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Taming Of The Shrew Research Paper

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Not Your Average Love Story

What is love? Love is "a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person" (dictionary). Yet William Shakespeare presents The Taming of the Shrew as a love story, but the two "lovers", Katherina and Petruchio, do not present passionate or affectionate love for one another at all. How could this play ever represent a love story when the couple's marriage was forced, based on money, and is about controlling Kate's independence?

Katherina and Petruchio’s arranged marriage greatly impacts how you see the kind of “love” presented between them. First, Baptista (the father of his two daughters Katherina and Bianca) forces the marriage of Katherina and Petruchio. This is because in the Elizabethan time, people were forced to marry whomever their parents chose, and they were expected to respect their decision. As shown, their marriage …show more content…

The time period they were in influences a lot in their marriage. In the Elizabethan time, everyone was required to marry within their class, so an upperclassman could not marry a woman with lower class than himself. This is one of the reasons why Petruchio wanted to marry Kate as his father recently died, with all his money passed on to Petruchio, and so he wanted an equally rich wife (Katherina). This also shows that Petruchio wasn’t marrying for love, he was marrying for money. In his own words “Antonio my father is deceas’d/ and I have thrust myself into this maze/ happily to wive and thrive as best I may” (1.2.51-53). By saying this, Petruchio makes it clear that he’s simply going to get married for money and that he’s going for the “best” (1.2.53). To verify his intentions, Petruchio asks about the money (also known as dowry) involved in his marriage with Katherina before they even meet. This is yet another reason why Kate and Petruchio are not really in

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Kate is mostly humiliated because of Petruchio’s clothing choice. On their wedding day, Petruchio comes dressed in: “a new hat and an old jerkin, a pair of old breeches thrice turned, a pair of boots that have been candle-cases, one buckled, another laced, an old rusty sword ta’en out of the town-armory, with a broken hilt and chapeless; with two broken points: his horse hipped with an old mothy saddle and stirrups of no kindred…” (III.ii.46). Petruchio wears all this in order to begin his ‘taming’ of Kate. He shows her, and Baptista, that they cannot control what he wears.

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Baptista wants Petruchio to dress properly, behave in a good manner also to be early for our marriage rather Petruchio doesn’t mind what he says and said he could do as he pleases, be here when he wants to be, on that he was

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973 Words | 4 Pages

He feels as if he needs to make Kathrine aware of his intentions by more than sly and disrespectful remarks. By doing this, he’s asserting his male dominance to show Kathrine he wants her to obey him. Pertuchio feels entitled to Kathrine's hand in marriage. This is not only because of his conversation with Baptista, but because of the idea that a woman is wed or a shrew that was present in society during this time. “Thou must be married to no man but me, For I am he who is born to tame you, Kate, And bring you from a wild Kate to a Kate Conformable as other household Kates”(II.i.267–270).

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793 Words | 4 Pages

In the play, women are treated as property that is for sale. In the time of the play, fathers would pay off the men who chose to marry their daughters to help make their daughters more appealing or desirable. Petruchio in the play, abuses, starves, and breaks Katherine down to the point of submission. Which obviously makes this play hysterical and just an overall great rom-com. Or not.

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The Lord's decision to punish Sly, is by making a great change of him from a "violent animal" to a "person of high birth," will anticipate the way Petruchio will force Kate to change from a "shrew" to a "doing what is ordered married woman. " Both of these great and forced changes lifted up Kate and Sly to become more of a say yes person. Shakespeare calls into questions whether these changes will stay the same forever or even be what it seems or is said to be. When Grumio says without doubt to Hortensio that Petruchio will beat Kate in a words-related fight. He suggests that Petruchio's words, or his "noted representatives" of talk, have the power to physically change Kate's appearance.

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This is why I do not agree for Petruchio to remain standing. Kate does not deserve to live because of her ill-mannered being. Firstly, her mistreatment towards others is the reason why people loathe her. She retaliates by striking men who perceive her as a vicious woman. Although we both have shared the life without our mother, there is no reason for her to become so heartless.

