The Taming of the Shrew

William Shakespeare
Pre-reading
Katherina’s character:

“She’s too rough for me.” (Gremio)

“No mates for you

Unless you were of gentler, milder mould.” (Hortensio)

“…this fiend of hell” (Gremio)

“Her elder sister is so curst and shrewd

That, till her father rid his hands of her,
Master, your love must live a maid at home” (Tranio)

“Will you woo this wildcat?” (Gremio)

“…famous for a scolding tongue” (Tranio)

“I know she is an irksome, brawling scold” (Petruchio)

“Her name is Katherina Minola,

Renowned in Padua for her scolding tongue” (Hortensio)

Tasks:
1. What do you learn about Katherina’s character from these quotations?
2. According to Tranio, why must Bianca remain a maid or unmarried?
3. Why does Hortensio think that Katherina won’t get married or find a mate?
4. Write down TWO names that Katherina is called.
5. A “scold” is a talkative woman who is accused of nagging. It is not a pleasant term.
What does this tell you about how society viewed nagging women in Shakespeare’s
time?
6. Why won’t Gremio want to court Katherina?
7. Choose adjectives from this list to describe Katherina. Choose a quotation and / or
give a reason to support your choice:

• calm • likeable
• wild • hateful
• loud • cursed
• quiet • devilish
• nagging • nasty
• dutiful • dominating
• scary • shy
• frightened • bossy
• frightening

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 The Taming of the Shrew
William Shakespeare
Name: ………………………………………..

The Taming of the Shrew plot: listening test

Put a circle around the correct answers.

The play has one / two / three main plot lines. Many of them involve change or disguise
and different characters pretending to be something they are / aren’t. At the end of the
play, normality is achieved as Katherina / Bianca accepts society’s view of how women
should behave.

There was once a wealthy doctor / lawyer / merchant called Baptista / Bianca / Gremio
Minola who lived in the French / Italian / English city of Padua / Rome / Verona. He had
one / two / three daughters. The eldest, called Bianca / Juliet / Katherina was called a
shrew, meaning a violent, outspoken and wild woman. The youngest, called Bianca /
Juliet / Katherina, was gentle and beautiful.

Society in Shakespeare’s time was very similar / different to today’s society and
Shakespeare reflects this in the play. The youngest / eldest daughter couldn’t marry until
the youngest / eldest was married first. While the beautiful Bianca had many suitors /
admirers, the shrewish Katherina / Bianca / Juliet had none. Katherina said she didn’t
want to get married because she liked / disliked the way men treated women.

Baptista / Bianca / Gremio told Bianca’s admirers that she had to study and couldn’t see
them until Katherina was married. The first / second plot, called a sub-plot, involves the
suitors ways of courting Bianca adapting different roles and disguises. Bianca eventually
chooses and marries Gremio / Lucentio / Hortensio.

The main plot involves the courtship of Katherina by Gremio / Lucentio / Hortensio /
Petruchio, a wild man from the city who wanted a wife with no / lots of money. Petruchio
sets out to tame Katherina which he does by strange means.

At their wedding, Petruchio / Gremio / Lucentio turns up late / early and in smart /
scruffy clothes to embarrass Katherina. He forces her to leave the reception early to go
back to his house. There is a storm during their journey and Katherina falls in the mud /
rain / earth. Petruchio does / doesn’t help her at all.

At his house, Petruchio shouts at his servants denying his wife food by saying it is spoilt /
cold / burnt. He won’t let her sleep because he says the bed is made wrong. He also
invites a dressmaker / hairdresser to the house but says the outfit he makes isn’t good
enough and sends it back. Katherina / Bianca / Juliet is so happy / angry / fed up, she
pleads to be able to sleep and eat. She says she will do whatever he asks. Petruchio /
Gremio / Lucentio tests his wife and each time she argues / contradicts him he delays a
visit to her friends / family. Petruchio tames Katherina not by violence but by pretending
to by kind and considerate, arguing that nothing is good enough for his bride.

