The Taming of The Shrew

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SHAKSPEARE'S
TAMING OF THE SHREW

4
H. HOWARD CRAWLEY
66
1837
ARTES SCIENTIA
LIBRARY VERITAS OF IGAN

CHTHE
RSITY OF MI
UNIVE
E-PLURIBUS UNUM
TUEBOR
SI-QUAERIS PENINSULAM AMOENAM

CIRCUMSPICE
2.16.1.3.
PLAYS OF SHAKSPEARE .
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With Notes and Introduction to each Play.
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THE
TAMING OF THE SHREW

PRINTED BY
SPOTTISWOODE AND CO. , NEW-STREET SQUARE
LONDON
THE PLAYS OF SHAKSPEARE
37949
THE
Taming of the Shrew
EDITED BY
H. HOWARD CRAWLEY
LONDON
LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO.
AND NEW YORK : 15 EAST 16th STREET
1891
INTRODUCTION
HE first edition of The Taming of the Shrew ap-

THE
peared in the folio of 1623. It was followed in
1631 by a quarto edition , entitled :
"A wittie and pleasant | Comedie | called | The
Taming ofthe Shrew. As it was acted by his Maiesties
| Seruants at the Blacke Friers | and the Globe. Written
by Will. Shakespeare. LONDON, | Printed by W. S. for
John Smethwicke, and are to be | sold at his Shop in
Saint Dunstones Church- | yard vnder the Diall : | 1631.”
Mr. Collier had a theory that the quarto was really
the earlier edition of the two, but this has clearly been
shown to be fallacious by the Cambridge editors, and
therefore is not worth a close examination.
Shakspeare undoubtedly derived the main incidents
of the plot from The Taming of a Shrew, which was
published in quarto in 1594, having the following title :
"A Pleasant Conceited | Historie, called The Taming
of a Shrew. As it was sundry times acted by the
| Right Honorable the Earle of | Pembrook his seruants. ]
Printed at London by Peter Short and | are to be sold by
Cuthbert Burbie, at his | shop at the Royall Exchange,
| 1594."
The underplot shows that Shakspeare had recourse to
the translation of Ariosto's Gli Suppositi of 1524, made
by Gascoigne in 1560, and called by him Supposes.
viii TAMING OF THE SHREW.
Beyond these facts little or nothing is known, and the

subject becomes a matter of conjecture merely. Thus
some would have us believe that the play of The Taming
of a Shrew was written by Marlowe and Shakspeare in
conjunction, and that Shakspeare afterwards improved
on this version in The Taming of the Shrew. Pope
thought that Shakspeare wrote both plays. Mr. Grant
White believes that first there was an unknown author,
who wrote The Taming of a Shrew, and then, that
Shakspeare and a collaborateur wrote The Taming ofthe
Shrew, an adaptation of the former play. Professor
Dowden is of opinion that Shakspeare took the old play
of 1594, "already made by some unknown hand," and that
he added and altered " certain scenes, so as to render yet
more amusing and successful an enlarged version of the
play of 1594."
He assigns the following portions to Shakspeare :
Induction. Act ii . Sc. 1 , 169-326 [ “ I pray you do.
I will attend her here "] to [ “ And kiss me, Kate, we will
be married o' Sunday "] ; Act iii. Sc. 2, 1-125 [ " Signior
Lucentio, this is the ' pointed day "] to [" And seal the title
with a lovely kiss ! "] and 151-241 [" Signior Gremio,
came you from the church ? "] to [" I'll buckler thee
against a million "] ; Act iv. , Sc. 1 ; Act iv., Sc. 3 ; Act
iv., Sc. 5 ; Act v., Sc. 2 , 1-180 [ " At last, though long, our
jarring notes agree "] to [" Why, there's a wench ! Come
on, and kiss me, Kate "]. The references given above are
to the Globe edition.
That the play was written hurriedly, perhaps even
carelessly, by Shakspeare, there seems little doubt, and
that it was a brief return to farce, as in the case of The
Merry Wives of Windsor, is obvious. Shakspeare had
written his early comedies, e.g. Love's Labour's Lost,
Comedy ofErrors, Two Gentlemen ofVerona, Midsummer
INTRODUCTION. ix
Night's Dream, and his early historical plays, such as

Henry VI. , Parts ii. and iii., Richard III., King John,
also his early tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, and even his
trilogy of Henry IV. , Parts i. and ii ., and Henry V., and
then for a short time he again wrote farce.
There is, however, great difficulty in fixing the exact
date. Of wholly external evidence we have none.
Meres, in his Palladis Tamia, Wits Treasury, 1598, does
not mention this play. He mentions a play called Love's
Labour's Won, which by some has been thought to be
The Taming of a Shrew, but others suggest that it was
Much Ado About Nothing, while others believe it " to
have been an earlier form of All's Well that Ends Well."
Of evidence partly external and partly internal there is
none to guide us, and of wholly internal evidence we
have, indeed, the fact that the percentage of double
endings is 16, as compared with Love's Labour's Lost, 4,
The Merchant ofVenice, 15, Othello, 26, Cymbeline, 32, and
The Tempest, 33. (See Dowden's Shakspere, pp. 43–44 . )
The result is that dates varying from 1594 up to 1606
have been assigned for this play. Professor Dowden
classes it as belonging to Shakspeare's later comedy of
the rough and boisterous style, and conjectures 1597 for
its date, saying, " the best portions are in the manner of
Shakspere's comedies of the second period ; and, attri-
buting the Bianca intrigue-comedy to a writer interme-
diate between the author of the play of A Shrew and
Shakspere, there is no difficulty in supposing that the
Shakspere scenes were written about 1597.”
This play has an Induction or Introduction. The only
other play commencing with an Induction (although
Henry V., Henry VIII. , Troilus and Cressida, and Romeo
and Juliet begin with Prologues, and Pericles with
Gower as Chorus or Prologue) is that of the Second Part
X TAMING OF THE SHREW.
of Henry IV., where Rumour appears as a Presenter

(the Doctor or Expositor of the Miracle Plays) painted
full of tongues, to explain that false reports of a rebel
victory will be spread. But in this play the Induction is
made use of, not to explain difficulties or obscurities, or
to assist the spectator in understanding the plot, but to
give an excuse for the acting of the comedy.
As regards the ordinary use of the Induction, Mr.
Symonds, in his Shakspeare's Predecessors, remarks :
" The Induction might be mentioned as an early instance
of a very popular theatrical device. In order to create
more perfect illusion, or to enliven the pauses between
the acts with dialogue, our elder dramatists represented
the real fruit of their invention as a play within a play,
feigning that the persons who first appeared upon the
stage fell asleep and saw the drama in a vision, or that it
was conjured up by magic art before them, or that they
chanced upon some strange adventure while wandering
in woody places. The Taming of a Shrew before
Shakspere touched it, was already furnished with that
humorous deception practised upon Sly, which serves to
introduce the comedy. Lyly begged his audience to
regard two of his pieces as dreams. Peele caused the
action of one of his rural medleys to grow from a
discussion between travellers belated in a forest.
Heywood, in his masque of Love's Mistress, brings
Midas and Apuleius on the stage disputing about poetry.
The play occurs as matter for their argument, and they
canvass it at intervals between the scenes. Jonson and
Marston employed similar artifices for blending criticism
with the drama. Beaumont introduced the Knight of
the Burning Pestle with a humorous dialogue between
a citizen and his wife, who insist upon their prentice
taking part in the performance. The introduction to
INTRODUCTION. xi
Greene's James the Fourth brings Oberon with his elves

and a discontented Scot upon the stage. The elves
dance ; the Scot produces the play in order to explain
his discontent. Oberon remains as a spectator, and
makes mirth during the intervals by dances of his fairies."
There are several stories of hoaxing a poor man and
making him believe that he is a grandee. One is related
in The Sleeper Awakened in the Arabian Nights. The
same story is told of Charles V., and of Philip the Good
of Burgundy.
The subject of the Taming of the Shrew is not a very
pleasant one, for it consists in the subjugation of a
brawling woman by the strong will of a man.
In the old play of A Shrew, the conception was the
popular and vulgar one of the day, viz. an angry,
abusive, furious woman terrified into subjection by a
coarse, brutal, violent man. Working upon these rather
unpromising materials, Shakspeare stamped upon them
the individuality of genius. Katharina is no longer the
mere noisy scold, nor Petruchio the violent ruffian of
the old play ; their characters and actions become, under
this master-hand, coherent and probable.
Katharina's character, marked from the beginning by
a vehement temper, a strong love of power, and an entire
absence of sentiment or romance, is moulded by her
unhappy circumstances into hardness, and exaggerated
almost into misanthropy. Her father does not love
her, nay, he is so bent upon " quiet " that he " ventures
madly on a desperate mart," and " gives her hand op-
posed against her heart, unto a mad-brain rudesby full
of spleen." Nor will he part with his beloved Bianca
until he is sure that Katharina is safely bestowed where
she cannot disturb him with her quarrelsome tongue.
Between Katharina and Bianca there is no congeniality.
xii TAMING OF THE SHREW.
Bianca's system of encouraging many lovers , and ex-

pressing preference for none, goads Katharina's natural
impatience to the verge of frenzy, principally because
she cannot understand it : for it is to be remarked that
Katharina is as outspoken in her affection for Petruchio
at the end of the play, as she is in her anger with him
and others at the beginning of it.
She has no self-control : that which is in her mind
rushes to the end of her tongue at once, and she has so
little regard for public opinion that it never occurs to her
to refrain from such expressions of feeling as come upper-
most. This is notably the case when, the " pointed day "
being come, they " want the bridegroom," and though she
has told Petruchio when last she saw him that she will see
him hanged before she will marry him, yet her morti-
fication, unrepressed even by her pride, finds vent in tears
before all that unsympathizing company.
Katharina has never known what it was to experience
paternal or sisterly affection. She sees in her sister no
expression of genuine affection towards her many suitors,
and indeed she neither receives nor expects to receive
any real love from all those who surround her. A softer
nature would have lamented this and wept over it, but
Katharina has not sentiment enough in her character to
suspect that she is yearning for love, and she therefore
develops a fierce angry temperament. A weaker woman
would have given Petruchio a grudging, half-hearted,
trembling obedience when she was mastered , but Katha-
rina is shrewd enough to see the affection underlying
Petruchio's pretended violence ; she is clear- sighted
enough to know that his character is in all respects the
stronger of the two, and when conquered bythose material
means likely to touch so realistic a character (" with
oaths kept waking and with brawling fed ") , she is as
INTRODUCTION. xiii
loyal in her submission, as hearty in defence of her

husband in her passage of arms with the widow, and as
indifferent to the remarks of the company upon her
change of disposition, as she was formerly perverse in
disputation, loud in recrimination, and careless of the
impression that she made by her rudeness and noise.
All that was needed was self-control and an object
worthy of her affection. Such an object she finds in
Petruchio. He is as essentially prosaic as she, and they
have other characteristics in common. She loves power
and seeks to gain it by brawling ; he also loves power,
but he seeks it by means of money. The disregard of
public opinion, so notable in Katharina, is seen through-
out Petruchio's proceedings both before and after his
marriage, for he cares no more for being spoken of as
"mad Petruchio " than Katharina cares for being called
66 a shrew."
There is, however, a certain tone of ostentation in his
remarks. " Crowns in my purse I have and goods at
home " (but see note on this passage I. 2) , and in two
respects his character is widely different from his wife's,
for he is good-tempered and he has perfect self- control.
Moreover, his self-control makes him a good actor, for
he does not forget himself. He consistently acts the
part of a very passionate man, who is determined that
his wife shall have due respect paid her by everyone, and
he shows that he cares for her by taking part in the
discomforts which he makes her suffer ; he fasts with her
"for company," shares her vigils , and starts with her, in
the mean habiliments in which he was married, to go to
her father's house.
This loyalty on his part, perhaps, awakens the affec-
tionate loyalty on the part of his more frank and ingenuous
wife.
xiv TAMING OF THE SHREW.
The play is full of apparent inconsistencies. Katharina,

apparently incapable of affection and an unredeemable
self-willed scold, proves a loving, submissive, happy wife.
Petruchio, apparently a money-loving tyrannical bully,
is shown to be a thoroughly unselfish good-tempered
man.
Bianca, outwardly submissive, gentle, full of affection,
and apparently everything that is sweet, proves to be
resolute in getting her own way, and unscrupulous as to the
means she employs for that purpose ; rude to her husband
when once she has gained her end, and ready to over-reach
her father whom she pretends to love and honour. So that
the most salient moral of the play is, that we should not
judge by outward appearances, that people are not what
they seem, and it is not possible to foretell how a given
person will act under given circumstances.
Grumio is a great wag, like many of Shakspeare's
servants-for instance, Launcelot Gobbo, the two Dromios,
&c. His insolence to Katharina is exceedingly clever.
That he is " trusty " as well as " pleasant " is shown by
the way he acts his part and plays up to his master
throughout.
Biondello, like Speed and Moth, belongs to the extinct
race of witty boys.
But the whole interest of the play centres round
Petruchio and Katharina. Bianca is but an exquisite
foil to the latter. Where Katharina is loud and angry,
Bianca is all softness and repose ; where the one is out-
spoken the other is sly ; where the elder sister is careless
ofthe impression she creates, Bianca is careful to stand
well in the opinion of all. Katharina's open self-will is
brought to reasonable submission, Bianca's secret self-
will asserts itself unexpectedly.
Katharina has been compared to Adriana in The
INTRODUCTION. XV
Comedy of Errors. The two characters, however, have

not a great deal in common. True, they are both shrews,
but Katharina's shrewishness arises from a sense that
she is treated with injustice, and is founded upon reason,
for she obviously is most unjustly and unkindly treated,
whereas Adriana, the married woman, starts on the
assumption that her husband does not love her. Katha-
rina is far too clear-headed and unimaginative to have
made such a mistake.
CHARACTERS IN THE PLAY.
BAPTISTA, a rich gentleman of Padua.
VINCENTIO, an old gentleman, a merchant of Pisa.
LUCENTIO, Son to Vincentio, in love with Bianca. Appears in disguise also
as Cambio, Bianca's teacher of languages.
¹ PETRUCHIO, a gentleman of Verona, a suitor to Katharina.
GREMIO, an old gentleman, an unsuccessful suitor to Bianca.
HORTENSIO, an unsuccessful suitor to Bianca. Appears in disguise also as
Licio, Bianca's music master.
TRANIO. Appears in disguise as Lucentio. Servants to Lucentio
BIONDELLO.
GRUMIO.
CURTIS.
NATHANIEL.
PHILIP. Servants to Petruchio.
JOSEPH.
NICHOLAS.
PETER.
A Pedant, induced to disguise himself as Vincentio.
A Tailor.
A Haberdasher.
Servants attending on Baptista.
KATHARINA , the Shrew. Baptista's daughters.
BIANCA.
AWidow, afterwards married to Hortensio.
SCENE. - Sometimes in Padua. Sometimes in Petruchio's country
house, and also on a road between the two.
The spelling adopted in the text is that used by Shakspeare for the
purpose of showing the actors how to pronounce the word. Malone
instances Infelice (a character in one of Decker's plays), which the author
speltInfeliche, as he could not be sure that the performers would understand
Italian.
CHARACTERS IN THE INDUCTION.
A Lord.
CHRISTOPHER SLY, a tinker.
Hostess.
A Page, afterwards disguised to personate Sly's wife.
Huntsmen , Players, Attendants, and Servants.
SCENE I. -Before an Alehouse on a Heath.
SCENE II.-A Bedchamber in the Lord's House.
THE TAMING OF THE SHREW.
INDUCTION.
SCENE I.—Before an Alehouse on a Heath.

Enter HOSTESS and SLY.
SLY. I'll pheeze you, in faith.
HOST. A pair of stocks, you rogue !
SLY. Ye are a baggage : the Slys are no rogues ; look
in the chronicles ; we came in with Richard Conqueror.
Therefore, paucas pallabris ; let the world slide : Sessa!
HOST. You will not pay for the glasses you have
burst?
SLY. No, not a denier. Go by, Jeronimy : go to thy
cold bed, and warm thee. 9
HOST. I know my remedy ; I must go fetch the third-
borough. [Exit.
SLY. Third, or fourth, or fifth borough, I'll answer
him by law I'll not budge an inch , boy : let him come,
and kindly. [ Falls asleep.
Horns winded. Enter a Lord from hunting, with his
Train.
LORD. Huntsman, I charge thee, tender well my
hounds :
Brach Merriman, the poor cur is emboss'd ;
And couple Clowder with the deep-mouth'd brach.
Saw'st thou not, boy, how Silver made it good
At the hedge-corner, in the coldest fault ?
I would not lose the dog for twenty pound. 20
HUN. Why, Belman is as good as he, my lord ;
He cried upon it at the merest loss
B
2 TAMING OF THE SHREW. [ Induction
And twice to-day pick'd out the dullest scent :

Trust me, I take him for the better dog.
LORD. Thou art a fool : if Echo were as fleet,
I would esteem him worth a dozen such.
But sup them well and look unto them all :
To-morrow I intend to hunt again.
I HUN. I will, my lord.
LORD. What's here ? one dead , or drunk ? See, doth
he breathe ? 30
2 HUN. He breathes, my lord. Were he not warm'd
with ale,
This were a bed but cold to sleep so soundly.
LORD. O monstrous beast ! how like a swine he
lies !
Grim death, how foul and loathsome is thine image !
Sirs, I will practise on this drunken man.
What think you, if he were convey'd to bed,
Wrapp'd in sweet clothes, rings put upon his fingers,
A most delicious banquet by his bed,
And brave attendants near him when he wakes,
Would not the beggar then forget himself? 40
I HUN. Believe me, lord, I think he cannot choose.
2 HUN. It would seem strange unto him when he
waked.
LORD. Even as a flattering dream, or worthless fancy.
Then take him up, and manage well the jest :
Carry him gently to my fairest chamber
And hang it round with all my wanton pictures :
Balm his foul head in warm distilled waters,
And burn sweet wood to make the lodging sweet :
Procure me music ready when he wakes,
To make a dulcet and a heavenly sound ; 50
And if he chance to speak, be ready straight,
And with a low submissive reverence
Say, 'What is it your honour will command ? '
Let one attend him with a silver basin
Full of rose-water and bestrew'd with flowers ;
Another bear the ewer, the third a diaper,
And say ' Will 't please your lordship cool your hands ? '
Some one be ready with a costly suit
And ask him what apparel he will wear ;
Another tell him of his hounds and horse, 60
And that his lady mourns at his disease :
Scene 1] TAMING OF THE SHREW. 3
Persuade him that he hath been lunatic ;
And when he says he is, say that he dreams,
For he is nothing but a mighty lord.
This do, and do it kindly, gentle sirs ;
It will be pastime passing excellent,
If it be husbanded with modesty.
I HUN. My lord, I warrant you we'll play our part,
As he shall think by our true diligence
He is no less than what we say he is. 70
LORD. Take him up gently and to bed with him ;
And each one to his office when he wakes.
[Some bear out SLY. A trumpet sounds.
Sirrah, go see what trumpet 't is that sounds :
[Exit Servant.
Belike, some noble gentleman , that means,
Travelling some journey, to repose him here.
Re-enter a Servant.
How now ! who is it?
SERV. An 't please your honour, players
That offer service to your lordship.
LORD. Bid them come near :
Enter Players.
Now, fellows, you are welcome.
PLAYERS . We thank your honour.
LORD. Do you intend to stay with me to-night ?
2 PLAY. So please your lordship to accept our duty. 80
LORD. With all my heart. This fellow I remember,
Since once he play'd a farmer's eldest son :
'T was where you woo'd the gentlewoman so well :
I have forgot your name ; but, sure, that part
Was aptly fitted and naturally perform'd.
I PLAY. I think 't was Soto that your honour means
LORD. 'Tis very true ; thou didst it excellent.
Well, you are come to me in happy time ;
The rather for I have some sport in hand.
Wherein your cunning can assist me much. 90
There is a lord will hear you play to-night :
But I am doubtful of your modesties ;
Lest, over-eying of his odd behaviour,
(For yet his honour never heard a play,)
You break into some merry passion
B2
4 TAMING OF THE SHREW. [Induction
And so offend him ; for I tell you, sirs,
If you should smile, he grows impatient.
i PLAY. Fear not, my lord ; we can contain our-
selves,
Were he the veriest antic in the world.
LORD. Go, sirrah , take them to the buttery, 100
And give them friendly welcome every one :
Let them want nothing that my house affords.
[Exeunt Servant and Players.
Sirrah, go you to Barthol'mew my page, [ To a Servant.
And see him dress'd in all suits like a lady :
That done, conduct him to the drunkard's chamber ;
And call him ' madam,' do him obeisance.
Tell him from me, as he will win my love,
He bear himself with honourable action ,
Such as he hath observed in noble ladies
Unto their lords, by them accomplished : IIO
Such duty to the drunkard let him do
With soft low tongue, and lowly courtesy,
And say ' What is 't your honour will command,
Wherein your lady and your humble wife
May show her duty and make known her love ? '
And then with kind embracements, tempting kisses
And with declining head into his bosom ,
Bid him shed tears, as being overjoy'd
To see her noble lord restored to health ,
Who for this seven years hath esteemed him 120
No better than a poor and loathsome beggar :
And if the boy have not a woman's gift
To rain a shower of commanded tears,
An onion will do well for such a shift,
Which in a napkin being close convey'd
Shall in despite enforce a watery eye.
See this despatch'd with all the haste thou canst ;
Anon I'll give thee more instructions. [Exit Servant.
I know the boy will well usurp the grace,
Voice, gait and action of a gentlewoman : 130
I long to hear him call the drunkard husband,
And how my men will stay themselves from laughter
When they do homage to this simple peasant .
I'll in to counsel them : haply my presence
May well abate the over-merry spleen
Which otherwise would grow into extremes. [Exeunt.
SCENE II.—A Bedchamber in the Lord's House.
Enter aloft SLY, with Attendants ; some with apparel,

