The Taming of the Shrew (New Folger Library Shakespeare)

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It's a hit!

This is my favorite Shakespeare play. The main character of Katerina is so interesting. She is such a strong person but she is also very weak and v... (show more)

This is my favorite Shakespeare play. The main character of Katerina is so interesting. She is such a strong person but she is also very weak and vulnerable. Her hard exterior covers up many deep feelings that she wants to quash. I also love the relationship between the two main characters. They are perfect together and the scene between them is one of my favorite scenes of all time. Perhaps I am biased because I played Katerina in my eighth grade fall play, but I haven't been able to get this character out of my head since that day. While this work is not as well known as some of Shakespeare's other comedies such as A Midsummer's Nights Dream, I think it deserves just as much praise. I recommend this play to everyone; I love it so much and I think it portrays love just as well as Romeo and Juliet and perhaps with a bit more humor. (show less)

 

 

by Elspeth M. E. Sweatman

No, it's a flop!

Definitely not my favourite Shakespeare - a ton of buffoonery and misogyny that, granted it wasn't written during this contemporary period with fem... (show more)

Definitely not my favourite Shakespeare - a ton of buffoonery and misogyny that, granted it wasn't written during this contemporary period with feminist thought in mind, but still can be grating and obnoxious. Also a lot of 'masks', which make it a bit cumbersome. But there are some classic, comic moments. (show less)

 

 

by Salvatore Ruggiero

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  A PLAY WITHIN a play, THE TAMING OF THE SHREW is one of Shakespeare’s early comedies focusing on life after marriage, written in the era of Elizabethan England at a time when the upper class married for land, power, or money rather than love, but had few ways to leave an unhappy marriage. A topic of concern would have been resolution of marriage disputes, and Shakespeare harpoons the subject in THE SHREW.

  “Shrews” or “Scolds” were cranky or loose lipped wives. This play brings to life lite... (show more)

  A PLAY WITHIN a play, THE TAMING OF THE SHREW is one of Shakespeare’s early comedies focusing on life after marriage, written in the era of Elizabethan England at a time when the upper class married for land, power, or money rather than love, but had few ways to leave an unhappy marriage. A topic of concern would have been resolution of marriage disputes, and Shakespeare harpoons the subject in THE SHREW.

  “Shrews” or “Scolds” were cranky or loose lipped wives. This play brings to life literature’s most famous shrew in Katherina, more often called Kate (whom Cole Porter would bring back to fame in the last century with his musical, KISS ME KATE: “Kiss me Kate, we will be married o' Sunday.” Act 2, Scene 1)

  Kate is so obnoxious, that her father is thrilled when Petruchio proposes marriage to her, albeit for her portion of her rich father’s estate. The initial dialogue between Kate and her suitor showcases Shakespeare’s wit, as in Act II, Scene 1.

  "…PETRUCHIO - Why, what's a moveable? / KATHARINA: A join'd-stool. / P: Thou hast hit it: come, sit on me. / K: Asses are made to bear, and so are you. / P: Women are made to bear, and so are you…"

  A side plot continues as Lucentio, woos Kate’s fair sister, Bianca. Lucentio and a rival disguise themselves to win Bianca, with Lucentio ultimately earning Kate’s love. (show less)

   

   

  by David Wayne Grimaud on Nov 26, 2009 at 07:36AM

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  Taming is a great play, and his highly enjoyable. There is a lot of comedy, classic Shakespeare role-changes, and an ambiguous ending. A lot of people in modern society would call this a sexist play, since Petruchio "tames" Katerina. I think there is more to it than that, since there is a possibility that Katerina has not been tamed at all. She may just be playing Petruchio all along. The final scene is well written in that her speech has subtle hints of her not being tamed at al... (show more)

  Taming is a great play, and his highly enjoyable. There is a lot of comedy, classic Shakespeare role-changes, and an ambiguous ending. A lot of people in modern society would call this a sexist play, since Petruchio "tames" Katerina. I think there is more to it than that, since there is a possibility that Katerina has not been tamed at all. She may just be playing Petruchio all along. The final scene is well written in that her speech has subtle hints of her not being tamed at all. She seems quite the strong woman by the end of the play. There are other reviews here that do a better job than I could in explaining why Katerina is more used as a tool to observe gender relations than a lens to further the deprivation of women in the Renaissance. I suggest this play to anyone who hates the dourness of Shakespeare's better known and more tragic plays. (show less)

   

   

  by Facebook-användare on Sep 09, 2009 at 01:40AM

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