Taming of the Shrew Essay

Submitted By LipiM14
Words: 1234
Pages: 5
Open Document
Shakespeare uses the theme of identity to drive the plot. How successful is this comedic technique?

In ‘The Taming of the Shrew’ identity and mistaken identity drives the comedic impact. Many elements are used to create humour within the play, such as social class, gender roles, disguise and personality. As well as providing a light-hearted portrayal of Elizabethan life, the humour also casts a interrogatory gaze on society at the time, particularly the role of women and expectations surrounding their conformity.

The use of disguising identities is seen as the main and obvious form of mistaken identity, this is shown by characters cross-dressing and swapping roles. The first time the audience experiences cross-dressing in the play is in the induction when Bartholomew, a page boy, dresses as a woman and pretends to be Christopher Sly’s wife. This introduces strong willed women from the outset as Bartholomew doesn’t back down from acting as the wife even though Sly really believes that Bartholomew is his wife and wants Bartholomew to “undress you and come now to bed.” This is comedic as Shakespeare uses dramatic irony to ensure that the audience know that Sly’s wife isn’t actually female but male, a fact of which he is completely unaware. This then highlights how the audience are constantly aware of all the tricks and deception that continues throughout the play. The use of disguise is then also used when Lucentio wants to get closer to Bianca and dresses as a schoolmaster and gets his servant to dress and act as Lucentio, “Thu shalt be master, Tranio, in my stead;”. This is comical to an Elizabethan audiences as its ridiculous and Elizabethans were used to others swapping costumes. Tranio, Lucentio’s servant, acting as Lucentio also creates anticipation in the audience as this deception won’t last and someone will discover his true identity.

Another main catalyst of humour in the play is social class. This is initially seen in the induction when the Lord tricks Sly, who is a drunkard, and says that he is the Lord. This emphasises a contrast between social classes as Sly is actually poor but the Lord is saying that Sly is the Lord and has many wealthy possessions such as “Thy horses” who’s “harness studded all with gold and pearl.” Elizabethan and modern audiences would find this comical as we know that sly isn’t actually the Lord but actually a poor drunkard. Another example of the comedic impact of social class would be when Lucentio and Tranio swap identities so that Lucentio can get closer to Bianca. This shows a strong divide between master and servant as Tranio is now acting as if he’s rich when in reality he’s just Lucentio’s servant, this is absurd and complex which is why both Elizabethan and modern audiences would find this humorous. Tranio is “content to be Lucentio” as he now gets to take charge and have “A sulken doublet, a velvet hose, a scarlet cloak and a capatain hat” even when they aren’t actually his to keep, each of these possessions have connotations of wealth and luxury which is a contrast to his true identity. Tranio as Lucentio demonstrates a lower class character acting as an upper class character which would be unthinkable in Elizabethan times. Another character acting as upper class when he’s lower class is the merchant who Lucentio wants to act as his father, Vincentio.

As well as disguise and social class, gender roles are used to create humour throughout the play mainly using Katherina, but the audiences first see reversed gender roles in the induction with Sly and Bartholomew. Sly doesn’t know that Bartholomew is actually a page boy as he is dressed as Sly’s wife and because of how good Bartholomew is in disguise Sly falls for his act and this brings about Sly’s sexual inclination to Bartholomew. However, Bartholomew doesn’t break character as he “let me entreat of you” but “To pardon me yet for a night or two” so he doesn’t get caught as not actually being female. Gender roles is also
Show More

Related Documents: Taming of the Shrew Essay

Taming Of The Shrew

The Taming of the Shrew, by William Shakespeare starts from the scene where Christopher Slay falls asleep in front of the tavern. The local lord who returns from the hunt with his hunters and servants finds Slay asleep on the ground and decides to play with him a joke. Lord' servants carry Slay to the Lord's mention where he washed in scented water, dressed up like a nobleman and convinced that he is a Lord. The Lord cordially invites a group of traveling actors to his mention and asks them to…

Words 566 - Pages 3

'Petruchio In Taming Of The Shrew'