others with basin, ewer, and other appurtenances ;
and Lord, dressed like a servant.
SLY. For God's sake, a pot of small ale.
I SERV. Will 't please your lordship drink a cup of
sack ?
2 SERV. Will ' t please your honour taste of these
conserves ?
3 SERV. What raiment will your honour wear to-day ?
SLY. I am Christophero Sly ; call not me ' honour'
nor ' lordship ' : I ne'er drank sack in my life ; and if
you give me any conserves, give me conserves of beef:
Ne'er ask me what raiment I'll wear ; for I have no
more doublets than backs, no more stockings than legs,
nor no more shoes than feet ; nay, sometime more feet
than shoes, or such shoes as my toes look through the
overleather. 12
LORD. Heaven cease this idle humour in your honour !
O, that a mighty man of such descent,
Of such possessions and so high esteem,
Should be infused with so foul a spirit !
SLY. What, would you make me mad ? Am not I
Christopher Sly, old Sly's son of Burton-heath, by birth
a pedlar, by education a card-maker, by transmutation
a bear-herd, and now by present profession a tinker ?
Ask Marian Hacket, the fat ale-wife of Wincot, if she
know me not if she say I am not fourteen pence on
the score for sheer ale, score me up for the lyingest
knave in Christendom . What ! I am not bestraught :
Here's 25
3 SERV. O , this it is that makes your lady mourn !
2 SERV. O, this is it that makes your servants droop !
LORD. Hence comes it that your kindred shuns your
house,
As beaten hence by your strange lunacy..
O noble lord, bethink thee of thy birth,
Call home thy ancient thoughts from banishment
And banish hence these abject lowly dreams.
Look how thy servants do attend on thee,
Each in his office ready at thy beck.
6 TAMING OF THE SHREW. [Induction
Wilt thou have music ? hark ! Apollo plays [Music.
And twenty caged nightingales do sing :
Or wilt thou sleep ? we 'll have thee to a couch
Softer and sweeter than the lustful bed
On purpose trimm'd up for Semiramis.
Say thou wilt walk ; we will bestrew the ground : 40
Or wilt thou ride ? thy horses shall be trapp'd,
Their harness studded all with gold and pearl.
Dost thou love hawking ? thou hast hawks will soar
Above the morning lark : or wilt thou hunt ?
Thy hounds shall make the welkin answer them
And fetch shrill echoes from the hollow earth.
I SERV. Say thou wilt course ; thy greyhounds are as
swift
As breathed stags, ay, fleeter than the roe.
2 SERV. Dost thou love pictures ? we will fetch thee
straight
Adonis painted by a running brook, 50
And Cytherea all in sedges hid,
Which seem to move and wanton with her breath,
Even as the waving sedges play with wind.
LORD. We'll show thee lo as she was a maid,
And how she was beguiled and surprised,
As lively painted as the deed was done.
3 SERV. Or Daphne roaming through a thorny wood,
Scratching her legs that one shall swear she bleeds,
And at that sight shall sad Apollo weep,
So workmanly the blood and tears are drawn. 60
LORD. Thou art a lord and nothing but a lord :
Thou hast a lady far more beautiful
Than any woman in this waning age.
1 SERV. And till the tears that she hath shed for thee
Like envious floods o'er-run her lovely face,
She was the fairest creature in the world ;
And yet she is inferior to none.
SLY. Am I a lord ? and have I such a lady ?
Or do I dream ? or have I dream'd till now ?
I do not sleep : I see, I hear, I speak ; 70
I smell sweet savours, and I feel soft things :
Upon my life, I am a lord indeed
And not a tinker nor Christophero Sly.
Well, bring our lady hither to our sight ;
And once again, a pot o' the smallest ale.
Scene 2] TAMING OF THE SHREW . 7
2 SERV. Will 't please your mightiness to wash your
hands ?
[Servants present an ewer, basin, and napkin.
O, how we joy to see your wit restored !
O, that once more you knew but what you are !
These fifteen years you have been in a dream ;
Or when you wak'd, so wak'd as if you slept. 80
SLY. These fifteen years ! by my fay, a goodly nap .
But did I never speak of all that time ?
I SERV. O, yes, my lord, but very idle words :
For though you lay here in this goodly chamber,
Yet would you say ye were beaten out of door ;
And rail upon the hostess of the house ;
And say you would present her at the leet,
Because she brought stone jugs and no seal'd quarts :
Sometimes you would call out for Cicely Hacket.
SLY. Ay, the woman's maid of the house. 90
3 SERV. Why, sir, you know no house nor no such
maid,
Nor no such men as you have reckon❜d up ,
As Stephen Sly and Old John Naps of Greece
And Peter Turph and Henry Pimpernell
And twenty more such names and men as these
Which never were nor no man ever saw.
SLY. Now Lord be thanked for my good amends !
ALL. Amen.
SLY. I thank thee : thou shalt not lose by it.
Enter the Page as a lady, with Attendants.

PAGE. How fares my noble lord ? 100
SLY. Marry, I fare well ; for here is cheer enough.
Where is my wife ?
PAGE. Here, noble lord : what is thy will with her?
SLY. Are you my wife and will not call me husband ?
My men should call me ' lord ' : I am your goodman.
PAGE. My husband and my lord, my lord and hus-
band ;
I am your wife in all obedience.
SLY. I know it well. What must I call her ?
LORD. Madam.
SLY. Al'ce madam, or Joan madam ? 110
LORD. ' Madam ,' and nothing else : so lords call ladies.
8 TAMING OF THE SHREW. [Act I
SLY. Madam wife, they say that I have dream'd
And slept above some fifteen year or more.
PAGE. Ay, and the time seems thirty unto me.
Enter a Messenger.
SERV. Your honour's players, hearing your amend-
ment,
Are come to play a pleasant comedy ;
For so your doctors hold it very meet,
Seeing too much sadness hath congeal'd your blood,
And melancholy is the nurse of frenzy :
Therefore they thought it good you hear a play 120
And frame your mind to mirth and merriment,
Which bars a thousand harms and lengthens life.
SLY. Marry, I will, let them play it. Is not a co-
monty a Christmas gambold or a tumbling-trick ?
PAGE. No, my good lord ; it is more pleasing stuff.
SLY. What, household stuff?
PAGE. It is a kind of history.
SLY. Well, we ' ll see 't. 128
Come, madam wife, sit by my side and let the world
slip we shall ne'er be younger. [Flourish.
ACT I.
SCENE I.-Padua. A public Place.
Enter LUCENTIO and his man TRANIO.
LUC. Tranio, since for the great desire I had
To see fair Padua, nursery of arts,
I am arrived for fruitful Lombardy,
The pleasant garden of great Italy ;
And by my father's love and leave am arm'd
With his good will and thy good company,
My trusty servant, well approved in all,
Here let us breathe and haply institute
A course of learning and ingenious studies .
Pisa renowned for grave citizens, ΙΟ
Gave me my being and my father first,
A merchant of great traffic through the world,
Vincentio, come of the Bentivolii.
Vincentio's son, brought up in Florence
It shall become to serve all hopes conceived,
To deck his fortune with his virtuous deeds :
And therefore, Tranio, for the time I study,
Virtue and that part of philosophy
Will I apply that treats of happiness
By virtue specially to be achieved. 20
Tell me thy mind ; for I have Pisa left,
And am to Padua come, as he that leaves
A shallow plash to plunge him in the deep
And with satiety seeks to quench his thirst.
TRA. Mi perdonato, gentle master mine,
I am in all affected as yourself ;
Glad that you thus continue your resolve
To suck the sweets of sweet philosophy.
Only, good master, while we do admire
309
This virtue and this moral discipline,
Let's be no stoics nor no stocks, I pray ;
Or so devote to Aristotle's checks
As Ovid be an outcast quite abjured :
Balk logic with acquaintance that you have
And practise rhetoric in your common talk ;
Music and poesy use to quicken you ;
The mathematics and the metaphysics,
Fall to them as you find your stomach serves you ;
No profit grows where is no pleasure ta’en :
In brief, sir, study what you most affect. 40
Luc. Gramercies, Tranio, well dost thou advise.
If Biondello now were come ashore,
We could at once put us in readiness,
And take a lodging fit to entertain
Such friends as time in Padua shall beget.
But stay a while : What company is this ?
TRA. Master, some show to welcome us to town.
Enter BAPTISTA, KATHARINA, BIANCA, GREMIO, ana
HORTENSIO. LUCENTIO and TRANIO stand aside.
BAP. Gentlemen, importune me no farther,
For how I firmly am resolved you know ;
That is, not to bestow my youngest daughter 50
Before I have a husband for the elder :
If either of you both love Katharina,
Because I know you well and love you well,
Leave shall you have to court her at your pleasure.
ΙΟ TAMING OF THE SHREW. [Act I
GRE. [aside.] To cart her rather : She's too rough for

me :
There, there, Hortensio, will you any wife ?
KATH. I pray you, sir, [ to BAP. ] is it your will
To make a stale of me amongst these mates ?
HOR. Mates, maid ! how mean you that ? no mates for
you,
Unless you were of gentler, milder mould. 60
KATH. I' faith, sir, you shall never need to fear :
I wis it is not half way to her heart ;
But if it were, doubt not her care should be
To comb your noddle with a three-legg'd stool
And paint your face and use you like a fool.
HOR. From all such devils, good Lord deliver us !
GRE. And me too, good Lord !
TRA. Hush, master ! here's some good pastime
toward ;
That wench is stark mad or wonderful froward.
LUC. But in the other's silence do I see 70
Maid's mild behaviour and sobriety.
Peace, Tranio !
TRÁ. Well said, master ; mum ! and gaze your fill.
BAP. Gentlemen, that I may soon make good
What I have said, Bianca, get you in :
And let it not displease thee, good Bianca,
For I will love thee ne'er the less, my girl.
KATH. A pretty peat ! it is best
Put finger in the eye, an she knew why.
BIAN. Sister, content you in my discontent. 80
Sir, to your pleasure humbly I subscribe :
My books and instruments shall be my company,
On them to look and practise by myself.
LUC. Hark, Tranio ! thou mayst hear Minerva speak.
[Aside.
HOR. Signior Baptista, will you be so strange ?
Sorry am I that our good will effects
Bianca's grief.
GRE. Why will you mew her up,
Signior Baptista, for this fiend of hell,
And make her bear the penance of her tongue ?
BAP. Gentlemen, content ye ; I am resolved : 90
Go in, Bianca. [Exit BIANCA,
And for I know she taketh most delight
Scene 1] TAMING OF THE SHREW. II
In music, instruments and poetry,

Schoolmasters will I keep within my house,
Fit to instruct her youth. If you, Hortensio,
Or signior Gremio, you, know any such,
Prefer them hither ; for to cunning men
I will be very kind, and liberal
To mine own children in good bringing up :
And so farewell. Katharina , you may stay ; 100
For I have more to commune with Bianca. [Exit.
KATH. Why, and I trust I may go too, may I not ?
What, shall I be appointed hours ; as though, belike,
I knew not what to take, and what to leave ? Ha ! [Exit.
GRE. You may go to the devil's dam ; your gifts are
so good, here's none will hold you. Their love is not
so great, Hortensio, but we may blow our nails together,
and fast it fairly out our cake ' s dough on both sides.
Farewell : yet, for the love I bear my sweet Bianca, if I
can by any means light on a fit man to teach her that
wherein she delights, I will wish him to her father. III
HOR. So will I , signior Gremio : But a word, I pray.
Though the nature of our quarrel yet never brooked parle,
know now, upon advice, it toucheth us both, that we may
yet again have access to our fair mistress and be happy
rivals in Bianca's love, to labour and effect one thing
specially.
GRE. What's that, I pray?
HOR. Marry, sir, to get a husband for her sister.
GRE. A husband ! a devil. 120
HOR. I say, a husband.
GRE. I say, a devil. Thinkest thou, Hortensio, though
her father be very rich, any man is so very a fool to be
married to hell ?
HOR. Tush, Gremio, though it pass your patience and
mine to endure her loud alarums, why, man, there be
good fellows in the world, an a man could light on them,
would take her with all faults, and money enough.
GRE. I cannot tell ; but I had as lief take her dowry
with this condition, to be whipped at the high cross every
morning. 131
HOR. Faith, as you say, there's small choice in rotten
apples. But come ; since this bar in law makes us friends,
it shall be so far forth friendly maintained till by help-
ing Baptista's eldest daughter to a husband we set his
youngest free for a husband, and then have to 't afresh.
Sweet Bianca ! Happy man be his dole ! He that runs
fastest gets the ring. How say you, signior Gremio ?
GRE. I am agreed ; and would I had given him the
best horse in Padua to begin his wooing, that would
thoroughly woo her, wed her, and rid the house of her !
Come on. [Exeunt GRE. and Hor.
TRA. [Advancing. ] I pray, sir, tell me, is it possible
That love should of a sudden take such hold ? 144
Luc. O Tranio, till I found it to be true,
I never thought it possible or likely ;
But see ! while idly I stood looking on,
I found the effect of love in idleness :
And now in plainness do confess to thee,
That art to me as secret and as dear
As Anna to the queen of Carthage was,
Tranio, I burn, I pine, I perish, Tranio,
If I achieve not this young modest girl.
Counsel me, Tranio, for I know thou canst ;
Assist me, Tranio, for I know thou wilt.
TRA, Master, it is no time to chide you now ;
Affection is not rated from the heart :
If love have touch'd you, nought remains but so,
Redime te captum quam queas minimo.
Luc. Gramercies, lad, go forward ; this contents : 160
The rest will comfort, for thy counsel ' s sound.
TRA. Master, you look'd so longly on the maid,
Perhaps you mark'd not what's the pith of all.
Luc. Ŏ yes, I saw sweet beauty in her face,
Such as the daughter of Agenor had,
That made great Jove to humble him to her hand,
When with his knees he kiss'd the Cretan strand.
TRA. Saw you no more ? mark'd you not how her sister
Began to scold and raise up such a storm
That mortal ears might hardly endure the din ? 170
Luc. Tranio, I saw her coral lips to move
And with her breath she did perfume the air :
Sacred and sweet was all I saw in her.
TRA. Nay, then, 't is time to stir him from his trance.
I pray, awake, sir : if you love the maid,
Bend thoughts and wits to achieve her. Thus it stands :
Her elder sister is so curst and shrewd
That till the father rids his hands of her,
Master, your love must live a maid at home ;
And therefore has he closely mew'd her up, 180
Because she will not be annoy'd with suitors.
Luc. Ah, Tranio, what a cruel father's he !
But art thou not advised, he took some care
To get her cunning schoolmasters to instruct her ?
TRA. Ay, marry, am I, sir ; and now 't is plotted.
Luc. I have it, Tranio.
TRA. Master, for my hand,
Both our inventions meet and jump in one.
LUC. Tell me thine first.
TRA. You will be schoolmaster
And undertake the teaching of the maid :
That's your device.
LUC. It is may it be done ? 190
TRA. Not possible ; for who shall bear your part,
And be in Padua here Vincentio's son,
Keep house and ply his book, welcome his friends,
Visit his countrymen, and banquet them ?
LUC. Basta ; content thee, for I have it full.
We have not yet been seen in any house,
Nor can we be distinguish'd by our faces
For man or master ; then it follows thus ;
Thou shalt be master, Tranio, in my stead,
Keep house and port and servants, as I should : 200
I will some other be, some Florentine,
Some Neapolitan, or meaner man of Pisa.
'T is hatch'd, and shall be so : Tranio, at once
Uncase thee ; take my colour'd hat and cloak :
When Biondello comes, he waits on thee ;
But I will charm him first to keep his tongue.
TRA. So had you need. [They exchange habits.
In brief, sir, sith it your pleasure is,
And I am tied to be obedient ;
(For so your father charg'd me at our parting, 210
Be serviceable to my son,' quoth he,
Although, I think, 't was in another sense,)
I am content to be Lucentio,
Because so well I love Lucentio.
LUC. Tranio, be so, because Lucentio loves :
And let me be a slave, to achieve that maid
Whose sudden sight hath thrall'd my wounded eye.
Here comes the rogue.
Enter BIONDello.
Sirrah, where have you been ?
BION. Where have I been ! Nay, how now ! where
are you ? Master, has my fellow 220
Tranio stolen your clothes ? or you
Stolen his ? or both ? pray, what's the news ?
Luc. Sirrah, come hither : 't is no time to jest,
And therefore frame your manners to the time.
Your fellow Tranio here, to save my life
Puts my apparel and my countenance on,
And I for my escape have put on his ;
For in a quarrel since I came ashore
I kill'd a man and fear I was descried :
Wait you on him, I charge you, as becomes, 230
While I make way from hence to save my life :
You understand me ?
BION. I, sir ! ne'er a whit.
Luc. And not a jot of Tranio in your mouth :
Tranio is changed into Lucentio.
BION. The better for him : would I were so too !
TRA. So could I , faith, boy, to have the next wish
after,
That Lucentio indeed had Baptista's youngest daughter.
But, sirrah, not for my sake, but your master's, I advise
You use your manners discreetly in all kind of com-
panies :
When I am alone, why, then I am Tranio ; 240
But in all places else your master Lucentio.
LUC. Tranio, let's go : one thing more rests, that
thyself execute ; to make one among these wooers : if
thou ask me why, sufficeth my reasons are both good and
weighty. [Exeunt.
(The Presenters above speak. )
I SERV. My lord , you nod ; you do not mind the play.
SLY. Yes, by Saint Anne, do I. A good matter, surely :
Comes there any more of it ?
PAGE. My lord, ' t is but begun.
SLY. 'T is a very excellent piece of work, madam lady:
Would 't were done ! [They sit and mark.
SCENE II .- Padua. Before Hortensio's House.

Enter PETRUCHIO and his man GRUMIO.
PET. Verona, for a while I take my leave,
To see my friends in Padua, but of all
My best beloved and approved friend,
Hortensio ; and, I trow this is his house .
Here, sirrah Grumio ; knock, I say.
GRU. Knock, sir ! whom should I knock ? is there
Any man has rebused your worship ?
PET. Villain, I say, knock me here soundly .
GRU. Knock you here, sir ! why, sir, what am I , sir,
That I should knock you here, sir ? IO
PET. Villain, I say, knock me at this gate,
And rap me well, or I'll knock your knave's pate.
GRU. My master is grown quarrelsome. I should
knock you first,
And then I know after who comes by the worst.
PET. Will it not be ?
' Faith, sirrah, an you 'll not knock, I'll ring it ;
I'll try how you can sol, fa, and sing it.
[ He wrings GRUMIO by the ears.
GRU. Help, masters, help ! my master is mad.
PET. Now, knock when I bid you, sirrah villain ! 19
Enter HORTENSIO.
HOR. How now ? what's the matter ?-My old friend
Grumio ! and my good friend Petruchio ! How do you
all at Verona ?
PET. Signior Hortensio, come you to part the fray ?
Con tutto il cuore, ben trovato, may I say.
HOR. Alla nostra casa ben venuto,
Molto honorato signor mio Petruccio.
Rise, Grumio, rise ; we will compound this quarrel.
GRU. Nay, ' t is no matter, sir, what he 'leges in Latin.
If this be not a lawful cause for me to leave his service,
look you, sir, he bid me knock him and rap him soundly,
sir: well, was it fit for a servant to use his master so,
being perhaps, for aught I see, two-and-thirty, a pip
out ? 33
Whom would to God I had well knock'd at first,
Then had not Grumio come by the worst.
PET. A senseless villain ! Good Hortensio,
I bade the rascal knock upon your gate
And could not get him for my heart to do it.
GRU. Knock at the gate ! O Heavens ! Spake you not
these words plain, ' Sirrah, knock me here, rap me here,
knock me well, and knock me soundly ' ? And come you
now with ' knocking at the gate ' ? 42
PET. Sirrah, be gone, or talk not, I advise you.
HOR. Petruchio, patience ; I am Grumio's pledge :
Why, this ' s a heavy chance 'twixt him and you,
Your ancient, trusty, pleasant servant Grumio.
And tell me now, sweet friend, what happy gale
Blows you to Padua here, from old Verona?
PET. Such wind as scatters young men through the
world
To seek their fortunes farther than at home 50
Where small experience grows. But in a few,
Signior Hortensio, thus it stands with me :
Antonio, my father, is deceased ;
And I have thrust myself into this maze,
Haply to wive and thrive as best I may :
Crowns in my purse I have and goods at home,
And so am come abroad to see the world.
HOR. Petruchio, shall I then come roundly to thee
And wish thee to a shrewd ill-favour'd wife ?
Thou 'ldst thank me but a little for my counsel : 60
And yet I 'll promise thee she shall be rich
And very rich but thou ' rt too much my friend,
And I'll not wish thee to her.
PET. Signior Hortensio, 'twixt such friends as we
Few words suffice ; and, therefore, if thou know
One rich enough to be Petruchio's wife,
As wealth is burden of my wooing dance,
Be she as foul as was Florentius' love,
As old as Sibyl and as curst and shrewd
As Socrates' Xanthippe or a worse, 70
She moves me not, or not removes, at least,
Affection's edge in me, were she as rough
As are the swelling Adriatic seas :
I come to wive it wealthily in Padua ;
If wealthily, then happily in Padua.
GRU. Nay, look you, sir, he tells you flatly what his
mind is : Why, give him gold enough and marry him to
a puppet or an aglet- baby ; or an old trot with ne'er a

tooth in her head, though she have as many diseases as
two-and-fifty horses : why, nothing comes amiss, so money
comes withal. 81
HOR. Petruchio, since we are stepp'd thus far in,
I will continue that I broach'd in jest.
I can, Petruchio, help thee to a wife
With wealth enough and young and beauteous,
Brought up as best becomes a gentlewoman :
Her only fault, and that is faults enough,
Is that she is intolerable curst
And shrewd and froward, so beyond all measure
That, were my state far worser than it is, 90
I would not wed her for a mine of gold.
PET. Hortensio, peace ! thou know'st not gold's effect :
Tell me her father's name and 't is enough ;
For I will board her, though she chide as loud
As thunder when the clouds in autumn crack.
HOR. Her father is Baptista Minola,
An affable and courteous gentleman :
Her name is Katharina Minola,
Renown'd in Padua for her scolding tongue.
PET. I know her father, though I know not her ; 100
And he knew my deceased father well.
I will not sleep, Hortensio, till I see her ;
And therefore let me be thus bold with you
To give you over at this first encounter,
Unless you will accompany me thither.
GRU. I pray you, sir, let him go while the humour lasts.
O' my word, an she knew him as well as I do, she would
think scolding would do little good upon him : she may
perhaps call him half a score knaves or so : why, that 's
nothing ; an he begin once, he ' ll rail in his rope-tricks.
I'll tell you what, sir, an she stand him but a little , he will
throw a figure in her face and so disfigure her with it,
that she shall have no more eyes to see withal than a cat.
You know him not, sir. 114
HOR. Tarry, Petruchio, I must go with thee,
For in Baptista's keep my treasure is :
He hath the jewel of my life in hold,
His youngest daughter, beautiful Bianca,
And her withholds from me, and other more,
Suitors to her and rivals in my love, 120
C
Supposing it a thing impossible,

