The Taming of the Shrew

By William Shakespeare

The Taming of the Shrew is a comedy by William Shakespeare. It was one of his earlier plays, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1594. The play begins with a framing device in which a drunkard is deceived into thinking he is a nobleman who then watches the "play" itself, which depicts a nobleman, Petruchio, who marries an outspoken, intelligent, and bad-tempered shrew named Katherina. Petruchio manipulates and "tames" her until she is obedient to his will. The main subplot features the courting of Katherina's more conventional sister Bianca by numerous suitors.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WS
• Release date: Jun 13, 2018
• ISBN: 9782291040378

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare is the world's greatest ever playwright. Born in 1564, he split his time between Stratford-upon-Avon and London, where he worked as a playwright, poet and actor. In 1582 he married Anne Hathaway. Shakespeare died in 1616 at the age of fifty-two, leaving three children—Susanna, Hamnet and Judith. The rest is silence.

Book preview

The Taming of the Shrew

William Shakespeare

 Copyright © 2018 by OPU

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

SCENE I. Before an alehouse on a heath.

Enter Hostess and SLY

SLY

I'll pheeze you, in faith.

Hostess

A pair of stocks, you rogue!

SLY

Ye are a baggage: the Slys are no rogues; look in

the chronicles; we came in with Richard Conqueror.

Therefore paucas pallabris; let the world slide: sessa!

Hostess

You will not pay for the glasses you have burst?

SLY

No, not a denier. Go by, Jeronimy: go to thy cold

bed, and warm thee.

Hostess

I know my remedy; I must go fetch the

third—borough.

Exit

SLY

Third, or fourth, or fifth borough, I'll answer him

by law: I'll not budge an inch, boy: let him come,

and kindly.

Falls asleep

Horns winded. Enter a Lord from hunting, with his train

Lord

Huntsman, I charge thee, tender well my hounds:

Brach Merriman, the poor cur is emboss'd;

And couple Clowder with the deep—mouth'd brach.

Saw'st thou not, boy, how Silver made it good

At the hedge-corner, in the coldest fault?

I would not lose the dog for twenty pound.

First Huntsman

Why, Belman is as good as he, my lord;

He cried upon it at the merest loss

And twice to-day pick'd out the dullest scent:

Trust me, I take him for the better dog.

Lord

Thou art a fool: if Echo were as fleet,

I would esteem him worth a dozen such.

But sup them well and look unto them all:

To-morrow I intend to hunt again.

First Huntsman

I will, my lord.

Lord

What's here? one dead, or drunk? See, doth he breathe?

Second Huntsman

He breathes, my lord. Were he not warm'd with ale,

This were a bed but cold to sleep so soundly.

Lord

O monstrous beast! how like a swine he lies!

Grim death, how foul and loathsome is thine image!

Sirs, I will practise on this drunken man.

What think you, if he were convey'd to bed,

Wrapp'd in sweet clothes, rings put upon his fingers,

A most delicious banquet by his bed,

And brave attendants near him when he wakes,

Would not the beggar then forget himself?

First Huntsman

Believe me, lord, I think he cannot choose.

Second Huntsman

It would seem strange unto him when he waked.

Lord

Even as a flattering dream or worthless fancy.

Then take him up and manage well the jest:

Carry him gently to my fairest chamber

And hang it round with all my wanton pictures:

Balm his foul head in warm distilled waters

And burn sweet wood to make the lodging sweet:

Procure me music ready when he wakes,

To make a dulcet and a heavenly sound;

And if he chance to speak, be ready straight

And with a low submissive reverence

Say 'What is it your honour will command?'

Let one attend him with a silver basin

Full of rose-water and bestrew'd with flowers,

Another bear the ewer, the third a diaper,

And say 'Will't please your lordship cool your hands?'

Some one be ready with a costly suit

And ask him what apparel he will wear;

Another tell him of his hounds and horse,

And that his lady mourns at his disease:

Persuade him that he hath been lunatic;

And when he says he is, say that he dreams,

For he is nothing but a mighty lord.

This do and do it kindly, gentle sirs:

It will be pastime passing excellent,

If it be husbanded with modesty.

First Huntsman

My lord, I warrant you we will play our part,

As he shall think by our true diligence

He is no less than what we say he is.

Lord

Take him up gently and to bed with him;

And each one to his office when he wakes.

Some bear out SLY. A trumpet sounds

Sirrah, go see what trumpet 'tis that sounds:

Exit Servingman

Belike, some noble gentleman that means,

Travelling some journey, to repose him here.

Re-enter Servingman

How now! who is it?

