Analysing Act 2, Scene 1 and Act 4, Scene 3 in The Taming of the Shrew will cover various features of the clever language Shakespeare has used in the play, in order for it to appeal to all audiences. This will include humour in the form of sexual innuendo, slapstick comedy and puns because the play is a comedy. I will also point out animal imagery and different 16th century themes Shakespeare has included in the play, some of which still exist today i.e. sexism, men versus women, power and appearance versus reality (what is seen on the surface is not always what is underneath).
The main theme that any 21st Century audience will firstly notice is the obvious sexism towards Katherina. To most modern day women, Petruchios character would be interpreted as a male chauvinist, a dominating bully and a stubborn man who must have total control over his wife and will not allow her to have a mind or opinion of her own. This is displayed in Act 4, Scene 1 in Petruchios speech. He says,
My falcon now is sharp and passing empty,
And till she stoop she must not be full-gorged.
In this line, Petruchio is talking about Katherina. She is his falcon, his wild hawk that must not be fully fed. Shakespeare uses animal imagery to relate to the title of the play, The Taming of the Shrew, showing that all animals need to be tamed. The title chosen for the play itself is animal imagery as it relates a shrew to how a woman was seen in Elizabethan times. A shrew is a little mouse with a long nose and is extremely bad tempered. Like a shrew, Katherina is seen as small and insignificant because she is a woman. Because she goes unnoticed, she retaliates by being bad-tempered, angry and generally rude. Both Katherina and the shrew are expected to be harmless and polite. This is why it is shocking to the men in the play when they realise what Katherinas personality is really like. Shakespeare has chosen a falcon for an animal as men with falcons on their wrists appear to be strong and fearless thus immediately transforming Petruchio into one of these men.
To make her come and know her keepers call, implies that for Katherina to be fed and to be ridden of her hunger, she must first answer Petruchios call and obey him as he is her keeper, her owner, her master, her husband. Petruchio wants to curb Katherinas mad and headstrong humour so he tames the shrew by not letting her eat or sleep, causing noise in the bed, flinging pillows and tossing around the sheets:
And if she chance to nod Ill rail and brawl,
And with the clamour keep her still awake.
But Petruchio tries to justify his reasons for being mean to Katherina by saying, That all is done in reverend care of her, meaning that he is treating Katherina badly so that she can become a better person. This relates to the theme of appearance versus reality. Petruchio may appear to most of the female audience as an evil, torturous character but in reality, it is displayed that he is only acting this way to help Katherina improve herself as a person.
Women of the 21st Century will argue that Petruchio is ruining Katherinas personality and tying her down. They will also be upset at the end of the play as Petruchio actually does manage to tame his shrew and win the bet. Another way in which Petruchios speech can be read is as a form of foul play on Petruchios behalf. Petruchio is actually physically and mentally weakening Katherina so that he can tame her. He may be seen as not man enough to tame her when she is in her full strength and cannot control a strong and independent woman. He has to stoop to the level of bodily weakening her in order to win control over her. From this point of view, Shakespeare may be seen as a feminist. An example of Shakespeares bias towards women is, It is extempore, from my mother-wit. Act 2, Scene 1. Shakespeare is saying that Petruchio learnt his wit from his mother, not his father, showing that women are smarter and speak better than men. Katherina fires back a quick, witty remark by saying, A witty mother! Witless else her son, saying that though his mother is intelligent, he is not as he has only learnt from her. More evidence of Shakespeares feminist inclinations is, This Shrew was being played as Slys dream, a male supremacists fantasy of revenge upon women. (Royal Shakespeare Company programme note, 1978.) It reveals that women in Shakespeares time were actually very controlling and men were afraid of them. They had to watch a sexist play to try and convince themselves that they were in charge. Slys dream of taming the shrew shows that men were obsessed with having the upper hand and having what they wanted, like Petruchio (he ends up destroying Katherina in order to prove that men are the more superior sex). Sly wakes up and realises that it is not possible to control women. Shakespeare makes this known when Sly returns to the pub and tries to tame his shrew but it does not work. His woman throws him out of the pub again, proving that men can dream but in reality, women are in command.
In Act 4, Scene 3, Katherina says,
I trust I may have leave to speak,
And speak I will. I am no child, no babe.