At the beginning / end of the play, Katherina, the shrew is tamed. She gives a long
speech giving other women advice on how to treat their husbands!

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 The Taming of the Shrew
William Shakespeare
Teacher’s copy

The Taming of the Shrew plot: listening test [ANSWERS]

The play has two main plot lines. Many of them involve change or disguise and different
characters pretending to be something they aren’t. At the end of the play, normality is
achieved as Katherina accepts society’s view of how women should behave.

There was once a wealthy merchant called Baptista Minola who lived in the Italian city of
Padua. He had two daughters. The eldest, called Katherina was called a shrew, meaning
a violent, outspoken and wild woman. The youngest, called Bianca, was gentle and
beautiful.

Society in Shakespeare’s time was very different to today’s society and Shakespeare
reflects this in the play. The youngest daughter couldn’t marry until the eldest was
married first. While the beautiful Bianca had many suitors / admirers, the shrewish
Katherina had none. Katherina said she didn’t want to get married because she disliked
the way men treated women.

Baptista told Bianca’s admirers that she had to study and couldn’t see them until
Katherina was married. The second plot, called a sub-plot, involves the suitors ways of
courting Bianca adapting different roles and disguises. Bianca eventually chooses and
marries Lucentio.

The main plot involves the courtship of Katherina by Petruchio, a wild man from the city
who wanted a wife with lots of money. Petruchio sets out to tame Katherina which he
does by strange means.

At their wedding, Petruchio turns up late and in scruffy clothes to embarrass Katherina.
He forces her to leave the reception early to go back to his house. There is a storm during
their journey and Katherina falls in the mud. Petruchio doesn’t help her at all.

At his house, Petruchio shouts at his servants denying his wife food by saying it is spoilt /.
He won’t let her sleep because he says the bed is made wrong. He also invites a
dressmaker to the house but says the outfit he makes isn’t good enough and sends it
back. Katherina / Bianca / Juliet is so fed up, she pleads to be able to sleep and eat.
She says she will do whatever he asks. Petruchio tests his wife and each time she
argues / contradicts him he delays a visit to her family. Petruchio tames Katherina not by
violence but by pretending to by kind and considerate, arguing that nothing is good enough
for his bride.

At the end of the play, Katherina, the shrew is tamed. She gives a long speech giving
other women advice on how to treat their husbands!

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 The Taming of the Shrew
William Shakespeare

Katherina’s speech: annotations

• Find all the names Katherina calls husbands and underline them in colour

• Next to each name, note down connotations / associations (e.g. thy king: regal,
royal, high up, wealthy, in charge, ruler)

• Find the image of a shrewish woman as a muddy fountain and underline it in

colour

• What does this image tell you about how women should behave and what will
happen if they don’t

• Underline in another colour all the words that Katherina says husbands do for
wives

• According to Katherina, what do husbands ask their wives in return? Underline in

another colour

• Underline the part where Katherina compares a shrewish woman to a disloyal

subject

• Next to this, write down your opinion on that!

• Find words associated with war and weapons and underline them in colour

• What words show Katherina things men are strong and women are weak? Put a
circle around them in different colours

• What does Katherina say she will do for her husband with her hand? Underline
this part and write down what you think next to it

