The Taming of the Shrew (Cliffs Complete) [Paperback]

William Shakespeare (Author), Diana Sweeney (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0764587293 | ISBN-13: 978-0764587290 | Publication Date: March 29, 2001 | Edition: 1

In the CliffsComplete guides, the play's complete text and a glossary appear side-by-side with coordinating numbered lines to help you understand unusual words and phrasing. You'll also find all the commentary and resources of a standard CliffsNotes for Literature.

CliffsComplete The Taming of the Shrew is one of Shakespeare's most beloved, and imitated, works. In this play within a play, Petruchio, the man from Verona, marries Kate (the shrew of the story), so that Kate's younger sister Bianca may be allowed to take on several suitors and choose one to marry.

Discover what happens to Petruchio and Kate — and save valuable studying time — all at once. Enhance your reading of The Taming of the Shrew with these additional features:

• A summary and insightful commentary for each act
• Bibliography and historical background on the author, William Shakespeare
• A look at the historical context and structure of the play
• Discussions on the plays symbols and themes
• A character map that graphically illustrates the relationships among the characters
• Review questions, a quiz, discussion topics (essay questions), activity ideas
• A Resource Center full of books, articles, films, and Internet sites

Streamline your literature study with all-in-one help from CliffsComplete guides!

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From the Back Cover

All-In-One Resource! from the creators of CliffsNotes^™ Plus Exclusive character map • Handy review exercises • Additional resources Visit the Student Resource Center at cliffsnotes.com

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• Glossary of common Shakespearean terms
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About the Author

Diana Sweeney has been teaching English in Los Angeles, California, for over fifteen years. She is also the author of the CliffsComplete Julius Caesar.

Product Details

• Paperback: 216 pages
• Publisher: Cliffs Notes; 1 edition (March 29, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764587293
• ISBN-13: 978-0764587290
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #630,246 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon in April 1564, and his birth is traditionally celebrated on April 23. The facts of his life, known from surviving documents, are sparse. He was one of eight children born to John Shakespeare, a merchant of some standing in his community. William probably went to the King's New School in Stratford, but he had no university education. In November 1582, at the age of eighteen, he married Anne Hathaway, eight years his senior, who was pregnant with their first child, Susanna. She was born on May 26, 1583. Twins, a boy, Hamnet ( who would die at age eleven), and a girl, Judith, were born in 1585. By 1592 Shakespeare had gone to London working as an actor and already known as a playwright. A rival dramatist, Robert Greene, referred to him as "an upstart crow, beautified with our feathers." Shakespeare became a principal shareholder and playwright of the successful acting troupe, the Lord Chamberlain's Men (later under James I, called the King's Men). In 1599 the Lord Chamberlain's Men built and occupied the Globe Theater in Southwark near the Thames River. Here many of Shakespeare's plays were performed by the most famous actors of his time, including Richard Burbage, Will Kempe, and Robert Armin. In addition to his 37 plays, Shakespeare had a hand in others, including Sir Thomas More and The Two Noble Kinsmen, and he wrote poems, including Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece. His 154 sonnets were published, probably without his authorization, in 1609. In 1611 or 1612 he gave up his lodgings in London and devoted more and more time to retirement in Stratford, though he continued writing such plays as The Tempest and Henry VII until about 1613. He died on April 23 1616, and was buried in Holy Trinity Church, Stratford. No collected edition of his plays was published during his life-time, but in 1623 two members of his acting company, John Heminges and Henry Condell, put together the great collection now called the First Folio.