‘Do as Lucentio says,’ Tranio added. ‘We must do everything to help our master in this situation. And be careful, Biondello,’ he warned. ‘When there are other people around, remember to call me Lucentio, and to behave with the greatest respect to me.’

‘There’s just one other thing,’ Lucentio told Tranio. ‘You must pretend that you are in love with Bianca. It’s important that you do that.’

The first part of the play ended here. The lord and the other people in the chamber applauded the actors loudly.

Christopher Sly did not applaud the actors. He had fallen asleep in his comfortable chair. One of the servants approached him, and gently woke him.

‘Are you enjoying the play, my lord?’ the servant asked.

‘Eh! What’s that? What did you say?’ Sly muttered sleepily. ‘Ah, the play — oh, yes, yes — very good play - is it over?’

‘Why no, my lord, it’s just begun,’ the servant informed him.

Christopher Sly was awake now.

‘It’s an excellent play, madam, an excellent play,’ he told the page. He patted the boy’s arm and looked at him tenderly. ‘I can’t wait for it to be over! Then we’ll be alone together.’

Petruchio comes to padua

Lucentio was not the only young man who had just arrived in Padua. Another rich young man, Petruchio, had also come to the city. Petruchio’s father had recently died, and he was in search of adventure.

Petruchio and his servant Grumio stopped outside Hortensio’s house.

‘This must be the right house,’ Petruchio said. ‘I’m sure my good friend Hortensio lives here.’ He knocked loudly on the door.

Hortensio came to the door, and opened it. When he saw Petruchio, he was delighted.

‘My old friend!’ he cried delightedly, ‘Welcome to Padua. And welcome to you, too, Grumio.’

The two friends talked together for a while, and then Hortensio asked Petruchio why he had come the city.

‘I’ll tell you,’ Petruchio replied. ‘My father is dead, and I’ve inherited all his land and money. I’ve come here in search of adventure. Who knows? Perhaps I’ll even find a wife here in Padua!’

‘A wife!’ said Hortensio. ‘What a pity you don’t want a rude, quarrelsome girl for your wife, Petruchio - I know just such a girl! She’s rich, too. But you wouldn’t thank me for introducing her to you. Besides, you’re a good friend. I could never recommend a girl like that to you.’ Petruchio was listening very carefully to Hortensio.

‘Let me explain what I want,’ he said to his friend. ‘Then we’ll understand each other. I’m looking for a wife, it’s true. But the woman I marry must be rich, Hortensio, that’s the important thing. I don’t care about anything else - the important thing is how much money she’s got!’ ‘You see what he’s like,’ Grumio interrupted, ‘he doesn’t care what she’s like. He’d marry an old hag if she were rich enough!’

Hortensio could see that Petruchio was serious.

‘I was joking before,’ he explained. ‘But there really is a girl like the one I described here in Padua. She’s rude and quarrelsome, but she’s also very rich - and she’s beautiful, too.’

‘That’s the girl for me!’ Petruchio announced. ‘Take me to her, Hortensio. My mind’s made up. She’ll be the perfect wife for me.’ Hortensio then told Petruchio everything about Katharine. He explained that her father was Baptista. He told his friend about Baptista’s decision that no one could marry Bianca until Katharine was married.

And then he confessed his own love for Bianca.

‘So, if you’re really serious about marrying Katharine,’ he concluded, ‘I’ll do everything I can to help you. If you marry Katharinq, I’ll be able to marry Bianca!’

‘Take me to her,’ Petruchio repeated. ‘I’ll marry this Katharine, don’t you worry about that.’

The two young men talked for a while longer. Hortensio told Petruchio about his rival, Gremio. They agreed that Petruchio would go to Baptista’s house, and try to marry Katharine.

‘Then there’s something you can do for me,’ Hortensio said. ‘Tell Baptista that you have heard he is looking for tutors for Bianca. Say that you know a good music tutor, and offer to bring him to the house. I’ll be Bianca’s music tutor, Petruchio - it’ll be a splendid way of seeing Bianca!’ Soon Hortensio and Petruchio were hurrying towards Baptista’s house. Just as they reached the square where Baptista’s house was, they saw Gremio. Gremio was walking with another man. The second man was really Lucentio, but he was disguised as a tutor. He called himself Cambio. He and Hortensio had had the same idea!

‘That’s the man I was telling you about,’ said Hortensio, pointing at Gremio. ‘He wants to marry Bianca as well.’

Petruchio’s servant looked at Gremio with distaste.

‘He’s certainly old enough!’ Grumio joked.

Gremio was giving Lucentio his final instructions.

‘Remember,’ he said, ‘whatever Baptista pays you for your work as Bianca’s tutor, I’ll add something extra. What books will you read with her, Cambio?’

‘Don’t worry about that,’ Lucentio answered. ‘Whatever I read to her, I’ll be sure to tell her of your love with every word. I’ll use all my learning to make her fall in love with you!’

‘What a wonderful thing education is!’ Gremio said enthusiastically.

‘What a fool an old lover is!’ Grumio whispered under his breath to Petruchio.

Hortensio introduced Petruchio to Gremio. He explained that Petruchio wanted to marry Katharine.

‘Have you told him what Katharine is like?’ Gremio asked suspiciously. ‘Have you told him how rude she is, and how quarrelsome?’ he asked Hortensio.

‘I know all about that,’ Petruchio answered. ‘I’m not worried about that,

I can tell you. I’m a man, aren’t I? I’m not frightened of a girl’s rudeness!’

‘I told Petruchio that we would pay his expenses while he’s in Padua,’ Hortensio said. ‘I think that’s fair, seeing that he wants to marry Katharine. What do you think, Gremio?’

‘All right, I agree,’ Gremio said. ‘We’ll pay his expenses, once he’s married to Katharine. And sir,’ he said, turning to Petruchio politely, ‘I wish you luck. Your arrival in Padua may be a good thing for us.’

Just then Tranio arrived in the square outside Baptista’s house. He was wearing Lucentio’s clothes, and he was pretending to be Lucentio. Biondello was walking with him. Tranio stopped when he saw the group of people near Baptista’s house.

‘Excuse me, gentlemen,’ he said politely, ‘can any of you tell me where to find Baptista’s house?’

Gremio stepped forward now. He did not like the idea that someone else was interested in Baptista’s daughters. ‘Is it Baptista that you want, or his daughters, sir?’ he asked coldly.

Tranio knew that Gremio did not want any more rivals for Bianca’s love, and he was amused. He decided to tease the old lover a little.

‘Perhaps I want Baptista, perhaps I want one of his daughters,’ he replied arrogantly. ‘What’s it got to do with you, sir?’

‘I hope you’re not looking for the rude and quarrelsome daughter,’ Petruchio said.

‘I’m not interested in rude and quarrelsome girls,’ Tranio told him.

‘Theirtt must be Bianca you want!’ Gremio said angrily.

Tranio now pretended to be offended.

‘If I am interested in Bianca, what harm is there?’ he asked Gremio.

