The Taming of the Shrew

A detailed Summary of The Taming of the Shrew


The Taming of the Shrew begins with two sisters, Katherine, viewed as a shrew, and viewed Bianca, as the perfect one. However, as the play continues, we start to see the true personality of each of the two sisters and their roles and personalities completely turn around. Shakespeare introduces the two sisters during the first two acts.

Although her father calls her a shrew, Katherine has a deeper character than one might think. From the beginning we see that she is always placed second in her father's heart and hated by everyone. Bianca, on the other hand, is acknowledged as the favorite, the perfect daughter. When Katherine recognizes her sister's approach, she is hurt and seeks revenge. This is exemplified when Katherine says, "I will go sit and weep/ Till I can find occasion of revenge" (II.i.38-9). Her transformation that she goes through near the end of the play is not in her character, but in her attitude. At the end of the play, her negative attitude becomes positive.

The play opens with Baptista's words of embarrassment towards Katherine when he offers Bianca to the two men, Gremio and Hortensio. Gremio's first impression of Katherine is gi


Innocent little Bianca is not all she seems; she is a mean sister and a rebellious wife. Her father's preference towards her turns her into a conceited woman, full of herself and only herself. Katherine, disobeying Lucentio, scares him and makes him think of what she will act like after many years of marriage. Ironically, as the play comes to an end, Bianca, not Katherine, comes off as the shrew.

A small part of Katherine and Bianca's relationship is seen in Act One where Katherine accuses Bianca of kissing up to her father to get his attention and affection. In Act Two, Katherine shows her jealousy towards Bianca, father of picking Bianca as his favorite of the two. Meanwhile, Bianca still shows this pathetic and innocent character to get her fathers attention and love. Baptista creates all this turmoil between the sisters by him not only favoring Bianca, but also being disgraced bye Katherine.

ven when he says, "To cart her, rather. She is too rough for me." (I.i.58) From here on, Katherine is perceived as a violent character. She talks back to her father with complete disrespect and does not hold her attitude back when others are around. However

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Approximate Word count = 787
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

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