Servant

An't please your honour, players

That offer service to your lordship.

Lord

Bid them come near.

Enter Players

Now, fellows, you are welcome.

Players

We thank your honour.

Lord

Do you intend to stay with me tonight?

A Player

So please your lordship to accept our duty.

Lord

With all my heart. This fellow I remember,

Since once he play'd a farmer's eldest son:

'Twas where you woo'd the gentlewoman so well:

I have forgot your name; but, sure, that part

Was aptly fitted and naturally perform'd.

A Player

I think 'twas Soto that your honour means.

Lord

'Tis very true: thou didst it excellent.

Well, you are come to me in a happy time;

The rather for I have some sport in hand

Wherein your cunning can assist me much.

There is a lord will hear you play to-night:

But I am doubtful of your modesties;

Lest over-eyeing of his odd behavior,—

For yet his honour never heard a play—

You break into some merry passion

And so offend him; for I tell you, sirs,

If you should smile he grows impatient.

A Player

Fear not, my lord: we can contain ourselves,

Were he the veriest antic in the world.

Lord

Go, sirrah, take them to the buttery,

And give them friendly welcome every one:

Let them want nothing that my house affords.

Exit one with the Players

Sirrah, go you to Barthol'mew my page,

And see him dress'd in all suits like a lady:

That done, conduct him to the drunkard's chamber;

And call him 'madam,' do him obeisance.

Tell him from me, as he will win my love,

He bear himself with honourable action,

Such as he hath observed in noble ladies

Unto their lords, by them accomplished:

Such duty to the drunkard let him do

With soft low tongue and lowly courtesy,

And say 'What is't your honour will command,

Wherein your lady and your humble wife

May show her duty and make known her love?'

And then with kind embracements, tempting kisses,

And with declining head into his bosom,

Bid him shed tears, as being overjoy'd

To see her noble lord restored to health,

Who for this seven years hath esteem'd him

No better than a poor and loathsome beggar:

Reviews for The Taming of the Shrew

[anacarter-127109 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Amazing.....

[samlives2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I recently read this in my tenth grade English class. Of course, the play itself was at it always is: hilarious and incredible. Every time I read something by Shakespeare, I marvel at his creativity, originality, and skill for crafting puns and witty wordplay.The version of this book that I read included many other sections relating to Shakespeare's works: his life, his writings, and how his plays were shown, plus a section entitled "A Modern Perspective," which was somewhat of an overview of the themes in the play and revealed many things people in my English class missed while reading the text (not that they actually looked at the extra stuff: that's like watching Lord of the Rings without the bonus footage). I found all of the extra details quite interesting and it gave me enough background to participate fully in class discussions where most of my peers were left behind. Thank you, Folger Library!

[maccy_p · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a clever play. However, it revolves massively around the directors interpretation of Bianca (sweet and innocent, or scheming and bitchy) and more importantly on the dynamic between Petruchio and Katherine (does he break her, or does she finally understand him and willing go along with it). I really wanted it to be the later but, as a feminist, I couldn't understand how a free minded woman would say the things said in Kate's last speech.And one MAJOR nit pick; where did Sly go? He's there at the beginning, but not anywhere else.

[arten60 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Enjoyable, funny and entertaining Bacon was a gifted writer.

[collingsruth · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I'm sure we could argue the feminist interpretation for ages, but though full of Shakespeare's usual wit I couldn't figure out what he was going for here and it ended up just being a frustrating read.

[toufiq-35 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I read this play when I was in the sixth grade and at that time I did not completely understand the meaning of "male ego" or "abusive relationships". As the message hidden in this play depicts that women of those times had to succumb dutifully to their "chauvinist" husbands, years later I came to realize how the society of that era looked down upon the uprising and independent women of all times.

While the reason for this play may or may not have been to contemplate women rights and gender equality, nothing makes it anything less than an excellent read, perhaps a minute literary classic in my say!

First of all, notoriously famous for the dark comedy, this play in my opinion is the best Shakespearean Comedy. The play consisting of extremely comical, vivid and humorous energetic ploys never offered me a chance to put it down and stop reading.

From the beginning of the play the readers get an entertaining idea of how terrifying a shrew, the leading character Kate is because of her amusingly foul mouth and vicious temper. Pair that with an equally determined and witty leading male character, Petruchio, who employs comical methods to shape Kate, and you get a splendid comedy. The play proceeds with an interesting insight into how Kate gradually evolves into his devoted wife and a polite woman.

The characters and their dialogues fashion the utmost wit and brilliant excitement all through out the play. Every scene is composed of numerous hilarious and amusing acts that just grip the readers to continue being indulged in the entertaining story.