‘A man can fall in love where he likes, can’t he? This is a free country, after all!’

‘You can’t fall in love with Bianca,’ Gremio replied. ‘I’m in love with her.’

‘And so am I!’ Hortensio said loudly. He and Gremio glared angrily at each other. Then they glared at Tranio.

‘Listen to me, gentlemen,’ Tranio now said. ‘I do not know Bianca, but I have heard that she is beautiful. That’s why I am here.’

Petruchio now spoke.

‘But you won’t be able to see Bianca,’ he told Tranio. ‘Her father won’t allow anyone to see her until Katharine has a husband. That’s why I’m here,’ he said importantly. ‘I’m going to marry Katharine.’

‘I see,’ Tranio replied thoughtfully. Then he smiled at Petruchio.

‘If what you say is true, sir, I wish you luck. None of us can see Bianca until you have married Katharine.’

Now Hortensio spoke. He told Tranio that he and Gremio had agreed to pay Petruchio’s expenses while he was in Padua.

‘If you want to marry Bianca,’ he said to Tranio, ‘you must help to pay Petruchio’s expenses as well. It’s only fair. Without Petruchio, none of us will be able to marry Bianca!’

‘You’re right,’ Tranio now agreed. ‘We all want Petruchio to succeed with Katharine. I agree that we should all share his expenses. I suggest that we go to a tavern and discuss the matter together. We may be rivals once Katharine is married — but for now let’s drink together, and be friends!’ Hortensio and Lucentio become Tutors

Katharine was in a rage i with her sister Bianca. She was furious that so many men wanted to marry her younger sister. She tied Bianca up with some rope, and began beating her with a whip.‘Now tell me,’ she yelled, ‘which of these men do you like the best?’ Bianca answered very patiently.

‘I’ll tell you the truth, sister,’ she replied, with tears in her eyes. ‘I’m not in love with any of them, Katharine. I haven’t fallen in love with anyone yet.’

‘Liar!’ shouted Katharine. She raised the whip and beat her sister more fiercely than before. ‘It’s Hortensio, isn’t it? You love him more than the others, I’m sure of it. Tell me the truth!’

Bianca was crying now.

‘It’s not true,’ she sobbed. ‘If that’s why you’re so angry, you can have Hortensio for yourself - I don’t care for him at all. I told you, I don’t love any of them.’

‘Then it must be the old rich one!’ Katharine announced. ‘I understand you better now, little sister. It’s wealth you love, isn’t it? It’s Gremio’s money you’re after!’

‘No!’ cried Bianca again. ‘If you want Gremio, you can have him!’ she cried. ‘Gremio doesn’t mean anything to me. But, please,’ she begged, ‘let me go, Katharine - untie my hands.’

Baptista had heard Katharine’s shouting, and the sound of crying from Bianca. He came hurrying into the room. When he saw his younger daughter tied up, and the whip in Katharine’s hands, he was horrified and very angry.

‘How dare you!’ he roared at Katharine. ‘Let your little sister go, you monster! Can’t you see she’s crying?’

He freed Bianca, and did his best to comfort her. Then he glared at Katharine.

‘Why do you treat your sister so cruelly?’ he asked. ‘When did she ever say an unkind word to you?’

‘She annoys me,’ Katharine answered. ‘Even when she doesn’t say a word, she annoys me, father.’

She raised the whip once more, and approached Bianca threateningly. Once again Baptista stopped her. Then he sent Bianca out of the room.

‘You love her more than you love me,’ Katharine complained. ‘You want Bianca to have a husband. You don’t care what happens to me, father!’

She ran out of the room crying.

Meanwhile Gremio and the young men had been to a tavern together, and had drunk some wine. They then decided to go to Baptista’s house. They knocked on the door of the house, and a servant let them into the house. Baptista welcomed them politely.

Petruchio was the first to speak.

‘You do not know me, sir,’ he said to Baptista, ‘but I have heard of you. You have a beautiful and virtuous daughter called Katharine, isn’t that right?’

Baptista did not know how to reply to this question. He did not think that Katharine could be described as ‘virtuous’.

‘It’s true I have a daughter called Katharine, sir,’ he answered.

‘My name is Petruchio,’ the young man told him. ‘I come from Verona, sir. I have heard such wonderful things about your Katharine, that I have come to your house to propose to her. I have brought with me a gift which I hope you will accept.’ Here he paused for a moment, and looked at Hortensio. Hortensio was disguised as a music tutor. ‘This young man,’ Petruchio went on, ‘is a musician and a mathematician, and I’ve brought him here so that he can help Katharine with her lessons. His name is Licio, and he comes from Mantua.’

‘You are very kind, sir,’ Baptista replied. ‘You are welcome to my house. And you are welcome, too, Licio,’ he said to Hortensio. Then he spoke to Petruchio again.

‘But I’m afraid that my daughter Katharine is not the girl for you.’

Petruchio understood what Baptista was trying to say - that no man would want Katharine because she was rude and quarrelsome; but he pretended not to understand what Baptista meant.

‘I see that you do not want to let your daughter marry,’ he said, ‘or perhaps you do not like me.’

Gremio had been listening to the conversation between Petruchio and Baptista with impatience, and now he interrupted the young man’s talk.

‘Enough of all this!’ he said. ‘We have something to say as well, you know!’

Petruchio looked at Gremio politely.

‘I’m sorry,’ he said, ‘it’s just that I’m keen to see Katharine.’

‘Never mind all that for now,’ Gremio said impatiently.

‘Sir,’ he said to Baptista, ‘I, too, have brought a gift. This young man is called Cambio,’ he announced, pointing to Lucentio who was disguised as a tutor. ‘He is a scholar, and I have brought him here to be Bianca’s tutor.’

‘You are very kind,’ Baptista said to Gremio. ‘Welcome to my house, Cambio,’ he said politely.

Baptista then spoke to Tranio. He thought that Tranio was a rich young man, because he was wearing Lucentio’s clothes.

‘I don’t think I know you, sir,’ Baptista said.

‘That’s true, sir,’ Tranio acknowledged. ‘I’m a stranger in Padua. My name is Lucentio. I come from Pisa. My father is called Vincentio.’

‘I know your father by name,’ Baptista told him. ‘He’s an important man in that city.’

‘I’ve come to your house because I’ve heard about Bianca’s beauty,’ Tranio said. ‘And I too, sir,’ he added, ‘have brought a small gift for your daughter.’ Tranio handed Baptista a parcel of books and a lute.

Baptista thanked Tranio for the present he had brought, and then he called a servant. He told the servant to take the new tutors to his daughters. Hortensio and Lucentio went with the servant.

Petruchio now spoke again. He had decided to be very direct with Baptista.

‘I’m a man of business,’ he began, ‘and I wish to know how much money your daughter will have when she marries.’

‘She will have half of my lands and money when I die,’ Baptista told him.

‘Good!’ Petruchio said. ‘She will also have all my lands and properties if I die before her. I think we should draw up a contract so that everything is clear between us.’