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 The Taming of the Shrew
William Shakespeare
Katherina’s last speech
Fie, fie! unknit that threatening unkind brow,
And dart not scornful glances from those eyes,
To wound thy lord, thy king, thy governor:
It blots thy beauty as frosts do bite the meads,
Confounds thy fame as whirlwinds shake fair buds,
And in no sense is meet or amiable.
A woman moved is like a fountain troubled,
Muddy, ill-seeming, thick, bereft of beauty;
And while it is so, none so dry or thirsty
Will deign to sip or touch one drop of it.
Thy husband is thy lord, thy life, thy keeper,
Thy head, thy sovereign; one that cares for thee,
And for thy maintenance commits his body
To painful labour both by sea and land,
To watch the night in storms, the day in cold,
Whilst thou liest warm at home, secure and safe;
And craves no other tribute at thy hands
But love, fair looks and true obedience;
Too little payment for so great a debt.
Such duty as the subject owes the prince
Even such a woman oweth to her husband;
And when she is froward, peevish, sullen, sour,
And not obedient to his honest will,
What is she but a foul contending rebel
And graceless traitor to her loving lord?
I am ashamed that women are so simple
To offer war where they should kneel for peace;
Or seek for rule, supremacy and sway,
When they are bound to serve, love and obey.
Why are our bodies soft and weak and smooth,
Unapt to toil and trouble in the world,
But that our soft conditions and our hearts
Should well agree with our external parts?
Come, come, you froward and unable worms!
My mind hath been as big as one of yours,
My heart as great, my reason haply more,
To bandy word for word and frown for frown;
But now I see our lances are but straws,
Our strength as weak, our weakness past compare,
That seeming to be most which we indeed least are.
Then vail your stomachs, for it is no boot,
And place your hands below your husband's foot:
In token of which duty, if he please,
My hand is ready; may it do him ease.

© 2004 www.teachit.co.uk 1574

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 The Taming of the Shrew
William Shakespeare

Imagery in The Taming of the Shrew

In ‘The Taming of the Shrew’ there are a number of common images that run throughout
the play. These are linked to the themes of the play (e.g. love, hate, marriage, family).
Some of the main images are:

• hunting
• books/education
• animals/birds
• war
• betting/wagers
• water
• food

Cut up the quotations, divide them into the above categories and glue them
One:
Task

onto your A3 paper. (Leave room to write next to them.)

Annotate each quotation bringing out meanings, connotations of words and

Two:
Task

identifying the imagery, like this:

simile
compared
to water

“A woman moved is like a fountain troubled alliteration

dark, Muddy, ill seeming, thick, bereft of beauty
dirty And where it is so, none so dry and thirsty
Will deign to sip or touch one drop of it.”

contrast
with water
men won’t go water
near a shrewish words
woman
Three:
Task

Choose one group of images and draw what the words describe.

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 The Taming of the Shrew
William Shakespeare

Coursework preparation

What do we find out about relationships and marriage in the play?

Society in Shakespeare’s time was very different from today. Marriage for the upper
classes was like a business arrangement and the roles of men and women were different
too.
Task One

Copy out each statement on to a speech bubble.

Under each statement say whether it is ‘true’ or ‘false’.
If it is true, write a quotation from the list to prove it.

1. Men and women are equal in marriage and society.

2. Men are considered to be higher in society than women.
3. The daughter can choose her husband and make her own decisions.
4. The father makes all the decisions, including who his daughter can marry.
5. Women are supposed to be obedient and do what the men tell them to do.
6. Women are supposed to be independent and make their own choices.
7. Marriage is like a business contract and money is an important consideration.
8. The father paid money, called a dowry, to his daughter’s husband.
9. Women are compared to animals to be tamed.
10. It is the custom that the eldest daughter has to get married first, before the
younger daughter.
11. Women need to be meek, mild and obedient to follow what is expected of
them.
Task Two

Prepare a group presentation to the class, summing up your findings and

answering the question:
“What do we find out about relationships and marriage in Shakespeare’s time?”

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 The Taming of the Shrew
William Shakespeare
English coursework: Shakespeare

Aims
• use evidence from the text to support ideas (quotations)
• structure an essay in an appropriate manner
• comment on characters’ actions and plot
• write about the social and historical context of a Shakespeare text
• analyse Shakespeare’s language
• meet coursework deadlines!!

Essay title: To be written at the top of your work!

What does a modern audience learn about marriages and the roles of men and women in
Shakespeare’s ‘The Taming of the Shrew’?

Focus specifically on Act five, scene 2 and refer to:

• attitudes towards women in Shakespeare’s time
• how the characters behave and what they say , particularly in Act Five, scene 2
• the final speech Katherina gives

Essay plan:
1. Introduction. What are you going to be focusing on in the essay?
Here is an example, don’t copy it!
The roles of men and women were very different in society during Shakespeare’s time. ‘The
Taming of the Shrew’ reflects these attitudes and I shall explore how marriage and the roles of
men and women are presented in this play.