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Through his incentive, he is very determined to marry Kate even though she comes with money, marriage, and a malicious attitude. In addition, Petruchio does not care if his wife is a shrew or foul, he just asks "...if thou know one rich enough to be Petruchio's wife" (1.2.68). Not to mention, after Hortensio tells him of Kate, Petruchio only says to "...tell [him] her father's name, and tis enough" (1.2.95). Petruchio understands that Kate has a "...scolding tongue" (1.2.101) even though Hortensio warms him. Due to his incentive to cure Kate of her shrew-ish ways and to get Baptista's money.

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Petruchio and Katherine are two characters in Shakespeare ’s play “Taming of the Shrew”. Petruchio was a single man with money running out looking for a rich wife. There was a situation between Katherine and her sister Bianca. Bianca couldn’t get married until Katherine did.

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1199 Words | 5 Pages

The father is trying to marry off his daughters, and one of them, Katherine, is considered a shrew by the people in the Padua, Italy. His other daughter, Bianca, is the younger sister, and the people of Padua, see her as sweet and kind, and many people such as Lucentio, Hortensio, and Gremio want to marry her, but her father does not allow her to marry until Katherine gets married. Lucentio then comes up with an idea and tries to convince his friend Petruchio to marry Katherine. Petruchio agrees because he is out money and he needs to a marry a rich woman. Later, Petruchio marries Katherine, and she changes the way she acts at the end of the play.

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This is represented in the movie by the books she reads, music she likes, and the college she wants to attend. Money plays a big role in the plot of both the play and the movie. Petruchio and Patrick both at first only pursue Kate and Kat for the money. Petruchio is interested in Kate for his own benefit so he can have the dowry and property of Kate's father which comes along with marriage.

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625 Words | 3 Pages

At Katherine and Petruchio’s wedding, Petruchio arrives late and drunk, wearing old clothing on a diseased horse. Not only did Petruchio not arrive on time for his own wedding, but he further drew attention to himself and humiliated Katherine in the process by arriving in a careless manner. Upon being criticized for his clothing by Baptista, he claims Katherine is marrying him, not his attire. “To me she’s married, not unto my clothes” (Act III, Scene 2, Line 117). His dismissal of the state he arrived at the wedding in is an attempt

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555 Words | 3 Pages

And when he heard about her dowry, he was satisfied and reassures her father that he will woo Kate. Petruchio points out that, whether she wants to or not, he will take her for his wife. He even told everyone how happy he is to being able to marry Kate. And since Katherine seems to be taken care of, he is ready to focus on Bianca getting married. Act 3

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1215 Words | 5 Pages

Posing as a tutor allows him to not only grow close to Bianca, but also to Baptista. Earning Baptista’s trust is essential to him gaining Bianca’s hand in marriage and her dowry. Although Bianca is highly sought after, Baptista favors her over her sister, Katherine, and thus shields her from potential suitors. Lucentio not only uses his disguise to deceive Bianca, but he is deceived. Lucentio attempts to be clever in order to “win” Bianca, but Bianca is not what she seems to be. All the suitors want to marry Bianca because she is beautiful and

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From Sexism to Social Reformation Many actions and ideologies of the characters in The Taming of the Shrew create an overarching conflict between comedy and sexism for most readers. Specifically, the relationships between the men and women introduce controversial topics such as obedience and love which must be questioned thoroughly. The conditions of Petruchio and Katherine’s marriage was more “traditional” in the sense that it was primarily patriarchal, and that Kate was expected to be subservient and obedient. While this is sexist, on the surface, this was not the intended meaning behind the works.

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1049 Words | 5 Pages

It is a story of how Petruchio, the money-grubbing wife hunter, transforms the aggressive and bad-tempered Katherine Minola into an obedient, honey-tounge trophy wife. Written by William Shakespeare between 1590 and 1594, it's one of Shakespeare's earliest comedies. It is also one of his most controversial works as well. The Taming of the Shrew has been criticized for its representation of abusive behavior and misogynistic attitudes toward women, and the play has pretty much been dogged since it was first performed. There is a lot of evidence that Shrew made, even Shakespeare's contemporary audiences more than a little squeamish.

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