For those defects I have before rehearsed,
That ever Katharina will be woo'd ;
Therefore this order hath Baptista ta'en,
That none shall have access unto Bianca
Till Katharine the curst have got a husband.
GRU. Katharine the curst !
A title for a maid of all titles the worst.
HOR. Now shall my friend Petruchio do me grace,
And offer me disguised in sober robes 130
To old Baptista as a schoolmaster
Well seen in music, to instruct Bianca ;
That so I may, by this device, at least
Have leave and leisure to make love to her
And unsuspected court her by herself.
Enter GREMIO ; with him LUCENTIO disguised, with

books under his arm.
GRU. Here's no knavery ! See, to beguile the old folks,

how the young folks lay their heads together ! Master
master, look about you : Who goes there ? ha !
HOR. Peace, Grumio ! it is the rival of my love.
Petruchio, stand by a while. 140
GRU. A proper stripling and an amorous !
[They retire.
GRE. O, very well ; I have perused the note.
Hark you, sir ; I'll have them very fairly bound :
All books of love, see that at any hand ;
And see you read no other lectures to her :
You understand me : over and beside
Signior Baptista's liberality,
I 'Il mend it with a largess. Take your paper too,
And let me have them very well perfumed ;
For she is sweeter than perfume itself 150
To whom they go to. What will you read to her ?
LUC. Whate'er I read to her, I ' ll plead for you,
As for my patron, stand you so assured,
As firmly as yourself were still in place :
Yea, and perhaps with more successful words
Than you, unless you were a scholar, sir.
GRE. O this learning, what a thing it is !
GRU. O this woodcock, what an ass it is !
PET. Peace, sirrah !
HOR. Grumio, mum ! God save you, Signior Gremio !
GRE. And you are well met, Signior Hortensio. 161
Trow you whither I am going ?-To Baptista Minola.
I promised to inquire carefully
About a schoolmaster for the fair Bianca :
And by good fortune I have lighted well
On this young man, for learning and behaviour
Fit for her turn, well read in poetry
And other books, good ones, I warrant ye.
HOR. 'Tis well ; and I have met a gentleman
Hath promised me to help me to another, 170
A fine musician to instruct our mistress ;
So shall I no whit be behind in duty
To fair Bianca, so beloved of me.
GRE. Beloved of me ; and that my deeds shall prove.
GRU. And that his bags shall prove. [Aside.
HOR. Gremio, ' t is now no time to vent our love ;
Listen to me, and if you speak me fair,
I'll tell you news indifferent good for either.
Here is a gentleman whom by chance I met,
Upon agreement from us to his liking, 180
Will undertake to woo curst Katharine,
Yea, and to marry her, if her dowry please.
GRE. So said, so done, is well.
Hortensio, have you told him all her faults ?
PET. I know she is an irksome brawling scold :
If that be all, masters, I hear no harm.
GRE. No, say'st me so, friend ? What countryman ?
PET. Born in Verona, old Antonio's son :
My father dead, my fortune lives for me ;
And I do hope good days and long to see. 190
GRE. O sir, such a life, with such a wife, were strange !
But if you have a stomach, to ' t i' God's name :
You shall have me assisting you in all.
But, will you woo this wild-cat ?
PET. Will I live ?
GRU. Will he woo her ? ay, or I'll hang her. [Aside.
PET. Why came I hither but to that intent ?
Think you a little din can daunt mine ears ?
Have I not in my time heard lions roar?
Have I not heard the sea puff'd up with winds
Rage like an angry boar chafed with sweat ? 200
C2
20 TAMING OF THE SHREW . [Act I
Have I not heard great ordnance in the field ?

And heaven's artillery thunder in the skies ?
Have I not in a pitched battle heard
Loud 'larums, neighing steeds, and trumpets' clang ?
And do you tell me of a woman's tongue,
That gives not half so great a blow to hear,
As will a chestnut in a farmer's fire ?
Tush tush ! fear boys with bugs.
GRU. For he fears none. [Aside.
GRE. Hortensio, hark :
This gentleman is happily arrived, 210
My mind presumes, for his own good, and ours.
HOR. I promised we would be contributors
And bear his charge of wooing, whatsoe'er.
GRE. And so we will, provided that he win her.
GRU. I would I were as sure of a good dinner. [Aside.
Enter TRANIO brave, and BIONDELLO.
TRA. Gentlemen, God save you ! If I may be bold,
Tell me, I beseech you, which is the readiest way
To the house of Signior Baptista Minola ?
BION. He that has the two fair daughters : is 't he you
mean? 220
TRA. Even he, Biondello.
GRE. Hark you, sir ; You mean not her to-
TRA. Perhaps, him and her, sir. What have you to do ?
PET. Not her that chides, sir, at any hand, I pray.
TRA. I love no chiders, sir. Biondello, let's away.
LUC. Well begun, Tranio. [Aside.
HOR. Sir, a word ere you go ;
Are you a suitor to the maid you talk of, yea or no ?
TRA. And if I be, sir, is it any offence ?
GRE. No ; if without more words you will get you
hence. 230
TRA. Why, sir, I pray, are not the streets as free
For me as for you ?
GRE. But so is not she.
TRA. For what reason, I beseech you ?
GRE. For this reason, if you'll know,
That she's the choice love of Signior Gremio.
HOR. That she's the chosen of Signior Hortensio.
TRA. Softly, my masters ! if you be gentlemen,
Do me this right ; hear me with patience,
Baptista is a noble gentleman,

To whom my father is not all unknown ;
And were his daughter fairer than she is, 240
She may more suitors have and me for one.
Fair Leda's daughter had a thousand wooers ;
Then well one more may fair Bianca have :
And so she shall ; Lucentio shall make one,
Though Paris came in hope to speed alone.
GRE. What ! this gentleman will out-talk us all.
LUC. Sir, give him head : I know he'll prove a jade.
PET. Hortensio, to what end are all these words ?
HOR. Sir, let me be so bold as ask you,
Did you yet ever see Baptista's daughter ? 250
TRA. No, sir ; but hear I do that he hath two,
The one as famous for a scolding tongue
As is the other for beauteous modesty.
PET. Sir, sir, the first 's for me ; let her go by.
GRE. Yea, leave that labour to great Hercules ;
And let it be more than Alcides' twelve.
PET. Sir, understand you this of me in sooth :
The youngest daughter whom you hearken for
Her father keeps from all access of suitors ,
And will not promise her to any man, 260
Until the elder sister first be wed :
The younger then is free and not before.
TRA. If it be so, sir, that you are the man
Must stead us all, and me amongst the rest,
And if you break the ice and do this feat,
Achieve the elder, set the younger free
For our access, whose hap shall be to have her
Will not so graceless be to be ingrate.
HOR. Sir, you say well and well you do conceive ;
And since you do profess to be a suitor, 270
You must, as we do, gratify this gentleman,
To whom we all rest generally beholding.
TRA. Sir, I shall not be slack in sign whereof,
Please ye we may contrive this afternoon,
And quaff carouses to our mistress' health ;
And do as adversaries do in law,
Strive mightily, but eat and drink as friends.
GRU. BION. O excellent motion ! Fellows, let's begone.
HOR. The motion ' s good indeed, and be it so, 279
Petruchio, I shall be your ben venuto. [Exeunt.
22 TAMING OF THE SHREW . [Act II
ACT II.
SCENE I - Padua. A Room in Baptista's House.

Enter KATHARINA and BIANCA.
BIAN. Good sister, wrong me not, nor wrong yourself,
To make a bondmaid and a slave of me ;
That I disdain : but for these other gawds,
Unbind my hands, I'll pull them off myself,
Yea, all my raiment, to my petticoat ;
Or what you will command me will I do,
So well I know my duty to my elders.
KATH. Of all thy suitors here I charge thee, tell
Whom thou lovest best : see thou dissemble not.
BIAN. Believe me, sister, of all the men alive IO
I never yet beheld that special face
Which I could fancy more than any other.
KATH. Minion, thou liest. Is't not Hortensio ?
BIAN. If you affect him, sister, here I swear
I'll plead for you myself, but you shall have him.
KATH. O then, belike, you fancy riches more :
You will have Gremio to keep you fair.
BIAN. Is it for him you do envy me so?
Nay then you jest, and now I well perceive
You have but jested with me all this while : 20
I prithee, sister Kate, untie my hands.
KATH. If that be jest, then all the rest was so.
[Strikes her.
Enter BAPTISTA.
BAP. Why, how now, dame ! whence grows this in-
solence ?
Bianca, stand aside. Poor girl ! she weeps.
Go ply thy needle ; meddle not with her.
For shame, thou hilding of a devilish spirit,
Why dost thou wrong her that did ne'er wrong thee ?
When did she cross thee with a bitter word ?
KATH. Her silence flouts me, and I'll be revenged.
[Flies after BIANCA.
BAP. What, in my sight ? Bianca, get thee in. 30
[Exit BIANCA.
KATH. What, will you not suffer me ? Nay, now I see
She is your treasure, she must have a husband ;
I must dance barefoot on her wedding day,
And for your love to her lead apes in hell.
Talk not to me : I will go sit and weep
Till I can find occasion of revenge. [Exit KATH.
BAP. Was ever gentleman thus grieved as I ?
But who comes here ?
Enter GREMIO, with LUCENTIO in the habit of a mean

man ; PETRUCHIO, with HORTENSIO as a musician ;
and TRANIO, with BIONDELLO bearing a lute and
books.
GRE. Good morrow, neighbour Baptista.
BAP. Good morrow, neighbour Gremio. God save
you, gentlemen ! 4I
PET. And you, good sir ! Pray, have you not a
daughter
Call'd Katharina, fair and virtuous ?
BAP. I have a daughter, sir, called Katharina.
GRE. You are too blunt ; go to it orderly.
PET. You wrong me, Signior Gremio : give me leave.
I am a gentleman of Verona, sir,
That, hearing of her beauty, and her wit,
Her affability and bashful modesty,
Her wondrous qualities and mild behaviour 50
Am bold to show myself a forward guest
Within your house, to make mine eye the witness
Of that report which I so oft have heard.
And, for an entrance to my entertainment,
I do present you with a man of mine, [Presenting HOR.
Cunning in music and the mathematics,
To instruct her fully in those sciences ,
Whereof I know she is not ignorant :
Accept of him, or else you do me wrong :
His name is Licio, born in Mantua. 60
BAP. You're welcome, sir ; and he, for your good sake.
But for my daughter Katharine, this I know,
She is not for your turn, the more my grief.
PET. I see you do not mean to part with her,
Or else you like not of my company.
BAP. Mistake me not ; I speak but as I find.
Whence are you, sir ? what may I call your name ?
24 TAMING OF THE SHREW. [Act II
PET. Petruchio is my name ; Antonio's son,
A man well known throughout all Italy.
BAP. I know him well : you are welcome for his sake.
GRE. Saving your tale, Petruchio, I pray, 71
Let us, that are poor petitioners, speak too :
Baccare ! you are marvellous forward.
PET. O, pardon me, Signior Gremio ; I would fain be
doing.
GRE. I doubt it not, sir ; but you will curse your
wooing.
Neighbour, this is a gift very grateful, I am sure of it .
To express the like kindness, myself, that have been more
kindly beholding to you than any, freely give unto you
this young scholar [ presenting LUCENTIO], that hath been
long studying at Rheims ; as cunning in Greek, Latin,
and other languages, as the other in music and mathe-
matics his name is Cambio ; pray, accept his service.
BAP. A thousand thanks, Signior Gremio. Welcome,
good Cambio. But, gentle sir, [ to TRANIO] methinks you
walk like a stranger : may I be so bold to know the cause
of your coming ?
TRA. Pardon me, sir, the boldness is mine own,
That, being a stranger in this city here,
Do make myself a suitor to your daughter,
Unto Bianca, fair and virtuous. 90
Nor is your firm resolve unknown to me,
In the preferment of the eldest sister.
This liberty is all that I request,
That, upon knowledge of my parentage,
I may have welcome ' mongst the rest that woo
And free access and favour as the rest ;
And, toward the education of your daughters,
I here bestow a simple instrument,
And this small packet of Greek and Latin books :
If you accept them , then their worth is great. 100
BAP. Lucentio is your name ; of whence, I pray ?
TRA. Of Pisa, sir ; son to Vincentio.
BAP. A mighty man of Pisa ; by report
I know him well : you are very welcome, sir.
Take you [to HOR. ] the lute, and you [to LUC. ] the set of
books ;
You shall go see your pupils presently.
Holla, within !
Enter a Servant.
Sirrah, lead these gentlemen
To my daughters ; and tell them both,
These are their tutors : bid them use them well.
[Exit Servant, with HOR. and LUC. , BION following.
We will go walk a little in the orchard, IIO
And then to dinner. You are passing welcome,
And so I pray you all to think yourselves.
PET. Signior Baptista, my business asketh haste,
And every day I cannot come to woo.
You knew my father well, and in him me,
Left solely heir to all his lands and goods,
Which I have better'd rather than decreased :
Then tell me, if I get your daughter's love,
What dowry shall I have with her to wife?
BAP. After my death the one half of my lands, 120
And in possession twenty thousand crowns.
PET. And, for that dowry, I'll assure her of
Her widowhood, be it that she survive me,
In all my lands and leases whatsoever :
Let specialties be therefore drawn between us,
That covenants may be kept on either hand.
BAP. Ay, when the special thing is well obtain❜d,
That is, her love ; for that is all in all.
PET. Why, that is nothing ; for I tell you, father,
I am as peremptory as she proud-minded ; 130
And where two raging fires meet together
They do consume the thing that feeds their fury :
Though little fire grows great with little wind,
Yet extreme gusts will blow out fire and all :
So I to her and so she yields to me ;
For I am rough and woo not like a babe.
BAP. Well mayst thou woo, and happy be thy speed !
But be thou arm'd for some unhappy words.
PET. Ay, to the proof ; as mountains are for winds,
That shake not, though they blow perpetually. 140
Re-enter HORTENSIO, with his head broken.

BAP. How now, my friend ! why dost thou look so
pale ?
HOR. For fear, I promise you, if I look pale.
26 TAMING OF TIIE SHREW. [Act II
BAP. What, will my daughter prove a good musician ?

HOR. I think she'll sooner prove a soldier ;
Iron may hold with her, but never lutes.
BAP. Why, then thou canst not break her to the
lute ?
HOR. Why, no ; for she hath broke the lute to me.
I did but tell her she mistook her frets,
And bow'd her hand to teach her fingering ;
When, with a most impatient devilish spirit, 150
' Frets, call you these ? ' quoth she : ' I'll fume with them :'
And, with that word, she struck me on the head,
And through the instrument my pate made way ;
And there I stood amazed for a while,
As on a pillory, looking through the lute :
While she did call me rascal fiddler
And twangling Jack ; with twenty such vile terms,
As had she studied to misuse me so.
PET. Now, by the world , it is a lusty wench ;
I love her ten times more than e'er I did : 160
O, how I long to have some chat with her !
BAP. Well, go with me, and be not so discomfited :
Proceed in practice with my younger daughter ;
She's apt to learn, and thankful for good turns.
Signior Petruchio, will you go with us,
Or shall I send my daughter Kate to you ?
PET. I pray you do ; I will attend her here,
[Exeunt BAP., GRE., TRA., and HOR.
And woo her with some spirit when she comes.
Say that she rail ; why then I'll tell her plain
She sings as sweetly as a nightingale : 170
Say that she frown ; I'll say she looks as clear
As morning roses newly wash'd with dew :
Say she be mute and will not speak a word ;
Then I'll commend her volubility,
And say she uttereth piercing eloquence :
If she do bid me pack, I'll give her thanks,
As though she bid me stay by her a week :
If she deny to wed, I'll crave the day
When I shall ask the banns and when be married.
But here she comes ; and now, Petruchio, speak. 180
Enter KATHARINA.
Good morrow, Kate ; for that's your name, I hear.
KATH. Well have you heard, but something hard of

hearing :
They call me Katharine, that do talk of me.
PET. You lie, in faith ; for you are call'd plain Kate,
And bonny Kate and sometimes Kate the curst ;
But Kate, the prettiest Kate in Christendom,
Kate of Kate Hall, my super-dainty Kate,
For dainties are all Kates, and therefore, Kate,
Take this of me, Kate of my consolation ;
Hearing thy mildness praised in every town, 190
Thy virtues spoke of, and thy beauty sounded,
Yet not so deeply as to thee belongs,
Myself am moved to woo thee for my wife.
KATH. Moved ! in good time : let him that moved you
hither
Remove you hence : I knew you at the first
You were a moveable.
PET. Why, what's a moveable ?
KATH. A join'd-stool.
PET. Thou hast hit it : come, sit on me.
KATH. Asses are made to bear, and so are you.
PET. Women are made to bear, and so are you.
KATH. No such jade as you, if me you mean. 200
PET. Alas ! good Kate, I will not burden thee ;
For, knowing thee to be but young and light—
KATH. Too light for such a swain as you to catch ;
And yet as heavy as my weight should be.
PET. Should be ! should- buzz !
KATH . Well ta'en, and like a buzzard.
PET. O slow-wing'd turtle ! shall a buzzard take thee ?
KATH. Ay, for a turtle, as he takes a buzzard.
PET. Come, come, you wasp ; i̇' faith, you are too
angry.
KATH. If I be waspish, best beware my sting.
PET. My remedy is then, to pluck it out. 210
KATH. Ay, if the fool could find it where it lies.
PET. Who knows not where a wasp does wear his
sting ?
In his tail.
KATH . In his tongue.
PET. Good Kate ; I am a gentleman.
KATH. That I'll try. [She strikes him.
PET. I swear I'll cuff you, if you strike again.
KATH. So may you lose your arms :

If you strike me, you are no gentleman ;
And if no gentleman, why then no arms.
PET. A herald , Kate ? O , put me in thy books !
KATH. What is your crest ? a coxcomb ? 220
PET. A combless cock, so Kate will be my hen.
KATH. No cock of mine ; you crow too like a craven.
PET. Nay, come, Kate, come ; you must not look so
sour.
KATH. It is my fashion , when I see a crab.
PET. Why, here's no crab ; and therefore look not
sour.
KATH. There is, there is.
PET. Then show it me.
KATH. Had I a glass , I would.
PET. What, you mean my face ?
KATH. Well aim'd of such a young one.
PET. Now, by Saint George, I am too young for you.
KATH. Yet you are wither'd. 230
PET. 'Tis with cares.
KATH. I care not.
PET. Nay, hear you, Kate : in sooth you scape not so.
KATH. I chafe you, if I tarry ; let me go.
PET. No, not a whit. I find you passing gentle.
'T was told me you were rough and coy and sullen,
And now I find report a very liar ;
For thou art pleasant, gamesome, passing courteous,
But slow in speech, yet sweet as spring-time flowers :
Thou canst not frown, thou canst not look askance, 240
Nor bite the lip, as angry wenches will,
Nor hast thou pleasure to be cross in talk,
But thou with mildness entertain'st thy wooers,
With gentle conference, soft and affable.
Why does the world report that Kate doth limp ?
O slanderous world ! Kate like the hazel-twig
Is straight and slender and as brown in hue
As hazel-nuts and sweeter than the kernels.
O, let me see thee walk : thou dost not halt.
KATH. Go, fool, and whom thou keep'st command.
PET. Did ever Dian so become a grove 251
As Kate this chamber with her princely gait ?
O, be thou Dian, and let her be Kate ;
And then let Kate be chaste and Dian sportful !
KATH. Where did you study all this goodly speech ?