‘But you’re forgetting something,’ Baptista said with a smile. ‘We don’t know that Katharine will agree to marry you, sir!’

‘She’ll agree all right, you don’t have to worry about that,’ Petruchio replied confidently. ‘The truth is,’ he explained to Baptista, ‘I’m as impatient as she is proud. And when we meet, I will be like the wind that blows out a little fire. I will dominate her, and she will do as I wish. Have no fear, sir - your daughter will obey me!’ he said proudly.

Suddenly there was a noise in another part of the house, and the sound of someone running. Hortensio came into the room, clutching his head and moaning in pain.

‘What is it? What’s the matter, Licio?’ Baptista asked.

'It’s Katharine, sir,’ replied the young man. ‘I was trying to teach her how to play the lute. She suddenly got angry, and threw it at my head!’

Petruchio laughed loudly.

‘She’s got spirit!’ he declared happily. ‘I like a girl with spirit. I can’t wait to speak to her.’

‘You’d better go to Bianca, Licio,’ Baptista ordered. ‘At least she won’t treat you badly. And I’ll send Katharine to you, if you still want to see her,’ he told Petruchio.

‘Of course I want to see her,’ Petruchio said. ‘That’s why I’m here. Please send her in to me.’

Petruchio had already decided how he would behave with Katharine. If she was rude, he would compliment her on her politeness. If she was silent, he would compliment her on her talkativeness. If she refused to marry him, he would pretend that she was in a hurry to marry him.

‘Whatever she does, I’ll pretend she means the opposite,’ he told himself.

Petruchio becomes a lover

When Katherine entered the room, Petruchio greeted her enthusiastically.

‘Good morning, Kate,’ he said with a smile. Katharine frowned at him.

‘My name’s not Kate - it’s Katharine,’ she told him coldly.

‘Nonsense!’ Petruchio replied. ‘You’re Kate. You’re pretty Kate, my very own Kate! You’re famous, Kate,’ he went on, ‘for your politeness, for your beauty, and for all your good qualities. That’s why I’ve come here. I’m going to marry you.’

'Marry me!’ the girl laughed with scorn. ‘I wish you’d leave me alone!’ Petruchio laughed. He was not offended by Katharine’s rudeness. Suddenly he moved forward, and took her in his arms.

‘Listen, Kate,’ he cried; ‘I’m a gentleman - ’

‘A gentleman!’ Katharine mocked him. ‘Let’s see if you’re really a gentleman. I know that real gentlemen don’t hit girls.’ And she slapped his face very hard with her hand.

‘Don’t do that again, my girl,’ Petruchio warned her. ‘If you do, I’ll hit you back.’

‘You see, you’re not a gentleman at all,’ Katharine told him.

Now she tried to leave the room, but Petruchio grabbed hold of her again. Again he was laughing.

‘Not so fast, Kate dear,’ he cried, ‘I haven’t finished with you yet, my dear.’

Katharine began to struggle in his arms to free herself. She beat Petruchio with her fists, and scratched him with her nails, but he did— not let her go.

‘You’re so gentle, Kate,’ he mocked her. ‘They told me you were rough and violent, but I find you gentle and loving. They told me you were angry and rude, but I find you charming and courteous. Everything they said about you was wrong.’

Katharine struggled in Petruchio’s arms for a while, but he was too strong for her. After a while she stopped trying to hurt him, and stayed still.

‘Now listen to me, Kate,’ Petruchio told her. ‘Your father has given me permission to marry you, and that’s what I’m going to do. You’re going to be my wife, Kate. I’m the man who will change you into a good, polite, and gentle woman.’

Katharine laughed with scorn. She had no intention of being changed by any man. She wanted to go on just as she had been doing.

Just then Petruchio heard the sound of footsteps in the corridor outside the room.

‘Ssh, Kate!’ he ordered her. ‘Your father’s coming back.’

Baptista, Gremio and Tranio came into the room. They were all interested to see how the meeting between Petruchio and Katharine had gone.

‘Well, sir, how do you find my daughter?’ Baptista asked. He looked anxiously at the two young people.

‘Everything is arranged,’ Petruchio announced. ‘We get along splendidly - how could it be otherwise?’

Baptista was very surprised. He looked questioningly at Katharine. She did not seem happy. She did not look like a girl in love.

‘And you, Katharine?’ he asked nervously. ‘Are you sure?’

Now Katharine exploded with anger.

‘What kind of a father are you?’ the girl screamed at him. ‘You want me to marry this madman, who thinks he can do exactly what he likes with me. I won’t do it, father - I won’t do it, I tell you!’

Petruchio interrupted her.

‘I have learnt the truth about your daughter Katharine,’ he told Baptista. ‘Everyone says that she is rude, quarrelsome and aggressive, but they are wrong. She only pretends to be like that. With me she is gentle, polite and loving. We have agreed to be married on Sunday.’

‘Marry you on Sunday!’ Katharine cried. ‘I’ll see you dead before I marry you!’

Petruchio smiled at Baptista. He did not mind Katharine’s anger at all.

‘Pay no attention to what she says now,’ he advised. ‘Katharine loves me. You can have no idea how gentle she is when we are alone together. And if we are happy, why should you worry, sir? It’s just that she does not want to admit that she loves me to other people. We’ve agreed that she will go on being her old self in front of others. But the marriage will go ahead, that’s the important thing. Please organise everything for Sunday.’ At first Baptists did not know what to believe. Katharine did not seem happy, but he could not doubt that Petruchio was serious. At last he made up his mind.

‘I’m delighted,’ he said to both of them. ‘I’ll make sure that everything is prepared for Sunday.’

’And now,’ said Petruchio hurriedly, ‘I must go to Venice. I have some business there to attend to. I will return on Sunday for the wedding.’

He took Katharine in his arms.

‘Kiss me, Kate,’ he said. ‘We’ll be married on Sunday.’

Petruchio then left the house.

‘Well!’ said Gremio, when Petruchio had left the house. ‘That was quick work, all right. I’ve never seen a wedding agreed so rapidly before.’ Then he remembered his own business with Baptista. ‘But now, sir,’ he said, ‘we can talk about your other daughter, Bianca. You know that I love her, and that I want to marry her -’

‘I love her too, and I want to marry her,’ Tranio interrupted the older man.

Gremio laughed at Tranio.

‘You!’ he said. ‘You don’t know what love is, young man.’

And you’re too old to know what love is!’ Tranio replied angrily. ‘No girl could love an old man like you, Gremio.’

Baptista now spoke.

‘I know you both love Bianca,’ he told them, ‘and I will give her to the man who is most generous to her. You, Gremio,’ he asked, ‘how much money will you give her?’

‘You know me, sir,’ Gremio answered. ‘You know that I have a fine house here in Padua. I also have a large farm in the countryside. I am an old man, Baptista, and when I die, all these things will be Bianca’s.’

Tranio laughed at Gremio’s offer.

