Taming Of The Shrew Literary Analysis Essay

William Shakespeare’s “The Taming of The Shrew” showcases two young women and their experiences finding a spouse. While both get married, the opinions regarding the older sister, Katherina, and the younger Bianca vary widely, resulting in completely different types of husbands and relationships. By addressing the judgement of outer appearance, inner self, and distribution of power in marriage, readers can see how the nature of love has evolved from the time of “The Taming of The Shrew” to present day. Outer appearance may be the number one factor in first impressions. In “The Taming of The Shrew” Lucentio falls instantly in love with Bianca’s face, saying “Tranio, I burn, I pine, I perish, Tranio, / If I achieve not this young modest girl”

Katherine was undesirable because of her attitude. In response to Katherine’s arguments, they would say “from all such devils, good Lord, deliver us” (Shr 1.1.66). Even Katherine’s own father admitted that “I think thou hast the veriest shrew of all” (Shr 5.2.65). Katherine attracted men that were strong in themself, such as Petruchio, while Bianca brought on the sentimental and softer men like Lucentio. For women such as Bianca, a personality was unrequired for love because of her beauty. For those like Katherine, most men could not fathom loving her. The nature of love at this time had no room for an outspoken female, and therefore it became a decision of being loved and quiet, or alone and strong. Today, society is more accepting of varying personalities. Statistically, women who are more inclined to have a Katherine-like demeanor have more success with love. According to the Pew Research Center, author Wendy Wang writes that college educated women have an eight in ten chance of lasting beyond the average 20 year marriage. Unfortunately however, keeping up appearances on social media is booming more than ever, and the Worldwatch Institute concluded that eight billion dollars is spent annually on cosmetics in the United States alone, so there is room for improvement. A relationship with a strong female is more tolerated now than in “The

In “The Taming of The Shrew,” men held the power. Marriage was based on wealth, and fathers allowed any man to ask for their daughter’s hand in marriage if enough stood to be gained. Love was not considered in marriages, and was more of an afterthought that hopefully would grow. The only relationship that showed an equalization of power was Petruchio and Katherine’s. While Petruchio often forced Katherine to do his bidding in his attempt to “tame” her, she reclaimed power by taking it to any extreme she desired. Today, with more women in the workforce and the number of stay at home father’s growing, the distribution of power is equalizing. Both fathers and mothers are equally important in raising a family, and it is not uncommon today to have a full time working husband and wife. The nature of love regarding the partner in a relationship sharing power has become increasingly more common today than in “The Taming of The Shrew.” The nature of love in Shakespeare’s “The Taming of the Shrew,” and love today has evolved in many aspects, but stayed the same as well. Humans have always allowed appearance to dictate who is worthy of love or not, and personality is playing an increasingly more important role as well. Over time, power distributions have moved from predominantly male and reached a much more equal level. As time progresses, it seems that the requirements for love do too.