William Shakespeare’s play, The Taming of the Shrew has always been an important play for those who study gender and its depiction early literature. Its heroine, Katherine, is such a strong willed and overpowering character in the beginning of the play, and when Shakespeare wrote, that was not as common. The play also depicts the typical males in Tranio, Lucentio, and Baptista, among others. Petruchio and Katherine offer the contrast to the typical roles usually played by people of their gender. It is the changing of the roles that makes the play unique and keeps the audience interested in the play.

In the first act of the play, Lucentio is taken with Bianca right away and wants to court her. After seeing Bianca for the first time, Lucentio is already telling Tranio, “Tranio, I burn, I pine, I perish, Tranio,/ If I achieve not this young modest girl” (I.i.147-148). This is a typical Shakespearean male falling in love at first sight. He is even willing to lower himself and switch places with Tranio so that he can tutor Bianca, saying “let me be a slave t’ achieve that maid” (I.i.211). Tranio's job is to keep Bianca’s other suitors and her f

Even thought there are rare occurrences like this, Baptista is still self-serving. When Katherine is finally going to marry, he is anticipating it with much anxiety asking “Is he come” (III.ii.34). He seems eager to be rid of his older daughter. He is also always concerned with what he will get out of his daughters’ marrying. When talking to Lucentio’s fake father he asks “That like a father you will deal with him/ And pass my daughter a sufficient dower” (IV.iv.44-45).

I will be married to a wealthy widow,

“Would all the world but he had quite forsworn!

The complexity of her character is demonstrated in many ways throughout the play. Katherine was considered to be “a shrewd, ill-favored wife” (I.ii.55)and she was definitely not what the men were looking for at the time. She was always loud and spoke in a harsh manner to those she was supposed to respect. “Rebellious women” were a concern for Englishmen during the time that Shakespeare wrote his plays (Detmer, Shakespeare Quarterly, 273). Katherine and women of her type were not considered “proper” and were not very common in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

Bianca is always acting the part of the concerned naive, concerned sister. She tries to make people believe that she is truly obedient and that she is the one in the tough situation saying “Sister, content you in my discontent--/ Sir to your pleasure humbly I subscribe” (I.i.80-81). Bianca is trying to make herself into the victim and she clearly knows that it is Katherine who is suffering.

Some topics in this essay:
Taming Shrew, Unlike Petruchio, Baptist Bianca, Bianca Lucentio, Ii55 Gremio, Shakespeare Quarterly, Iii2-4 Hortensio, Bianca Katherine, Bianca Tranio, Lucentio Hortensio, taming shrew, beginning play, play lucentio, throughout play, shakespeare quarterly, bedford companion shakespeare, lucentio tranio, source energy, bianca lucentio, bianca katherine, bianca court, mcdonald bedford companion, companion shakespeare 156, sixteenth seventeenth centuries,