‘My father is a rich man,’ he told Baptista, ‘and I am his only son. If I marry Bianca, I will give her three or four houses that are as good as Gremio’s, as well as an income of two thousand ducats from land.’ He paused for a moment, and looked ironically at Gremio.

‘I think that beats your offer, sir?’ he enquired.

Gremio was astonished at the generosity of Tranio’s offer. His land did not produce two thousand ducats a year. But Gremio was an experienced businessman, and he did not express his surprise at the magnificence of Tranio’s offer.

‘I also have a fleet of ships,’ he told Baptista. ‘If Bianca marries me, I will give her the ships as well.’ Now it was his turn to mock Tranio. ‘Does my fleet of ships defeat you, young man?’ he asked coolly.

Tranio laughed at the older man.

‘My father has three fleets of ships,’ he responded, ‘as well as other vessels. If Bianca marries me, they will all be hers.’

Now Gremio was in despair. He could not match * Tranio’s offer.

‘I cannot offer more,’ he said sadly. ‘I have no more to offer her.’

‘Then Bianca is mine!’ Tranio cried excitedly.

‘You have certainly offered more, it’s true,’ Baptista agreed. ‘But what if you die before your father - what would happen to your offer then? You must ask your father to guarantee the offer you have made. Then my daughter will be yours. That’s only right, you know.’

‘Ask my father to guarantee my offer!’ Tranio said in surprise. ‘I’m young, and my father is old - I’m not going to die before he does.’

‘Young men do sometimes die before their fathers,’ Gremio said.

‘I must have your father’s promise,’ Baptista said firmly. ‘Katharine will be married next Sunday. You can marry Bianca the Sunday after that, if you bring me your father’s guarantee before then. That is my final decision.’

Gremio began to laugh cruelly at Tranio.

‘Young fool,’ he mocked, ‘you’ll never get your father’s guarantee. He’ll never promise to give Bianca all his fortune while he lives. I shall win her in the end!’

Now Tranio was in despair. He had tried to win Bianca for Lucentio, but he realised that he had made promises that his master could not keep. Then he had a sudden idea.

‘It’s true that Lucentio’s father will never agree to give this guarantee,’ he thought. ‘But if we can find someone to pretend to be Lucentio’s father, it will do just as well. That’s what we’ll do. We’ll fool Baptista with an impostor!’

Rivalry and marriage

Over the next few days Hortensio and Lucentio began their work as tutors to Bianca. Both young men were in love with their pupil, and they were very jealous of each other. Each tried to interrupt the lessons of the other in order to be alone with Bianca.

‘It’s not the time for your music lesson, Licio,’ Lucentio said to Hortensio. ‘Leave us alone now to study, will you?’ He laughed at his rival. ‘Remember how Katharine treated her music tutor!’ he mocked him. Hortensio began to be annoyed with Lucentio.

‘Don’t you know that music is more important than books, Cambio?’ he asked scornfully. ‘Leave us in peace to make music together!’

‘You don’t even know why music was invented!’ Lucentio told him. ‘Music is intended to relax us after we have worked or studied. So let us do some work, Licio - then you can play your music.’

Bianca watched the argument between her two tutors. She still did not know who Licio and Cambio really were. She did not like them to quarrel about her.

‘Gentlemen!’ she cried. ‘Please don’t argue like this. You are both forgetting something. I’m not a child who has to have one hour of music followed by one hour of reading. I will decide what I study, and when I study!’

‘You can tune your lute, Licio,’ she suggested, ‘while Cambio reads to me. When the instrument is ready, we’ll have some music.’

Hortensio began to adjust the lute.

Lucentio and Bianca opened one of the books. He sat very close to the girl and read to her. They were studying Latin, and Lucentio was pretending to translate for her.

‘Hie ibat,’ he read aloud. Then he whispered,

‘I’m not really a tutor at all. My name is Lucentio. The Lucentio who comes to the house is my servant Tranio. I love you.’

Bianca was very surprised at Lucentio’s words. She wanted to learn more, but just then Hortensio made a loud noise with the lute.

I’m ready!’ he cried. ‘I’ve tuned the instrument - we can begin our lesson now, Bianca!’

Bianca looked at him impatiently. She wanted to continue the conversation with Lucentio. She did not want to be disturbed.

‘The lute isn’t quite tuned, Licio,’ she told him. ‘It doesn’t sound right. Please tune it again.’

Hortensio was annoyed, but he went back to the instrument and began to tune it again.

Bianca smiled at Lucentio, and they pretended to go on with their Latin lesson.

‘Let me see if I understand properly,’ Bianca said. She opened the book and pointed at the page they had been studying. ‘Hie ibat,’ she began in a loud voice. In a very low voice she said, ‘I don’t know you - speak quietly so that he can’t hear us - you haven’t won me yet - but don’t give up hope.’

Hortensio stepped forward once more. He saw that Bianca and Lucentio were sitting very close together, and he was suddenly suspicious. Perhaps the tutor was trying to make Bianca fall in love with him! Hortensio decided to listen to their conversation.

‘I may believe it one day,’ Hortensio heard Bianca say, ‘but just now I’m not sure - I’m not sure at all!’

Lucentio could see Hortensio’s shadow on the floor. He raised a finger in warning to Bianca, and pointed at the shadow. Then he spoke to her as if they were discussing her lesson.

‘You can be sure of it, Ajax was named after his grandfather.’

Bianca was delighted at Lucentio’s cleverness, and she replied,

‘I must believe what my tutor tells me.’ She then turned round, and looked at Hortensio.

‘Shall we have some music now?’ she asked him politely.

‘You’d better leave us,’ Hortensio told Lucentio. ‘We’re going to play a duet together.’

Now Lucentio was suspicious of Hortensio. He thought that Hortensio would try to make Bianca fall in love with him.

‘We must practise scales,’ Hortensio told Bianca. ‘Please look at this,’ he said to her, and handed her a piece of paper. ‘It is a musical exercise that I have devised for you. Read it carefully.’

Bianca looked at the piece of paper, and began reading.

Bianca folded the piece of paper, and gave it back to the young man.

‘I don’t like these new exercises,’ she told him with a sweet smile. ‘I prefer the old ones.’

The week passed quickly, and it was soon Sunday morning, the day of Katharine’s wedding. Everyone met in the square outside Baptista’s house in their finest clothes. They were waiting for the bridegroom, but there was no sign of him.

They had been waiting a long time, and everybody was nervous. Some of them began to think that Petruchio would not come.

‘Petruchio’s late,’ Baptista complained to Tranio. ‘I wonder where he is. Think what a disgrace it will be if he doesn’t come!’

‘The disgrace will be mine,’ Katharine said. This was a very important day for her, and she was nervous. ‘I told you he was mad, father,’ she complained. ‘He’ll never come, the whole thing was just a joke. He meant to make a fool of me. Think of how everyone will laugh at me because of this. Everyone will point at me in the street. They’ll say, “That’s Petruchio’s wife - if he could only be bothered to come and marry her!”’ She began to cry.

