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Home , Christopher Sly, Christopher Sly (opera), Petruchio, Shrew (stock character), Sly (opera), The Taming of the Shrew

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In a Nutshell is the story of how , the money-grubbing wife hunter, transforms the aggressive and bad-tempered Katherine Minola into an obedient, honey-tongued trophy wife. Written by between 1590 and 1594, it's one of Shakespeare's earliest Comedies – it's also one of his most controversial works. For modern audiences (let's face it, we're a lot more sensitive to social injustices), the play's critical controversy is perhaps second to that of (Merchant of Venice is a play that portrays and analyzes blatant anti-Semitic attitudes and has sparked heated debate over its complex depiction of Shylock, the demonized Jewish villain that is forced to convert to Christianity at the play's end.)

The Taming of the Shrew has been criticized for its representation of abusive behavior and misogynistic attitudes toward women, and the play has pretty much been dogged since it was first performed. There's much evidence that Shrew made even Shakespeare's contemporary audiences more than a little squeamish. The playwright John Fletcher was particularly keyed to potential objections to Petruchio's behavior – so much so that he wrote a play in response called The Woman's Prize or, The Tamer Tamed (c. 1616). Fletcher's play fast-forwards many years from the end of Shrew, when Petruchio is a widower and has remarried the shrewish , who gives him a dose of his own medicine. Though Shrew continued to be staged and adapted, in the late 1890s, Nobel Prize winner wrote that "No man with any decency of feeling can sit [the final act] out in the company of a woman without being extremely ashamed" (source). On the other hand, the play has also been adored by many fans from the get-go.

There's no denying that Shrew portrays at its worst – the question is, what is the play's attitude toward such action and behavior? Does it condone domestic abuse and celebrate painful and humiliating tactics to reform "shrewish" behavior? Or, does it satirize (mock and ridicule à la Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert) unfair social attitudes toward women? Or, is it merely a light-hearted that is not meant to be taken seriously at all? These are important questions that have sparked centuries of debate. Whether or not one thinks the play is vile, hilarious, or some combination of the two, asking tough questions and thinking hard about the problems posed by the text are good things.

For all its controversy, Shrew remains one of the most performed and adapted plays in Shakespeare's body of work. (The most popular adaptations include 's 1948 Broadway musical Kiss Me Kate, the 1999 teen flick 10 Things I Hate About You, and the popular BBC production ShakespeaRe-Told: The Taming of the Shrew, 2005. One of the most famous film versions of the play is 's 1967 production starring .) Given that the text is subject to so many interpretive possibilities, it's pretty common for one performance of the play to look completely different from the next. (This is why you shouldn't watch the movie as a mere replacement for reading the play. You should do both.) One director might play up the text's farcical elements – lots of silly, slapstick humor that undermines any seriousness in the play. Another director might emphasize the play's darker elements to highlight Petruchio's abusive behavior. Really, the staging possibilities are endless.

Of course, the play is also regarded as one of the great grandfathers of the "battle of the sexes" story line, a formula that has inspired countless movies (Mr. and Mrs. Smith, The War of the Roses, etc., etc.) and television series (take your pick, but see especially a young Bruce Willis go toe-to-toe with Cybill Shepherd in the old-school Moonlighting ).

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Why Should I Care?

A lot of movie producers like to call The Taming of the Shrew the classic "battle of the sexes" story. They're right, in a way, and it's true that Shakespeare's play has inspired a ton of films and televisions shows that fit this genre. Katherine and Petruchio do in fact go toe-to-toe when they first meet and they do fight for the upper hand in their marriage throughout most of their honeymoon. It's also true that many of these scenes can be hilarious, especially when Kate holds her own with Petruchio.

But, anyone who has read the play knows that it's by no means a simple story about a bickering couple. They also know that the fight is hardly equal or fair. The truth is that Kate is subject to some really brutal treatment because she refuses to be the silent, obedient, and mild-mannered wife that society demands. Unlike Angelina Jolie's character in Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Katherine Minola doesn't get to parade around in stilettos and a killer black dress with a revolver strapped to her thigh. It's true that Kate puts up a pretty good verbal fight, especially when she first meets Petruchio, but The Taming of the Shrew actually ends with Kate on her knees telling Petruchio that he is her king. Seriously – here's a little excerpt from Kate's final monologue:

I am ashamed that women are so simple To offer war where they should kneel for peace, Or seek for rule, supremacy and sway When they are bound to serve, love, and obey. (5.2.7)

Whether or not Kate actually believes any of this is up for debate. (You can read what we have to say about the final speech in "What's Up With the Ending?" but come right back.) The point is that Katherine really doesn't have any other choice in the matter. She has to give this speech if she wants any kind of tranquility in her marriage because she has no legal rights as a 16th-century wife – she's basically her husband's property, which means she has to play nice if she wants Petruchio to let her eat, sleep, or pick out her own clothes.

The play makes us stop and think about what it means to portray men and women duking it out on stage, film, TV, whatever. We also dig the way it forces the audience to question their assumptions about "proper" gender roles and their attitudes about the power dynamics between romantic couples (friends and blood relatives, too).

