{"id":5231,"date":"2017-08-23T17:00:54","date_gmt":"2017-08-24T00:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kibin.com\/blog\/?post_type=essay-writing-blog&p=5231"},"modified":"2019-02-17T07:50:35","modified_gmt":"2019-02-17T15:50:35","slug":"3-taming-of-the-shrew-themes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kibin.com\/essay-writing-blog\/3-taming-of-the-shrew-themes\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Taming of the Shrew Themes to Look for and Write About"},"content":{"rendered":"

I know what you\u2019re thinking. Another Shakespeare play to analyze?<\/i> I get it.<\/p>\n

Shakespeare can be hard to read. But here\u2019s the thing\u2026 Shakespeare wrote some of the most well-known and most replicated plays. Ever. The themes he uses can be found throughout literature and film even today.<\/p>\n

So right now, we\u2019re going to explore some The Taming of the Shrew <\/i>themes.<\/p>\n

(If you need to write a character analysis, read Learn to Analyze These 4 Taming of the Shrew Characters<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

Choosing the Right Theme for Your Analysis<\/h2>\n

Before we get into specific The Taming of the Shrew<\/i> themes, let\u2019s talk a little bit about how to choose the one that you\u2019re going to write about. This advice applies to any literary theme you might analyze in any work, not just themes in The Taming of the Shrew<\/i>.<\/p>\n

There are several themes in The Taming of the Shrew<\/i><\/a>, and it might be difficult to pick just one. But it doesn\u2019t have to be.<\/p>\n

My advice: Pick the theme that’s most obvious to you.<\/p>\n

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Advice: Pick the The Taming of the Shrew theme that\u2019s most obvious to you.<\/a><\/div>\n

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When I read the play the first time, the theme that stood out was that of gender and gender roles. What did it mean to be a \u201cgood\u201d woman in the 16th century?<\/p>\n

What about a \u201cgood\u201d man? You can find many examples of this theme in the text, including Kate\u2019s ostracism due to her biting wit (and frankly terrible attitude).<\/p>\n

But what else is there? The second read-through made the theme of disguises more obvious to me. It seems everyone in this play disguises who they really are at one point or another.<\/p>\n

It shouldn\u2019t take long to see a theme in the text, not even a full read-through. Once you think of an idea, take notes<\/a> or highlight while you’re reading to mark examples that you can use as support in your analysis. (Hint:<\/strong> Analyze, not summarize<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

Ready to dive into three The Taming of the Shrew<\/i> themes? Then let\u2019s get started.<\/p>\n

3 The Taming of the Shrew<\/em> Themes to Look for and Write About<\/h2>\n

While there’s plenty of themes in The Taming of the Shrew<\/em>, I’ll dive into three of my favorites.<\/p>\n

As you work on identifying themes, make sure to keep other literary terms in mind\u2014using them when appropriate will bolster your analysis.<\/p>\n

(Read: 15 Literary Terms You Need to Know to Write Better Essays<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

Theme #1: Different views of marriage<\/h3>\n

The view back in the 16th century<\/a> was that marriage was more of a business transaction than one of love. Women were simply to be traded from a father to a suitor.<\/p>\n

But what did The Taming of the Shrew<\/i> have to say about this?<\/p>\n

First, the play depicts this tradition when Petruchio rolls into town. He says that he has \u201ccome to wive it wealthily in Padua,\u201d meaning that he hopes to marry a woman who comes with a hefty dowry.<\/p>\n

And Kate\u2019s father, Baptista, treats marriage pretty much the same way, basically selling his daughters off to the wealthiest bidders.<\/p>\n

But this play, being a romantic comedy, also presents an alternative view of marriage.<\/p>\n

When Kate\u2019s younger sister Bianca runs away with Lucentio to get married, she does so because she believes she has found her true love and doesn\u2019t want her father telling her who she can and can\u2019t marry.<\/p>\n

Of course, marriage isn\u2019t only about the act of getting married. It\u2019s also about actually being<\/i> married.<\/p>\n

The Taming of the Shrew<\/em> offers plenty of commentary about being married in 16th century England.<\/p>\n

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The Taming of the Shrew offers plenty of commentary about being married in 16th century England.<\/a><\/div>\n

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In 16th century England, the bachelor\u2019s goal is to find a wife who not only comes with a good-sized dowry, but also one who will follow commands and societal guidelines about proper behavior for women.<\/p>\n

While courting Bianca, for example, Lucentio finds her to be quiet and demure\u2014the perfect wife. But once married, she won\u2019t even come when called (how dare she!).<\/p>\n

Kate, on the other hand, is every suitor\u2019s nightmare. However, she goes through a transformation to become what others see as the perfect wife.<\/p>\n