Tranio did his best to comfort Katharine, and to reassure her father.

‘I’m sure he’s coming,’ he told them. ‘Petruchio may be a little wild, but he means well. Something has delayed him, that’s all.’

‘I wish I’d never seen him!’ Katharine sobbed. She had never been so humiliated. She turned round, and began walking to the house. She wanted to hide away from all the people who had come to see her married.

Baptista watched her walk away. He felt very sorry for her.

‘You’re right, go home,’ he told her. ‘There’s no point in staying here now - he’ll never come now.’

Suddenly there was an excited shout from the far end of the square. A man came running towards the wedding group. It was Biondello.

‘Master!’ he cried loudly. ‘I’ve got news, master! The strangest news too. Petruchio is coming,’ Biondello announced. ‘I’ve just seen him. But he’s wearing the oddest i clothes. He’s wearing a new hat, but everything else is old. His jacket is old and dirty, his sword is old and rusty, and his boots are old and broken. Even his horse is old and tired. He’s not dressed for a wedding at all.’

Baptista was very relieved to hear that Petruchio was coming.

‘At least he’s here!’ he said impatiently to Biondello. ‘The wedding will go ahead!’ He looked down the square.

‘There he is!’ he cried.

Petruchio and his servant Grumio came into sight. They were both wearing old, dirty clothes, and Petruchio’s horse was old and ugly.

Petruchio was smiling happily, as if there was nothing strange about the way he was dressed, or the horse he was riding.

‘Good morning to you all!’ he called out loudly.

Baptista looked at Petruchio, and nodded coldly.

‘Welcome, sir,’ he muttered. He was offended by Petruchio’s behaviour.

‘You’re not as well dressed as we imagined you might be,’ Tranio told him. ‘Well dressed?’ Petruchio replied carelessly. ‘What does that matter? I don’t care about being well dressed!’ He looked around. ‘But where’s Kate?’ he asked. ‘Where’s my lovely bride?’

No one answered him. Everyone was surprised and shocked at his behaviour.

‘Why are you all looking at me so strangely?’ Petruchio demanded. ‘What’s the matter? What have I done?’

‘First we thought you weren’t coming,’ Baptista explained angrily. ‘Katharine was very upset, and she’s gone back inside the house. Then you arrive dressed like this,’ he said bitterly.

‘On your wedding day!’

‘My clothes are not important,’ Petruchio said again. ‘It’s me your daughter is marrying, not my clothes. Now I want to see Kate. I want to see my bride!’

Petruchio walked into the house, followed by Baptista and the other wedding guests.

Only Tranio and Lucentio waited in the square. They wanted to speak together for a moment.

Lucentio told his servant how the lessons with Bianca were going. He believed that she was falling in love with him.

‘Good,’ said Tranio, ‘that’s excellent. Now we must make her father accept you, as well. We need someone to pretend to be your father, sir -someone who will give Baptista the property guarantees that he has asked for.’

Petruchio’s behaviour during the wedding service made everyone ashamed. He acted like a madman. He had not changed his old clothes, and he seemed determined to do everything he could to embarrass and humiliate his bride.

The priest asked him if he would take Katharine as his wife.

‘You’re damn right I will!’ Petruchio roared loudly. The priest was so surprised that he dropped his prayer book. As he bent down to pick it up Petruchio knocked him over. As the service came to an end, Petruchio seized hold of Katharine and kissed her passionately. Then he shouted for wine.

Petruchio’s extraordinary behaviour continued after the church service. Everyone went back to Baptista’s house. Katharine’s father had prepared a huge and costly wedding feast for all the guests.

‘Friends,’ Petruchio announced, ‘I know you all expected to dine with us today. I’m sorry, but I’m in a hurry to go, and so I cannot eat with you.’

There was a shocked silence from the guests. Baptista was already very angry with Petruchio, and now he could hardly believe what the young man was saying.

‘Go?’ he demanded. ‘What do you mean, go? Surely you’ll eat with us, to celebrate the wedding?’ ‘I’m sorry,’ Petruchio replied. ‘I have urgent business, and I must go. But I hope you will all stay and enjoy yourselves,’ he said to the guests. ‘Please change your mind,’ Tranio said. ‘Please eat with us all.’

‘I can’t,’ replied Petruchio.

‘Do change your mind,’ Gremio said.

‘I can’t,’ Petruchio replied once more.

‘Stay, please,’ Katharine said. ‘For my sake, stay.’

Petruchio smiled at her.

‘Ah, that makes me happy,’ he said softly.

‘You mean you’re happy to stay?’ Katharine asked him.

‘I’m happy that you asked me,’ he told her. ‘But I will not stay.’

Katharine was almost in tears again.

‘If you love me, stay,’ she begged.

Petruchio turned to his servant Grumio.

‘Get my horse ready,’ he commanded. ‘I’m leaving immediately.’

Katharine was suddenly furious. Petruchio had deliberately ruined her wedding day, and she could no longer control her emotions.

‘Go, then!’ she screamed. ‘There’s the door, sir. Go, if you want! But I won’t go with you. I’m staying here!’

She spoke to the guests.

‘Please go in and eat,’ she invited them.

‘Yes, go in, go in and eat,’ Petruchio told them. Then he leaptforward and grabbed Katharine. ‘But my wife is coming with me!’

Katharine struggled fiercely in his arms, but Petruchio was strong.

‘She’s my wife,’ he shouted, ‘and my wife will do as I tell her!’

Now he drew his sword and waved it in the air. He waved it menacingly at the guests.

‘Don’t try to stop us!’ he cried loudly. ‘Don’t worry, Kate!’ And he carried her out of the house. Everyone was astonished at what had happened.

‘They’re mad,’ Baptista commented sadly. ‘They’re both mad.

Then he remembered his guests.

‘The bride and groom have gone,’ he said, ‘but we will still have our feast. Lucentio, will you take Petruchio’s place at the table? And you, Bianca, will you sit in your sister’s place?’

Love Lessons

Petruchio and Katharine had a long and uncomfortable journey to Petruchio’s house in the country. The weather was very cold and wet, and Katharine fell from her horse into the mud. They ate nothing while they were on the road, and when they arrived at the house they were both tired, hungry and dirty.

‘Never mind, my love,’ Petruchio said affectionately, ‘once we’re inside we’ll wash and get warm. Then we’ll eat something.’

As soon as they arrived at the house Petruchio began shouting orders at his servants.

‘Food!’ he cried. ‘Bring us food, and some water to wash in. Hurry, you fools!’

A servant rushed into the room carrying a bowl of hot water. Petruchio pretended not to see the man. He looked in the other direction. Then he fell against the man deliberately, and the water was spilt on the floor.

‘Idiot!’ he shouted. ‘Why don’t you look where you’re going?’

He struck the servant as if he were angry.

‘Please don’t hit him,’ Katharine said quietly. ‘It was an accident. It wasn’t the servant’s fault.’

Petruchio smiled to himself. Katharine was beginning to show a new gentleness that pleased him.

