The Taming of the Shrew, WS

Reading as part of the Fall 2024 Shakespeare course — see general notes for more.

Contents

The Induction

Precis

The induction sets up TTotS as a play within a play. It is put on for Christopher Sly, a drunken beggar, who is being pranked by a Lord. The unconscious Sly is put to bed in the Lords chamber, and when he awakes is told the he is a Lord who has lost his mind: he is offered food, entertainment, and introduced to his wife. He is convinced, and the prologue ends as he sits with his wife to watch a play put on by a troupe the Lord has engaged.

Thoughts on the Induction

Sly had been cast out of a pub by a female barkeep, who berates him and calls the constable on him;
The Lord also uses Sly poorly, by making him the dupe in a prank;
TTofS, put on for the benefit of the deluded Sly, could be seen as a wish fulfillment in which Sly sees an assertive woman (who is also physically abusive) put down;
but, although not shown, one thing we know for sure is that at some point Sly will find out how things really are, and that he has been mislead and tricked.

So perhaps S is implying that, like everything else, the apparent taming of Kate is just a ruse.

On the Play

Precis

After the induction, Lucentio and his servant Tranio arrive in Padua, where L (apparently on a sort of Grand Tour) intends to study philosophy and, in particular, virtue. Tranio advises him that this is good, but that he ought not be serious or stoic to the point of avoiding pleasures. L agrees. Baptisio and his two daughters, Kate and Bianca arrive, along with B’s two courtiers: Gremio (a pantaloon, a foolish old man) and Hortensio. Baptisio announces that he will not allow Bianca to have suitors until Kate is married, and thus B’s courtiers are motivated to seek a husband for Kate. Petruccio, Hortensio’s friend appears, and announces that he just wants a rich wife, and does not care about Kate’s shrewishness, and will win her as a wife.

In 2.1 there is a long dialog between Petrucio and Kate where they engage in witty repartee, and ends with Petrucio declaring that they will be married (It is not clear to me why or if Kate actually agrees to marry P — but at some point she goes along with it).

The suitors of Bianca, in disguise as tutors, attempt to court her; the marriage day of Petrucio and Katherine approaches. At the wedding, Petrucio shows up late, in dishabile, and act disrespectfully, and takes Kate away before they can attend the wedding celebration. He then subjects her to various forms of psychological abuse (withholding food, depriving her of sleep, requiring her to agree with absurd statements), until she appears to submit.

Later, after Bianca’s wedding, Petrucio is teased for marrying a shrew, and he responds by proposing a test to see whose wife is the most obedient, by seeing who will come when summoned. Katherine comes when asked, the other two wives do not, and Kate herself eventually brings them. Petrucio appears to have tamed Kate, and thus the play ends.

Some other Notes

Shakespearean borrowing. Petrucio and Kate is an original plot; Bianca, with her suitors, is not — it is taken from a play called I Suppositi (The Pretenders) a play written by the Italian playwright Ludovico Ariosto in 1509. The plot involving Petrucio and Kate appears to be original to Shakespeare.
Shakespearean Tropes. A father with one or two rebellious daughters is a common situation in Shakespeare’s plays, as the soldier-lover (Petrucio) is a common figure.
Assignment. In response to the assignment, respond to a director who is proposing to cut the induction that tells the tale of the beggar Christopher Sly, here is my (tongue in cheek response)

Sir or Madam Director,

I am astonished to hear of your proposal to eliminate the induction. What on earth are they teaching in drama programs these days? To eliminate the induction is to render the central message of the play unintelligible. While, to be sure, like all of S’s plays, the primary goal is to entertain rather than enlighten, still, we should not eschew enlightenment wherever it is to be found.

Consider this:

The very first action in the play is that Christopher Sly, the drunken beggar, is being reprimanded by the tavern keeper, who is demanding he pay for the glasses he has broken, and who is threatening to call the constable. Note that the tavern keeper is a woman. It seems apparent that, just before the action described, she has has evicted him from the tavern (which he would clearly not leave of his own accord), either by physical or linguistic violence. Surely, as the very first action in the play, this is significant?

Following this, Sly falls into an inebriated slumber, and a Lord returning from the hunt finds him, and decides to play a prank. As the script describes, Sly is taken to the Lord’s bedroom, dressed in robes, and awakes to a situation in which he is surrounded by courtiers who declare him their Lord, and feign happiness at his recovery from fifteen years of lunacy. He is presented with food and drink, and his ‘wife’ enters his bed chamber, likewise delighted by his ‘recovery.’ At this point, a group of traveling players — engaged by the Lord — put on a play for him: The Taming of the Shrew.

It is notable that in this play, an assertive woman — whose assertiveness includes linguistic aggression, but also extends to physical violence (of, in the play, her sister) — is ‘tamed’ via various forms of abuse by a dominating man who eschews proper dress and comportment. It is easy to view this play as wish fulfillment for Christopher Sly, where a figure standing in for his eviction is brought to heel.

The play ends with no return to Christopher Sly, but while much of what happens in the wake of the play is uncertain, one thing that is certain is the Christopher Sly’s tenure as a Lord will be ended, and he will realize that he has been duped, and that his experiences and beliefs as he watched the play will be revealed as illusions.

Perhaps’s S’s message is that, like all else, the ‘taming’ of Kate is also illusory.

[3.2] The Taming, continued

We continued our discussion of the play, amplifying it by viewing 4 different productions of the dialog between Petrucio and Kate. The productions ranged from a traditional production using Elisabethan constumes and settings, to adapations using puppets and exchanging the genders of Petrucio and Kate.

I was struck by how different — in tone and meaning — the various productions were, and how effective various devices (playing of a harpsicord, smoking a cigarette) can be. The script can be played as light and comedic or as dark and violent.

I didn’t think that language in the TTotS grabbed me, but upon hearing it performed (especially via reading in class) I came to appreciate it more.

Tranio [1.1 39-40]
No profit grows where there is no pleasure ta’en
In brief, sir, study what you most affect

Petruchio [1.2: 201-214]
Why came I hither but to that intent?
Think you a little din can daunt mine ears?
Have I not in my time heard lions roar?
Have I not heard the sea, puffed up with winds, Rage like an angry boar chafed with sweat?
Have I not heard great ordnance in the field And heaven’s artillery thunder in the skies?
Have I not in a pitched battle heard Loud larums, neighing steeds, and trumpets clang?
And do you tell me of a woman’s tongue, That gives not half so great a blow to hear As will a chestnut in a farmer’s fire?
Tush, tush, fear boys with bugs!

Petruchio [2.1 139-140]
And where two raging fires meet together
They do consume the thing that feeds their fury.

Kate [2.1 203-205]
Let him who moved you hither, remove you thence.

Petruchio [4.3 177-178]
Our purses shall be proud, our garments poor,
for tis the mind that makes the body rich.

I looked up the etymology of “shrew” and “shrewd.” Both started out as negative terms, and tended to be applied to women. During the 16th and 17th century, the meaning of “shrewd” began to changing, taking on positive connotations of cunning. Shakespeare used “shrewd” in both senses in different plays.