2. Describe attitudes towards love, marriage and status in Padua. Look back at the notes we
made. Mention that the eldest daughter must marry first (use a quotation from the play here)
and also explain how the father made decisions about who his children would marry. You could
also explain how dowries were paid to suitors and characters like Petruchio used marriage as a
way to make money (again, use a quote here).

3. Describe what a scold is and how scolds were treated in Shakespeare’s time. Look at your
notes on scold’s bridals and ducking stools. What does this tell you about how women were
viewed in Shakespeare’s time? Use a quote here to show how Petruchio says he will tame
Katherina from her wild, shrewish behaviour.

4. Explain that women were treated as possessions in marriage and were not expected to be
outspoken or independent, like Katherina. Use the quotation where Petruchio compares
Katherina to his house and animals! What does this tell you about the position of women
compared with today?

5. Explain that in Shakespeare’s comedies, the plays end with a feast or celebration that
symbolises the end of confusion. Society is back to normal and this means that characters who
swapped places / put on disguises revealed their true identities. In ‘The Taming of the Shrew’,
this means that the shrewish woman is tamed and behaves like a traditional woman. Use a
quote from Lucentio here.

6. Explain that Katherina is teased by the widow in Act Five, scene 2 for being shrewish. Her
husband is seen as being unfortunate for having such a wife. Use a quote.

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 The Taming of the Shrew
William Shakespeare

7. How do the husbands respond to the wives’ argument? The men use their wives as part of
their own rivalry and seem to find their behaviour amusing. Use a quote.

8. Describe how the men use animal and hunting imagery to describe their wives. What does this
tell you about their attitudes? Use a quote.

9. Why do the women have to leave the room as the men are talking? What wager / bet does
Petruchio propose? Again, what does this tell you about how men treat the women. Look at
how the women are compared to betting on hawks and hounds. Use a quote.

10. Describe the bet and what happens to Bianca and the widow. What do you think of this bet?
What happens when Petruchio sends for Katherina? What does Baptista (Katherina’s father)
give Petruchio as a reward? What does this tell you about marriage and attitudes towards
women? Use a quote.

11. How does Petruchio further prove that Katherina is tamed? He talks of her “obedience”. What
does this remind you of? What do you think about this behaviour and attitude? Use a quote.

12. Look at Katherina’s speech. Write two or three paragraphs explaining what advice she gives
to the other wives. What names does she give husbands? How does he explain that men are
stronger and better than women? According to Katherina, what do men do for their wives? How
does she use imagery to suggest that women aren’t as physically strong as men and cannot
win a war? Describe how she compares a shrewish woman to a muddy fountain! What gesture
with her hand does she make to show she is totally obedient to Petruchio? Look at the notes
and copy of Katherina’s speech for quotations here.

13. Conclusion: Sum up your ideas here. What do you learn about marriage and men and
women’s roles? Here is an example, do not copy it!
Marriage in Shakespeare’s time seemed to be a business arrangement and men saw it as a
way of making money. It also seemed that men, such as husbands and fathers, had most
power while the women had none. It does seem very different from our culture today.

• Word limit: 450 words minimum, 1500 maximum.

• Check spellings and punctuation, particularly capital letters for names and quotation
marks
• Start a new line where there is one in the text
• Use Point – Evidence – Explanation in each paragraph
• Use the redrafting process

Useful spellings:
imagery Shakespeare Petruchio Bianca Katherina Baptista Shrew
shrewish scold Lucentio father society Hortensio dowry status
wager tamed taming behaviour attitude images hunting animals
possessions widow speech feast ending

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 The Taming of the Shrew
William Shakespeare
Useful essay quotations

Baptista, Bianca and Katherina’s father says:

“I firmly am resolved you know -
That is, not to bestow my youngest daughter
Before I have a husband for the elder”

