The Taming of the Shrew
A boisterous comedy about gender, marriage, and submission, framed by an elaborate induction in which a tinker is tricked into believing he is a lord watching a play. The main plot concerns the courtship and "taming" of the headstrong Katherina by the wily Petruchio.
At a Glance
- Genre: Comedy
- Approximate date: c. 1590–1592
- Setting: Induction — an English alehouse and country house; Main play — Padua and Petruchio's country estate
- Source: George Gascoigne's Supposes (subplot); a lost earlier play The Taming of A Shrew
- Acts: 5 (plus Induction)
Dramatis Personæ
Induction (Frame)
| Character | Description |
|---|---|
| CHRISTOPHER SLY | A tinker; tricked into thinking he is a lord |
| A LORD | Who devises the trick on Sly |
| HOSTESS | Of the alehouse |
| PAGE | Disguised as Sly's "wife" |
| PLAYERS | Who perform the main play |
| HUNTSMEN | Servants |
Main Play
| Character | Description |
|---|---|
| BAPTISTA MINOLA | Rich gentleman of Padua; father to Katherina and Bianca |
| KATHERINA (KATE) | The "shrew"; eldest daughter to Baptista |
| BIANCA | Younger daughter; sweet-tempered; coveted by suitors |
| PETRUCHIO | Gentleman of Verona; suitor to Katherina; determined tamer |
| LUCENTIO | Son to Vincentio; disguises as a schoolmaster to court Bianca |
| VINCENTIO | Old gentleman of Pisa; father to Lucentio |
| GREMIO | Old suitor to Bianca |
| HORTENSIO | Suitor to Bianca; later weds the Widow |
| TRANIO | Servant to Lucentio; impersonates his master |
| BIONDELLO | Servant to Lucentio |
| GRUMIO | Servant to Petruchio; chief comic foil |
| CURTIS | Servant to Petruchio |
| PEDANT | Set up to impersonate Vincentio |
| WIDOW | Whom Hortensio eventually marries |
Plot Summary
Induction: Christopher Sly, a drunken tinker, is found asleep by a Lord. The Lord devises a jest: Sly is dressed in fine clothes and told he is a nobleman who has been mad. A page is dressed as his "wife." Players arrive and perform the play-within-a-play for Sly.
Act I: In Padua, Baptista announces he will not allow Bianca to marry until Katherina — notorious as a shrew — is wed. Lucentio, newly arrived, falls in love with Bianca. He and his servant Tranio devise a plan: Lucentio disguises as a schoolmaster ("Cambio") to woo Bianca; Tranio impersonates Lucentio. Petruchio arrives seeking a rich wife; Hortensio (who loves Bianca) tells him of Katherina and offers to introduce him to Baptista.
Act II: Petruchio meets Katherina. Their witty, combative exchange ends with Petruchio declaring they are agreed to marry — over Katherina's protests. The date is set. Lucentio (as Cambio) and Hortensio (disguised as music teacher "Licio") compete for Bianca's attention.
Act III: Petruchio arrives late to his own wedding in absurd clothes, behaves outrageously during the ceremony, and immediately carries Katherina away to his country estate before the wedding feast. At the estate, he refuses her food and sleep under the pretense that nothing is good enough for her, "taming" her through psychological exhaustion.
Act IV: Petruchio continues his "taming" — refusing a new gown, insisting the sun is the moon. Katherina finally agrees to say what he wishes. They return to Padua. Meanwhile, the Lucentio/Tranio imposture begins to unravel when the real Vincentio arrives.
Act V: The confusions of identity are sorted out: Lucentio reveals himself and wins Bianca. At a banquet, a wager is made on whose wife is most obedient. Bianca and the Widow refuse to come when called; Katherina comes at once and delivers the play's most famous (and controversial) speech on wifely submission.
Key Themes
- Gender and authority — whether Kate's submission is genuine, ironic, or performed is the central critical debate
- Disguise and performance — the play is a play-within-a-play; everyone performs an identity
- Economic marriage — wives as financial transactions; Petruchio explicitly states he comes for money
- Language and power — Petruchio's "taming" works largely through rhetorical control
Notable Quotations
"I come to wive it wealthily in Padua; / If wealthily, then happily in Padua." *(Petruchio, I.ii)*
"I am ashamed that women are so simple / To offer war where they should kneel for peace." *(Katherina, V.ii)*
LibriVox Recording
The Taming of the Shrew audiobook on LibriVox — Free public domain recording. (Multiple versions available)
Cross-references
- Comedies — genre context
- Much Ado About Nothing — another comedy built on antagonistic courtship (Beatrice & Benedick)
- The Merry Wives of Windsor — Falstaff's humiliation; bourgeois gender comedy