Taming Of The Schrew Essay, Research Paper
The Taming of the Shrew: A Perceptual Ability Test
A perennial subject In Shakespeare? s plays is the thought that things are non ever what they seem. The Taming of the Shrew shows a good illustration of this subject. In this drama we find many disagreements between what seems to be and what is. The chief subject of this drama is cognizing what a individual is truly similar is more of import than how they appear to be. This is shown by Petruchio & # 8217 ; s relationship with Katherine ; the altering functions of Tranio, Lucentio, and Hortensio ; and the true characters of Bianca and Katherine. All three of these state of affairss help to enrich the subject.
The drama begins with an initiation in which a rummy, Christopher Sly, is fooled into believing he is a male monarch and has a drama performed for him. The drama he watches is what constitutes the chief organic structure of The Taming Of The Shrew. In it, a affluent landholder, Baptista Minola, efforts to hold his two girls married. One appears to be really nagging, Katherine, while the other, Bianca, is the beautiful and soft one. In order to guarantee Katherine is married, Baptista disallows Bianca to be espoused until Katherine is wed, coercing the many suers to Bianca to happen a mate for Katherine in order for them to compete for Bianca & # 8217 ; s love. Many critics of the drama condemn it for the blazing sexist attitude it has toward adult females but closer scrutiny of the drama and the elaboratenesss of its construction reveal that it is non simply a narrative of how work forces should set adult females in their topographic point ( Saccio 40 ) . The drama is, in fact, a comedy about an self-asserting adult female get bying with how she is expected to move in the society of the late 16th century and of how one must obey the unwritten regulations of a society to be accepted in it. Leo Hughes provides the reader with a sensible and rationale intent of the drama, by stating:
Its object is to arouse the witness to laughter, non the reflective sort which comedy is intended to arouse, but the unsophisticated response of simple enjoyment.
Although the drama ends with her externally conforming to the norms of society, this is in action merely, non in head. Although she assumes the function of the obedient married woman, inside she still maintains her assertiveness. Most of the drama & # 8217 ; s wit comes from the manner in which characters create false worlds by masking themselves as other people, a device foremost introduced in the initiation. Initially this is accomplished by holding Christopher Sly believe he is person he is non and so by holding the chief drama performed for him. By seting The Taming Of The Shrew in a & # 8216 ; play within a drama & # 8217 ; construction, a microcosm with in a universe if you will, Shakespeare instantly lets the audience know that the drama is non existent therefore doing all events in the drama false worlds ( Righter 104 ) . Almost all characters in the drama take on individualities other than their ain at some point of clip during the drama.
The first quandary that supports the subject is Petruchio & # 8217 ; s relationship with Katherine. In The Taming Of The Shrew, wooing and matrimony are non so much the consequence of love but instead an establishment of society that people are expected to take portion in. As a consequence of the remotion of love affair from matrimony, suers are judged, non by their love for a adult female, but by how good they can supply for her. Petruchio? does non go what others pretend him to be, nor does Katherine? ( Oliver 38 ) . When we foremost run into Petruchio, he is merely after the money of Katherine, and accepts her abrasiveness as merely a end he must get the better of. He is mistaken for a individual who is merely after money, non love at all. Yet, when he meets Kate, he begins to fall for her. While he still argues and efforts to develop her, it is entirely for his ain benefit. He wants her to be less rough so she will be willing to fall in love with him. Petruchio ends up genuinely caring for and loving Kate, despite the forepart he puts up holding his true individuality revealed. It is merely at and after his nuptials that he chooses to conceal his existent nature. He pretends that he is every bit shrew as Katherina. This is slightly like the parent who lies down on the floor next to his kicking and shouting kid and starts kicking and shouting right along side him. While looker-ons might happen this bizarre, it grabs the kid? s attending and reveals to him merely how foolish his ain actions truly are. By his actions so, the parent wins the kid into a more sensible attitude and behaviour. As a consequence of this Katherine, whom we thought would ne’er love anyone ; at the terminal of the narrative is the lone married woman who comes when she is beckoned by Petruchio. The other wives merely do up alibis non to come. This shows how Kate has a mistaken individuality because she appears ill-mannered and unapproachable, when in fact she is non. This state of affairs is one of the ways Shakespeare uses misguided individuality to expose this reoccurring subject.
Another portion of the subject is that when a individual changes outfits and functions in an attempt to lead on person else, their personalities and attitudes stay the same. In the chief portion of the drama, we see two chief narrative lines: one the courtship of a girl of Baptista, the other the & # 8220 ; chastening & # 8221 ; of her sister. Both involve suers who disguise themselves as what they are non and both involve adult females who are non what they seem on the surface. Let us first expression at the work forces who wish to marry Bianca and their helpers. First is Lucentio, who is lead oning himself when he believes that he wants more than any thing to give his present life to instruction, and his servant Tranio. In Act I, Scene I after a long discourse with his adult male Tranio declaring his desire to come to Padua to go to the university, which he finally forgets all about and commences on a pursuit to win the love of Bianca. At this clip he conspir
Es with Tranio sing how he might travel about making a misrepresentation that will let him to acquire near adequate to win her love. Lucentio disguises his servant Tranio as himself and he himself changes into a linguistic communication coach named Cambio, which by the way means “change” in Italian, harmonizing to Barron? s Book Notes as they appear on the World Wide Web. This camouflage of Tranio as Lucentio is besides an interesting contemplation of Christopher Sly as the retainer who regulations over the maestro. Tranio is besides interesting as he, from the start, speaks really poetically, uncovering that he is non a common adult male.