Petruchio speaks of why he came to Padua:

“I come to wive it wealthily in Padua”

Hortensio, talking about Petruchio:

“Will undertake to woo curst Katherine,
Yea, and marry her, if her dowry please”

Why Bianca can’t get married:

“Her father keeps from all access of suitors
And will not promise her to any man
Until her elder sister first be wed”

Baptista, Katherina’s father, discusses her dowry with Petruchio:

“PETRUCHIO: What dowry shall I have with her to wife?
BAPTISTA: After my death, the one half of my lands,
And in possession twenty thousand crowns”

Petruchio speaks of Katherina:

“She is my goods, my chattels; she is my house,
My household-stuff, my field, my barn,
My horse, my ox, my ass, my anything”

Petruchio tells Katherina how she should act after marriage:

“Thou will be married to no man but me,
For I am he am born to tame you, Kate”

Lucentio greets everyone and uses music imagery to show that society is back to normal:
“At last, though long, our jarring notes agree,” and
“My banquet is to close our stomachs up
After our great good cheer”

The widow teases Katherina:

“Your husband, being troubled with a shrew,
Measures my husband’s sorrow by his woe”

The men make bets over the argument:

“To her Kate!”
“A hundred marks my Kate does put her down”
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 The Taming of the Shrew
William Shakespeare

Animal / betting imagery: Bianca asks:

“Am I your bird?
…then pursue me as you draw your bow.”

Tranio says of Bianca:

“’Tis thought your deer holds you at bay”

Petruchio decides to make a bet over whose wife is most loyal and obedient:
“Let’s each one send unto his wife,
And he whose wife is most obedient
To come at first when he doth send for her
Shall win the wager”

Petruchio uses animal imagery to describe the bet:

“Twenty crowns?
I’ll venture so much of my hawk or hound,
But twenty times so much upon my wife”

Baptista gives Petruchio a reward for taming Katherina:

“The wager thou hast won, and I will add
Unto their losses twenty thousand crowns,
Another dowry to another daughter,
For she is changed, as she had never been.”

Petruchio offers further evidence that Katherina is changed:

“I will win my wager better yet,
And show more sign of her obedience-
…Katherine, that cap of yours becomes you not:
Off with that bauble – throw it underfoot!”

Petruchio tells Katherina that she ought to give the other wives a lecture about how to be a
good wife:
“Katherine, I charge thee, tell these headstrong women,
What duty they do owe their lords and husbands”

Katherina gives her advice:

“Thy husband is thy lord, thy life, thy keeper,
Thy head, thy sovereign, one that cares for thee”

“And place your hands below your husband’s foot

In token of which duty, if he please,
My hand is ready”

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 The Taming of the Shrew
William Shakespeare
Name: …………………………………………………….
Shakespeare assignment: English literary heritage

Title: What does a modern audience learn about marriages and the roles of men and
women in Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew?

Aims:
• use evidence from the text to support ideas (quotations)
• structure an essay in an appropriate manner
• comment on characters’ actions and plot
• write about the social and historical context of a Shakespeare text
• analyse Shakespeare’s language
• meet coursework deadlines

Can do:
• make a personal response which shows understanding of key ideas
• describe significant features of character and plot
• describe Shakespeare’s language
• show familiarity when describing the nature of the play, its meaning and ideas
• show familiarity with Shakespeare’s language
• show familiarity when describing the sequence of events and variety of characters
• show understanding when discussing the nature and implications of the play, its meanings and
ideas
• show understanding when discussing the appeal of the play to an audience
• discuss Shakespeare’s language
• show insight when discussing the nature of the play, its implications and relevance
• show insight when discussing characters and structure
• show insight when discussing Shakespeare’s use of language
• show analytical skill when exploring contemporary relevance and social and historical context
• show analytical skill when exploring Shakespeare’s use of linguistic devices
• show analytical skill when exploring characterisation, theatricality and structure

Need to improve:
•
•
•
•
•

Teacher’s comments:

Band: Mark: GCSE grade:

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