This extract shows how Shakespeare recognised the fact that women who were not allowed to speak their mind and express their spirit would be broken. Katherinas heart, mind and personality are what make her unique and in the play, her identity is sadly lost. Shakespeare is saying that women are not children and cannot be treated like children. We know that he was ahead of his time because he recognised the importance of womens roles in a patriarchal, sexist society.
The issues within the Taming of the Shrew would be offensive toward women of the 21st Century as women have both social and political power. They also have strong individuality and often dominate men in Western cultures. In the 16th century, it was all right to be sexist as women had no social or political power but it is dangerous to cast the play in present day. Most men and women would dismiss it as Altogether disgusting to modern sensibility. (George Bernard Shaw.) There is a minority of men today who would enjoy it since they are the ones who do not agree with women being equal. They would use it as an excuse to escape women, just as Sly and other Elizabethan men did in the past.
In Act 4, Scene 3, Petruchio has become a lot harsher with his treatment of Katherina by even allowing the working class such as his servants to put her down. Grumio teases Katherina by suggesting a meal for her to eat and then denying her of food. Katherina has to resort to begging Grumio, I prithee let me have it. To the audience, Grumio may appear to be in a higher position than Katherina as he is not letting her eat and humiliating her but Shakespeare proves that this is not true. In the interaction between Katherina and Grumio, Katherina speaks in verse and iambic pentameter whereas Grumio speaks in prose. In Shakespeares plays, the brighter and more important people used poetical speech and the higher class were known to speak in verse, referring back to the theme of power and status. The more witty and intelligent one sounded, the more powerful one was. Grumio being lower class and uneducated speaks in prose as it was seen as a common and untrained way of speaking. At the end of their interaction, Katherina fights for her dignity by finally losing her patience for Grumio and beating him. This slapstick humour to all audiences as human beings find comedy in the mortification of another person. Even modern audiences laugh at the expense of someone elses humiliation but in this case, the audience will feel that there is some hope for Katherina and will find strength and faith in her as she retaliates.
Petruchio is treating Katherina like an animal, not a human, nor a woman, nor a wife. He is starving her to make her obey him. While an Elizabethan audience would find this scene amusing and humorous because she is being starved, a 21st century director could portray a vulnerable and disgraced Katherina, suffering from the torturous behaviour of a cruel and overbearing husband. Therefore, it is easy to see why a modern audience would see this play as sexist whereas an audience from Shakespeares time would find it amusing.
Later on in the scene, when Petruchio speaks to Katherina about the tailor, To deck thy body with his ruffling treasure, he is being crude and Shakespeare is using sexual innuendo, suggesting that the tailor has come to cover Katherina with himself. Shakespeare makes Petruchio use internal rhyme in this scene in order to seduce Katherina. He is almost singing to her, painting a wonderful world where she will return back to her fathers house with gold. Petruchios singing makes him seem slightly mad, random and unpredictable. It makes one feel that they do not know what Petruchio is going to do next. The characters, as well as the audience would feel scared and insecure in his presence. The internal rhyme used is ruffs and cuffs, ending rhymes of rings and things, leisure and treasure. There is alliteration of coats and caps and bracelets and beads. There is also repetition of the word with making you assume that Petruchio is saying, you will have this, and this, and this etc giving an effect of built up excitement for Katherina. Petruchio also increases Katherinas enthusiasm by tempting her with lovely things e.g. dreams of dresses, hats and jewels. He does this only to tear her dreams apart and bring her down, to remind her that he controls her. The scene itself is quite fast paced, where a tension is building up as Kate is still being starved, now, not only of food but also of a dress. The scene reaches its climatic moment when Petruchio rips up Katherinas dress, in order to further torment her. The audience may feel sympathy or even empathy for her, as wives in modern day may be in the same position as Katherina i.e. they are also being made to suffer by their husbands.
The anticipation that Shakespeare boosts is also destroyed when Petruchio rids Katherina of the chance to escape and return home. This occurs at the end of Petruchios speech when Katherina steps out of line by correcting Petruchio about the time of day. Petruchio replies by saying,
Look what I speak, or do, or think to do,
Already have an account? Log In Now
3332