How Does Shakespeare Show Deception

Deception is the name of the game—be whoever and say whatever to ensure that you woo that special lady before anyone else can get their grimy grabbers on her. In The Taming of the Shrew, this mentality proves to be quite prominent. Disguises and deception play a huge role in the play and reveal much about the author himself, William Shakespeare. Throughout the play, the characters lie in order to get what they want, but they may not always gain an advantage from it. In The Taming of the Shrew, the motifs of deception and disguise permeate the plot and characters and reveal much about Shakespeare and the his values.

Disguises create a huge portion of the conflict in Shakespeare’s comedy. When a character chooses to hide themselves under the guise of another, one of two things can happen: it helps them, or it does not. Lucentio is one character for whom disguises give a huge advantage. Lucentio’s end goal is to be wedded to

Perhaps it is not the social class someone comes from that determines how they are treated, but what they wear. To an extent, this is true in the play. When Lucentio’s plan is first hatched, finding a suitable man to pretend to be him is the first step. Upon deciding to go with Tranio, Lucentio orders him to “uncase thee; take my colour’d hat and cloak” (Shakespeare 17). Tranio need only dress up like the rich and respected Lucentio to gain the same treatment. Even though he is a servant, he is treated with the utmost respect—only because of the clothes he wears. As long as no one can recognize the disguised, they can be whoever they want to be. Tranio becomes Lucentio. Lucentio becomes Cambio. Hortensio becomes Litio. The pedant become Vincentio. Almost all of the disguises were relatively successful and served their initial purpose. By merely donning a different hat and cloak, they could be anyone they wanted. Their clothes really were what made them who they