Shakespeare in his famed comedy Taming of The Shrew initially represents the character Katherine as being the Shrew referenced in the title. On numerous occasions in the early stages of the play Katherine is compared to a devilish being who will never find love. When Katherine obtains a wealth driven suitor named Petruchio, the question as to which one of the characters is the the real Shrew, referred to in the title, arises. The real Shrew is clearly identified as the story progresses. Shakespeare…

Words 700 - Pages 3

Katherine In The Taming Of The Shrew

The play, The Taming of the Shrew, by William Shakespeare, centers around Katherine, and her sister, Bianca, who are both of age to be married. They have many suitors, but they all prefer Bianca because she is the ideal woman of their time: polite, submissive, young, and pretty. The suitors tend to avoid Katherine because she is headstrong and speaks her mind, thus being labeled as a “shrew.” Katherine is overlooked and even insulted by some of the men that adore her sister. This negative attention…

Words 624 - Pages 3

Women In The Taming Of The Shrew

In the play The Taming of the Shrew written by William Shakespeare, we see a well illustration of how much men would do to attain what they want. Throughout the play, we also see how women are seen, particularly as “possessions” to men. Because these two positions are deeply seen throughout the play, a major question arises. That question being the following: Was Shakespeare telling the reader that women should be “possessions” or that a man’s dominance and need for control is too extreme? Having…

Words 672 - Pages 3

Petruchio In Taming Of The Shrew

continued, Katherine eventually respected and loved Petruchio. In my opinion, I think that Petruchio choosing to marry Katherine was a brilliant idea because Katherine’s life was miserable before that. When I read the first few acts and scenes of Taming of the Shrews, I was pretty confused when I came upon the scene where Petruchio was trying to tame Katherine. My thoughts were all over the place when I first read the scene but as I went deeper into the play, I concluded that Petruchio marrying Katherine…

Words 680 - Pages 3

Essay about Taming of the Shrew

The Taming of the Shrew Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew includes different kinds of characters. The play’s main characters are: Katherine Minola, Petruchio, Bianca Minola, Baptista Minola, Hortensio, Lucentio, Tranio, and Gremio. Katherine is regarded as a “shrew”­ a bad­tempered, assertive woman. Although her father, Baptista, is very wealthy and will provide a large dowry, Katherine has no suitors. However, her younger sister, Bianca, has many suitors because of her more modest, meek character – traits that were the ideal for…

Words 568 - Pages 3

Essay on taming of the shrew

The representation of women in Shakespeares “Taming of the Shrew”. The women in the taming of the shrew are representative of male dominant society and the pursuit of determination of a male and his quest to win the heart of the shrew. The female shrew Katherine is tempestuous in different, independent, opinionated and not easily interested in any male liaison which becomes a challenge for a particular type of male to tame her. As opposed to her sister Bianca, who is portrayed as a more of a daddy’s…

Words 397 - Pages 2

Inequality In The Taming Of The Shrew

Shakespearean Inequality The Taming of the Shrew was written by William Shakespeare and published in 1594 to merely focus on the social standings of men and women during the Elizabethan era. More specifically, Shakespeare centralizes the idea of gender inequality and how it has an affect on how men hunt women and how women are meant to be tamed. The Taming of the Shrew is a comedy and tragedy that also has a connection with gender roles and where inequality is acceptable in the play. In the beginning…

Words 1056 - Pages 5

Taming Of The Shrew And Petruchio's

Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew is a comedic play that centres on the gender and class inequalities of the Elizabethan Era. To highlight these inequalities, the play depicts the volatile relationship between the two central characters- Katherina and Petruchio. Modern transformations of this infamous text, particularly the film versions created in 1999 and 1967, have enabled contemporary viewers to access these overt messages of masculinity and feminity and to contextualise the events described…

Words 1236 - Pages 5

Taming Of The Shrew Comparison

movie, “10 Things I Hate About You” as well as the play, “The Taming of the Shrew” are similar in a lot of ways, while both sounding similar in name, both are considered to be a romantic comedy, dealing with relationships, light hearted and most importantly, end with a happy ending. So how are these two movies the same and yet so different? In the movie, “10 things I Hate About You” is based on the same concept as “The Taming of the Shrew” a play written by William Shakespeare. In both the play and…

Words 1190 - Pages 5