PET. It is extempore, from my mother-wit.
KATH. A witty mother ! witless else her son.
PET. Am I not wise ?
KATH. Yes ; keep you warm.
PET. Marry, so I mean, sweet Katharine, in thy bed :
And therefore, setting all this chat aside, 260
Thus in plain terms : Your father hath consented
That you shall be my wife ; your dowry ' greed on ;
And, will you, nill you, I will marry you.
Now, Kate, I am a husband for your turn ;
For, by this light, whereby I see thy beauty,
Thy beauty, that doth make me like thee well,
Thou must be married to no man but me ;
For I am he am born to tame you Kate,
And bring you from a wild Kate to a Kate
Conformable as other household Kates. 270
Here comes your father : never make denial ;
I must and will have Katharine to my wife. ¡
Re-enter BAPTISTA, GREMIO, and TRANIO.

BAP. Now, Signior Petruchio, how speed you with my
daughter?
PET. How but well, sir ? how but well ?
It were impossible I should speed amiss.
BAP. Why, how now, daughter Katharine ! in your
dumps ?
KATH. Call you me daughter ? now, I promise you
You have show'd a tender fatherly regard,
To wish me wed to one half lunatic ;
A madcap ruffian, and a swearing Jack, 280
That thinks with oaths to face the matter out.
PET. Father, ' t is thus : yourself and all the world,
That talk'd of her, have talk'd amiss of her :
If she be curst, it is for policy,
For she's not froward, but modest as the dove ;
She is not hot, but temperate as the morn ;
For patience she will prove a second Grissel
And Roman Lucrece for her chastity :
And to conclude, we have ' greed so well together,
That upon Sunday is the wedding-day. 290
KATH. I'll see thee hang'd on Sunday first.

GRE. Hark, Petruchio ; she says she 'll see thee
hang'd first.
TRA. Is this your speeding ? nay, then, good night
our part !
PET. Be patient, gentlemen ; I choose her for myself :
If she and I be pleased, what 's that to you ?
'Tis bargain'd ' twixt us twain, being alone,
That she shall still be curst in company.
I tell you, ' t is incredible to believe
How much she loves me : O, the kindest Kate !
She hung about my neck ; and kiss on kiss 300
She vied so fast, protesting oath on oath,
That in a twink she won me to her love.
O, you are novices ! ' t is a world to see,
How tame, when men and women are alone,
A meacock wretch can make the curstest shrew.
Give me thy hand, Kate : I will unto Venice,
To buy apparel ' gainst the wedding-day.
Provide the feast, father, and bid the guests ;
I will be sure my Katharine shall be fine.
BAP. I know not what to say but give me your
hands ; 310
God send you joy, Petruchio ! ' t is a match.
GRE. TRA. Amen, say we ; we will be witnesses.
PET. Father, and wife, and gentlemen , adieu ;
I will to Venice ; Sunday comes apace :
We will have rings and things and fine array ;
And kiss me, Kate, we will be married o' Sunday.
[Exeunt PET. and KATH. severally.
GRE. Was ever match clapp'd up so suddenly ?
BAP. Faith, gentlemen, now I play a merchant's part
And venture madly on a desperate mart.
TRA. 'Twas a commodity lay fretting by you : 320
'T will bring you gain, or perish on the seas.
BAP. The gain I seek is, quiet in the match.
GRE. No doubt but he hath got a quiet catch.
But now, Baptista, to your younger daughter :
Now is the day we long have looked for.
I am your neighbour, and was suitor first.
TRA. And I am one that love Bianca more
Than words can witness, or your thoughts can guess.
GRE. Youngling ! thou canst not love so dear as I ,
TRA. Grey-beard ! thy love doth freeze. 330
GRE. But thine doth fry.
Skipper, stand back : 't is age that nourisheth.
TRA. But youth, in ladies' eyes that flourisheth.
BAP. Content you, gentlemen ; I will compound this
strife :
'T is deeds must win the prize ; and he of both
That can assure my daughter greatest dower
Shall have my Bianca's love.
Say, Signior Gremio, what can you assure her ?
GRE. First, as you know, my house within the city
Is richly furnished with plate and gold ;
Basins and ewers to lave her dainty hands ; 340
My hangings all of Tyrian tapestry ;
In ivory coffers I have stuff'd my crowns ;
In cypress chests my arras, counterpoints ,
Costly apparel, tents, and canopies,
Fine linen , Turkey cushions boss'd with pearl,
Valance of Venice gold in needlework,
Pewter and brass and all things that belong
To house or housekeeping : then, at my farm
I have a hundred milch-kine to the pail,
Sixscore fat oxen standing in my stalls, 350
And all things answerable to this portion.
Myself am struck in years, I must confess ;
And if I die to -morrow, this is hers,
Ifwhilst I live she will be only mine.
TRA. That ' only ' came well in. Sir, list to me :
I am my father's heir and only son :
If I may have your daughter to my wife,
I'll leave her houses three or four as good,
Within rich Pisa walls, as any one
Old Signior Gremio has in Padua ; 360
Besides two thousand ducats by the year
Of fruitful land, all which shall be her jointure.
What, have I pinch'd you, Signior Gremio ?
GRE. Two thousand ducats by the year of land !
My land amounts not to so much in all :
That she shall have ; besides an argosy
That now is lying in Marseilles' road.
What, have I choked you with an argosy ?
TRA. Gremio, ' t is known my father hath no less
Than three great argosies ; besides two galliases, 370
32 TAMING OF THE SHREW. [Act III
And twelve tight galleys : these I will assure her,

And twice as much, whate'er thou offer'st next.
GRE. Nay, I have offer'd all , I have no more ;
And she can have no more than all I have :
If you like me, she shall have me and mine.
TRA. Why, then the maid is mine from all the world
By your firm promise : Gremio is out-vied.
BAP. I must confess your offer is the best ;
And, let your father make her the assurance,
She is your own ; else, you must pardon me, 380
If you should die before him, where's her dower ?
TRA. That 's but a cavil : he is old, I young.
GRE. And may not young men die, as well as old ?
BAP. Well, gentlemen,
I am thus resolved : on Sunday next you know
My daughter Katharine is to be married :
Now, on the Sunday following, shall Bianca
Be bride to you, if you make this assurance ;
If not, to Signior Gremio : 389
And so, I take my leave, and thank you both. [Exit.
GRE. Adieu, good neighbour. Now I fear thee not :
Sirrah, young gamester, your father were a fool
To give thee all, and in his waning age
Set foot under thy table : Tut, a toy !
An old Italian fox is not so kind, my boy. [Exit.
TRA. A vengeance on your crafty wither'd hide !
Yet I have faced it with a card of ten.
'Tis in my head to do my master good :
I see no reason but supposed Lucentio
Must get a father call'd'supposed Vincentio ' ; 400
And that's a wonder : fathers commonly
Do get their children ; but in this case of wooing,
A child shall get a sire, if I fail not of my cunning. [Ex.
ACT III.
SCENE I. - Padua. A Room in Baptista's House.

Enter LUCENTIO, HORTENSIO, and BIANCA.
Luc. Fiddler, forbear ; you grow too forward, sir :
Have you so soon forgot the entertainment
Her sister Katharine welcomed you withal ?
HOR. But, wrangling pedant, this is
The patroness of heavenly harmony :
Then give me leave to have prerogative ;
And when in music we have spent an hour,
Your lecture shall have leisure for as much.
LUC. Preposterous ass ! that never read so far
To know the cause why music was ordain'd ! 1Ο
Was it not to refresh the mind of man
After his studies or his usual pain ?
Then give me leave to read philosophy,
And while I pause, serve in your harmony.
HOR. Sirrah, I will not bear these braves of thine.
BIAN. Why, gentlemen, you do me double wrong,
To strive for that which resteth in my choice :
I am no breeching scholar in the schools ;
I'll not be tied to hours nor 'pointed times,
But learn my lessons as I please myself. 20
And, to cut off all strife, here sit we down :
Take you your instrument, play you the whiles ;
His lecture will be done ere you have tuned.
HOR. You'll leave his lecture when I am in tune ?
[HORTENSIO retires.
LUC. That will be never ; tune your instrument.
BIAN. Where left we last ?
Luc. Here, madam :-
Hic ibat Simois ; hic est Sigeia tellus ;
Hic steterat Priami regia celsa senis.
BIAN. Construe them. 30
Luc. Hic ibat, as I told you before, Simois, I am
Lucentio, hic est, son unto Vincentio of Pisa , Sigeia tellus,
disguised thus to get your love ; Hic steterat, and that
Lucentio that comes a wooing, Priami, is my man
Tranio, regia, bearing my port, celsa senis, that we might
beguile the old pantaloon.
HOR. Madam, my instrument 's in tune. [Returning.
BIAN. Let's hear. [HORTENSIO plays.
O fie! the treble jars.
Luc. Spit in the hole, man , and tune again. 40
BIAN. Now let me see if I can construe it : Hic ibat
Simois, I know you not, hic est Sigeia tellus, I trust
you not, Hic steterat Priami, take heed he hear us not,
regia, presume not, celsa senis, despair not.
HOR. Madam, ' t is now in tune.
D
LUC. All but the base.
HOR. The base is right ; 't is the base knave that jars.
(Aside.) How fiery and forward our pedant is !
Now, for my life, the knave doth court my love :
Pedascule, I'll watch you better yet.
BIAN. In time I may believe, yet I mistrust. 50
Luc. Mistrust it not ; for, sure, Æacides
Was Ajax, call'd so from his grandfather.
BIAN. I must believe my master ; else, I promise
you ,
I should be arguing still upon that doubt :
But let it rest. Now, Licio, to you :
Good masters, take it not unkindly, pray,
That I have been thus pleasant with you both.
HOR. You may go walk, (to LUCENTIO) and give me
leave a while ;
My lessons make no music in three parts.
Luc. Are you so formal, sir ? well, I must wait, 60
(Aside.) And watch withal ; for, but I be deceived,
Our fine musician groweth amorous.
HOR. Madam, before you touch the instrument,
To learn the order of my fingering,
I must begin with rudiments of art ;
To teach you gamut in a briefer sort,
More pleasant, pithy and effectual,
Than hath been taught by any of my trade :
And there it is in writing, fairly drawn.
BIAN. Why, I am past my gamut long ago. 70
HOR. Yet read the gamut of Hortensio.
BIAN. (Reads.) Gamut I am, the ground of all accord,
A re, to plead Hortensio's passion ;
B mi, Bianca, take him for thy lord,
C fa ut, that loves with all affection ;
D sol re, one clef, two notes have I;
E la mi, show pity, or I die.
Call you this gamut ? tut ! I like it not :
Old fashions please me best ; I am not so nice,
To change true rules for odd inventions. 80
Enter a Servant.
SERV. Mistress, your father prays you leave your books
And help to dress your sister's chamber up ;
You know to-morrow is the wedding-day.
BIAN. Farewell, sweet masters both ; I must be gone.

[Exeunt BIANCA and Serv.
LUC. Faith, mistress, then I have no cause to stay.
[Exit.
HOR. But I have cause to pry into this pedant ;
Methinks he looks as though he were in love :
Yet ifthy thoughts, Bianca, be so humble
To cast thy wandering eyes on every stale,
Seize thee that list : if once I find thee ranging, 90
Hortensio will be quit with thee by changing. [Exit.
SCENE II.-Padua. Before Baptista's House.

Enter BAPTISTA, GREMIO, TRANIO, KATHARINA,
BIANCA, LUCENTIO, and others, attendants.
BAP. Signior Lucentio, (to TRANIO) this is the 'pointed
day
That Katharine and Petruchio should be married,
And yet we hear not of our son-in-law.
What will be said ? what mockery will it be,
To want the bridegroom when the priest attends
To speak the ceremonial rites of marriage !
What says Lucentio to this shame of ours ?
KATH. No shame but mine : I must, forsooth, be
forced
To give my hand, opposed against my heart,
Unto a mad-brain rudesby, full of spleen ; 1Ο
Who woo'd in haste and means to wed at leisure.
I told you, I, he was a frantic fool,
Hiding his bitter jests in blunt behaviour :
And, to be noted for a merry man,
He'll woo a thousand, 'point the day of marriage,
Make feasts, invite friends, and proclaim the banns ;
Yet never means to wed where he hath woo'd.
Now must the world point at poor Katharine,
And say, ' Lo, there is mad Petruchio's wife,
If it would please him come and marry her !' 20
TRA. Patience, good Katharine, and Baptista too.
Upon my life, Petruchio means but well,
Whatever fortune stays him from his word :
Though he be blunt, I know him passing wise ;
Though he be merry, yet withal he's honest.
D2
G
36 TAMIN OF THE SHREW . [Act III
KATH . Would Katharine had never seen him though !
[Exit weeping, followed by BIANCA, and others.
BAP. Go, girl ; I cannot blame thee now to weep ;
For such an injury would vex a very saint,
Much more a shrew of thy impatient humour.
Enter BIONDELLO.
BION. Master, master ! news, old news, and such news
as you never heard of! 31
BAP. Is it new and old too ? how may that be ?
BION. Why, is it not news to hear of Petruchio's
coming ?
BAP. Is he come ?
BION. Why, no, sir.
BAP. What then ?
BION. He is coming.
BAP. When will he be here ?
BION. When he stands where I am, and sees you
there. 4I
TRA. But say, what to thine old news ?
BION. Why, Petruchio is coming in a new hat and an
old jerkin, a pair of old breeches thrice turned, a pair of
boots that have been candle-cases, one buckled, another
laced, an old rusty sword ta'en out of the town armoury,
with a broken hilt, and chapeless ; with two broken
points his horse hipped with an old mothy saddle and
stirrups of no kindred ; besides, possessed with the
glanders and like to mose in the chine ; troubled with
the lampass, infected with the fashions, full of windgalls,
sped with spavins, rayed with the yellows, past cure of
the fives, stark spoiled with the staggers, begnawn with
the bots, swayed in the back and shoulder-shotten ; near-
legged before and with a half-checked bit and a head-
stall of sheep's leather which, being restrained to keep
him from stumbling, hath been often burst and now
repaired with knots ; one girth six times pieced and a
woman's crupper of velure, which hath two letters for
her name fairly set down in studs, and here and there
pieced with packthread. 61
BAP. Who comes with him ?
BION. O, sir, his lackey, for all the world caparisoned
like the horse ; with a linen stock on one leg and a kersey
boot-hose on the other, gartered with a red and blue list
an old hat, and ' the humour of forty fancies ' pricked in
't for a feather : a monster, a very monster in apparel, and
not like a Christian footboy or a gentleman's lackey.
TRA. 'Tis some odd humour pricks him to this
fashion ;
Yet oftentimes he goes but mean apparell'd. 70
BAP. I am glad he's come, howsoe'er he comes.
BION. Why, sir, he comes not.
BAP. Didst thou not say he comes ?
BION. Who ? that Petruchio came ?
BAP. Ay, that Petruchio came.
BION. No, sir ; I say his horse comes, with him on his
back.
BAP. Why, that's all one.
BION. Nay, by Saint Jamy,
I hold you a penny,
A horse and a man 80
Is more than one,
And yet not many.
Enter PETRUCHIO and GRUMIO.

PET. Come, where be these gallants ? who's at home ?
BAP. You are welcome, sir.
PET. And yet I come not well.
BAP. And yet you halt not.
TRA. Not so well apparell'd
As I wish you were.
PET. Were it better, I should rush in thus.
But where is Kate ? where is my lovely bride ?
How does my father ? Gentles, methinks you frown :
And wherefore gaze this goodly company, 90
As if they saw some wondrous monument,
Some comet or unusual prodigy ?
BAP. Why, sir, you know this is your wedding- day :
First were we sad, fearing you would not come ;
Now sadder, that you come so unprovided.
Fie ! doff this habit, shame to your estate,
An eye-sore to our solemn festival !
TRA. And tell us, what occasion of import
Hath all so long detain'd you from your wife,
And sent you hither so unlike yourself? 100
PET. Tedious it were to tell, and harsh to hear :
NG W
38 TAMI OF THE SHRE . [Act III
Sufficeth I am come to keep my word,
Though in some part enforced to digress ;
Which, at more leisure, I will so excuse
As you shall well be satisfied withal.
But where is Kate ? I stay too long from her :
The morning wears, 't is time we were at church.
TRA. See not your bride in these unreverent robes :
Go to my chamber ; put on clothes of mine.
PET. Not I, believe me : thus I'll visit her. IIO
BAP. But thus, I trust, you will not marry her.
PET. Good sooth, even thus ; therefore ha' done with
words :
To me she's married, not unto my clothes :
Could I repair what she will wear in me,
As I can change these poor accoutrements,
'T were well for Kate and better for myself.
But what a fool am I to chat with you,
When I should bid good-morrow to my bride,
And seal the title with a lovely kiss !
[Exeunt PET. and GRU.
TRA. He hath some meaning in his mad attire : 120
We will persuade him, be it possible,
To put on better ere he go to church.
BAP. I'll after him, and see the event of this.
[Exeunt BAP., GREMIO, and attendants.
TRA. But, sir, to her love concerneth us to add
Her father's liking which to bring to pass,
As I before imparted to your worship,
I am to get a man, -whate'er he be,
It skills not much, we'll fit him to our turn,-
And he shall be Vincentio of Pisa ;
And make assurance here in Padua 130
Of greater sums than I have promised.
So shall you quietly enjoy your hope,
And marry sweet Bianca with consent.
LUC. Were it not that my fellow- schoolmaster
Doth watch Bianca's steps so narrowly,
'T were good, methinks, to steal our marriage ;
Which once perform'd, let all the world say no,
I'll keep mine own, despite of all the world.
TRA. That by degrees we mean to look into,
And watch our vantage in this business : 140
We'll over-reach the grey-beard, Gremio,
The narrow-prying father, Minola,

The quaint musician, amorous Licio ;
All for my master's sake, Lucentio.
Enter GREMIO.
Signior Gremio, came you from the church ?
GRE. As willingly as e'er I came from school.
TRA. And is the bride and bridegroom coming home ?
GRE. A bridegroom say you ? ' t is a groom indeed,
A grumbling groom, and that the girl shall find.
TRA. Curster than she ? why, 't is impossible. 150
GRE. Why, he's a devil, a devil, a very fiend .
TRA. Why, she's a devil, a devil, the devil's dam.
GRE. Tut, she's a lamb, a dove, a fool to him !
I'll tell you, Sir Lucentio : when the priest
Should ask if Katharine should be his wife,
'Ay, by gogs-wouns,' quoth he ; and swore so loud,
That, all-amazed, the priest let fall the book ;
And, as he stoop'd again to take it up,
The mad-brain'd bridegroom took him such a cuff
That down fell priest and book, and book and priest ;
' Now take them up,' quoth he, ‘ if any list.' 161
TRA. What said the wench when he rose again ?
GRE. Trembled and shook ; for why, he stamp'd, and
swore,
As if the vicar meant to cozen him.
But after many ceremonies done,
He calls for wine : ' A health ! ' quoth he, as if
He had been aboard, carousing to his mates
After a storm ; quaff'd off the muscadel,
- And threw the sops all in the sexton's face ;
Having no other reason 170
But that his beard grew thin and hungerly
And seem'd to ask him sops as he was drinking.
This done, he took the bride about the neck
And kiss'd her lips with such a clamorous smack
That at the parting all the church did echo :
And I seeing this came thence for very shame ;
And after me, I know, the rout is coming.
Such a mad marriage never was before :
Hark, hark ! I hear the minstrels play. [Music
40 TAMING OF THE SHREW . [Act III
Enter PETRUCHIO, KATHARINA, BIANCA, BAPTISTA,

HORTENSIO, GRUMIO, and Train.
PET. Gentlemen and friends, I thank you for your
pains : 180
I know you think to dine with me to-day,
And have prepared great store of wedding cheer ;
But so it is, my haste doth call me hence,
And therefore here I mean to take my leave.
BAP. Is 't possible you will away to-night?
PET. I must away to-day, before night come :
Make it no wonder ; if you knew my business,
You would entreat me rather go than stay.
And, honest company, I thank you all,
That have beheld me give away myself 190
To this most patient, sweet, and virtuous wife ;
Dine with my father, drink a health to me ;
For I must hence ; and farewell to you all.
TRA. Let us entreat you stay till after dinner.
PET. It may not be.
GRE. Let me entreat you.
PET. It cannot be.
КАТН. Let me entreat you.
PET. I am content.
KATH. Are you content to stay ?
PET. I am content you shall entreat me stay ;
But yet not stay, entreat me how you can.
KATH. Now, if you love me, stay.
РЕТ. Grumio, my horse. 200
GRU. Ay, sir, they be ready ; the oats have eaten the
horses.
KATH. Nay, then,
Do what thou canst, I will not go to-day ;
No, nor to-morrow, not till I please myself.
The door is open, sir ; there lies your way ;
You may be jogging whiles your boots are green ;
For me, I'll not be gone till I please myself :
'T is like you'll prove a jolly surly groom,
That take it on you at the first so roundly.
PET. O Kate, content thee ; prithee, be not angry. 210
KATH. I will be angry : what hast thou to do ?
Father, be quiet : he shall stay my leisure.
GRE. Ay, marry, sir, now it begins to work.
Scene 2] TAMING OF THE SHREW. 4I
KATH. Gentlemen, forward to the bridal dinner :
I see a woman may be made a fool,
If she had not a spirit to resist.
PET. They shall go forward, Kate, at thy command.
Obey the bride, you that attend on her :
Go to the feast, revel and domineer,
Be mad and merry, or go hang yourselves : 220
But for my bonny Kate, she must with me.
Nay, look not big, nor stamp, nor stare, nor fret ;
I will be master of what is mine own :
She is my goods, my chattels ; she is my house,
My household stuff, my field, my barn,
My horse, my ox, my ass, my anything;
And here she stands, touch her whoever dare;
I'll bring mine action on the proudest he
That stops my way in Padua. Grumio,
Draw forth thy weapon, we are beset with thieves ; 230
Rescue thy mistress, if thou be a man.
Fear not, sweet wench, they shall not touch thee, Kate :
I'll buckler thee against a million.
[Exeunt PET., KATH., and GRU.
BAP. Nay, let them go, a couple of quiet ones.
GRE. Went they not quickly, I should die with laughing.
TRA. Of all mad matches never was the like.
Luc. Mistress, what's your opinion of your sister ?
BIAN. That, being mad herself, she's madly mated.
GRE. I warrant him, Petruchio is Kated.
BAP. Neighbours and friends, though bride and bride-
groom wants 240
For to supply the places at the table,
You know there wants no junkets at the feast.
Lucentio, you shall supply the bridegroom's place ;
And let Bianca take her sister's room.
TRA. Shall sweet Bianca practise how to bride it ?
BAP. She shall, Lucentio. Come, gentlemen, let's go.
[Exeunt.
42 TAMING OF THE SHREW . [Act IV
ACT IV.
SCENE I. Petruchio's Country House.

