"A woman moved is like a fountain troubled,
Muddy, ill-seeming, thick, bereft of beauty...
Thy husband is thy lord, thy life, thy keeper..."
-Kathrina Act 5, Scene 2

Kate says this speech at the end of the play. This speech tells the audience that Petruchio has tamed Kate or "the shrew". Throughout the whole play, Kathrina's speech was very aggressive, mean, harsh. This speech had a flow and a much more soft tone to it. This speech also summarizes the irony in the play as well. Throughout the play, Kate tries to go against Petruchio and tries to be a strong woman but then at the end, realizes that she wants to be like every other woman and serve under her husband. I feel like Kate's whole character changed because of this speech that she made. At first, I thought that this speech might have had a sarcastic tone but i was proven wrong. I don't think I like how this play ended, and it made me really uspet to see that Kathrina didn't stand up to her husband and fight for her rights as an equal human being.

-Sarah

Taming of the Shrew 5

Petruchio
"Thus have I politicly begun my reign,
And 'tis my hope to end euccessfully.
My falocon now is sharp and passing empty...
To make her come and know her keeper's call:
That is, to watch her, as we watche these kites
That bate and beat and will not be obedient
She ate not meat today , nor none shall eat..."
Act 4 Scene 1

Petruchio's speech in this scene is very important to the story. First of all, there was a good amount of rhyming words which means foreshadowing. The diction was also a bit harsh. Since Petruchio states in his speech that he is "training" Kate like a puppy, and talks about how fed up he is with her there are hard "b" sounds and "s" sounds. Between the harsh diction and the rhyming words, I thought that this was a very important passage to the play. I can predict that maybe Kate does become Petruchio's trained dog in the end.

=]Sarah

Taming of the Shrew 4

Petruchio
..."But for my bonny Kate, she must be with me...
She is my goods, my chattels, she is my house,
My household stuff, my field, my barn...
my anything, Touch her whoever dare..."
Act 3 Scence 2

In this speech, Shakespeare uses ironic diction to describe Kate and Petruchio's relationship and Petruchio's relationship with the people. Shakespeare says that Kate is Petruchio's "property", but then says "touch her whoever dare". This is ironic in that Shakespeare takes up five lines explaining to the audience that Kate was now Petruchio's property and how important it is for Kate to be with him, and then tells the men of Padua that it is okay if they want to be with her as well.

This speech also gives the audience a sense of what kind of character Petruchio is. I think that I figured out that Petruchio will be able to truely tame Kate by the end of the play. He is the hero of the story.

I am enjoying this play and cannot wait to finish it!

-Sarah

Taming of the Shrew 3

Hortensio
"...Will undertake to woo curst Katherine
Yea, and to marry her, if her dowry please...
I know she is an irksome brawling scold
If that be all, masters I harn no harm"
-Act 1 Scene 2

Shakespeare's use of harsh word choice makes the reader feel negatively towards Katherine. The use of hard consenants in the words "curst", "irksome", and "scold" give the excerpt a more pessimistic and sharp tone. Shakespeare could have easily used different words to convey the same message, however, the use of these words gives the excerpt more intensity and offers deeper insight to Katherine's true character.

Taming of the Shrew 2

Lucentio- "Oh, yes, I saw sweet beauty in her face
Such as the daughter of Agenor had,
That made great love to humble him to her hand
When with his knees he kissed the Cretan strand."

In Lucentio's speech, Shakespeare alludes to the mythological character "Agenor from the mythological story of "Europa". The significance of comparing Europa to Lucentio's speech is that Europa was said to be a woman of beauty and a Greek Goddess. This contributes to Lucentio's speech because when he first set eyes on Bianca, he knew that she was the one that he wanted to marry. He only wanted her and her beauty.

I'm still really enjoying this humorous love story. I hope that the ending is what I hope it will be!

Sarah

The Taming of the Shrew Response

So far, "The Taming of the Shrew" is my new favorite Shakespearian play. Although I was in "Kiss me Kate" last year and I know most of the dialogue, there was so much left out that makes the story a thousand times better. I understand the roles of Hortensio and Gremio must better than I did while rehearsing for the musical.

One passage that stood out to me while reading was:
"I' faith, sir, you shall never need to dear.
Iwis it is not halfway to her heart,
But if it were, doubt not her care should be
To comb your noddle with a three - legged stool
And paint your face and use you like a fool."

I feel like this passage sums up Kate and her stubborness and her "shrew-like" qualities. I'm so glad that I picked this play as my outside reading!

-Sarah <3