The Taming of the Shrew

 

The Taming of the Shrew is one of William Shakespeare’s earliest comedies, likely first performed around 1593. The play’s portrayal of women has sparked much debate among modern readers and scholars, but it remains popular and continues to be adapted into different forms. Some well-known adaptations include the 1967 film starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton and the 1999 romantic comedy 10 Things I Hate About You.

Summary

The Induction (Prologue)

The play begins with a framing device. A drunk and belligerent beggar named Christopher Sly is thrown out of an alehouse by the Hostess. He falls into a deep, drunken sleep on the ground. A Lord returning from hunting discovers him and, for his own amusement, decides to play an elaborate trick. He orders his servants to carry Sly to his finest bedroom, dress him in rich clothes, and convince him upon waking that he is a nobleman who has been insane for the past fifteen years, believing himself to be a beggar.

The Lord orchestrates the illusion with a full staff of attentive servants, expensive treats, and even arranges for a young page to dress as Sly's "wife." To further the entertainment, a traveling troupe of players arrives. The Lord decides they will perform a comedy for the supposedly recovered Lord Sly. This play-within-a-play is The Taming of the Shrew. The action then shifts to the main story, though the Christopher Sly narrative is occasionally referenced and is intended to frame the entire production (though his conclusion is often omitted in modern performances).

Act I: The Setup in Padua

The main play opens in Padua with Lucentio, a young nobleman from Pisa, and his clever servant Tranio. Lucentio has come to study philosophy but immediately falls in love at first sight with Bianca, the younger daughter of the wealthy Baptista Minola. A major problem presents itself: Baptista has declared that no one may court his sweet, gentle Bianca until her older sister, the sharp-tongued and tempestuous Katherine (Kate), is married. This is a significant hurdle, as Katherine is infamous throughout Padua for her shrewish behavior, and no suitors are willing to take her on.

Bianca's two existing suitors are the elderly, wealthy Gremio and the younger gentleman Hortensio. Faced with this new edict and the arrival of a new rival (Lucentio), they agree to temporarily set aside their rivalry to find a husband for Katherine.

Lucentio, desperate to get close to Bianca, hatches a plan. He will disguise himself as "Cambio," a schoolmaster of literature, to tutor Bianca and woo her in secret. Tranio, meanwhile, will assume Lucentio's identity, wealth, and name to become a formal suitor to Bianca on his master's behalf.

Their plans are interrupted by the arrival of Petruchio from Verona. He has come to Padua to "wive it wealthily" and sees marriage as a financial transaction. He visits his old friend Hortensio, who, seeing an opportunity, tells Petruchio about Katherine. Hortensio emphasizes her great dowry but also frankly describes her shrewish nature. Petruchio is undeterred; he is attracted by the financial challenge and intrigued by the personal one, declaring that he cares not how curst she is so long as she is rich.

Petruchio, along with Hortensio (who now plans to disguise himself as "Litio," a music tutor for Bianca), and Gremio (with the disguised Lucentio/Cambio in tow), all go to Baptista's house. Petruchio boldly announces his intention to woo Katherine. He presents Hortensio/Litio as a music teacher and Gremio presents Lucentio/Cambio as a literature tutor for Bianca. Baptista is receptive, promising a large dowry and is pleased to have tutors for his daughters. Tranio, now disguised as Lucentio, also arrives and presents himself as a new suitor for Bianca, further complicating the field.

Act II: The Wooing of Kate

Inside Baptista's house, Katherine is shown tormenting her sister Bianca, tying her up and demanding to know which of her suitors she prefers. Baptista breaks up the fight, chastising Katherine.

Petruchio immediately begins his unconventional courtship. He meets Katherine and engages her in a furious battle of wits, a "merry war" of insults and puns. He contradicts her, praises her ironically, and refuses to be offended or driven away by her verbal and physical aggression (she strikes him). He twists her every word, confidently announcing to Baptista that they have gotten on wonderfully and that she has agreed to marry him on Sunday—all despite Katherine's loud and furious protests to the contrary. Amazed and desperate to be rid of her, Baptista agrees to the match.

With Katherine "spoken for," the focus turns to Bianca. Now both Gremio and Tranio (as Lucentio) bid for her hand by boasting about the wealth they can provide for her. Tranio, pretending to be the fabulously wealthy Lucentio, vastly outbids the old man. Baptista is impressed but issues a condition: the deal is only final once Tranio can produce Lucentio's father, Vincentio, to guarantee the enormous dowry he has promised. Tranio now must find someone to impersonate Lucentio's father.

