Petruchio In Taming Of The Shrew

As time goes on, definitions of words change. In the Elizabethan era, the word shrew has been used to define ill-tempered and sharp-tongued women. Yet in present day, associating a specific gender with a word is not as important as it was in the past. The noun shrew could be used to define any human, despite their gender. In Taming of the Shrew, Katherina Minola is supposedly the shrew which the title of the play has labelled. However, when Petruchio is introduced to the play, it is easily apparent that he is a significantly more accurate depiction of a shrew. Petruchio, from Taming of the Shrew, accurately portrays a shrew because of his unpleasant characteristics and the cruel way he treats Katherina.

In the play Taming of the Shrew, written by William Shakespeare, many characters are reshaped and given new personality traits. Petruchio is known as being a cocky man who intends to help tame a shrewish young lady named Kate. There are many critics that believe Petruchio is solely obnoxious and a bully but through out his interactions with Kate it is shown that he truly cares about the well being of others. Of course at the beginning of Petruchio’s plan to tame a young lady he is acting off of his confidence and trying to impress those around him but this soon changes once he begins to interact with Kate. Petruchio proves that his ways have changed and he is only taming Kate to make her feel better about herself, “Petruchio uses psychological methods, not aggressive or barbaric ones, to tame Kate, which alls her to still be witty and intellectual, but also happily married, at the end of the play”(Natale,98). Petruchio truly believes that by taming Kate he is preforming a good deed and helping her accept herself in this process.

The relationships between servants and masters closely reflect the gender relationships in Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew. Lucentio and Tranio's relationship as master and servant is an ideal of the Renaissance era. Tranio risks taking the place of his master because of his love for him and Lucentio always treats him with kindness and respect, almost like an equal. Lucentio's relationship with Bianca reflects his role with Tranio: Bianca shows respect for Lucentio as he cherishes her and treats her with kindness. However, Bianca fails to complete her role as an ideal wife by obeying her husband. however Petruchio and his servant, Grumio, have a much different relationship. Grumio often disobeys his master, while Petruchio insults

Others have asserted that the roles of women in his plays were prominent for the time and culture that he lived in,his intent in creating characters to inspire much controversy. Two works, Taming of the Shrew, and Twelfth Night, stand out particularly well in regards to Shakespeare's use of female characters. If you could examine these two plays, you would see that Shakespeare, though conforming to contemporary attitudes of women, circumvented them by creating resolute female characters with a strong sense of self.

Taming of the Shrew Character Profile · Romantic comedy Time and place written · Around 1592, London Date of first publication · 1623 Tone · The overall tone of the play is light and comic, though the exploration of larger social questions, such as the proper relation of the sexes in marriage, lends much of the comedy a more serious tone. Settings (Time) · Unspecific, though presumably sometime during the Italian Renaissance Settings (Place) · Padua, a city-state in Italy prominent during the Renaissance Major conflict · Petruccio's attempt to "tame" Katherine; that is, to assert his authority in their marriage and overcome her hotheaded

“The Taming of the Shrew” by William Shakespeare, is a very notorious play that has been rewritten and turned into multiple Hollywood films. One very popular version of the famous play is the movie directed by Mr. Franco Zeffirelli. Although most think that this version is the most accurate representation of the original play, there are still many distinct differences.

In The Taming of the Shrew, the audience sees the equilibrium between a man and woman through their relationship and their gender roles placed upon them because of their society and upbringing. In order to be tamed, Kate embarks on a journey to change her shrewish qualities. She transforms herself from a loud, vicious woman to the ideal wife that her husband Petruchio desired. In Act four, the audience experiences Kate’s tamed manner in a conversation between her and Petruchio, where she tells Petruchio that whatever he believes is right, to her, it is right as well. “…And be it moon, or sun, or what you please; / An if you please to call it a rush candle, / Henceforth I vow it shall be so for me” (4.5.13-15). Kate had finally submerged herself into the socially accepted role of wife. She puts all of her own faith and truth that she has learned in her

In Shakespeare’s dramatic comedy, “The Taming of the Shrew,” Shakespeare chooses to have one of the main characters played as a woman, despite the time the play was written. Back then it was a male centered world, so they did not know how to deal with Katherine’s erratic and bold behaviors. Kate was known for her sharp tongue and her quick temper, especially to those that tried to win her love. Many of her sister’s suitors would often avoid Katherine in fear of getting knocked around or verbally abused. On of them, an old man named Gremio went so far as to refer to her as, “a fiend of hell” (1.1 89). She would not be satisfied with such pathetic and weak men as Gremio or any of Bianca’s other suitors, but who would dare to take their shot at taming the mighty Shrew?