Enter GRUMIO.
GRU. Fie, fie on all tired jades, on all mad masters,
and all foul ways ! Was ever man so beaten ? was ever
man so rayed ? was ever man so weary ? I am sent
before to make a fire, and they are coming after to warm
them. Now, were not I a little pot and soon hot, my very
lips might freeze to my teeth, my tongue to the roof of
my mouth, my heart in my belly, ere I should come by a
fire to thaw me : but I , with blowing the fire, shall warm
myself ; for, considering the weather, a taller man than I
will take cold. Holla, ho ! Curtis. ΙΟ
Enter CURTIS.
CURT. Who is that calls so coldly?
GRU. A piece of ice : if thou doubt it, thou mayst
slide from my shoulder to my heel with no greater a run
but my head and my neck. A fire, good Curtis.
CURT. Is my master and his wife coming, Grumio ?
GRU. O, ay, Curtis, ay : and therefore fire, fire ; cast
on no water.
CURT. Is she so hot a shrew as she's reported ?
GRU. She was, good Curtis, before this frost ; but,
thou knowest, winter tames man, woman, and beast ; for
it hath tamed my old master and my new mistress and
myself, fellow Curtis. 22
CURT. Away, you three-inch fool ! I am no beast.
GRU. Am I but three inches ? But wilt thou make a
fire, or shall I complain on thee to our mistress, whose
hand, she being now at hand, thou shalt soon feel, to thy
cold comfort, for being slow in thy hot office ?
CURT. I prithee, good Grumio, tell me, how goes the
world ?
GRU. A cold world, Curtis, in every office but thine ;
and therefore fire : do thy duty, and have thy duty ; for
my master and mistress are almost frozen to death. 32
CURT. There's fire ready ; And, therefore, good Gru-
mio, the news,
GRU. Why, ' Jack, boy ! ho, boy ! ' and as much news
as will thaw.
CURT. Come, you are so full of cony-catching !
GRU. Why, therefore fire ; for I have caught extreme
cold . Where's the cook ? is supper ready, the house
trimmed, rushes strewed, cobwebs swept ; the serving-
men in their new fustian, their white stockings, and every
officer his wedding garment on ? Be the jacks fair within,
the jills fair without, the carpets laid, and everything in
order ? 44
CURT. All ready ; and therefore, I pray thee, news ?
GRU. First, know, my horse is tired ; my master and
mistress fallen out.
CURT. How ?
GRU. Out of their saddles into the dirt ; and thereby
hangs a tale. 50
CURT. Let's haʼt, good Grumio.
GRU. Lend thine ear.
CURT. Here.
GRU. There. [Strikes him.
CURT. This is to feel a tale, not to hear a tale.
GRU. And therefore 't is called a sensible tale : and
this cuff was but to knock at your ear, and beseech
listening. Now I begin : Imprimis, we came down a
foul hill, my master riding behind my mistress, -
CURT. Both of one horse ? 60
GRU. What 's that to thee ?
CURT. Why, a horse.
GRU. Tell thou the tale : but hadst thou not crossed
me, thou shouldst have heard how her horse fell and she
under her horse ; thou shouldst have heard in how miry
a place, how she was bemoiled, how he left her with the
horse upon her, how he beat me because her horse
stumbled, how she waded through the dirt to pluck him
off me, how he swore, how she prayed, that never prayed
before, how I cried, how the horses ran away, how her
bridle was burst, how I lost my crupper, with many
things of worthy memory, which now shall die in oblivion
and thou return unexperienced to thy grave. 73
CURT. By this reckoning he is more shrew than she.
GRU. Ay ; and that thou and the proudest of you all
shall find when he comes home. But what talk I of
this ? Call forth Nathaniel, Joseph, Nicholas, Philip,
44 TAMING OF THE SHREW. [Act IV
Walter, Sugarsop, and the rest let their heads be
sleekly combed, their blue coats brushed and their
garters of an indifferent knit let them curtsy with their
left legs and not presume to touch a hair of my
master's horse-tail till they kiss their hands. Are they
all ready ? 83
CURT. They are.
GRU. Call them forth.
CURT. Do you hear, ho ? you must meet my masterto
countenance my mistress.
GRU. Why, she hath a face of her own.
CURT. Who knows not that ?
GRU. Thou, it seems, that calls for company to coun-
tenance her. 91
CURT. I call them forth to credit her.
GRU. Why, she comes to borrow nothing of them.
Enter four or five Serving-men.

NATH. Welcome home, Grumio !
PHIL. How now, Grumio !
Jos. What, Grumio !
NICH. Fellow Grumio !
NATH. How now, old lad ? 98
GRU. Welcome, you ;-how now, you ;-what, you ;---
fellow, you ;—and thus much for greeting. Now, my
spruce companions, is all ready, and all things neat ?
NATH. All things is ready. How near is our master ?
GRU. E'en at hand, alighted by this ; and therefore
be not- Cock's passion , silence ! I hear my master.
Enter PETRUCHIO and KATHARINA.

PET. Where be these knaves ? What, no man at door
To hold my stirrup nor to take my horse !
Where is Nathaniel, Gregory, Philip ?
ALL SERV. Here, here, sir ; here, sir.
PET. Here, sir ! here, sir ! here, sir ! here, sir !
You logger-headed and unpolish'd grooms ! IIO
What, no attendance ? no regard ? no duty ?
Where is the foolish knave I sent before ?
GRU. Here, sir ; as foolish as I was before.
PET. You peasant swain ! you scurvy malt-horse
drudge !
Scene 1] TAMING OF THE SHREW.
45
Did I not bid thee meet me in the park,
And bring along these rascal knaves with thee ?
GRU. Nathaniel's coat, sir, was not fully made,
And Gabriel's pumps were all unpink'd i' the heel ;
There was no link to colour Peter's hat,
And Walter's dagger was not come from sheathing : 120
There were none fine but Adam, Ralph, and Gregory ;
The rest were ragged, old, and beggarly ;
Yet, as they are, here are they come to meet you.
PET. Go, rascals, go, and fetch my supper in.-—
[Exeunt Servants.
(Singing.) 'Where is the life that late I led '-
Where are those- Sit down, Kate, and welcome.—
Soud, soud, soud , soud !
Re-enter Servants, with Supper.

Why, when, I say ?-Nay, good sweet Kate, be merry.
Off with my boots, you rogues ! you villains, when ?
(Sings.) ' It was the friar of orders grey, 130
As he forth walked on his way ' :
Out, you rogue ! you pluck my foot awry :
Take that, and mend the plucking off the other.
[Strikes him.
Be merry, Kate. Some water here ; what, ho !
Where's my spaniel Troilus ? Sirrah, get you hence,
And bid my cousin Ferdinand come hither : [Ex. Serv.
One, Kate, that you must kiss , and be acquainted with.
Where are my slippers ? Shall I have some water ?
[Enter one with water.
Come, Kate, and wash, and welcome heartily. 139
You scurvy villain will you let it fall ? [Strikes him.
KATH. Patience, I pray you ; ' t was a fault unwilling.
PET. A scurvy, beetle-headed, flap-ear'd knave !
Come, Kate, sit down ; I know you have a stomach.
Will you give thanks, sweet Kate ; or else shall I ?
What's this ? mutton ?
I SERV. Ay.
PET. Who brought it.
PETER. 1.
PET. 'T is burnt ; and so is all the meat :
What dogs are these ! Where is the rascal cook ?
How durst you, villains, bring it from the dresser,
And serve it thus to me that love it not ?
There, take it to you , trenchers, cups, and all : 150
[ Throws the meat, &c, about the stage.
You heedless joltheads and unmanner'd slaves !
What, do you grumble ? I'll be with you straight.
KATH. I pray you, husband, be not so disquiet ;
The meat was well, if you were so contented.
PET. I tell thee, Kate, 't was burnt and dried away ;
And I expressly am forbid to touch it,
For it engenders choler, planteth anger ;
And better 't were that both of us did fast,
Since, of ourselves, ourselves are choleric,
Than feed it with such over-roasted flesh. 160
Be patient ; to-morrow 't shall be mended,
And, for this night, we 'll fast for company :
Come, I will bring thee to thy bridal chamber.
[Exeunt.
Re-enter Servants severally.
NATH. Peter, didst ever see the like ?
PETER. He kills her in her own humour.
Re-enter CURTIS.
GRU. Where is he ?
CURT. In her chamber, making a sermon of continency
to her ;
And rails, and swears, and rates, that she, poor soul,
Knows not which way to stand, to look, to speak ; 170
And sits as one new-risen from a dream.
Away, away ! for he is coming hither. [Exeunt.
Re-enter PETRUCHIO.
PET. Thus have I politicly begun my reign,
And ' t is my hope to end successfully.
My falcon now is sharp and passing empty ;
And till she stoop she must not be full-gorged,
For then she never looks upon her lure.
Another way I have to man my haggard,
To make her come and know her keeper's call,
That is, to watch her, as we watch these kites 180
That bate and beat and will not be obedient.
She eat no meat to-day, nor none shall eat
Last night she slept not, nor to-night she shall not ;
As with the meat, some undeserved fault
I'll find about the making of the bed ;
And here I'll fling the pillow, there the bolster,
This way the coverlet, another way the sheets :
Ay, and amid this hurly I intend
That all is done in reverend care of her ;
And in conclusion, she shall watch all night : 190
And if she chance to nod I 'll rail and brawl
And with the clamour keep her sti!! awake.
This is a way to kill a wife with kindness ;
And thus I ' ll curb her mad and headstrong humour.
He that knows better how to tame a shrew,
Now let him speak : 't is charity to show. [Exit.
SCENE II .-Padua. Before Baptista's House.

Enter TRANIO and HORTENSIO.
TRA. Is't possible, friend Licio, that Mistress Bianca
Doth fancy any other but Lucentio ?
I tell you, sir, she bears me fair in hand.
HOR. Sir, to satisfy you in what I have said,
Stand by and mark the manner of his teaching.
[They retire up.
Enter BIANCA and LUCENTIO.
Luc. Now, mistress, profit you in what you read ?
BIAN. What, master, read you ? first resolve me that.
Luc. I read that I profess, the Art to Love.
BIAN. And may you prove, sir, master of your art !
LUC. While you, sweet dear, prove mistress of my
heart ! [They retire. ΙΟ
HOR. Quick proceeders, marry ! Now, tell me, I pray,
You that durst swear that your mistress Bianca
Loved none in the world so well as Lucentio.
TRA. O despiteful love ! unconstant womankind !
I tell thee, Licio, this is wonderful.
HOR. Mistake no more : I am not Licio,
Nor a musician, as I seem to be ;
But one that scorn to live in this disguise,
For such a one as leaves a gentleman,
And makes a god of such a cullion : 20

Know, sir, that I am call'd Hortensio.
TRA. Signior Hortensio, I have often heard
Ofyour entire affection to Bianca ;
And since mine eyes are witness of her lightness,
I will with you, if you be so contented,
Forswear Bianca and her love for ever.
HOR. See, how they kiss and court ! Signior Lucentio
Here is my hand, and here I firmly vow
Never to woo her more, but do forswear her,
As one unworthy all the former favours 30
That I have fondly flatter'd her withal.
TRA. And here I take the like unfeigned oath,
Never to marry with her though she would entreat :
Fie on her ! see, how beastly she doth court him !
HOR. Would all the world but he had quite forsworn !
For me, that I may surely keep mine oath,
I will be married to a wealthy widow,
Ere three days pass, which hath as long loved me,
As I have loved this proud disdainful haggard.
And so farewell, Signior Lucentio. 40
Kindness in women, not their beauteous looks,
Shall win my love : and so I take my leave,
In resolution as I swore before.
[Exit HOR. LUC. and BIAN. come forwara.
TRA. Mistress Bianca, bless you with such grace
As longeth to a lover's blessed case !
Nay, I have ta'en you napping, gentle love,
And have forsworn you with Hortensio.
BIAN. Tranio, you jest ! but have you both forsworn
me ?
TRA. Mistress, we have.
LUC. Then we are rid of Licio.
TRA. I' faith, he'll have a lusty widow now, 50
That shall be woo'd and wedded in a day.
BIAN. God give him joy!
TRA. Ay, and he'll tame her.
BIAN. He says so, Tranio.
TRA. Faith, he is gone unto the taming-school.
BIAN. The taming-school ! what, is there such a place ?
TRA. Ay, mistress, and Petruchio is the master ;
That teacheth tricks eleven and twenty long,
To tame a shrew, and charm her chattering tongue.
Enter BIONDELLO.
BION. O master, master, I have watch'd so long
That I am dog-weary : but at last I spied 60
An ancient angel coming down the hill,
Will serve the turn.
TRA. What is he, Biondello ?
BION. Master, a mercatante, or a pedant,
I know not what ; but formal in apparel,
In gait and countenance surely like a father.
Luc. And what of him, Tranio ?
TRA. If he be credulous and trust my tale,
I'll make him glad to seem Vincentio,
And give assurance to Baptista Minola,
As if he were the right Vincentio. 70
Take in your love, and then let me alone.
[Exeunt LUC. and BIAN.
Enter a Pedant.
PED. God save you, sir !
TRA. And you, sir ! you are welcome.
Travel you far on, or are you at the farthest ?
PED. Sir, at the farthest for a week or two :
But then up farther, and as far as Rome ;
And so to Tripoli, if God lend me life.
TRA. What countryman, I pray ?
PED. Of Mantua.
TRA. Of Mantua, sir ? marry, God forbid !
And come to Padua, careless of your life ?
PED. My life, sir ! how, I pray ? for that goes hard. 80
TRA. 'Tis death for any one in Mantua
To come to Padua. Know you not the cause ?
Your ships are stay'd at Venice, and the duke,
For private quarrel ' twixt your duke and him,
Hath publish'd and proclaim'd it openly :
'Tis marvel, but that you are but newly come,
You might have heard it else proclaim'd about.
PED. Alas ! sir, it is worse for me than so ;
For I have bills for money by exchange
From Florence, and must here deliver them. 90
TRA. Well, sir, to do you courtesy,
This will I do, and this I will advise you :
First, tell me, have you ever been at Pisa ?
E
PED. Ay, sir, in Pisa have I often been,

Pisa, renowned for grave citizens .
TRA. Among them know you one Vincentio ?
PED. I know him not, but I have heard of him ;
A merchant of incomparable wealth.
TRA. He is my father, sir ; and, sooth to say,
In countenance somewhat doth resemble you. ΙΟΟ
BION. (Aside.) As much as an apple doth an oyster
and all one.
TRA. To save your life in this extremity,
This favour will I do you for his sake ;
And think it not the worst of all your fortunes,
That you are like to Sir Vincentio.
His name and credit shall you undertake,
And in my house you shall be friendly lodged.
Look that you take upon you as you should ;
You understand me, sir : so shall you stay
Till you have done your business in the city : ΠΟ
If this be courtesy, sir, accept of it.
PED. O sir, I do ; and will repute you ever
The patron of my life and liberty.
TRA. Then go with me to make the matter good.
This, by the way, I let you understand ;
My father is here look'd for every day,
To pass assurance of a dower in marriage
'Twixt me and one Baptista's daughter here :
In all these circumstances I'll instruct you :
Go with me to clothe you as becomes you. [Exeunt. 120
SCENE III -A Room in Petruchio's House.

Enter KATHARINA and GRUMIO.
GRU. No, no, forsooth ; I dare not for my life.
KATH. The more my wrong, the more his spite appears :
What, did he marry me to famish me ?
Beggars, that come unto my father's door,
Upon entreaty have a present alms ;
If not, elsewhere they meet with charity :
But I, who never knew how to entreat,
Nor never needed that I should entreat,
Am starved for meat, giddy for lack of sleep,
With oaths kept waking and with brawling fed : 10
And that which spites me more than all these wants,

He does it under name of perfect love ;
As who should say, if I should sleep, or eat,
'T were deadly sickness or else present death.
I prithee go, and get me some repast ;
I care not what, so it be wholesome food.
GRU. What say you to a neat's foot?
KATH. 'Tis passing good : I prithee let me have it.
GRU. I fear it is too choleric a meat.
How say you to a fat tripe, finely broil'd ? 20 .
KATH. I like it well : good Grumio, fetch it me.
GRU. I cannot tell ; I fear 't is choleric.
What say you to a piece of beef and mustard ?
KATH. A dish that I do love to feed upon.
GRU. Ay, but the mustard is too hot a little.
KATH. Why then, the beef, and let the mustard rest.
GRU. Nay then, I will not : you shall have the mustard
Or else you get no beef of Grumio.
KATH. Then both, or one, or anything thou wilt.
GRU. Why then, the mustard without the beef. 30
KATH. Go, get thee gone thou false deluding slave,
[Beats him.
That feed'st me with the very name of meat :
Sorrow on thee, and all the pack of you
That triumph thus upon my misery !
Go, get thee gone, I say.
Enter PETRUCHIO, with a dish ofmeat; and HORTENSIO.

PET. How fares my Kate ? What, sweeting, all amort ?
HOR. Mistress, what cheer ?
KATH . Faith, as cold as can be.
PET. Pluck up thy spirits ; look cheerfully upon me.
Here, love ; thou see'st how diligent I am
To dress thy meat myself, and bring it thee : 40
I am sure, sweet Kate, this kindness merits thanks.
What, not a word ? Nay, then thou lovest it not ;
And all my pains is sorted to no proof.
Here, take away this dish.
КАТН. I pray you , let it stand .
PET. The poorest service is repaid with thanks ;
And so shall mine, before you touch the meat.
KATH. I thank you , sir.
E2
HOR. Signior Petruchio, fie ! you are to blame.