The play also stands out because of its unique structure. Most Shakespearean plays comprise of romance, banishment, and disguise as a key theme to the plot.
For instance, one never fails to identify the certain styles of Shakespeare; namely one method would be: Male characters in the beginning disguise themselves and they fall for the wrong women who were also disguised. However, everyone reconcile with their true one in the end after a series of farce incidents.
Another signature style would be: Groups of high ranked men and their king are banished to the forsaken islands or forests by a nemesis. Then the noble men and their king would regain power and get invited back in the end by the strange love marriage between the children of the king and his nemesis!

To a great relief this play consisted of none of those techniques which therefore was a remarkably fresh way of journeying through a wonderful Shakespeare comedy.

[justagirlwithabook · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I had to read this one when I was in high school for an AP Lit course (man, I hated that course). Lit teachers have so many opportunities to choose some really amazing, relevant lit, and while I think Shakespeare is still relevant today, the way this book was taught was miserable. There were moments when the discussions in class were interesting, but it wasn't any thanks to the instructor or the play itself, I don't think. Of course, in high school fashion we watched the movie afterwards, and I found I enjoyed it better (and actually understood the play better, too). It was okay, but not one of my favorites among the Shakespeare pile of plays.

[engpunk77 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Read this twice, once for high school and once for college, and both times I despised it. I don't remember why, but I think it was some feminist outrage that I had...

[paulinaturnsthepages · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

My second review (check out my review of The Count of Monte Cristo) and this book is an amazing play. I had to read this for school and I thought this was going to be boring and non-entertaining but, to my surprise, It is hilarious! This book is a clever comedy in which Shakespeare shows two very different sisters and a plot so complex and difficult It is interesting. Some people may think Shakespeare is dull and I can see why but, this is a book i recommend from middle school to the rest of your life. You see Bianca (the innocent, boy fanatic girl who is very vain) and Kate (a feminist who is more reserved to herself and never wants to marry). Kate is very strong and has her dignity. This play is a page turner for sure. I have also seen the movie and the TV series (now gone) and none of them compare to the humorous English vernacular of Shakespeare. (Even though Elizabeth Taylor plays one hell of a Kate!)- Paulina

[vhartpowers · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

It's bawdy and crass; juvenile humor. I guess this explains why I enjoyed it in high school, but didn't enjoy it as much as an adult.

[ashleigh_autumn · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is honestly mu favorite work by Shakespeare. I love the humor within it. I have read this for classes I have performed Katherine's final Monologue. I know people find that this plays has become a past idea of thinking of how women should behave since we are in a modern day world that that works for men and women to be equal without bowing down. However, at the time this play was written, that was not yet the thinking. No matter what, this is and always will be a favorite of mine.

[dinadansfriend · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A better play to see than read. There's room for a lot of physical comedy here, and I think it shows that WS was better at tragedy than broad farce. Still, it's noted as having been read four times. "Kiss Me, Kate!" is more fun.

[iamchrysanthemum · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

What an odd, misogynistic play. Most interesting was the induction with Christopher Sly, a drunkard who is tricked into believing he is a rich lord. This plot line, included to set up the whole identity switch storyline, is never resolved in my text. I know Shakespeare is considered a master playwright of the English language and I do truly appreciate his work, but isn't he a bit unoriginal at times? There's the whole "borrowing" stories from other authors and then the fact that many of his stories feature the same motifs--funny servants, identity mixups, instalove followed by marriages, rich Italians in search of dowries and hot wives, mean fathers. I guess the Elizabethan theatre-going crowd had a specific niche, and Shakespeare knew how to work within it. Which, if you think about it, isn't that different from our generation being obsessed with vampires and paranormal romances. In 5 centuries, will our descendants look back at our reading tastes and wonder why it all seems the same?

[jhudsui_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I had to give it a second star because some of the jokes were funny but really, this is just horrible. I'm not saying it should never be performed because it's a part of our cultural heritage and significant for influencing a lot of later works but I really think it's unsuitable for casual performance, for entertainment of general audiences. I saw it performed at a summer park show and Petruccio's player kept stopping to apologize out of character because the audience was booing him so loudly.

[madamxtra · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

What can I say...I love Shakespeare's poetic language, wit and his insight into the human condition. But, I must be honest and tell you that I had to force myself to finish this book because I'm an independent, liberated, modern woman and I don't think there's anything funny about the way Pet. mentally abused Kate. Here we have a lying rouge who is cast as a hero as he uses psychological war-fare, humiliation and starvation to bend the will of a wealthy woman, just to get her money. This is the kind of thing we read about in the news; some wealthy woman being taken-in by a playboy that she met on an internet dating site. It wasn't funny back in the day and it isn't funny now.Good thing he didn't try that with Lorena Bobbitt...SMILE!!!

