Customer Reviews

The Taming of the Shrew (New Folger Library Shakespeare)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This play is one of Shakespeare's most ribald, but I enjoyed it just the same. It's lusty, earthy and somewhat farcical. It's a very popular play because it is funny and fast-moving. And Shakespeare's wordplay is at its best here. I defy anyone not to laugh out loud numerously as they read this play. It is wonderful!

"The Taming of the Shrew" is probably William Shakespeare's second most controversial play -- nobody can figure out if it's misogynistic or a biting double satire on the sexes. Whatever it is, it's still a witty and hilarious comedy that pits the titular "shrew" against a crazy guy determined to browbeat her into traditional subservience... and while they're no Beatrice and Benedick, it is lots of fun.

Framing device: a local lord and his hunting party stumble across a drunken tinker, and decide to play an elaborate prank on him. They dress him in rich clothes, arrange fine food for him, and even drag a protesting servant boy in to pretend to be his wife. And they put on a performance for him as well: Baptista Minola has two daughters, the hot-tempered razor-tongued Katharina and the quiet, demure Bianca.

Since Bianca is not allowed to marry until Katharina is, her suitors form an alliance to get the elder sister out of the way, which is made more complex when a young student named Luciento falls in love with Bianca, and comes up with a clever plan to woo her. Enter Petruchio, an impoverished nobleman with as sharp a wit as Katharina -- and since he's the only one willing to marry her, her father jumps on the chance. From the very beginning, Petruchio beats her over the head with crazy reverse psychology, a ridiculous wedding ceremony, and a honeymoon from hell.

It's often debated whether "The Taming of the Shrew" is a sexist play or not, since the strong-willed, independent Katharina ends up another little obedient wifie, lecturing the other wives on giving their husbands "love, fair looks and true obedience." Blech.

But consider: this speech comes from a woman who, after years of intimidating the men around her, has been browbeaten, emotionally abused and humiliated until her boorish hubby finally "breaks" her... not exactly a rousing celebration of "the taming of the shrew," or of Petruchio! If anything, Shakespeare seems to be hinting that women should be subtle about their rebellion (as Bianca is) rather than broadcasting it to the world... and perhaps that is what the "shrew" had really learned.

And as usual, Shakespeare wraps the play in delicious wordplay ("You lie, in faith; for you are call'd plain Kate,/And bonny Kate, and sometimes Kate the curst"), weird situations (the ridiculous wedding), and an farcical romantic tangle centering on Bianca. And Shakespeare has some fun with the framing device about Christopher Sly -- while the lord is being a jerk, the whole situation is just so hilarious that it's impossible not to enjoy it.

And the characters are pretty fun as well, even when you want to kick them in the backside -- Katharina is delightfully witty, bombastic and very intimidating, and Petruchio is a hilarious, witty jerk who knows just how to counter her. Bianca seems like a subservient doormat at first, but Shakespeare hints that (in her own way) she's just as rebellious as Katharina, unbeknownst to her clownish admirers and her worn-out dad.

"The Taming of the Shrew" seems like a pretty offensive piece until you see all the little barbs sticking out of the surface. Really uncomfortable, and truly brilliant.

Katherine is a shrieking, violent, unhappy woman, and no one will marry her. But Kate doesn't want a husband, so there wouldn't be a problem with this situation except that her father says her younger sister Bianca can't get married unless Kate goes first--it's not clear why he decides this, but his arbitrary decision is what gets the plot going. Bianca's lovestruck suitors scheme ways to get her attention, and one of them tells the bold Petruchio about Kate. So long as he gets money when he weds, Petruchio doesn't mind marrying a perpetually angry woman, but overall he really seems to be more interested in the challenge of working with Kate than in the payoff. Many people may know this story better from the movie adaptation 10 Things I Hate About You, or from the Cole Porter musical Kiss Me, Kate.

Audiences have been enjoying this play for a few hundred years and it has always experienced popularity as a comedy, but in recent years, directors and critics have been apologizing for it. The apologies center around the perceived anti-feminism in the play, since Kate has to be "tamed" by Petruchio and at the end of the play, she tells all wives to obey their husbands. This makes me sound like a very bad feminist, but I don't mind the story, or Katherine's taming. I like her character, but she's horrendously mean. In modern times, she would either be heavily medicated or jailed for assault when she routinely screams at and beats other people. After Petruchio marries her, he keeps her from eating and sleeping for awhile, but letting her experience some extreme discomfort may be the only way she's ever going to become a decent person. A strong but harsh woman learns empathy and kindness? Sounds like a good setup to me.