Come, mistress Kate, I'll bear you company.
PET. (Aside. ) Eat it up all, Hortensio, if thou lovest
me. 50
Much good do it unto thy gentle heart !
Kate, eat apace ; and now, my honey love,
Will we return unto thy father's house ,
And revel it as bravely as the best,
With silken coats and caps and golden rings,
With ruffs and cuffs and fardingales and things ;
With scarfs and fans and double change of bravery,
With amber bracelets, beads and all this knavery.
What, hast thou dined ? The tailor stays thy leisure,
To deck thy body with his ruffling treasure. 60
Enter Tailor.
Come, tailor, let us see these ornaments ;
Lay forth the gown.
Enter Haberdasher.
What news with you , sir ?
HAB. Here is the cap your worship did bespeak.
PET. Why, this was moulded on a porringer ;
A velvet dish ; fie, fie ! ' t is lewd and filthy ;
Why, 't is a cockle or a walnutshell,
A knack, a toy, a trick, a baby's cap :
Away with it ! come, let me have a bigger.
KATH. I'll have no bigger ; this doth fit the time,
And gentlewomen wear such caps as these. 70
PET. When you are gentle, you shall have one too,
And not till then.
HOR. (Aside.) That will not be in haste.
KATH. Why, sir, I trust I may have leave to speak ;
And speak I will ; I am no child, no babe :
Your betters have endured me say my mind,
And if you cannot, best you stop your ears.
My tongue will tell the anger of my heart,
Or else my heart concealing it will break,
And rather than it shall, I will be free
Even to the uttermost, as I please, in words. 80
PET. Why, thou say'st true ; it is a paltry cap,
A custard-coffin, a bauble, a silken pie :
I love thee well, in that thou likest it not,
KATH. Love me or love me not, I like the cap ;
And it I will have, or I will have none.
[Exit Haberdasher.
PET. Thy gown ? why, ay : come, tailor, let us see 't.
O mercy, God ! what masquing stuff is here ?
What's this ? a sleeve ? ' t is like a demi-cannon :
What, up and down, carved like an apple-tart ?
Here's snip, and nip, and cut, and slish and slash, 90
Like to a censer in a barber's shop :
Why, what, i' devil's name, tailor, call'st thou this ?
HOR. (Aside.) I see she's like to have neither cap nor
gown.
TAI. You bid me make it orderly and well,
According to the fashion and the time.
PET. Marry, and did ; but if you be remember'd ,
I did not bid you mar it to the time.
Go, hop me over every kennel home,
For you shall hop without my custom , sir :
I'll none ofit ; hence ! make your best of it. 100
KATH. I never saw a better-fashion'd gown,
More quaint, more pleasing, nor more commendable :
Belike you mean to make a puppet of me.
PET. Why, true ; he means to make a puppet of thee.
TAI. She says your worship means to make a puppet
of her.
PET. O monstrous arrogance ! Thou liest, thou thread,
Thou thimble,
Thou yard, three-quarters, half-yard, quarter, nail !
Thou flea, thou nit, thou winter-cricket thou ! 110
Braved in mine own house with a skein of thread ?
Away, thou rag, thou quantity, thou remnant ;
Or I shall so be-mete thee with thy yard
As thou shalt think on prating whilst thou livest !
I tell thee, I, that thou hast marr'd her gown.
TAI. Your worship is deceived ; the gown is made
Just as my master had direction :
Grumio gave order how it should be done.
GRU. I gave him no order ; I gave him the stuff.
TAI. But how did you desire it should be made ? 120
GRU. Marry, sir, with needle and thread.
TAI. But did you not request to have it cut ?
GRU. Thou hast faced many things.
TAI. I have.
GRU. Face not me : thou hast braved many men ;
brave not me ; I will neither be faced nor braved. I say
unto thee, I bid thy master cut out the gown ; but I did
not bid him cut it to pieces : ergo, thou liest.
TAI. Why, here is the note of the fashion to testify.
PET. Read it. 130
GRU. The note lies in ' s throat, if he say I said so.
TAI. (Reads.) Imprimis, ' a loose-bodied gown : '
GRU. Master, if ever I said loose-bodied gown, sew
me in the skirts of it, and beat me to death with a bottom
of brown thread : I said a gown.
PET. Proceed.
TAI. (Reads.) ' With a small compassed cape ; '
GRU. I confess the cape,
TAI. (Reads.) ' With a trunk sleeve ; '
GRU. I confess two sleeves. 140
TAI. (Reads.) ' The sleeves curiously cut.'
PET. Ay, there's the villainy.
GRU. Error i' the bill, sir ; error i' the bill. I com-
manded the sleeves should be cut out and sewed up
again ; and that I'll prove upon thee, though thy little
finger be armed in a thimble.
TAI. This is true that I say : an I had thee in place
where, thou shouldst know it.
GRU. I am for thee straight : take thou the bill, give
me thy mete-yard, and spare not me.
HOR. God-a-mercy, Grumio ! then he shall have no
odds. 152
PET. Well, sir, in brief, the gown is not for me.
GRU. You are i' the right, sir ; ' t is for my mistress.
PET. (Aside. ) Hortensio, say thou wilt see the tailor
paid.
Go take it hence ; begone, and say no more.
HOR. Tailor, I'll pay thee for thy gown to-morrow :
Take no unkindness of his hasty words :
Away ! I say ; commend meto thy master. [ Exit TAILOR.
PET. Well, come, my Kate ; we will unto your father's,
Even in these honest mean habiliments ; 161
Our purses shall be proud, our garments poor ;
For 't is the mind that makes the body rich ;
And as the sun breaks through the darkest clouds,
So honour peereth in the meanest habit.
What, is the jay more precious than the lark,
Because his feathers are more beautiful ?
Or is the adder better than the eel,
Because his painted skin contents the eye ?
O, no, good Kate ; neither art thou the worse 170
For this poor furniture and mean array.
If thou account'st it shame, lay it on me ;
And therefore frolic ; we will hence forthwith,
To feast and sport us at thy father's house.
Go, call my men, and let us straight to him ;
And bring our horses unto Long-lane end ;
There will we mount, and thither walk on foot.
Let's see ; I think ' t is now some seven o'clock,
And well we may come there by dinner-time.
KATH. I dare assure you, sir, ' t is almost two ; 180
And ' t will be supper-time ere you come there.
PET. It shall be seven ere I go to horse :
Look, what I speak, or do, or think to do,
You are still crossing it. Sirs, let ' t alone :
I will not go to-day ; and ere I do,
It shall be what o'clock I say it is.
HOR. (Aside.) Why, so this gallant will command the
sun. [Exeunt.
SCENE IV.-- Padua. Before Baptista's House.

Enter TRANIO, and the Pedant dressed like VINCENTIO.
TRA. Sir, this is the house : please it you that I call ?
PED. Ay, what else ? and but I be deceived,
Signior Baptista may remember me,
Near twenty years ago, in Genoa,
Where we were lodgers at the Pegasus.
TRA. 'Tis well ; and hold your own, in any case,
With such austerity as longeth to a father.
Enter BIONDELLO.
PED. I warrant you. But, sir, here comes your boy ;
'T were good he were school'd.
TRA. Fear you not him. Sirrah Biondello, 10
Now do your duty throughly, I advise you ;
Imagine 't were the right Vincentio.
BION. Tut fear not me.
TRA. But hast thou done thy errand to Baptista ?
G
56 TAMIN OF THE SHREW . [Act IV
BION. I told him that your father was at Venice,

And that you look'd for him this day in Padua.
TRA. Thou 'rt a tall fellow : hold thee that to drink.
Here comes Baptista : set your countenance, sir.
Enter BAPTISTA and LUCENTIO.
Signior Baptista, you are happily met.
Sir, (to the Pedant) this is the gentleman I told you of : 20
I pray you, stand good father to me now,
Give me Bianca for my patrimony.
PED. Soft, son !
Sir, by your leave : having come to Padua
To gather in some debts, my son Lucentio
Made me acquainted with a weighty cause
Of love between your daughter and himself ;
And, for the good report I hear of you
And for the love he beareth to your daughter
And she to him, to stay him not too long, 30
I am content, in a good father's care,
To have him match'd ; and if you please to like
No worse than I , upon some agreement
Me shall you find ready and willing
With one consent to have her so bestow'd ;
For curious I cannot be with you,
Signior Baptista, of whom I hear so well.
BAP. Sir, pardon me in what I have to say :
Your plainness and your shortness please me well.
Right true it is, your son Lucentio here 40
Doth love my daughter and she loveth him ,
Or both dissemble deeply their affections :
And therefore, if you say no more than this,
That like a father you will deal with him
And pass my daughter a sufficient dower,
The match is made, and all is done :
Your son shall have my daughter with consent.
TRA. I thank you, sir. Where then do you know
best
We be affied and such assurance ta'en,
As shall with either part's agreement stand ? 50
BAP. Not in my house, Lucentio ; for, you know,
Pitchers have ears, and I have many servants :
Besides, old Gremio is hearkening still ;
And happily we might be interrupted.
TRA. Then at my lodging, an it like you :
There doth my father lie ; and there, this night,
We'll pass the business privately and well.
Send for your daughter by your servant here ;
My boy shall fetch the scrivener presently.
The worst is this, that, at so slender warning, 60
You are like to have a thin and slender pittance.
BAP. It likes me well. Cambio, hie you home,
And bid Bianca make her ready straight ;
And, ifyou will, tell what hath happened,
Lucentio's father is arrived in Padua,
And how she ' s like to be Lucentio's wife.
LUC. I pray the gods she may, with all my heart !
TRA. Dally not with the gods, but get thee gone.
Signior Baptista, shall I lead the way ?
Welcome ! one mess is like to be your cheer : 70
Come, sir ; we will better it in Pisa.
BAP. I follow you.
[Exeunt TRA., Ped. , and BAP.
BION. Cambio !
LUC. What sayest thou, Biondello ?
BION. You saw my master wink and laugh upon you ?
LUC. Biondello, what of that ?
BION. Faith, nothing ; but has left me here behind, to
expound the meaning or moral of his signs and tokens.
LUC. I pray thee, moralize them.
BION. Then thus. Baptista is safe, talking with the
deceiving father of a deceitful son.
LUC. And what of him ? 82
BION. His daughter is to be brought by you to the
supper.
Luc. And then ?
BION. The old priest of Saint Luke's church is at your
command at all hours.
LUC. And what of all this ?
BION. I cannot tell ; expect they are busied about a
counterfeit assurance : take you assurance of her cum
privilegio ad imprimendum solum • to the church ; take
the priest, clerk, and some sufficient honest witnesses :
If this be not that you look for, I have no more to say,
But bid Bianca farewell for ever and a day. 94
LUC. Hearest thou, Biondello ?
BION. I cannot tarry : I knew a wench married in an
G
58 TAMIN OF THE SHREW . [Act IV
afternoon as she went to the garden for parsley to stuff a

rabbit ; and so may you, sir ; and so, adieu , sir. My
master hath appointed me to go to Saint Luke's, to bid
the priest be ready to come against you come with your
appendix. [Exit.
LUC. I may, and will, if she be so contented : 102
She will be pleased ; then wherefore should I doubt ?
Hap what hap may, I'll roundly go about her ;
It shall go hard if Cambio go without her. [Exit.
SCENE V. -A public Road.

Enter PETRUCHIO, KATHARINA, HORTENSIO, and
Servants.
PET. Come on, i' God's name ; once more toward our
father's.
Good Lord, how bright and goodly shines the moon !
KATH. The moon ! the sun : it is not moonlight now.
PET. I say it is the moon that shines so bright.
KATH. I know it is the sun that shines so bright.
PET. Now, by my mother's son, and that's myself,
It shall be moon, or star, or what I list,
Or ere I journey to your father's house.
Go on, and fetch our horses back again.
Evermore cross'd and cross'd ; nothing but cross'd ! 10
HOR. Say as he says, or we shall never go.
KATH. Forward, I pray, since we have come so far,
And be it moon, or sun, or what you please :
An if you please to call it a rush-candle,
Henceforth I vow it shall be so for me.
PET. I say it is the moon.
KATH. I know it is the moon .
PET. Nay, then you lie it is the blessed sun.
KATH. Then, God be bless'd, it is the blessed sun :
But sun it is not, when you say it is not ;
And the moon changes, even as your mind. 20
What you will have it named, even that it is ;
And so it shall be so for Katharine.
HOR. Petruchio, go thy ways ; the field is won.
PET. Well, forward , forward ! thus the bowl should
run,
And not unluckily against the bias.
But soft ! Company is coming here.
Enter VINCENTIO.
(To VINCENTIO . ) Good morrow, gentle mistress :
where away ?
Tell me, sweet Kate, and tell me truly too,
Hast thou beheld a fresher gentlewoman ?
309
Such war of white and red within her cheeks !
What stars do spangle heaven with such beauty,
As those two eyes become that heavenly face ?
Fair lovely maid, once more good day to thee.
Sweet Kate, embrace her for her beauty's sake.
HOR. A' will make the man mad, to make a woman of
him.
KATH. Young budding virgin, fair, and fresh, and
sweet,
Whither away, or where is thy abode ?
Happy the parents of so fair a child ;
Happier the man, whom favourable stars 40
Allot thee for his lovely bed-fellow !
PET. Why, how now, Kate ? I hope thou art not mad :
This is a man, old, wrinkled, faded, wither'd,
And not a maiden, as thou say'st he is.
KATH. Pardon, old father, my mistaking eyes,
That have been so bedazzled with the sun,
That everything I look on seemeth green :
Now I perceive thou art a reverend father ;
Pardon, I pray thee, for my mad mistaking.
PET. Do, good old grandsire ; and withal make known
Which way thou travellest ; if along with us, 51
We shall be joyful of thy company.
VIN. Fair sir, and you my merry mistress
That with your strange encounter much amazed me,
My name is call'd Vincentio ; my dwelling Pisa ;
And bound I am to Padua ; there to visit
A son of mine, which long I have not seen.
PET. What is his name ?
VIN. Lucentio, gentle sir.
PET. Happily met ; the happier for thy son.
And now by law, as well as reverend age, 60
I may entitle thee my loving father :
The sister to my wife, this gentlewoman,
Thy son by this hath married. Wonder not,
Nor be not grieved : she is of good esteem ,
60 TAMING OF THE SHREW. [Act V
Her dowry wealthy, and of worthy birth ;
Beside, so qualified as may beseem
The spouse of any noble gentleman.
Let me embrace with old Vincentio,
And wander we to see thy honest son,
Who will of thy arrival be full joyous. 70
VIN. But is this true ? or is it else your pleasure,
Like pleasant travellers, to break a jest
Upon the company you overtake ?
HOR. I do assure thee, father, so it is.
PET. Come, go along, and see the truth hereof ;
For our first merriment hath made thee jealous.
[Exeunt all but HORTENSIO.
HOR. Well, Petruchio, this has put me in heart.
Have to my widow ! and if she be froward,
Then hast thou taught Hortensio to be untoward. [Exit.
ACT V.
SCENE I.- Padua. Before Lucentio's House.

GREMIO discovered. Enter behind BIONDELLO,
LUCENTIO, and BIANCA.
BION. Softly and swiftly, sir ; for the priest is ready.
Luc. I fly, Biondello : but they may chance to need
thee at home ; therefore leave us.
BION. Nay, faith, I'll see the church o' your back ;
and then come back to my master's as soon as I can.
[Exeunt LUC., BIAN., and BION .
GRE. I marvel Cambio comes not all this while.
Enter PETRUCHIO, KATHARINA, VINCENTIO, GRUMIO,

and Attendants.
PET. Sir, here's the door, this is Lucentio's house :
My father's bears more toward the market-place ;
Thither must I , and here I leave you, sir.
VIN. You shall not choose but drink before you go ;
I think I shall command your welcome here, II
And, by all likelihood, some cheer is toward. [Knocks.
GRE. They're busy within ; you were best knock
louder.
Pedant looks out ofthe window.

PED. What's he that knocks as he would beat down
the gate ?
VIN. Is Signior Lucentio within, sir ?
PED. He's within, sir, but not to be spoken withal.
VIN. What if a man bring him a hundred pound or
two, to make merry withal ? 20
PED. Keep your hundred pounds to yourself ; he
shall need none, so long as I live.
PET. Nay, I told you your son was well beloved in
Padua. Do you hear, sir ? To leave frivolous circum-
stances, I pray you, tell Signior Lucentio that his father
is come from Pisa and is here at the door to speak with
him .
PED. Thou liest his father is come from Padua and
here looking out at the window.
VIN. Art thou his father? 30
PED. Ay, sir ; so his mother says, if I may believe her.
PET. ( TO VINCENTIO.) Why, how now, gentleman !
why, this is flat knavery, to take upon you another man's
name.
PED. Lay hands on the villain : I believe a' means to
cozen somebody in this city under my countenance.
Re-enter BIONDELLO.
BION. I have seen them in the church together : God
send ' em good shipping ! But who is here ? mine old
master Vincentio ! now we are undone, and brought to
nothing. 40
VIN. (Seeing BION. ) Come hither, crack-hemp.
BION. I hope I may choose, sir.
VIN. Come hither, you rogue. What, have you forgot
me?
BION. Forgot you ! no, sir : I could not forget you, for
I never saw you before in all my life.
VIN. What, you notorious villain, didst thou never see
thy master's father, Vincentio ?
BION. What, my old worshipful old master ? yes, marry,
sir see where he looks out of the window. 50
VIN. Is 't so, indeed ? [Beats BION.
BION. Help, help, help ! here's a madman will murder
me. [Exit
PED. Help, son ! help, Signior Baptista !
[Exit from the window above.
PET. Prithee, Kate, let ' s stand aside, and see the end
of this controversy. [They retire.
Re-enter Pedant below ; BAPTISTA, TRANIO, and

Servants.
TRA. Sir, what are you that offer to beat my servant ?
VIN. What am I , sir ! nay, what are you, sir ?
'mmortal gods ! O fine villain ! A silken doublet ! a
velvet hose ! a scarlet cloak ! and a copatain hat ! O,
I am undone ! I am undone ! while I play the good
husband at home, my son and my servant spend all at
the university. 63
TRA. How now ! what's the matter?
BAP. What, is the man lunatic ?
TRA. Sır, you seem a sober ancient gentleman by your
habit, but your words show you a madman. Why, sir,
what cerns it you if I wear pearl and gold ? I thank my
good father, I am able to maintain it.
VIN. Thy father ! O villain he is a sail-maker in
Bergamo. 71
BAP. You mistake, sir, you mistake, sir. Pray, what
do you think is his name ?
VIN. His name ! as if I knew not his name : I have
brought him up ever since he was three years old, and
his name is Tranio.
PED. Away, away, mad ass ! his name is Lucentio ;
and he is mine only son, and heir to the lands of me,
Signior Vincentio.
VIN. Lucentio ! O, he hath murdered his master !
Lay hold on him, I charge you, in the duke's name. O,
my son, my son ! Tell me, thou villain, where is my son
Lucentio ? 83
TRA. Call forth an officer. (Enter one with an Officer.)
Carry this mad knave to the gaol. Father Baptista, Í
charge you see that he be forthcoming.
VIN. Carry me to the gaol !
GRE. Stay, officer ; he shall not go to prison.
BAP. Talk not, Signior Gremio. I say he shall go to
prison.
GRE. Take heed, Signior Baptista, lest you be cony-
catched in this business : I dare swear this is the right

Vincentio. 93
PED. Swear, if thou darest.
GRE. Nay, I dare not swear it.
TRA. Then thou wert best say that I am not Lucentio.
GRE. Yes, I know thee to be Signior Lucentio.
BAP. Away with the dotard ! to the gaol with him !
VIN. Thus strangers may be haled and abused.
O monstrous villain ! 100
Re-enter BIONDELLO , with LUCENTIO and BIANCA.
BION. O we are spoiled, and-yonder he is deny
him, forswear him , or else we are all undone.
LUC. (Kneeling.) Pardon, sweet father..
VIN. Lives my sweet son ?
[Exeunt BION. , TRA., and PED. , as fast as may be.
BIAN. (Kneeling.) Pardon, dear father.
BAP. How hast thou offended ?
Where is Lucentio ?
LUC. Here's Lucentio,
Right son to the right Vincentio ;
That have by marriage made thy daughter mine,
While counterfeit supposes blear'd thine eyne.
GRE. Here's packing, with a witness, to deceive us
all !
VIN. Where is that damned villain Tranio, 110
That faced and braved me in this matter so ?
BAP. Why, tell me, is not this my Cambio ?
BIAN. Cambio is changed into Lucentio.
LUC. Love wrought these miracles. Bianca's love
Made me exchange my state with Tranio,
While he did bear my countenance in the town ;
And happily I have arrived at the last
Unto the wished haven of my bliss.
What Tranio did, myself enforced him to ;
Then pardon him, sweet father, for my sake. 120
VIN. I'll slit the villain's nose, that would have sent
me to the gaol.
BAP. But do you hear, sir ? ( To LUCENTIO.) Have
you married my daughter without asking my good will ?
VIN. Fear not, Baptista ; we will content you, go to :
But I will in, to be revenged for this villany. [Exit.
BAP. And I , to sound the depth of this knavery. [Exit.
64 TAMIN OF THE SHREW . [Act V
G
LUC. Look not pale, Bianca ; thy father will not
frown. [Exeunt LUC. and BIAN.
GRE. My cake is dough ; but I'll in among the rest,
Out of hope of all, but my share of the feast. [Exit.
KATH. Husband let ' s follow, to see the end of this ado.
PET. First kiss me, Kate, and we will. 133
KATH. What, in the midst of the street ?
PET. What, art thou ashamed of me ?
KATH. No, sir, God forbid ; but ashamed to kiss.
PET. Why, then let 's home again. Come, sirrah, let 's
away.
KATH. Nay, I will give thee a kiss now pray thee,
love, stay.
PET. Is not this well ? Come, my sweet Kate :
Better once than never, for never too late. [Exeunt.
SCENE II.- Padua. A room in Lucentio's House.
Enter BAPTISTA, VINCENTIO, GREMIO, the Pedant,
LUCENTIO, BIANCA, PETRUCHIO, KATHARINA, HOR-
TENSIO, and Widow. TRANIO, BIONDELLO, GRUMIO ;
the Serving-men with TRANIO bringing in a banquet.
Luc. At last, though long, our jarring notes agree ;
And time it is, when raging war is done,
To smile at scapes and perils overblown.
My fair Bianca, bid my father welcome,
While I with selfsame kindness welcome thine.
Brother Petruchio, sister Katharina,
And thou, Hortensio, with thy loving widow,
Feast with the best, and welcome to my house :
My banquet is to close our stomachs up,
After our great good cheer. Pray you , sit down ; ΙΟ
For now we sit to chat as well as eat.
PET. Nothing but sit and sit, and eat and eat !
BAP. Padua affords this kindness, son Petruchio.
PET. Padua affords nothing but what is kind.
HOR. For both our sakes, I would that word were true.
PET. Now, for my life, Hortensio fears his widow.
WID. Then never trust me, if I be afeard.
PET. You are very sensible, and yet you miss my
sense ;
I mean, Hortensio is afeard of you.
WID. He that is giddy thinks the world turns round .
PET. Roundly replied. 21
KATH. ' He that is giddy thinks the world turns round :
I pray you, tell me what you meant by that.
WID. Your husband, being troubled with a shrew,
Measures my husband's sorrow by his woe :
And now you know my meaning.
KATH. A very mean meaning.
WID. Right, I mean you.
KATH. And I am mean indeed, respecting you.
PET. To her, Kate !
HOR. To her, widow ! 30
PET. A hundred marks, my Kate does put her down.
BAP. How likes Gremio these quick-witted folks ?
GRE. Believe me, sir, they butt together well.
VIN. Ay, mistress bride, hath that awaken'd you ?
BIAN. Ay, but not frighted me ; therefore I'll sleep
again.
PET. Nay, that you shall not : since you have begun,
Have at you for a bitter jest or two !
BIAN. Am I your bird ? I mean to shift my bush,
And then pursue me as you draw your bow. 39
You are welcome all. [Ex. BIAN. , KATH., and Widow.
PET. She hath prevented me. Here, Signior Tranio,
This bird you aim'd at, though you hit her not ;
Therefore a health to all that shot and miss'd.
TRA. O, sir, Lucentio slipp'd me like his greyhound,
Which runs himself and catches for his master.
PET. A good swift simile, but something currish.
TRA. 'Tis well, sir, that you hunted for yourself ;
'Tis thought your deer does hold you at a bay.
BAP. O ho, Petruchio ! Tranio hits you now.
LUC. I thank thee for that gird, good Tranio. 50
HOR. Confess, confess, hath he not hit you here ?
PET. A' has a little gall'd me, I confess ;
And, as the jest did glance away from me,
'T is ten to one it maim'd you two outright.
BAP. Now, in good sadness, son Petruchio,
I think thou hast the veriest shrew of all.
PET. Well, I say no and therefore for assurance
Let's each one send unto his wife ;
And he whose wife is most obedient
To come at first when he doth send for her, 60
Shall win the wager which we will propose.
HOR. Content. What is the wager?
LUC. Twenty crowns,
PET. Twenty crowns !
I'll venture so much of my hawk or hound,
But twenty times so much upon my wife.
LUC. A hundred then.
HOR. Content.
PET. A match ! 't is done.
HOR. Who shall begin ?
LUC. That will I.
Go, Biondello, bid your mistress come to me. 69
BION. I go. [Exit.
BAP. Son, I will be your half, Bianca comes.
LUC. I'll have no halves ; I'll bear it all myself.
Re-enter BIONDELLO.
How now ! what news ?
BION. Sir, my mistress sends you word
That she is busy and she cannot come.
PET. How ! she is busy and she cannot come !
Is that an answer ?
GRE. Ay, and a kind one too :
Pray God, sir, your wife send you not a worse.
PET. I hope, better.
HOR. Sirrah Biondello, go and entreat my wife 79
To come to me forthwith. [Exit BIONDELLO.
PET. O, ho ! entreat her !
Nay, then she must needs come.
HOR. I am afraid, sir,
Do what you can, yours will not be entreated.
Re-enter BIONDELLO.
Now, where's my wife ?
BION. She says you have some goodly jest in hand :
She will not come ; she bids you come to her.
PET. Worse and worse ; she will not come ! O vile,
Intolerable, not to be endured !
Sirrah Grumio, go to your mistress ;
Say, I command her come to me. [Exit GRUMIO .
HOR. I know her answer.
PET. What?
HOR. She will not. 90
PET. The fouler fortune mine, and there an end.