[leslie398 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The introductory scenes with Sly were a surprise to me! I was also somewhat surprised by how much of the musical Kiss Me Kate is directly from the play.

[knotbox · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Really funny. Although, yes, it is technically sexist. When I heard that last speech performed live, there was no real mutual respect it seemed, and maybe it was a little dull. But when the mutual respect is clear, you realize it isn't just Kate who has changed, but her husband as well. Thus it becomes clear that they respect each other, and truly, while it appears that she is 'beneath him' and always agreeing with everything he says, there is an air that she is only learning to not be contrary and she thus becomes able to be in a relationship, in a partnership.

[mattviews · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Unlike any other Shakespeare's plays, THE TAMING OF THE SHREW has an induction, which lives up to its name in the sense that the prologue scene does indeed lead into the play that follows. It seems likely that Shakespeare had adopted the device from medieval narrative poetry, where it was extensively used to introduce a story in the form of a dream. In the induction, far more is involved than the mere setting of a scene and the informing to audience. In fact, Christopher Sly seems to have lapse into a dream as he is forced to adopt a new identity. The brief yet vigorous altercation between Sly and the hostess with which the induction begins is a curtain raiser for the dramatic struggle between Petruchio and Katherina that is to follow. Equally as significant is the Lord's instructions to his servant-boy as to the behavior he is to assume when he appears disguised as Sly's wife forebode the main theme of the play. THE TAMING OF THE SHREW has a powerful appeal for the Elizabethan audience at the time it opened because the struggle for mastery in a marriage remained a fact of existence and hot topics for writers. A true-to-life domestic scene opens the play and instantly grasps attention: Signor Baptista forbids all suitors to court his younger daughter Bianca until he finds a husband for the ill-tempered, difficult, and waspish elder daughter Katherina. She is notorious for her hot temper, foul tongue, and caprice. Out of jealousy and the qualm not remaining single, she often vents out her anger on her sister. Suitors of the younger sister, who decide to put aside their rivalry, contrive to find a match for Katherina. Gremio and Hortensio bear the cost of Petruchio's courting Katherina while Lucentio, who is madly in love with Bianca, and his crafty servant Tranio cunningly switch role to infiltrate the Baptista house. What inevitably follows is a facetious pursuit of love and a farcical melodrama that culminate in a riotously funny final scene in which Lucentio's real father, who has no clue of his son's betrothal, confronts the pedant-disguised impostor who reverse-accuses him of a charlatan. Equally as clueless of the entire crafty scheme is Baptista whom the suitors have tricked and outmaneuvered. He is consistently mistaken about everything and everybody, so that he does not even understand why Bianca later asks for his forgiveness. He and Vincentio are merely the butts for all the intrigues that go on throughout the play. THE TAMING OF THE SHREW maintains an irresistible appeal among the comedies owing to the intriguing trickery with which characters rival for courtship. Just as suspenseful and entertaining is Petruchio's calculated, punctilious campaign to tame his wife. His line of attack is psychological, although persuasive words carefully planned for each step accompany his actions. He somehow outsmarts his wife and deliberately outdoes her in his perversity and bad temper. The quintessential spleen of tantrum flourishes in the scenes in which Petruchio abuses his servants and tailor. His being abusive, tyrannical, violent, and capricious functions more than a reflection - it is evident of a caricature of Katherina through an exaggerated parody of her wild behavior. His evaluation of her mind is confirmed by her softening and surrender for she welcomes the opportunity of meeting an antagonist who will put up a good fight. THE TAMING OF THE SHREW is highly rhetorical (even more so than AS YOU LIKE IT). Whether it is Petruchio's aggressive, vituperative taming or the milder courting of Bianca, the play never lacks an elite style with which Shakespeare exploited language to a linguistic virtuosity. For example, Petruchio's taming distinguishes from the usual method that might involve violence. What differentiate his campaign are the subtlety, the sophistication, and the ingenuity of his conceiving of Katherina's mind. His perspicacious mind justifies the use of highly rhetorical, puny, and literary discourse that somehow alienates the ordinary speech in the play and paradoxically brings in a fuller, more intimate possession of his witty scheme.

[mrslee_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This may be my favorite Shakespeare, but I haven't read them all yet. This is my favorite so far. I love the way the man keeps pushing in on Kate until she receives his love.