Act III: The Marriages

In the lesson, the disguised suitors (Lucentio/Cambio and Hortensio/Litio) compete for Bianca's attention under the guise of teaching her. Lucentio, during his Latin lesson, reveals his true identity and intentions to Bianca. Hortensio also tries to declare his love through a musical gamut, but Bianca is unimpressed and clearly favors the "Cambio." Hortensio begins to suspect her affections lie elsewhere.

It is Petruchio and Katherine's wedding day. Everyone is gathered, but Petruchio is embarrassingly late. Katherine, humiliated, fears she is being abandoned. Petruchio finally arrives, but his appearance is a spectacle: he is dressed in ridiculous, mismatched, and tattered old clothes, and he rides a broken-down horse. He behaves outrageously during the ceremony, swearing loudly, striking the priest, and throwing wine at the sexton. After the ceremony, he refuses to stay for his own wedding feast, announcing he must leave immediately. Despite Katherine's vehement objections, he manhandles her and forces her to leave with him, claiming he is saving her from thieves. This begins his "taming" process in earnest.

Act IV: The Taming at Petruchio's Country House

The act follows Petruchio and Katherine at his country home. His method is "to kill a wife with kindness." He systematically deprives her of everything she wants under the pretense that it is not good enough for her.

• He starves her by throwing away the perfectly good supper he had made for her, claiming the meat is burnt.
• He denies her sleep by ranting and railing all night, finding fault with the bed and tearing apart the bedroom, all while claiming he is doing it out of love and concern for her comfort.
• He presents her with a fine cap and gown from a tailor and a haberdasher, only to tear them apart and send the craftsmen away, declaring the items ill-made and unfit for her.

Through all this, Petruchio remains infuriatingly cheerful, acting as if his harsh actions are acts of deep devotion. His goal is to break her stubborn spirit by showing her that she can only get what she wants by conforming to his will. He offers her food and clothing if she will thank him for it kindly. Isolated and deprived of all comforts, Katherine begins to weaken. In a key moment, Petruchio insists that it is the moon shining brightly in the sky. When Katherine corrects him and says it is the sun, he says they will not proceed to her father's house until she agrees with him. Exhausted and defeated, she finally capitulates, agreeing to call the sun the moon, or whatever else he wishes.

Meanwhile, back in Padua, the subplot advances. Hortensio, having given up on Bianca, decides to marry a wealthy widow. Tranio and the real Lucentio need to produce the fake Vincentio. They find a traveling merchant from Mantua and convince him (with a fabricated story about a war between Padua and Mantua) to impersonate Lucentio's father. Baptista meets the imposter and, believing him to be the real Vincentio, officially promises Bianca to "Lucentio" (Tranio). Lucentio, in his Cambio disguise, now has Baptista's permission to marry Bianca and secretly plans to elope with her.

Act V: The Unraveling and The Wager

The climax occurs as all the characters and their deceptions converge on Lucentio's house. The real Vincentio arrives in Padua to visit his son, only to be confronted by the imposter Vincentio (the Merchant), Tranio (impersonating Lucentio), and Baptista. He is nearly arrested for being an imposter and a madman. The chaos is resolved when Lucentio and Bianca return from their secret wedding ceremony. Lucentio reveals the whole scheme and begs his father's forgiveness. Vincentio is reconciled, and Baptista, though shocked, accepts the marriage.

The play concludes with a banquet celebrating all three marriages: Lucentio and Bianca, Petruchio and Katherine, and Hortensio and the Widow. During the feast, the men make a wager: each will send for his wife, and the one whose wife is most obedient and comes immediately wins. Bianca and the Widow both send back dismissive messages refusing to come. However, when Petruchio sends for Katherine, she comes at once.

To the astonishment of all, Katherine then proceeds to deliver a famous speech on the duty of a wife. She lectures Bianca and the Widow on their disobedience, arguing that a woman owes her husband the same loyalty and submission a subject owes a prince. She says that a woman's body is soft and unfit for the toils of the world, and therefore her spirit should be correspondingly gentle and obedient. She concludes by dramatically placing her hand beneath Petruchio's foot. A triumphant Petruchio wins the wager and exclaims, "Why, there's a wench! Come on, and kiss me, Kate."

The play ends with Petruchio and Katherine leaving together, their union—however controversially achieved—presented as the most successful and harmonious of the three. The Christopher Sly framework is typically left unresolved in most modern editions, though in some versions he is shown waking up from his dream, left to ponder the lesson he has just witnessed.