Some say she\u2019s conning Petruchio to get what she wants by doing what he says. But either way, they both seem pretty happy by the end.<\/p>\n

The play makes it clear that basing your decision to marry someone on the person’s ability to follow commands from the start is probably not the best idea.<\/p>\n\t

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Stuck on Your Analytical Essay?<\/div>\n\t\t\t
Check Out These Example Analytical Essays<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
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Theme #2: The use of disguises to get what you want<\/h3>\n

The apparent transformations of both Kate and Bianca fit nicely into the theme of disguises.<\/p>\n

On the first read-through of The Taming of the Shrew<\/i>, were you thrown off by the beginning? I know I was. The main story is a play within a play.<\/p>\n

But what does this have to do with the theme? Simply put, it demonstrates how every character is an actor (in this case, both literally and figuratively).<\/p>\n

Every main character puts on an act or a disguise at some point throughout The Taming of the Shrew<\/em>.<\/p>\n

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Every main character puts on an act or a disguise at some point throughout The Taming of the Shrew.<\/a><\/div>\n

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Kate\u2019s disguises<\/h4>\n

Kate has several disguises. She’s incredibly intelligent and witty, but she\u2019s also jealous of the attention her sister receives. To hide this jealousy, Kate acts angrily toward just about everyone. But is this really<\/i> who she is?<\/p>\n

Once she starts her relationship with Petruchio, we see that she can be pleasant. But then he starts playing mind games with her, telling her the sun is the moon and that a man is a woman\u2014and expecting her to agree with him.<\/p>\n

This game certainly throws her off, but some scholars say this is a lesson in play acting. He\u2019s showing her (through punishment when she doesn\u2019t agree and rewards when she does) how to act<\/i> like a good wife.<\/p>\n

Kate starts playing this role, especially in public. Why? She learns that by doing so, she gets what she wants.<\/p>\n

Petruchio\u2019s disguises<\/h4>\n

Petruchio is interesting because it seems like he’s a pretty straightforward kind of guy. After all, he outright says that he\u2019s in the marriage game for the money. But he\u2019s attracted to Kate because she\u2019s his intellectual match.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s putting on the mask of someone who wants to follow the social rules and marry for money when, really, he wants someone who’s a little feisty and can keep up with him.<\/p>\n

Once married, Petruchio puts on a mask of the standard Elizabethan man\u2014one who commands his wife successfully.<\/p>\n

But in some ways, he relinquishes power to her in private. His commands aren\u2019t arbitrary or one-sided. Instead, Kate gets something out of them too.<\/p>\n

Bianca\u2019s disguises<\/h4>\n

Bianca has everyone fooled into thinking she\u2019s the perfect angel. But she makes snide remarks to Kate, taunting that everyone likes her (Bianca) better.<\/p>\n

She also fools her father into thinking her suitors are tutors and that she\u2019s not being courted.<\/p>\n

Once she\u2019s married, she reveals her rebellious nature to her husband as well, a side he\u2019s never seen before.<\/p>\n

As for Bianca\u2019s suitors, they are all in actual<\/i> disguises. Two of them, Lucentio and Hortensio, act as tutors to get closer to Bianca and court her in secret. And her other suitor, Tranio, is disguised as Lucentio.<\/p>\n

Theme #3: Gender and gender roles<\/h3>\n

There are a couple different ways to look at gender roles in The Taming of the Shrew<\/i>.<\/p>\n

In one interpretation, Petruchio teaches (or brainwashes) Kate how to follow societal gender roles.<\/p>\n

In the other interpretation (the one I like best), Kate acts like a good wife without believing in the role she\u2019s playing. She just uses the act to get what she wants.<\/p>\n

So what makes a \u201cgood wife”? A woman who’s quiet and obedient in the 16th century was the epitome of a good wife. Women weren\u2019t supposed to have any power in a relationship.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, to be a \u201cgood husband,\u201d men were supposed to assert their dominance over their wives and be in complete control.<\/p>\n

Kate, in the beginning, is the opposite of a desirable woman, while Bianca is a shining example of one. But by the end of the play, we see a reversal. Bianca becomes the disobedient wife, while Kate acts obediently.<\/p>\n

Kate and Petruchio still break gender stereotypes in the very end, however.<\/p>\n

Petruchio invites Kate into the same public forum to talk about a woman\u2019s role. Thus, he relinquishes some of his power to her. And simply by giving her huge speech<\/a> in the end, Kate is asserting herself in a male-dominated space.<\/p>\n

Next Steps<\/h2>\n

Is that enough information to get you thinking about The Taming of the Shrew <\/em>themes and picking one you want to write about? If you need more examples, check out these example essays:<\/p>\n