Ever felt pressured to conform to somebody else's expectations and values (at school, home, in a romantic relationship)? Ever been told to act more like a "good girl," or to be a "man"? We thought so. And we think you'll like the way this play makes you think about what that means.

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Summary – How It All Goes Down

The play opens in front of a tavern in the English countryside, where Christopher , a drunk beggar, goes toe- to-toe with the tavern hostess over Sly's disorderly conduct. Sly passes out on the ground and, when a local Lord happens along, he decides to teach Sly a lesson. Sly is carried to the Lord's nearby mansion, where he's dressed up like a nobleman and convinced that he is a "mighty Lord." Sly tries to hook up with the kid pretending to be his wife, but gets shot down. A group of traveling actors then perform a play in Sly's bedroom.

This inset or, play-within-the-play, is set in , Italy, where Lucentio, a rich guy from (along with his trusty servant Tranio), arrives to top off his education. Tranio and Lucentio end up eavesdropping on a little family drama that's happening nearby. Baptista Minola, his daughters Kate and Bianca, and Bianca's suitors bicker about marriage. Baptista lays down the law and says that Bianca's admirers should scram – Bianca's not getting married until Baptista can get Kate off his hands. The suitors whine that this is no fair because Kate is a total witch and nobody wants to marry her.

Lucentio, our little eavesdropper, falls in love with Bianca on the spot and hatches a plan to get with her. He dresses up like a tutor named Cambio so he can infiltrate Baptista's house, Trojan horse style, and be near Bianca. The servant Tranio dresses up like Lucentio.

Petruchio, another rich bachelor from out of town, arrives at his pal Hortensio's house with his servant Grumio. Hortensio is in lust with Bianca and convinces Petruchio that he needs to marry Kate so Bianca will be available. Petruchio is all over this plan – Baptista has lots of money so Kate will come with a big ol' . Petruchio also sees himself as a "shrew tamer," so he's not worried about Kate's attitude. Hortensio disguises himself as Licio the music tutor, so he too can get close to Bianca.

The ridiculously old suitor, Gremio, has hired Cambio (really Lucentio in disguise) to tutor Bianca as a gift to Baptista. The fellas (Hortensio, Lucentio, Gremio, Tranio, and Petruchio) meet up and decide that they will finance Petruchio's quest to "wed and bed" Kate. That settled, they head over to Baptista's house, where the "tutors" successfully gain access to Bianca. On the way, they stop at a bar for a round of shots.

Baptista immediately agrees to Petruchio's plan to marry Kate, as she's a total pain. When Kate and Petruchio meet, all hell breaks loose as they fight it out in a kind of verbal Friday Night Smackdown. Katherine totally rejects Petruchio, but she's as quiet as a mouse when Petruchio tells her dad that she's interested him and wants to get hitched. She also says nothing when Petruchio lies that Kate couldn't keep her hands and lips off of him when they were alone. A wedding date is set.

That being settled, Baptista agrees to hand over Bianca to the highest bidder, Tranio (who is disguised as Lucentio). Meanwhile, Hortensio (as Licio) and Lucentio (as Cambio) "tutor" Bianca – they both declare their love but Bianca plays it cool and doesn't commit to either man.

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On Sunday, everyone comes together for the wedding of Kate and Petruchio, who arrives late and is dressed in a wild, totally inappropriate outfit. Petruchio causes a big scene during the ceremony and then drags Kate off to his house before they can go to the reception for a slice of cake. Kate's family and friends shrug it off a little too quickly and party on without her. Kate is made miserable the second they hit the road and, when they arrive at Petruchio's house, she's starved, deprived of sleep, and psychologically manipulated by Petruchio, who has launched a campaign to "tame" Kate of her evil ways by acting like an even bigger shrew than Kate.

Back at Baptista's, Bianca and Lucentio get rid of Hortensio by making out in front of him. Hortensio decides Bianca is not such a nice girl, so he will marry the Widow instead. Tranio then finds a random old guy and tricks him into pretending to be Lucentio's father, who is needed to sign some contracts before Lucentio can marry Bianca.

Meanwhile, Petruchio continues to mess with Kate's head. They set off for Padua to attend Bianca's wedding and Petruchio makes her wear dirty old rags instead of the clothes the tailor made for her. On the way to Padua, Kate finally breaks down and agrees to go along with whatever Petruchio wants from her. When Petruchio wants to pretend the sun is the moon she says fine. When Petruchio pretends an old man on the road is a young virgin, she plays along with that, too.

The old man turns out to be Lucentio's real dad, Vincentio. So the crew heads over to Lucentio's house. Meanwhile, Lucentio and Bianca have run off to elope (at St. Luke's church), while Baptista signs documents with the fake Vincentio. The real Vincentio shows up on the scene and looks like a madman. Before he can be carted off to the clink or the asylum, Lucentio and Bianca show up and apologize for being the worst kids ever. All disguises are removed and true identities are revealed. Oh well, the fathers decide. Let's have some cake and celebrate the marriage of Lucentio and Bianca. Kate and Petruchio have been watching the whole thing go down. They make out on the street and then head in to join the party.