‘Come, my dear,’ he said tenderly. ‘Let’s eat, shall we? I know you’re hungry.’

He led her to the table, and they sat down. Another servant entered the room, and placed a huge dish of meat in front of them. Katharine stared at the food - she hadn’t eaten for a long time, and she was starving.

‘What kind of meat is this?’ Petruchio asked the servant. ‘Is it mutton?’

‘Yes sir,’ the man replied.

Petruchio bent over the dish of meat, and sniffed it. Then he frowned. ‘Burnt!’ he cried. ‘You’ve burnt the meat, you fool. Take it away.’ He knocked the whole dish to the floor. Then he rose to his feet, and chased the servant out of the room.

Katharine tried to calm her husband.

‘Really it was all right,’ she told him quietly. ‘I don’t think it was burnt at all. We could have eaten it,’ she said quietly.

‘It was burnt,’ Petruchio repeated. ‘I can’t eat burnt meat. It’s not good for my health. But don’t worry, Kate,’ he said with a smile. ‘Tomorrow we’ll eat something good. Now let’s go to bed, shall we?’

Petruchio took Katharine to her bedroom. He was pleased with the way things were going. He had spilt the water on purpose, so that Katharine could not wash. He had thrown the meat on the floor, to prevent her from eating. And now he was determined that he would stop her from sleeping.

‘She didn’t sleep last night,’ he reminded himself, ‘and she hasn’t eaten today. I’ll make sure she doesn’t sleep tonight, and I’ll throw away the food tomorrow, as well. I’ll pretend that I’m doing everything for her benefit. She’ll suffer, poor girl, but it’s the only way to conquer her bad temper. She’ll learn soon enough!’

He chuckled to himself. He believed he could teach his wife how to behave properly.

The lessons in Baptista’s house were continuing, and Lucentio and Bianca saw a lot of each other. Bianca was in love with Lucentio, and the young couple spent most of the day together. They pretended to be studying, and Bianca was careful to call her lover ‘Cambio’ when other people were near them.

Hortensio had noticed the intimacy between Bianca and her tutor, and he was angry and offended by her behaviour. He went to Tranio to tell him what he suspected.

‘So you think Bianca loves you, Lucentio?’ Hortensio asked him. ‘Come with me, and I’ll show you who she really loves.’

Tranio and Hortensio watched the next lesson. They heard the conversation between Bianca and her tutor.

‘What are you reading?’ Bianca asked him softly.

‘It’s a book about the art of love,’ he replied, smiling.

‘I hope you master that art,’ Bianca told him with a little laugh.

‘You see!’ Hortensio whispered to Tranio. ‘She’s in love with that Cambio fellow.’

Tranio pretended to be shocked and angry at Bianca’s behaviour.

‘I’m not really a tutor,’ Hortensio now confided to Tranio, ‘and my name’s not Licio. I’m a gentleman, and my name’s Hortensio. I came here in disguise to win Bianca’s love. But look at her,’ he went on, ‘in love with a tutor! And she’s kissing him. What a disgrace she is.’

Tranio found it difficult not to laugh, but he controlled himself with an effort.

‘I’m glad you showed me what she’s really like,’ he said. ‘I can’t be interested in a girl like that. I give her up,’ he announced gravely.

‘Just look at them!’ Hortensio said again. ‘It’s disgraceful, the way they’re behaving. I, too,’ he said very seriously, ‘will give her up. I don’t want anything more to do with her, now that I know what she’s like.’

‘I promise you one thing,’ Tranio now said. ‘I’ll never marry her -never!’

‘Nor will I!’ Hortensio told him. ‘I know a rich widow here in Padua. She loves me, and she’ll marry me if I ask her. Kindness is more important than beauty, after all!’

Hortensio walked away from Baptista’s house.

Tranio went to join Lucentio and Bianca. He told them about his conversation with Hortensio.

‘I’ve given you up, you know,’ he joked to Bianca. ‘And so has Hortensio - he’s gone off to marry a rich widow.’

‘So there’ll be no more music lessons!’ Lucentio laughed.

‘He’ll tame the widow,’ Tranio commented. ‘He’s gone to the taming-school.’

‘Taming-school?’ Bianca asked. ‘Is there such a place, Tranio?’

Tranio laughed.

‘Indeed there is,’ he told her. ‘And Petruchio is the taming master!’

The three young people were laughing happily together when Biondello ran up to them.

‘I’ve found one!’ he cried. ‘I’ve found the perfect man to be your father, Lucentio. He’s a serious- looking man, a merchant of some kind. He’ll do perfectly!’

‘Take me to him,’ Tranio said. ‘I’ll persuade him to be Vincentio for us We need him to give those property guarantees to Baptista!’

Biondello showed Tranio where the old man was.

‘Good morning, sir,’ Tranio said politely.

‘Good morning to you,’ the man replied. ‘Have you just arrived in Padua?’ Tranio asked courteously.

‘I have,’ the man replied. ‘I’m from Mantua.’

This reply gave Tranio a sudden idea. He pretended to look surprised.

‘Mantua!’ he gasped. ‘You’ve come from Mantua, sir! Then you’re in danger, sir. There’s a quarrel between the two cities. If they find anyone from Mantua here in Padua, they’ll kill him!’

The old man looked desperate.

‘Oh, no,’ he groaned. ‘What can I do? I’ve got business here in the city.

‘I’ll help you, sir,’ Tranio offered. ‘My name is Lucentio, and I’m the son of Vincentio of Pisa. Do you know him, by any chance?’

‘I know who Vincentio is,’ the man said. ‘He’s one of the richest men in Pisa.’

‘Well,’ said Tranio, ‘why don’t you stay here with me, and pretend to be Vincentio? You’ll be safe while you’re in Padua.’

The man was very grateful to Tranio.

‘I can’t thank you enough,’ he said. ‘You’ve saved my life.’

‘One other thing,’ Tranio told him. ‘My father is expected here in Padua. He has to give some property guarantees that concern my marriage to Baptista’s daughter. I’ll tell you exactly what you have to do. It’s very simple. Now come with me to my house, and we’ll dress you like my father.’

Conflict and disguise

The days passed slowly for Katharine in Petruchio’s house. She never ate a decent meal, or slept properly at night. She was hungry and tired the whole time, and she was very miserable. Petruchio always spoke kindly to her, and continued the pretence that everything he did was for her happiness.

One day Hortensio came to visit Petruchio and Katharine. Petruchio was happy to see his old friend, and he smiled happily at Katharine.

‘Cheer up, my love,’ he told her.

‘Look, I’ve brought you some food.’

He put a dish of meat on the table in front of her. Katharine looked hungrily at it, and immediately began to eat.

‘Surely you should thank me, my love?’ Petruchio asked her. Katharine, who was very hungry, did not say a word. She was too busy eating. It was the first food she had eaten for days.

‘Not a word of thanks to your husband?’ Petruchio said. ‘I see you do not like this food, Kate.’ He snatched the dish away.