BAP. Now, by my holidame, here comes Katharina !
Re-enter KATHARINA.
KATH. What is your will, sir, that you send for me ?
PET. Where is your sister, and Hortensio's wife ?
KATH. They sit conferring by the parlour fire.
PET. Go, fetch them hither : if they deny to come,
Swinge me them soundly forth unto their husbands :
Away, I say, and bring them hither straight. [Ex. KATH
LUC. Here is a wonder, if you talk of a wonder.
HOR. And so it is : I wonder what it bodes : 100
PET. Marry, peace it bodes, and love and quiet life,
And awful rule and right supremacy ;
And, to be short, what not, that's sweet and happy ?
BAP. Now, fair befall thee, good Petruchio !
The wager thou hast won ; and I will add
Unto their losses twenty thousand crowns ;
Another dowry to another daughter,
For she is changed, as she had never been.
PET. Nay, I will win my wager better yet
And show more sign of her obedience, IIO
Her new-built virtue and obedience.
See where she comes and brings your froward wives
As prisoners to her womanly persuasion.
Re-enter KATHARINA, with BIANCA and Widow.
Katharine, that cap of yours becomes you not :
Off with that bauble, throw it under-foot.
[ KATH. pulls offher cap, and throws it down.
WID. Lord, let me never have a cause to sigh,
Till I be brought to such a silly pass !
BIAN. Fie ! what a foolish duty call you this ?
LUC. I would your duty were as foolish too :
The wisdom of your duty, fair Bianca, 120
Hath cost me an hundred crowns since supper-time.
BIAN. The more fool you, for laying on my duty.
PET. Katharine, I charge thee, tell these headstrong
women
What duty they do owe their lords and husbands.
WID. Come, come, you're mocking : we will have no
telling.
PET. Come on, I say ; and first begin with her.
WID. She shall not.
F2
SHREW
TAMIN
THE
[Act
OF
68
V
68
.
PET. I say she shall and first begin with her.
KATH. Fie, fie ! unknit that threatening unkind brow,
And dart not scornful glances from those eyes, 130
To wound thy lord, thy king, thy governor :
It blots thy beauty as frosts do bite the meads,
Confounds thy fame as whirlwinds shake fair buds,
And in no sense is meet or amiable.
A woman moved is like a fountain troubled,
Muddy, ill-seeming, thick, bereft of beauty ;
And while it is so, none so dry or thirsty
Will deign to sip or touch one drop of it.
Thy husband is thy lord, thy life, thy keeper,
Thy head, thy sovereign ; one that cares for thee, 140
And for thy maintenance. Commits his body
To painful labour both by sea and land,
To watch the night in storms, the day in cold,
Whilst thou liest warm at home, secure and safe ;
And craves no other tribute at thy hands
But love, fair looks, and true obedience,
Too little payment for so great a debt.
Such duty as the subject owes the prince
Even such a woman oweth to her husband ;
And when she is froward, peevish, sullen, sour, 150
And not obedient to his honest will,
What is she but a foul contending rebel
And graceless traitor to her loving lord ?
I am ashamed that women are so simple
To offer war where they should kneel for peace,
Or seek for rule, supremacy , and sway,
When they are bound to serve, love, and obey.
Why are our bodies soft and weak and smooth,
Unapt to toil and trouble in the world,
But that our soft conditions and our hearts 160
Should well agree with our external parts ?
Come, come, you froward and unable worms !
My mind hath been as big as one of yours,
My heart as great, my reason haply more,
To bandy word for word and frown for frown;
But now I see our lances are but straws,
Our strength as weak, our weakness past compare,
That seeming to be most which we indeed least are.
Then vail your stomachs, for it is no boot,
And place your hands below your husband's foot : 170
In token of which duty, if he please,

My hand is ready ; may it do him ease.
PET. Why, there's a wench ! Come on, and kiss me,
Kate.
LUC. Well, go thy ways, old lad ; for thou shalt ha’t.
VIN. 'Tis a good hearing when children are toward.
LUC. But a harsh hearing when women are froward.
PET. Come, Kate, we'll to bed.
We three are married, but you two are sped.
[ To LUCENTIO. ] 'T was I won the wager, though you hit
the white ;
And, being a winner, God give you good night ! 180
[Exeunt PET. and KATH.
HOR. Now, go thy ways ; thou hast tamed a curst
shrew.
LUC. 'Tis a wonder, by your leave, she will be tamed
So. [Exeunt.
NOTES .
THE old play of 1594, The Taming of a Shrew, commences

with the stage direction " Enter a Tapster beating out of his
doores Slie Droonken. "
INDUCTION .
Scene I.
Induction. Introduction ' (see pp. ix-xi) .
1 Pheeze you. ' Plague you, ' ' pay you out, ' as in the old
play where we find " Ile fese you anon. The word is also
used in the sense of ' to chastise ' and ' to humble,' as in
Troilus and Cressida, ii. 3. 215, where Ajax speaking of
Achilles says, " An a' be proud with me, I'll pheeze his pride. ""
Cp. Ben Jonson's Alchemist, v. 3, " Come, will you quarrel ?
I will feize you , sirrah. ” Ray in his collection of proverbs has
" I'll veese you. " See Glossary.
3 Baggage. A contemptuous term for a woman. Cp. The
Merry Wives of Windsor, iv. 2. 194, where Ford beating Fal-
staff, disguised as Mother Pratt, exclaims " Out of my door,
you witch, you hag, you baggage. " Also Romeo andJuliet, iii.
5. 151, where Capulet says to Juliet, " Out, you baggage ! " and
again, line 161 , he says, 66 Hang thee, young baggage ! disobe-
dient wretch ! " For derivation, see Glossary.
The Slys are no rogues. " That is, vagrants, no mean fellows,
but gentlemen " (Johnson). William Slye appears in the list of
comedians prefixed to the folio of 1623, and Knight, in a note
on Richard Conqueror, says " The tinker was right in boasting
of the antiquity of his family, though he has no precise recol-
lection of the name of the Conqueror. Sly and Sleigh are the
same corresponding with Sleight. The Slys or Sleighs were
skilful men-cunning of hand . We are informed that Sly was
anciently a common name in Shakspeare's own town. "
5 Paucas
6 pallabris. Sly's effort at the Spanish pocaspalabras,
¿.e. , ' a few words, ' equivalent to our Hold your tongue. ' Cp .
Much Ado About Nothing, iii. 5. 18-19 , where Dogberry tries
to check Verges with the remark, " Comparisons are odorous :
palabras, neighbour Verges. " Cp. Ben Jonson's Every Man in
His Humour, iv. I , " Oh, the benchers' phrase : pauca verba,
pauca verba !" The benchers were the idle fellows, who like
72 TAMING OF THE SHREW . [Induc .
Sly, passed their time loitering and drinking upon the benches
in the alehouses.
Let the worldslide. A proverb of the time. Cp . Induction, sc. 2
130, “ Let the world slip. " We still use the expression ‘ Let it
slide. ' Cp. Beaumont and Fletcher's Wit without Money, v. 2
(quoted by Staunton) ,
" Will you go drink
And let the world slide , Uncle ? "
Sessa. ' Be quiet, ' ' cease, ' ' stop . ' Schmidt says it is pro-
bably a cry used by way of exhorting to swift running, but this
can scarcely be its meaning here, as Sly only longs to be let
alone, so that he may sleep. The schoolboy phrase “ shut up ”
comes nearest to its meaning.
7 Burst. ' Broken. ' See iii. 2. 57, where it is stated a head-
stall " hath been often burst. " Cp. 2 Henry IV. iii. 2. 347,
" And then he burst his head for crowding among the marshal's
men, " and cp. Marlowe s Tamburlane, part ii. , quoted by Mr.
A. D. Innes, " Whose chariot wheels have burst th ' Assyrians '
bones. "
8 Denier. From Latin denarius. Properly the twelfth part
of a sou. Used in Shakspeare for a coin of the lowest possible
value. Cp. Richard III. i. 2. 252, " My dukedom to a
beggarly denier. " Also 1 Henry IV. iii. 3. 91 , “ I'll not pay a
denier."
Go by, Jeronimy. The pointing of the Globe edition has been
followed here. This expression is taken from The Spanish
Tragedy, by Thomas Kyd, 1599. Hieronimo uses it to himself
when he is reproved by the king for interrupting his business.
The play itself, and especially this expression, were common
sources of ridicule to many playwriters. Shakspeare has
another laugh at The Spanish Tragedy in Much Ado About
Nothing, i. I. 263 , where Don Pedro misquotes from it, “ In
time the savage bull doth bear the yoke. " And Ben Jonson in
The Alchemist, v. 2, makes Subtle say, " Here's your Hiero-
nimo's cloak and hat, " and in Every Man in His Humour, i. 4,
there is a long reference to the play beginning with " Go by,
Hieronymo " the expression " Go by " being again repeated in
iii. 2, of the same comedy. Again in the Induction to Beau-
mont's Knight of the Burning Pestle we have " Ay, and he
should have played Jeronimo with a shoemaker for a wager. "
The folio of 1623 has " Go by S. Ieronimie, " and Knight points
the line, " Go- by S. Jeronimy- Go," &c. and notes that the
tinker swears by Saint Jerome, calling him Saint Jeronimy. Pro-
bably, however, no saint of any kind was intended. The S. ,
according to Messrs. Clark and Wright, was very possibly a note
of exclamation, written as it was commonly printed, like a note
of interrogation. Theobald remarks, " Sly here not caring to
Scene 1] NOTES. 73
be dunned by the hostess, cries to her in effect, ' Don't be

troublesome, don't interrupt me, go by ; ' and to fix the satire
in this allusion pleasantly calls her Jeronimy. "
Go to thy cold bed. This occurs again in Lear, iii. 4. 48.
10 Third borough. ' An under constable. ' Ritson quotes from
The Constable's Guide, 1771 , " There are in several counties of
this realm other officers ; that is, by other titles, but not much
inferior to our constables ; as in Warwickshire, a third borough."
This scene being laid in Warwickshire, the expression is pecu-
liarly appropriate. The folio has ' head borough, ' which Theo-
bald altered to third borough. ' The point of Sly's answer is
lost without this alteration. Cp. Love's Labour's Lost, i . I.
185, " I am his grace's tharborough. "
13 Boy. Possibly Sly imagines he is talking to the tapster.
16 Brach Merriman. The passage quoted in the Variorum
edition from More, proves that brach was the technical term
for 6 bitch. See also The Gentleman's Recreation, quoted by
Knight, " A brach is a mannerly name for all hound bitches."
So too in I Henry IV. iii. 1. 240, " I had rather hear Lady,
my brach, howl in Irish " ; and again, King Lear, i. 4. 124-126,
" Truth's a dog must to kennel ; he must be whipped out,
when Lady the brach may stand by the fire and stink." But in
King Lear, iii. 6. 71-72—
" Mastiff, greyhound, mongrel grim‫وو‬,
Hound, or spaniel, brach or lym, '
the word may bear the signification given above, or that of a
dog that traces its game by scent. As the name Merriman
renders the meaning ' bitch ' impossible, if brach ' is a correct
reading, the latter sense must be adopted here. Several sug-
gestions, such as ' leéch, ' ' bathe, ' and ' trash,' have been put
forward. If any emendation be required ' trash ' seems the
best. ' To trash ' a dog was to restrain him, usually by putting
him on a leash. Staunton makes a verb of it, and explains it
66 Couple Merriman with a female hound , the poor cur is em-
bossed." I suspect, however, that Clowder and Merriman had
been coupled, and the order is given to uncouple them and
' trash ' Merriman. For derivation of ' brach, ' see Glossary.
Emboss'd. " According to the old writers on hunting, a deer
is said to be embossed when it throws forth bosses or round
masses of foam from its mouth. " Cp. Lyly's Midas, quoted by
Steevens--
PET. There was a boy leashed on the single,
because when he was imbossed he took soyle.
LI. What's that ?
PET. Why a boy was beaten on the tayle with
a leathern thong, because, when he fom'de at the
mouth with running, he went into the water. "
74 TAMING OF THE SHREW . [Induc .
For further uses of word and derivation, see Glossary.

17 Deep-mouth'd brach. Deep-voiced bitch. '
18 Made it good. ' Recovered the scent.'
19 In the coldestfault. 'Where the scent was at its worst,
and the dogs received a check. '
22 Merest. 6 Most complete, ' from Latin merus, ' entire. ' Cp.
Othello, ii. 2. 3, " The mere perdition of the Turkish fleet. ”
34 Grim death, how foul and loathsome is thine image ! The
image of death is sleep , which in the person of the drunken
tinker is foul and loathsome. The comparison of sleep with
death is a favourite one with poets. Cp. Macbeth, ii. 3. 81-
" Shake off this downy sleep, death's counterfeit. "
A Midsummer Night's Dream, iii. 2. 364-365-
" Till o'er their brows death-counterfeiting sleep
With leaden legs and batty wings doth creep. ‫وو‬
Cymbeline, ii. 2. 31—
" O Sleep, thou ape of Death, lie dull upon her ! "
Dryden, Eneid, book vi.-
" Death's half-brother Sleep. "
Shelley, Queen Mab, lines I and 2—
" How wonderful is Death ,
Death and his brother Sleep. ‫وو‬
35 Practise. Play tricks upon. ' Cp. Much Ado About
Nothing, ii. 1. 397-398, " And I, with your two helps, will so
practise on Benedick. "" For more extended use of the word
see Practice in Glossary.
39 Brave attendants. ' Attendants finely dressed. ' Cp. iv. 3.
54-57-
" And revel it as bravely as the best,
With silken coats and caps and golden rings,
With ruffs and cuffs and fardingales and things ;
With scarfs and fans and double change of bravery. "
See also stage direction in act i. sc. 2, " Enter Tranio brave,"
and cp. also Bible of 1583 , Judith, x. 4, " And she decked
her selfe brauely to allure the eyes of all men that should see
her."
40 Forget himself. Forget who he is ' —his own personal
identity.
41 He cannot choose. ' Cannot help thus forgetting who he
is. ' For this expression cp. The Merchant of Venice, iii. 1. 119–
120, " He cannot choose but break."
43 Flattering dream. Cp. Sonnet lxxxvii.-
" Thus have I had thee, as a dream doth flatter,
In sleep a king, but waking no such matter. "
48 Lodging. Here used for ' room. ' Cp. 2 Henry IV. iv. 5.
233-234-
Scene 1] NOTES. 75
" Doth any name particular belong
Unto the lodging where I first did swoon""?
• But bear me to that chamber •
56 Diaper. 'Towel.'
63 And when he says he is. i.e. , ' When he says he is lunatic, '
&c. (GRANT WHITE. ) Is being opposed to hath been. This
seems the most satisfactory of many explanations. Lettsom
suggests that a line between 62 and 63 has dropped out, and
that this line refers to Sly's fancying himself a beggar, and
that when he says he is ' alludes to the fancy mentioned in the
lost line.
Some editors read, " And, when he says he is- , say that
he dreams, " the blank according to Blackstone being deliberately
left imperfect as the lord didn't know his name. Others
propose to supply a word, thus ' poor ' (Hanmer), ' Sly '
(Johnson), but Malone thinks the blank is intended, as the
metre of the line is perfect without any supplemental word,
and he compares The Tempest, ii. 2. 90-91 , " I should know
that voice ; it should be but he is drowned ; and these are
devils. "
64 Nothing but. 'Nothing less than. '
65 Kindly. Naturally. ' The use of this word in the sense of
' natural ' is common in Shakspeare. Cp. Much Ado about
Nothing, iv. I. 75, " And, by that fatherly and kindly power. '
So, too, the Fool in King Lear, i. 5. 14-15 , says, 66 Thy other
daughter (viz. Regan) will use thee kindly," i.e. , according to
her nature. The use of the word is further exemplified in
Sackville and Norton's Tragedy of Gorboduc, i. 1 , " In kind a
father, not in kindliness." Unkind frequently means ' un-
natural.' Cp. King Lear, iii . 4. 72-73-
66 Nothing could have subdued nature
To such a lowness but his unkind daughters."
And cp. Paradise Lost, iii. 456--
" Abortive, monstrous, or unkindly mixt. "
66 Passing. Surpassingly,' ' exceedingly, ' extremely. ' Cp.
ii. I. III , " You are passing welcome ; " 1. 235, " I find you
passing gentle ; "" 1. 238, " passing courteous ; "" iii. 2. 24,
66 passing wise ; iv. I. 175, 66 passing empty ; " iv. 3. 18,
"passing good.'
67 Husbanded with modesty. ' Handled with discretion. ' See
1. 92 , " But I am doubtful of your modesties, " and cp. Hamlet's
advice to the Players, iii. 2. 21-22, " That you o'erstep not the
modesty of nature, " i.e. , that you do not overact your parts ;
and v. I. 230, " But to follow him thither with modesty
enough. " For husband in this sense cp. The Merry Wives of
Windsor, iv. 6. 52, " Well, husband your device. "
69 As. ' So that.' ' As ' often stands for that ' after ' so. '
76 TAMING OF THE SHREW . [ Induc .
Here the antecedent ' so ' is omitted. See Abbott's Shaks-
pearian Grammar (described hereafter as Sh. Gr. ), § 109.
73 A trumpet sounds. Players used to announce their arrival
by the sound of a trumpet. Cp. Hamlet, ii. 2. 385. [Flourish
of trumpets within. ] There are the players." Cp. A Mid-
summer Night's Dream, v. 1 , where the Prologue is ushered
in to a flourish of trumpets.
་
74 Belike. Probably ; ' lit. by what is likely, ' ' by what
seems.'
77 Offer service. It was customary for strolling players to
call at the houses of the nobility and offer their services. So in
the History Play of Sir Thomas More we have a player enter-
ing and saying-
" My lord, my fellows and myself
Are come to tender you our willing
"" service,
So please you to command us.
Enter Players. The Old Play runs-
" Enter two of the plaiers with packs at their backs and a boy."
MESSENGER. Now sirs, what store of plaies have you ?
SAN. Marry, my lord , you may have a tragicall,
Or a commoditie, or what you will.
THE OTHER. A comedie thou shouldst say, souns thou'lt
shame us all.
LORD. And what's the name of your comedie ?
SAN. Marrie, my lord, 't is called The Taming of a
Shrew.
'T is a good lesson for us, my lord ; for us that are
married men. "
82 Since. ' When. ' Cp . A Midsummer Night's Dream,
ii. 1. 148-149—
" Thou rememberest
Since once I sat upon a promontory. "
See Sh. Gr. § 132.
85 Fitted. So the folio. Walker observes in his Crit.
Exam. , " The metre requires us to read fit, " and Dyce
adds, " whether we consider it the past participle of the verb
to fit or not. "" " Ed following d or t is often not written, and
when written often not pronounced . ""
" Was aptly fitted | and nát | (u)rally | perfórm❜d. "
Sh. Gr. § 472.
86 Ithink 't was Soto. " In the original this speech has the
prefix Sincklo. Sincklo was an inferior actor in Shakspeare's
company, an evidence this that the folio was printed from a
stage copy. Sincklo's name appears again in 2 Henry IV. and
3 Henry VI. It is not certainly known what play is referred
to here. Theobald suggested Beaumont and Fletcher's Woman
Pleased, in which there is a Soto ; and although, as Tyrwhitt
Scene 1] NOTES. 77
pointed out, he does not woo a gentlewoman, yet, as he is a