Another character, Hortensio besides disguises himself in order to derive entree to Bianca for the intent of courting her. His camouflage is as of Lutio a music maestro. He excessively becomes a coach for Bianca, but is finally rejected by her. Before the changing of apparels, Hortensio is in competition with Lucentio for Bianca, and still is despite the alteration in apparels. These are illustrations of work forces who are wittingly masking themselves in order to be able to prosecute matrimony. They are seeking to lead on the household of Baptista by acting in such a mode that they are something they know they are non, and their misrepresentation can non, and is non meant to, travel on everlastingly. They even pull a complete alien into the game when they persuade the Pedant to stand in every bit Vincentio, Lucanio? s male parent. Like the camouflage of Bartholomew, these are intended to last merely for a short clip and are for a specific intent, to court and marry Bianca. What Shakespeare is seeking to convey is that although one is able to alter apparels to lead on person else, one can non alter the individual who wears them.
The most consequence most effectual manner Shakespeare demonstrates this subject is through Bianca and Kate. Bianca patterns a much deeper signifier of misrepresentation, possibly so deep that she herself does non see it. She is presented as one who is systematically referred to as & # 8220 ; sweet & # 8221 ; , & # 8220 ; just & # 8221 ; and & # 8220 ; virtuous & # 8221 ; , a false principle, giving herself to her surveies and ne’er desiring anything else out of life. Yet, as David Daniel points out in his essay & # 8220 ; Shakespeare and the Traditions of Comedy & # 8221 ; , ? at the terminal Bianca shows herself junior-grade, and even shrewish? ( 106 ) . G.R. Hibbard says of Bianca, ? misrepresentation is a adult female? s most effectual arm? ( 25 ) . Her more true nature comes out when she no longer needs to set on a frontage in order to win the love of a adult male.
In contrast to the nagging nature revealed in Bianca, we find a soft nature revealed in Katherina as she finds her ego. Harmonizing to the essay by David Daniel, & # 8220 ; Kate? s loss of her false individuality, and recovery of her true ego, changes her and everyone around her? ? ( 106 ) . Possibly it is because of the manner she is treated by others that she is so contrary. Her male parent evidently favours Bianca, though he loves Katherina and does non desire her to go and old amah ( or does he merely desire her out of his house? ) Possibly Kate is a spot like the spoilt kid who keeps throwing fits going more and more combatant until person eventually loves the kid adequate to state, & # 8220 ; No, you can? t act this manner. I love you excessively much to allow this travel on. & # 8221 ; When the parents put their pes down and stand their land through the kid? s testing, the kid looses the demand to force against the boundaries of acceptable behaviour to see if they are still at that place. In the same manner, when Petruchio resists Kate? s efforts to go on in her shrewishness, she relaxes and becomes her true, unafraid ego. She becomes person who does non ever have to be & # 8220 ; right & # 8221 ; to be happy. This is apparent in Act IV, Scene V when she determines that she will be content to travel along with whatever Petrucio says. She has learned that some-times it is better to be & # 8220 ; incorrect & # 8221 ; for the interest of harmoniousness than & # 8220 ; right? for the interest of pride. This is demonstrated in her monologue when she lectures the other married womans on the proper manner in which a adult female should act:
I am ashamed that adult females are so simple To offer war where they should kneel for peace, Or seek regulation, domination, and sway, When they are bound to function, love, and obey. ( Shakespeare 198 )
Although most critics interpret the drama as being that of a adult female eventually moving the manner in which she is supposed to move, it is hard to believe that a character as vivacious and strong-minded as Katherine is changed so easy.
Mistaken individuality is the chief struggle of this drama, yet it besides serves to state the reader or audience what the subject is. Through visual aspect alterations, character relationships, and interior personalities, the subject is displayed, the subject being that what person & # 8217 ; s existent individuality is more of import than what they seem to be. This is proved by a enormous use of characters and secret plan with illustrations amplifying the subject brightly and with great accent.
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Barron? s Book Notes on the WWW ( I could non acquire the certification information as when I tried to entree the information on October 22, 2000, entree was denied. )
Daniel, David. ? Shakespeare and the traditions of Comedy. ? The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare Studies. Ed. Stanley Wells. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1987.
Hibbard, G.R. The Taming of the Shrew. Harmondsworth, 1986. 8.
Hughes, Leo. Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics. Ed. Alex Preminger. Princeton, 1974. 271.
Oliver, H.J. The Taming of the Shrew. Oxford, 1982. 57.
Righter, Anne. Shakespeare and the Idea of the Play. 1962. 104.
Saccio, Peter. Shrewd and Kindly Farce. Shakespeare Survey. Ed. Stanley Wells. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1984.
Shakespeare, William. ? The Taming of the Shrew. ? The Norton Shakespeare. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt. New York: Norton & A ; Company, Inc. 1997.