‘Please put it back,’ Katharine asked him humbly.

‘Every kindness deserves thanks, Kate,’ Petruchio told her.

‘Thank you,’ Katharine said quietly.

Petruchio replaced the dish on the table. Katharine began eating hurriedly again.

‘I’ve had an idea, my love,’ Petruchio now said to her. ‘Let’s go to Padua, to your father’s house. We’ll have some smart new clothes for the journey.’

Katharine looked up in surprise. She had not expected Petruchio to suggest that they go to her father’s house. She wanted to go. At least she would be able to eat something there!

Petruchio smiled at her, and made a quick sign to Grumio. The servant removed the dish of meat from the table.

‘Ah,’ said Petruchio, ‘I see you’ve finished eating. Let’s go and speak to the tailor about our new clothes, shall we?’

Petruchio, Hortensio and Katharine went into another room of the house, where the tailor was waiting for them. The tailor showed them the clothes he had made for Katharine. They were beautifully made, but Petruchio pretended that he did not like them. He picked up a beautiful hat, and threw it on the floor.

‘Take this frightful thing away!’ he shouted. ‘My wife can’t wear something like that.’

‘But I like it, Petruchio,’ Katharine told him. ‘It’s a lovely hat.’

‘You can have it when you know how to behave,’ Petruchio muttered quietly.

Suddenly Katharine lost her temper. She was still hungry, and she was exhausted after so many nights without sleep. Her old temper came back to her.

‘Enough!’ she screamed at Petruchio. ‘I’m not a child. I’m a grown woman, and I won’t be treated like this. I won’t stand it, do you hear me? I won’t stand it!’

Petruchio knew why Katharine was angry, but he pretended that she was angry about the hat.

‘You’re quite right,’ he said tenderly. ‘It’s a dreadful 3 hat. Take it away,’ he commanded the tailor. ‘But I like the hat!’ Katharine shouted at him. ‘I like the hat, and I want it!’

Now Petruchio pretended that Katharine wanted to look at the dresses the tailor had made. Once again he criticised everything that the man showed them.

‘None of these things is good enough for my wife,’ he roared. ‘Take them all away! And take yourself away, too!’ he shouted at the tailor. The tailor was frightened, and he ran out of the room.

‘Never mind, Kate,’ Petruchio said gently. ‘We’ll go to your father’s house in our old clothes, after all. What do clothes matter? They’re not important at all!’

‘Now,’ he went on thoughtfully, ‘it’s seven o’clock. If I tell the men to have the horses ready for us at the end of Long-Lane we can easily walk there by dinnertime.’

‘But it’s not seven o’clock, Petruchio,’ Katharine interrupted him. ‘It’s nearly two o’clock now, and it will be very late before we get to Long-Lane.

Petruchio’s face clouded. He looked sternly at his wife.

‘You are still opposing me, Kate,’ he said slowly. ‘If I say it’s seven o’clock, why do you disagree with me?’ He paused for a moment. ‘I’ve changed my mind,’ he announced. ‘We won’t go to Padua today, after all. And when I do decide to go,’ he said threateningly to Katharine, ‘it will be the time I say it is!’ He walked out of the room, slamming the door as he went. He was determined to teach Katharine that she had to obey him.

Lucentio and Tranio were still planning to play .their trick on Baptista. Tranio and the merchant walked to Baptista’s house together.

‘Remember what I told you,’ Tranio reminded him. ‘You’re my father, Vincentio. You’ve just arrived in Padua. You’ve heard about my love for Bianca, and you approve of the marriage. Remember to say that you’re ready to sign the guarantees that Baptista wants.’

‘Don’t worry,’ the merchant told him. ‘I’ll do exactly what you want. I’ve understood everything perfectly. It will all go splendidly, you’ll see.’

Baptista was leaving his house when they arrived. He greeted Tranio and the merchant politely. The merchant played his part well. Baptista believed that he was Vincentio, and the two men talked about the marriage of Bianca.

‘I’ll be happy for Bianca to marry your son, sir,’ Baptista told the man. ‘Let’s meet this evening to discuss the property guarantees. But let’s not meet at my house, gentlemen - I don't want my servants to hear what we discuss.’

‘Then we’ll meet at our house,’ Tranio suggested.

‘Good,’ Baptista agreed. He called Lucentio. ‘Go to my daughter, Cambio,’ he instructed. ‘Tell her to come to Lucentio’s house. Tell her Vincentio is here - and that she’ll soon be married to Lucentio!’ he added with a happy laugh.

Tranio, Baptista and the merchant walked away together. They were talking happily.

Biondello now appeared. He was looking for Lucentio.

‘Everything is arranged,’ he whispered urgently. ‘Baptista is out of the way. Tranio and the merchant will keep him talking for hours, don’t you worry! The priest who works in St. Luke’s church is waiting for you.’

‘What do you mean, the priest is waiting for me?’ Lucentio asked.

‘You can marry Bianca!’ Biondello said. ‘Take her to the church, Lucentio! I’ll wait for you both there.’

Biondello ran off.

‘I’ll do it,’ Lucentio thought to himself. ‘We’ll go to St. Luke’s - we’ll be married!’

The bet

Petruchio, Katharine and Hortensio set out together for Padua. Petruchio was still determined to make ^ Katharine obey him. He wanted her to agree with whatever he said, even when he was wrong. It was a bright, sunny day, and this gave him an idea.

‘Look at the moon,’ he exclaimed. ‘How beautiful it is, Katharine!’

‘The moon!’ Katharine replied with surprise. ‘That’s not the moon, Petruchio - it’s the sun.’

‘I say it is the moon,’ Petruchio told her firmly.

‘And I say it is the sun,’ Katharine answered defiantly. Hortensio now gave Katharine some quiet advice.

‘Just agree that it’s the moon, Katharine,’ he whispered to her. ‘Otherwise he’ll make us all go back to his house - we’ll never get to Padua.’

‘Very well, Petruchio,’ Katharine said. ‘If you say it is the moon, I also say it is the moon. I agree with what you say it is.’

Petruchio was happy with Katharine’s response, and they continued their journey.

Soon the travellers met an old man who was also going to Padua. Petruchio decided to test Katharine’s obedience again.

‘You see that girl?’ he asked her. ‘Look how lovely she is, Katharine. Go up to her and embrace her, my love.’

Katharine understood her husband now, and she went up to the old man. She spoke to him as if he were a girl, and embraced him tenderly. Immediately Petruchio called out to her,

‘What are you doing? That’s not a girl, Katharine - it’s an old man!’

‘Forgive me, sir,’ Katharine said to the old man. ‘I was mistaken for a moment.’

They began talking to the old man, and he explained that he was Vincentio. He told them he was travelling to Padua to see his son Lucentio.

Petruchio was delighted to meet Lucentio’s father. He told the old man about the love between Lucentio and Bianca. Vincentio was astonished at the news, and at first he did not believe it. They all agreed to travel to Padua together.

When they arrived in the city, they went to Lucentio’s house.