From pop culture references to the play, and from the shortened forms of some film versions, it's easy to deduce that Petruchio and Kate are the focus of the whole play, but the side plot with Bianca's suitors takes up about half the pagetime. Gremio and Hortensio both try to win Bianca, and Lucentio and his servant Tranio are carrying out a double concealed-identity plan to win Bianca. All the machinations of the secondary suitors make Petruchio's reverse psychology tactics with Kate look downright straightforward. I'm not terribly interested in the side characters or anything they do, but I think they could be made interesting by the right performers.

One unique aspect of the play is the frame story, also known as the Induction. The Taming of the Shrew actually starts with the completely unrelated story of a beggar named Christopher Sly. Sly passes out at a lord's house and the lord plays an elaborate joke on him when he wakes up, pampering him and pretending that Sly himself is a lord, not a beggar. The Taming of the Shrew is a play that is put on for Sly's entertainment. The trouble with this frame story is that it's only half a frame. Sly comments on the play once during Act I, then he and the joking lord and the servants aren't heard from again. Most performances don't bother with staging the induction, since it makes the play kind of asymmetrical, and the only value most critics really think it adds to the play is the suggestion that Shakespeare really really isn't advocating shrew-taming, because it's going on in a play-within-a-play and is therefore extra-untrue.

What I like best about this play is seeing someone who is smart and mean become smart and nice. Well, not completely nice--Kate is ready to beat up Hortensio's new wife when she insults her, but overall she seems to be a better, happier person. Petruchio is a little crazy himself, so Kate's a good match for him. Her spirit isn't broken, it's just finally under control, and these two seem destined for a happier ending than the more cutesy and deceptive pair of lovers, Lucentio and Bianca.

This is a must for Shakespeare buffs or even those who want to read more Shakespeare. The glossary on the left-hand page of the dialogue is extremely helpful.

This is a show piece for Shakespeare's ability to portray the human condition. It is about wanting what isn't what we think it is, not wanting what is as it seems, marrrying out of pragmatism and finding love, loving blindly and not finding love, the impact of social pressure on love, the impact of love on social pressure, some utterly blind fantasy about women, and some clear understanding of women. I enjoyed it immensely once I caught on to the sarcastism and irony of the depiction.

This play is easily misunderstood, as irony always is (cinema fans will note that Paul Verhoeven swore off irony after people falsely accused him of glorifying a totalitarian society in "Starship Troopers"). Things aren't what they appear, people change, men in love (or lust) have a diminished capacity for rational thought, and women are not property or predictable.

My favorite character was Bianca, the bookish but beautiful woman who had men falling overthemselves for her for all the wrong reasons. She deserved better than she got, and I suspect that this character was intended as an homage to Queen Elizabeth. Katharine was a little too shallow, swinging from all fire and venom to meek and subserviant all too quickly, but she was the core of the irony and sarcasm of the play.

A great work from the Bard!

E.M. Van Court

First off let me say that this is my first and only Shakespeare play that I have read so I have nothing to compare it too, author wise. I had to read this for my 9th grade english class, and my first thoughts on the text were that it was hard to understand, it was boring and I hated it. Looking back, I was wrong. The plot is a little lacking (I won't bore you with the details, you have read them elsewere), but the dialouge is very clever if you can understand it. Also, this edition has scene summaries and word definitions to help you understand it. Once I let it sink in after I completed it, I relized the underlying messages, the quick witted dialouge and the absurd (although a little weak, as mentioned before) plot make this a pretty good read. If you are up for a challenge I would recommend The Taming Of The Shrew. If you are new to Shakespeare, this seems as good of a place as any to start with his works.

This is NOT the Folger edition. It has NO notes of any kind and contains only the text of the play.

Okay, so maybe The Taming of the Shrew is highly offensive in its nature (particularly to women), but you have to admit, this is still a witty & nicely crafted comedy. I don't mind the misogyny surrounding the story, because after all, this was made a long time ago, when times and societies were drastically different. This was written in Shakespeare's early years, so it's not as poetic or charming as his later ones. But still, it's full of wit and some highly entertaining moments here and there. There are some problems I have with this play, but I'd be nitpicking if I explained what they are. I'd say the biggest problem I have with this comedy is that there are a few scenes that drag on for too long. Despite that, however, I still like The Taming of the Shrew. It's not the best by Shakespeare, but it's still well-made.

Grade: 7.5/10

I teach British Literature and find the price is right for my students, the book size is a bit too small, and the intoductory and closing notes and essay are very good.

I am a very big William Shakespeare fan. I am very moved and amazed by his writing abilities. And im proud to say that The Taming of the Shrew is a great book. The shipping was quick and the book arrived in perfect condition. i cant wait to re-read one of my favorites. Thank You AMAZON for supplying great prices and having this book in stock. And thank to FED-EX for their quick shipping time and their well keeping of my purchase.