At the banquet, people sit around doing what they do best in this play (talking smack) and the guys make a bet to see whose wife is most obedient. Petruchio wins when Kate runs out and delivers a long speech about her obedience to her Petruchio. Kate fondles his feet and then they make out again before running off to bed.

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Meet the Cast

Katherine Minola

Kate is the title character (the "Shrew") of the play. The eldest and unmarried daughter of Baptista Minola, no man wants anything to do with her because she's got a hot temper, slaps people around when they make her mad, and shreds men to bits with her razor sharp tongue. Her knack for verbal repartee and ability to call it like she sees it reveals her incredible wit and intelligence, which we can't help but appreciate.

Petruchio

Petruchio is a wealthy bachelor who is on the prowl for a rich wife. When he hears about Katherine Minola, he agrees to marry her despite (or, perhaps because of) her reputation as a shrew. You see, Petruchio sees himself as the ultimate shrew taming champion – he even tutors other men on how to get their wives in line. (Elizabethans were really worked up about all the shrewish wives running around making their husbands look like wimps. They came up with sermons about how women should be silent and obedient, and tons of little gadgets to keep overly talkative women quiet – ever heard of a scold's bridle?)

Christopher Sly

Christopher Sly is a drunk and a beggar with a string of menial jobs and an appetite for cheap beer. He talks a lot of trash, likes bar brawls, and has no respect for women. He's also easily duped when the Lord tricks him into believing that he is not Sly "the beggar" but rather, a "mighty Lord" who has been in a deep sleep for the past fifteen years. He's attracted to a male servant dressed as a woman, misquotes famous lines from Elizabethan plays, and falls asleep during the performance of the five-act inset play that is supposedly staged for his viewing pleasure (it's really staged to entertain the Lord and make Sly look like an idiot). In many ways, this is Shakespeare's way of lovingly parodying the kinds of drunken theater-goers, the "groundlings," that sat in the cheap seats.

This makes for some raucous fun but it also opens up questions about the social disparity between the lower- classes and the nobility – especially when we move from the tavern to the Lord's estate, where Sly is victimized by a nobleman with a lot of money and the power and resources to make Sly question his identity and sanity.

Sly's transformation from beggar to "mighty Lord" is also the first of many metamorphoses that take place on stage. His circumstances are especially useful if we compare Sly's humiliation and transformation to Kate's forced submission to Petruchio's will. Though we can't be sure of what happens to Sly after the end of Act 1, Scene 1, it seems unlikely that the guy has undergone any kind of realistic or permanent metamorphosis. Can the same be said of Kate?

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Bianca

Bianca is the youngest and favorite daughter of Baptista Minola. When we first encounter her, she is surrounded by her doting dad, her jealous sister, and a group of suitors that can't wait to get their hands on her. Why? Men see her as the ideal 16th-century woman and the antithesis of her shrewish sister Katherine – Bianca appears to be chaste, obedient, and most importantly, silent. The only obstacle preventing her marriage to the highest bidder is her older sister, who must be married before Bianca is allowed to wed.

Hortensio

Hortensio is Petruchio's best friend and sort of his wingman. (He tells Petruchio about Kate and personally escorts his pal to Baptista's house to seal the deal.) Hortensio is also in love with Bianca and dresses up like a tutor ("Licio") to get closer to her. Poor Hortensio really doesn't stand a chance – it's pretty clear from the beginning that Bianca's interested in Lucentio. Still, Hortensio plays an important role. When he gets fed up with what he sees as Bianca's "loose" behavior, he decides to marry the Widow. To do this, he runs off to Petruchio's "taming school," where he hopes to learn how to keep his more experienced lady in line. Problem is, Hortensio really doesn't learn how to tame anything and the Widow ends up playing the dominant role in their relationship after they get married. The moral? It's a huge mistake for any man to leave the theater thinking he's going to go home and try to pull a Petruchio on his wife. Not going to happen. Ever.

Lucentio

Lucentio is a rich kid who travels to Padua to top off his education and "see the world." His plans to study and make his family proud are quickly abandoned when he spots Bianca and falls in love with her obedience to her father and her silence. Soon he forgets all about his studies and begins to gush about his burning passion for Bianca. He basically transforms into a giant cliché:

Tranio, I burn, I pine, I perish, Tranio, If I achieve not this young modest girl. (1.1.5)

Hmm…this probably sounds a little familiar to anyone who ever felt like they would just "die" if they couldn't go out with the person they admired from across the school cafeteria.

We gain a little bit of respect for Lucentio when he tones down the whole "I'll just die without her" bit. Lucentio appears to be very crafty as he disguises himself as a tutor ("Cambio") and gets into Baptista's house where he has access to Bianca. Bianca and Lucentio eventually fall in love and elope. Game over. Lucentio wins, right? Not so fast. Bianca turns out to be a "shrew" and Lucentio has absolutely no control over his beautiful, young bride. This costs him his street cred with the fellas and a good chunk of change (he loses the bet about whose wife is the most obedient at the play's end).