During the play Taming of the Shrew by Shakespeare, Petruchio is a very intriguing character. One of the more notable things he does in the play is ‘tame’ Katerina. However while the play is called “taming” of the shrew, I believe his intentions are to have a loving relationship with his spouse. However I don't believe that was the case the whole time! Petruchio originally did not have feelings for Kate because he claims during the beginning of the play that he travelled to Pertua to marry a woman with a rich father. Whilst attempting to tame her he claims he is enjoying doing so, I believe that he is enjoying because he is getting to spend time with her, while falling in love with her and not even realizing it. After Petruchio has starved her and deprived her of sleep as well as other things, he makes a real attempt to be nice to Katherine and I believe that's what really tamed her. Overall I believe Petruchio’s original intentions were to use Katherine and marry her for her wealth. But over time he began to fall deeply in love with her. We see this by Petruchio putting a great amount of effort into his attempt at taming Katherine. We see this during his thoughts and speech about marriage and happiness. And lastly, we see this through his flirty and affectionate gesture towards Kate. Through these things I believe that Petruchio as well as the audience learn a valuable lesson about love, you cannot force it.

Also, Katherine herself apprehended the error of her ways, making the women feel sheltered and making the men feel self-assured about their dominant position in society. The audience presumably went home contented, because such a shrew was tamed, and could be tamed so well. Katherine’s soliloquy reinforced the moral values of the Elizabethan era, making the conclusion of the play more enjoyable and entertaining. The final scene of The Taming of the Shrew shows ”the triumph of the unconventional over the conventional”, it shows that Katherina and Petruchio’s marriage, which has started rather unconventionally, seems to have better chances of being a happy. Shakespeare speaks out in clearly favors of the unconventional concept of love present in the relationship between Petruchio and

Also by arguing over wardrobe and not allowing her to attend her own wedding feast. On the dispute of Katherina’s wardrobe, Margaret Jaster discusses that his control over her apparel may seem harmless. Viewers “Cannot blithely disregard any attempts by one party to control another person’s identity through this most intimate device.” Petruchio later on decides to take advantage of his wife’s weak state of mind by messing with her head and confusing her. A commerable instance is when the couple were on their way to Katherina’s father’s house, during the daytime.

Kate and Petruchio in The Taming of the Shrew An exploration of the way Shakespeare presents the characters and relationships of Kate and Petruchio in The Taming of the Shrew. The relationship between Kate and Petruchio is central to the development of The Taming of the Shrew, as both characters clearly represent and are centrally involved in the main theme of the play, the taming of the "shrew", Kate.

The audience of a play is supposed to be left in awe as they walk out of a theatre. Taming of the Shrew, by William Shakespeare left the audience with questions unanswered. Kate, who just happens to be the shrew of this play ends the last act with a soliloquy accepting to marry Petruchio. Kate’s speech can be taken in two different ways, leaving the audience to either believe that she means every word she utters or that she is completely placating Petruchio. With the reputation Kate has in Padua, it seemed so sudden to everyone that he attitude had changed so suddenly.

Also, another leading character in the Merchant of Venice was controlled by her father, Jessica. But she couldn't be controlled, she eventually did what she wanted and proved to be a modern woman. Similarly, in the Taming of the Shrew, Kate is expected to marry the man her father, Baptista chooses and she has no freedom and choice of her own will. However, in the Taming of the Shrew, Kate is also being called property by her husband, Petruchio. Petruchio says that, "She is my good, my chattels, she is my house, My household stuff, my field, my barn, My horse, my ox, my ass, my anything;" Not only her father but her future husband doesn't respect her and calls her everything but his wife. Almost all of the woman in Shakespeare's play were treated as property, here you can see Portia and Kate, this clearly means that Shakespeare also agrees with this type of behaviour towards woman and that is why he always shows this behaviour towards the main female protagonists of the play. This type of behaviour towards woman was very common and both these plays have similarly shown how.

In Taming of the Shrew, by William Shakespeare, Petruchio took on the challenge of winning over Kate by taking complete control over her. He not only controlled her way of living, but also her mental and emotional capabilities. For example, Petruchio was able to have Kate laugh and speak at his command. Not only that, but he was also able to control her voice at any given moment. Nowadays people are not able to have this much authority over another, except in certain situations. The reason this absurd method worked on Kate was because she was raised up in a society where women did not have much say in most matters. However, if this method were to have taken place today, it would not have worked because of the change in society.