The Taming of the Shrew (Bantam Classics) [Mass Market Paperback]

William Shakespeare (Author), David Bevington (Editor), David Scott Kastan (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1988 | Series: Bantam Classics

A robust and bawdy battle of the sexes, this ever popular comedy captivates audiences with outrageous humor as Katharina, the shrew, engages in a contest of wills–and love–with her bridegroom, Petruchio. Their boisterous conflict is set off against a more conventional romantic plot involving the wooing of Katharina’s lovely and compliant sister, Bianca. Rich with the psychological themes of identity and transformation, the play is quintessentially lighthearted, filled with visual gags, witty repartee, and unmatched theatrical brilliance from Petruchio’s demand, “Kiss me, Kate!” to the final spectacle of the wedding feast.

Each Edition Includes:
• Comprehensive explanatory notes
• Vivid introductions and the most up-to-date scholarship
• Clear, modernized spelling and punctuation, enabling contemporary readers to understand the Elizabethan English
• Completely updated, detailed bibliographies and performance histories
• An interpretive essay on film adaptations of the play, along with an extensive filmography

Editorial Reviews

Review

'A triumphant addition to our times.' - Fiona Shaw, The Times --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Book Description

Like every other play in the Cambridge School Shakespeare series, The Taming of the Shrew has been specially prepared to help all students in schools and colleges. This version aims to be different from other editions of the play. It invites you to bring the play to life in your classroom through enjoyable activities that will help increase your understanding. You are encourage to make up your own mind about the play, rather than have someone else's interpretation handed down to you. Whatever you do, remember that Shakespeare wrote his plays to be acted, watched and enjoyed. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Bantam Classics (January 1, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553213067
• ISBN-13: 978-0553213065
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 0.8 x 6.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (51 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,116,564 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Clever and witty play, June 30, 2000

By 

S. N. Harris (New Mexico) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Taming of the Shrew (The New Folger Library) (Mass Market Paperback)

Of all of Shakespeare's plays that I have read, this is the most enjoyable. The characters are real and engaging - the sweetly stupid Bianca and her hoard of suitors, Baptista, who is more interested in selling his daughters to rich husbands than making them happy, the sly and masterful Petruchio, and most of all, Katherine, the Shrew. The play is full of action, comedy, and enough mistaken and hidden identities to keep the reader happily confused.

Katherine, who appears to be "tamed" by Petruchio's cruelties, learns the art of subtlety and diplomacy that will enable her to survive in a society ruled by men. Her speech in the last scene is not a humbling affirmation of the superiority of men, but a tounge-in-cheek ridicule of Petruchio, Lucentio, and Hortensio, who think that a woman can be tamed like a wild animal by a few days of bumbling controll.

The Folger Library of Shakespeare's plays are the most readable editions that I have seen. There are detailed side notes and definitions of unfamiliar words, which are perfect for the reader who is not familiar with Shakespearean English.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Oxford World's Classics is the best choice for Shakespeare, February 16, 2004

By 

R. Rockwell (Brooklyn, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Taming of the Shrew (Oxford World's Classics) (Paperback)

There are many reviews of the play below,, so I am reviewing this particular edition of tthe play. As someone reading all of Shakespeare for the second time, I am always alble to learn something from the World's Classics introduction. They are scolarly and complete and the text always has footnotes on the same page. I have tried other editions but these are the best.
The Taming of the Shrew although it does contain episodes that are misogynistic to modern ears does portray a couple truly in love. As an early play Shakespeare is beginning to find his own voice.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hilarious and well constructed, March 8, 2000

By 

Sean Ares Hirsch - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Taming of the Shrew (The New Folger Library) (Mass Market Paperback)

If I had not been spoiled by Shakespeare's "The Comedy of Errors," this could very well have been my favorite comedy. It is comical that the 2 rival suitors for Bianca are able to work together to get Kate married somehow so as to free the "seemingly sweet" Bianca for possible marriage. Petruchio (Kate's eventual husband) offers us a comical passage in 2.1. Another humorous aspect of this play is all the alias identities. Lucentio alias Cambio, Tranio alias Lucentio, and Pedant alias Vincentio. I can not overemphasize Shakespeare's brilliance when all seems well. Towards the end, Petruchio and Kate seem to be doing fine and Lucentio and Bianca will marry. But leave it to Shakespeare. Vincentio (Lucentio's father) goes to visit his son only to be locked out of his son's house by Pedant alias Vincentio. This hilarious scene is such a perfect climatic point. We are exposed to comedy and tension simultaneously when the play suddenly becomes violent. But leave it to Shakespeare to reconcile everyone and end the play with all of the characters including Vincentio and Pedant alias Vincentio enjoying a merry feast!