Vincentio was very keen to see his son.

They knocked loudly on the door of the house. A window opened, and the merchant looked out at them.

‘Is Lucentio in?’ Vincentio called up to him.

‘He is, but he’s busy,’ the merchant replied. ‘You can’t see him now.’

‘Tell Lucentio that his father’s here,’ Petruchio now called out.

‘You’re lying,’ the merchant replied. ‘I am his father.’

Petruchio was now angry with Vincentio.

‘You tried to trick me, sir,’ he said angrily. ‘Why did you pretend to be Lucentio’s father?’

‘Arrest him!’ the merchant called loudly. ‘Arrest that man who is pretending to be Lucentio’s father.’

Vincentio was now very angry and confused. Then he saw Biondello walking along the street. He thought that Biondello would identify him.

‘You, sir!’ he called out. ‘Come here!’

Biondello recognised Vincentio immediately, but he pretended not to know him. He did not want to ruin Lucentio’s careful plans.

‘Do you know who I am?’ Vincentio now asked him.

Biondello looked at him for a moment. ‘I’ve never seen you before in my life,’ he replied calmly.

Vincentio suddenly lost his temper, and began beating Biondello.

‘I’ll teach you to remember who I am!’ he shouted angrily.

Baptists, Tranio and the merchant came out of the house to see what the noise was about. Tranio also pretended not to know who Vincentio was.

‘Tranio!’ Vincentio shouted. ‘What are you doing in those fine clothes? And where’s my son?’

‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ Tranio said. ‘I don’t know who you are. I think you must be mad.’

‘Arrest him!’ the merchant called out once again. ‘Arrest this man!’

‘Yes, arrest him!’ Baptists agreed. ‘I don’t know who he is, but he’s come here to play a trick of some kind. I’m sure of that.’

Now Lucentio and Bianca appeared. They had come from the church, where they had just been married. When Lucentio saw his father, he realised that he would now have to tell the truth about what had been going on. He approached his father, and knelt on the ground in front of him.

‘Forgive me, father,’ he said very quietly.

Tranio, Biondello and the merchant looked at each other. They knew the truth would come out now. Vincentio and Baptists would be angry with them for the tricks they had been playing. Suddenly they were frightened. They ran away down the street as fast as they could.

Bianca now approached her father. She, too, knelt on the ground in front of him.

‘Forgive me, father,’ she said very quietly.

‘Forgive you!’ Baptista repeated in great surprise. ‘What for, my dear? What have you done?’ He did not know what was happening. Then he had a thought. He looked around with a puzzled expression.

‘But where’s Lucentio?’ he asked his daughter. ‘He was here a moment ago - where’s he gone?’

Lucentio heard Baptista’s question, and he stepped forward.

‘I am Lucentio, sir,’ he told him. ‘The man you thought was Lucentio is really Tranio, my servant. He was following my orders in everything he did. Nothing is his fault. You see,’ he said, ‘I was only pretending to be Cambio so that I could see Bianca. I’m in love with her,’ he went on. ‘And we’ve just come from St. Luke’s church, sir - we’re married.’

Baptista and Vincentio were confused by the plot Lucentio now revealed to them. They were angry with the young people for having deceived them. Vincentio went into his son’s house, and Baptista went into his.

‘Don’t worry,’ Lucentio told his new wife. ‘They’ll soon talk to each other, and then they’ll accept what we’ve done. Everything will be all right, don’t worry.’

Lucentio was right. The two fathers were angry for a while, but then they talked together. Their anger passed, and they congratulated the young couple on their marriage.

Soon there was a great banquet at Lucentio’s house in honour of the married couples. Everyone was invited, including Hortensio and his new wife. He had kept to his determination to marry the rich widow.

The recently married couples teased each other good-naturedly over the table. Hortensio’s wife and Katharine nearly had a quarrel. The widow said that everyone knew Katharine was rude and aggressive, and would never obey her husband. This upset Katharine, and she was still thinking about it when the women rose from the table and went into another room.

Baptista now spoke to Petruchio.

‘Whatever you say,’ he told him, ‘I think the widow was right. Katharine is a difficult woman!’

‘I don’t agree, sir,’ Petruchio replied. ‘But why don’t we have a bet on it?’ he suggested eagerly. ‘Let’s send for our wives, and see who comes first. What do you say?’ he asked Hortensio and Lucentio.

‘I bet twenty crowns that Bianca comes first,’ Lucentio replied.

‘Twenty crowns!’ Petruchio laughed scornfully. ‘I would bet much more than that on my wife’s obedience!’

‘Very well,’ Lucentio agreed. ‘One hundred crowns. I bet one hundred crowns that Bianca comes.’

‘Me, too,’ Hortensio now said. ‘I bet one hundred crowns that my wife comes when I ask her to.’

Lucentio now told Biondello to go to the room where the women were.

‘Ask Bianca to come to me,’ he told the servant.

Biondello returned after a few minutes.

‘Well?’ Lucentio wanted to know. ‘Where’s Bianca?’

‘She said she was busy, sir,’ Biondello told him. ‘She said she couldn’t come.’

It was now Hortensio’s turn. ‘Go to my wife, Biondello,’ he ordered the servant. ‘Beg her to come here to me.’

Once again Biondello left the room, and once again he returned alone.

Hortensio was annoyed.

‘What happened?’ he asked. ‘What did she say?’

‘She said she knew there was a joke going on,’ Biondello told him. ‘She refused to come.’

Petruchio laughed. Then he turned to his servant Grumio.

‘Go to Katharine,’ he said, ‘and tell her that I order her to come.’

Once again the men waited.

‘She’ll never come,’ Hortensio announced ‘Katharine would never obey a direct order.’

‘We’ll see,’ Petruchio said patiently.

Suddenly Katharine entered the room.

‘What can I do for you?’ she asked Petruchio humbly.

Petruchio looked at Hortensio and Lucentio triumphantly. He had won the bet.

‘Go to the other wives,’ he told Katharine, ‘and make them come here! Their husbands have sent for them.’

Katharine left the room. In a few minutes she returned with Bianca and the widow. Bianca and the widow did not look very happy.

‘What silly joke is this?’ they wanted to know.

‘It’s not a joke,’ Petruchio told them. Then he spoke to his wife. ‘Katharine,’ he said tenderly, ‘explain to these women what marriage really is.’

‘A rude and quarrelsome wife is an ugly thing,’ Katharine told them. ‘Our husbands need our love and tenderness, not our anger and our rudeness. I am as clever as you,’ she said to Bianca and the widow, ‘and perhaps I have had better reason than you to be angry with my husband. But now I see that a woman’s anger is a false thing. Our husbands are our lords, and we must obey them. It is the natural order of life. And I,’ she concluded, ‘am ready to do whatever my husband asks me.’

‘Well spoken,’ Petruchio said. ‘Kiss me, Kate!’ He looked at Hortensio and Lucentio with pride. ‘I have won the bet, sirs,’ he said. ‘Kate is an obedient wife at last!’