The Taming of the Shrew

A detailed Summary of The Taming of the Shrew


The Taming Of The Shrew by William Shakespeare is

probably one of Shakespeare's earliest comedies. Its plot

is derived from the popular 'war of the sexes' theme in

which males and females are pitted against one another for

dominance in marriage. The play begins with an induction in

which a drunkard, Christopher Sly, is fooled into believing

he is a king and has a play performed for him. The play he

watches is what constitutes the main body of The Taming Of

The Shrew. In it, a wealthy land owner, Baptista Minola,

attempts to have his two daughters married. One is very

shrewish, Katherine, while the other is the beautiful and

gentle Bianca. In order to ensure Katherine is married,

Baptista disallows Bianca to be espoused until Katherine is

wed, forcing the many suitors to Bianca to find a mate for

Katherine in order for them to vie for Bianca's love. Many

critics of the play condemn it for the blatant sexist

attitude it has toward women but closer examination of the

play and the intricacies of its structure reveal that it is

not merely a story of how men should 'put women in their

place'. The play is, in fact, a comedy about an assertive


Lucentio and Bianca which lends itself as the basis for many

'wins' the woman's hand in marriage. This competition for

supposed to act, it is difficult to believe that a character

easily. Following with the device of false realities that

as human beings. This is expected since the society is a

very well and can even enjoy doing it. This is shown on the

Another favourable aspect of it is the subplot involving



Some common words found in the essay are:
Baptista Vicentio, Taming Shrew, Bianca Katherine, Gremio Hortensio, William Shakespeare, Christopher Sly, Hortensio Bianca, Padua Petruchio's, Hortensio Litio, Baptista Minola, taming shrew, false realities, christopher sly, play comedy, sexist attitude, characters play, obedient wife, act scene, play performed, sixteenth century,

Approximate Word count = 1253
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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