farmer's eldest son, it seems more than probable that Theobald
was right. " (GRANT WHITE. ) Staunton says :-" This allusion
to his excellence in Soto must have been flattering to him and
pleasant to the audience. " Sincklo's name does not appear in
the list of principal actors at the beginning of the first folio. It
has been surmised that in this play he took the part of Lucentio.
87 Excellent. An adjective used as an adverb. " In early
English, many adverbs were formed from adjectives by adding
e (dative) to the positive degree as bright, adj.; brighte, adv.
In time the e was dropped, but the adverbial use was kept.
Hence, from a false analogy, many adjectives (such as excellent)
which could never form adverbs in e were used as adverbs. "
Sh. Gr. § I.
90 Cunning. ' Skill ' or ' art.' Cp. Hamlet, ii. 2. 460–461 ,
"An excellent play, well-digested 99 in the scenes, set down with
as much modesty as cunning.' See note on i. I. 97. As a
noun its usual meaning in Shakspeare is ' wisdom, ' ' judgment,'
' knowledge. ' See Glossary.
92 Your modesties. 'Your powers of restraining your-
selves.' See note on 1. 67.
93 Over-eying. Taking notice of, ' ' remarking. ' Cp. Love's
Labour's Lost, iv. 3. 79-80-
" Like a demigod here sit I in the sky,
And wretched fools' secrets heedfully o'er-eye. "
94 Yet. 'Yet' (up to this time) is only used now after a ne-
gative not yet,' ' never yet, ' &c. Then it was used before a
negative. " For (as) yet his honour never heard a play. "
" Yet I have not seen
So likely an ambassador of love. "
Merchant of Venice, ii. 9. 92. Sh. Gr. § 76.
་
95 Passion. Emotion, ' so merry passion - laughter. ' Note
that passion is a trisyllable.
99 Antic. ' Buffoon , ' ' mountebank ,' ' odd fellow . ' Cp.
I Henry IV. i. 2. 67-69 , " And resolution thus fobbed as it is
with the rusty curb of old father antic, the law ?" See Glossary.
100 Sirrah. A word used commonly to inferiors.
Buttery. See Glossary.
103 Barthol'mew. Cp. the common spelling Barthelemy,
and scan, " Sirrah, go you to Barthol'mew]. "
104 In all suits. ' As regards all his clothes. ' So 'in
every respect. '
106 Obeisance. This is the only use of the word in Shak-
speare. Pope added ' all ' before obeisance ' to improve the
metre ; as it stands here the accent falls on the first syllable.
107, 108 " Tell him from me, as he will win my love
He bear himself with honourable action. "
78 TAMING OF THE SHREW . [Induc.
" The subjunctive after verbs of command and entreaty is
especially common ; naturally, since command implies a pur-
pose. Sh. Gr. § 369.
112 Soft low tongue. Malone quotes King Lear, v. 3.
272-273-
" Her voice was ever soft,
Gentle, and low- an excellent thing in woman.
117 With declining head into his bosom. See Sh. Gr. on
66
Transposition of Adjectival Phrases, " § 419a.
120 Whofor this seven years. Altered by Theobald to " Who
for twice seven years, " to more nearly agree with scene 2, line 79,
" These fifteen years you have been in a dream. " But Steevens
says :- Shakspeare rarely reckons time with correctness. Both
Falstaff and Orlando forget the true hour of their appoint-
ments. ‫ وو‬So, too, in A Midsummer Night's Dream, in i. 1. the
wood is described as " a league without the town ," and in
i. 2. as " a mile without the town."
Esteemed him. ' Him ' is used for himself, ' as ' you ' for
' yourselves ' in Macbeth , iii. 1. 130, " Acquaint you with the per-
fect spy o' the time ; i.e. , acquaint yourselves. " (STEEVENS. )
So, too, ' her' is used for herself. ' Cp. Two Gentlemen of
Verona, iii. 2. 25-26-
" Thou art not ignorant
How she opposes her against my will. "
n
124 An onio . " It is not unlikely that the onion was an
expedient used by the actors of interludes. " (JOHNSON . ) Cp.
Antony and Cleopatra , i. 2. 176-177 , ' And indeed the tears
live in an onion that should water this sorrow. Again , in
same play, iv. 2. 34-36—
" Look, they weep,
And I, an ass, am onion-eyed : for shame
Transform us not to women.
Cp. also All's Well that Ends Well, v. 3. 321- 99
" Mine eyes smell onions ; I shall weep anon.
125 Close. 6 Stealthily,' ' secretly, ' through old French clos,
from Latin clausus, shut in.'
126 In despite. In spite of,' or ' nevertheless, ' having a dry
eye, or an inclination to laugh, &c.
135 Spleen. Cp. Henry V. ii. 2. 132, " Free from gross passion
or of mirth or anger," both arising from the spleen. The word
is used in Twelfth Night, iii. 2. 72, in the sense of immode-
rate merriment. ' " If you desire the spleen, and will laugh
yourselves into stitches, follow me. "" Spleen occurs once again
in iii. 2. 10, but having the ‫و‬sense ‫د‬ of anger. ' 66' Unto a mad-
brain rudesby, full of spleen. '
Scene 2] NOTES.
SCENE 2.
I Enter aloft, &c. That is, on a balcony at the back of the
stage. This balcony was used for many stage purposes ; for
instance, to represent towers , walls, &c. On this balcony ' Sly
and attendants ' remain and witness the play of The Taming
of the Shrew.
5 Christophero. Probably a piece of burlesque grandeur. In
1. 18, first and second folios read Christopher, later ones Christo-
phero. In 1. 73, first folio reads Christopher, and later ones
again read Christophero.
6 Sack. A sweet wine commonly alluded to by Shakspeare.
There was Sherry Sack, Canary Sack, &c. The word is de-
rived from the Spanish seco, dry, ' because it was made from
dried grapes.
7 Conserves. ' Sweetmeats . ' Sly uses the words ' conserves
of beef, ' meaning preserved or pickled beef.
13 Idle. For a similar use of the word cp. Hamlet, iii. 2. 95,
where Hamlet, who is just going to assume the character of
a man whose reason is unhinged, says, " I must be idle. " In
John Ford's The Lady's Trial ( 1639) , i. 1 , idle is used in the
sense of foolish. " But herein I am idle, have fool'd to little
purpose.
18 Burton-heath. Most probably Barton-on-the- Heath , in
Warwickshire. There is a Burton Hastings in the same
county, and a Burton Dorset also.
19 Card-maker. Cart-maker, ' ' cord-maker, ' ' crate-maker,'
and ' cordwainer , ' have all been proposed as substitutes for
this word, which means a manufacturer of ' cards ' for wool-
combing.
20 Bear-herd. According to Nares this word is used three
6
times in Shakspeare , and is synonymous with bearward,' a
keeper of a bear. It was a term in common use when bear-
baiting was practised.
21 Wincot. Wilnecote, ' three miles north of Stratford,
where Robert Arden, Shakspeare's grandfather, lived. It is
possibly referred to again under the name of ' Woncot, ' in 2
Henry IV. v. I. 42, " William, visor of Woncot. "
23 Sheer ale. 6 Pure, unmixed, ' ' entire beer ale, ' as shown by
Staunton, who quotes from Beaumont and Fletcher's play of
The Double Marriage, in act v. sc. I of which Castruccio is
permitted to drink but wine and water, and he asks indig-
nantly, " Shall I have no sheer wine, then ? ”
Lyingest. The superlative inflection est is found after ent—
ing--ed-ect. This use of est, and er in the comparative, is
a remnant of the indiscriminate application of these inflections
to all adjectives which is found in Early English . Thus, in
80 TAMI OF THE SHRE . [Induc .
NG W
Piers Plowman we have avarousere (B. i. 189) merveillousest
(B. viii. 68) Sh. Gr. § 9.
24 Bestraught. Distraught,' ' distracted,' ' crazy. ' Cp. War-
ner's Albion's England, quoted by Steevens : -" Now tears had
drowned further speech till she as one bestrought did crie, " &c.
Bestract occurs in Minsheu's Dic. 1617.
25 Here 's. At this point Sly probably drinks and begins to
doze off.
27 O, this is it. So the folio. Grant White thinks that these
words were accidentally transposed from ' O, this it is,' on their
second recurrence .
28 Shuns. Rowe reads ' shun, but Singer says ' kindred ' is
used as a collective noun.
35 Apollo plays. Apollo was the god of songs and music. He
defeated Marsyas in a musical contest, and flayed him alive as
a punishment for his presumption. He engaged in another
contest with Pan, and when Midas (who had been chosen
umpire) decided against him, he changed the ears of that king
into those of an ass.
37 We'll have thee to a couch. Cp. A Midsummer Night's
Dream, iii . I. 174-
" To have my love to bed and to arise. "
Comedy ofErrors, ii. 2. 10—
66 Your mistress sent to have me home to dinner ?
39 Semiramis. A queen of Assyria proverbial for voluptuous-
ness.
41 Be trapp'd. Have trappings put upon them, ' ' be gaily
caparisoned. Cp . Timon of Athens, i. 2. 189-
" Four milk-white horses, trapp'd in silver. "
43 Hawks will soar. Note the omission of the relative before
the verb. Very common. Cp . i. 1. 128, " Would take her
with all faults ; " i. 2. 181 , " Will undertake to woo ; " ii. I.
268, " I am he am born to tame you , Kate ; " iv. 2. 62, “ Will
serve the turn."
45 Welkin. ' Sky,,"' clouds. ' A.-S. wolenu -clouds , plural of
wolcen, a cloud . German , wölken , clouds .
48 Breathed stags. 'Stags who have thoroughly got their
breath. ' Cp. As You Like It, i. 2. 230, where Orlando, having
thrown Charles the wrestler, says, " I am not yet well breathed.
There is a French expression , mis en haleine. Cp. also Love's
Labour's Lost, v. 2. 659–660-
" A man so breathed, that certain he would fight ; yea
From morn till night. ”
And Antony and Cleopatra, iii. 13. 178-179--
" I will be treble-sinew'd , hearted , breathed,
And fight maliciously. "
In All's Well that Ends Well, ii . 3. 271-272, " I think thou
Scene 2] NOTES. 81
wast created for men to breathe themselves upon thee, " breathe
themselves, " exercise themselves. ' Cp . also the word un-
breathed = ' unexercised ' and ' untrained , ' in A Midsummer
Night's Dream, v. 1. 74-75-
" And now have toil'd their unbreathed memories
With this same play."
50 Adonis. A favourite of Venus, who was killed by a
wounded boar.
51 Cytherea. ' Venus. ' So called because she arose from the
sea near Cythera, an island where afterwards she had a temple.
54 To. This refers to Jupiter's surprising Io in the shape of
a cloud. She was afterwards changed into a heifer by him to
prevent Juno's jealousy. Juno, however, discovered the fraud,
and sent the hundred -eyed Argus to watch her. Mercury, at
Jupiter's command, slew Argus, but Juno tormented Io by
means of a gad-fly, and she wandered over the earth for a long
time, until Jupiter restored her to the form of a woman again.
57 Daphne. Daphne, on being pursued by Apollo, asked
aid from the gods, who changed her into a laurel, which tree,
by Apollo's command, was ever after held sacred to him. This
story is again alluded to in A Midsummer Night's Dream, ii. 1 .
230-231. Cp. also Troilus and Cressida, i. I. 101-102.
58 One shall swear. ' Shall ' was formerly commonly used
in the sense of will. For particulars , see Sh. Gr. §§ 315-321.
65 O'er-run. Theobald reads ' o'er-ran. '
68 Am I a lord ? The blank verse is not without its effect
on Sly, who himself rises to metre.
73 Christophero. The folio has Christopher. Cp. 1. 5, " I
am Christophero Sly. " But perhaps Christopher is better, as
marking Sly's blank verse elevation .
79 These fifteen. Cp . Induc. 11. 120, where the lord says,
"Who for this seven years," &c.
80 So wak'd. Rowe reads ' You waked.'
81 By myfay. A corruption of ' by my faith. ' Used again
in Hamlet, ii. 2. 271 , " For, by my fay, I cannot reason . "" And
in Romeo and Juliet, i. 5. 128, 6“ By my fay, it waxes late. ”
82 Speak of. Of, signifying Coming from ,' ' Belonging to,'
when used with time, signifies during. ' Cp. " There
sleeps Titania sometime of the night " (A Midsummer Night's
Dream, ii. 1. 253), i.e. " sometimes during the night " ; " My
custom always of the afternoon " (Hamlet, i. 5. 60), &c.
Sh. Gr. § 176.
87 Leet. 'The court-leet, ' or ' manor-court. ' It was held
once a year, and presided over by the steward of the leet. It
dealt with the offences of using false weights and measures .
Coles' Law Dic. , quoted in Nare's Glossary, says : " Leet.
A manor court, or private jurisdiction for petty offences ; also a
G
82 TAMING OF THE SHREW . [Induc.
day on which such court is held. From the Saxon lethe, which
was a court of jurisdiction above the wapentake or hundred. "
Cp. Othello, iii. 3. 138-141-
"Who has a breast so pure,
But some uncleanly apprehensions
Keep leets and law-days, and in session sit
With meditations lawful ?"
88 Seal'd quarts. Licensed quarts,' the measures bearing a
seal or mark to show that they were of the correct capacity.
Compare our expressions ' imperial pint ' and ' reputed pint. '
93 John Naps of Greece. Hanmer reads " John Naps o' th'
Green. " Malone says an addition of this kind to a name was
common, and cites 2 Henry IV. iii. 2. 183, " Peter Bull-
calf o' the green. " Probably we should read of green ,' which
form was used as well as o' th' green. Collier suggests " John
Naps the Greek, " or " the merry Greek " (i.e. boon companion,
good fellow), a then well understood expression. Mr. C. M.
Phillips, in writing to Notes and Queries, December 20, 1890,
suggests that " of Greece " should be " of Greete, " which, he
says, " is a small hamlet of Gloucestershire within a few miles
of Barton Heath, to which place Christopher Sly, who speaks
of old John Naps, belonged ; and " which " is certainly not too
remote for Old Sly's son, by birth a pedler, ' to know well. "
98 Amen. There is probably, as Hunter points out, a
quibble intended on ' amends ' and ' amen. ' Cp. Henry VIII.
iii. 2. 44-45-
SUR. Now, all myjoy
Trace the conjunction !
SUF. My amen to 't !
NOR. All men's !
99 I thank thee : thou shalt not lose by it. Sly is here thank-
ing them for their gratitude.
IOI Marry. Lit. , by the Virgin Mary. A common oath
of the time.
105 Goodman. ' Husband . ' See Glossary.
113 Above. Capell and Collier's MS. corrector read about. '
118 Too much. Rowe reads ' so much.'
Sadness hath congeal'd your blood. Cp. Gratiano's rule of life
in The Merchant of Venice, i. 1. 81-82-
" And let my liver rather heat with wine, ""
Than my heart cool with mortifying groans.
123 Marry, I will, let them play it. Is not, &c. The reading
and pointing of the Globe edition has been followed here.
The first folio, though it marks the question, has, " Marrie I
will let them play, it is not, " &c.
Comonty. Sly's blunder for comedy. See above, note on
Induc. sc. 1 , 77, " Or a commoditie or what you will. "
128 Well, we'll see ' t, &c. The Collier MS. reads-
Scene 2] NOTES. 83
" Well, well, we'll see it. Come, madam wife, sit by my side,
We shall ne'er be younger, and let the world slide."
Lettsom says : " Read and arrange as follows-
Well, well, we ' ll see ' t, we 'll see ' t. Come, madam wife,
(Sings) ' Sit by my side,
And let the world slide :
We shall ne'er be younger. '
It is strange that Knight, who suspected the above to be a
portion of an old song, did not conjecture'slide ' ; while Mr.
Collier's corrector, who conjectured ' slide, ' was so far from
sharing Knight's suspicion, that he introduced an awkward
transposition into the text. "
The Cambridge editors state that " The folio and quarto
have here Actus Primus Scana Prima, making no separation
between the play and the induction. The play is divided into
acts, but not into scenes. The second act, however, is not
marked in any of the old copies. The arrangement which we
have followed is that of Steevens, which all subsequent editors
have adopted, and which is therefore most convenient for
purpose of reference. "
ACT I. SCENE I.
2 Padua, nursery of arts. " The University of Padua was
founded by Frederick Barbarossa early in the thirteenth cen-
tury, and was for several hundred years a favourite resort of
learned men. Among other great personages , Petrarch ,
Galileo, and Christopher Columbus studied there. The
number of students was once (we believe in Shakespeare's age)
eighteen thousand . " (KNIGHT. ) Padua is in Lombardy .
8 Haply institute = ' perhaps begin. '
9 Ingenious. Intellectual, ' mental. ' (SCHMIDT. ) Perhaps
it should be ' ingenuous ' ; the words are frequently confounded.
13 Vincentio, come. Hanmer's correction of the folio, which
reads " Vincentio's come. ""
14 Vincentio's son. Hanmer reads, " Lucentio his son, "
which is probably right. Pope reads, " Vincentio his son. ‫وو‬
This prologue aims at giving the audience all possible informa-
tion, and therefore probably the reading should be " Lucentio
his son." The force of the repetition " Vincentio's son " is
much weakened by the " brought up in Florence. " An
argument for the old reading would be that in a similar way
below two consecutive lines (213-214) end with " Lucentio, "
and in Sc. 2 (74-75) with " Padua. ”
15 To serve all hopes conceived. 'To fulfil the expectations
formed of him.'
19 Apply. 'Attend assiduously (to), ' ' devote our energy
to. ' This word was often used by old writers for ply. Singer
G 2
quotes Baret, " With diligent endeavour to applie their studies. "
And Turberville's Tragic Tales, " How she her wheele applyde. "
Cp. also ( 191-193) where ply is used for apply himselfto-
" For who shall bear your part ,
And be in Padua here Vincentio's son,
Keep house and ply his book, " &c.
23 Plash. 'A small piece of water, ' ' a pool. ' Derived
from the O. Dutch plasch.
25 Mi perdonato. ' Pardon me.' This is Capell's reading.
The folio has ' Me pardonato.' Me perdonato = me being
pardoned.
26 Affected as yourself. Inclined to do what you do. '
31 Let's be no stoics nor no stocks. ' Let us not be passion-
less and unfeeling. ' The Stoics were disciples of the philosopher
Zeno, who used to teach that men should subdue all passion,
conform to reason, and accept the inevitable. The word Stoic is
derived from the Stoa Pocile, the porch in which Zeno taught.
32 Devote. " Some verbs ending in -te, -t, and -d, on
account of their already resembling participles in their termina-
tions, do not add ed in the participle. " See Sh. Gr. § 342,
where many examples are given.
Aristotle's checks. Checks = ' restraints ' of moral philo-
sophy. But probably Blackstone is right in reading " ethics. "
Aristotle was born at Stagira in 384 B.C. , and was a disciple of
Plato. He is alluded to again in Troilus and Cressida, ii.
2, 165-167-
" Not much
Unlike young men, whom Aristotle thought
Unfit to hear moral philosophy. "
33 As. 6 That. ' Cp. Induc. I. 69, " As he shall think by our
true diligence ; " and see note thereon . Ovid is mentioned as
the typical writer of love poetry. See below, Act III.
34 Balk logic, &c. i.e. bandy logic. ' The sense of the pas-
sage is, Acquire the arts ambulando.' Learn logic by ordinary
conversation with acquaintance' ; practise rhetoric in the same
way. Rowe altered balk ' to talk, and this alteration was
endorsed by Malone.
36 To quicken you. To animate you. '
38 Stomach. 6 Appetite, ' ' inclination. ' Cp. The Mer-
chant of Venice, iii. 5. 92—
" Nay, let me praise you while I have a stomach. "
Sometimes the word means ' pride, ' as in v. 2 , 169, " Then
vail your stomachs. "
40 Affect. Usually in Shakspeare means ' like, ' ' love. ' Cp.
ii. I. 14, " If you affect him ; " and in Twelfth Night, ii. 5.
27, ""28, Malvolio says , " Maria once told me she did affect
me. Here have a taste for. ' From Lat. affectare, ' to
apply oneself to, ' to aim at.' .
Scene 1] NOTES. 85
41 Gramercies. ' Great thanks, ' Grand merci. More
common in the singular, but used twice in this play in the
plural, and once in Timon ofAthens, ii. 2. 70.
42 IfBiondello now were come ashore. The other reading,
" If, Biondello, thou wert come ashore, " is adopted by many
editors, but the reading of the text seems preferable. Dyce
says, " Thou ' is an error occasioned by what precedes ; and
that error, once committed , the additional error wert' was a
matter of course. "
Enter Baptista, Gremio, &c. In the folio the stage direction
is " Enter ... Gremio, a Pantelowne. " In Hamlet, iii. 2.
250, ' the player queen ' is called Baptista.
48 Gentlemen, importune me no farther. Theobald put in
' both ' after Gentlemen, ' but a stressed syllable may occa-
sionally stand without its usual unstressed syllable ; and here
such a licence is especially effective as showing Baptista's flurry.
50 Youngest. " The superlative was sometimes used (as it
is still, but with recognised incorrectness) when only two objects
are compared." Sh. Gr. § 10.
55 To cart her. " A play upon these two words (court—
cart) is common in old writers, and very plainly depended upon
a pronunciation of the former like the latter. Such a pronun-
ciation lingered in some parts of England till the end of the
seventeenth century. Titus Oates affected it. Carting was a
punishment akin to the ducking- stool, and consisted in driving
the offender about the town in a cart." (GRANT WHITE. )
57 Ipray you, sir, is it your will? Hanmer, to improve the
metre, added " and pleasure. " Collier's MS. corrector reads,
" Is it your gracious will ? "
58 Stale. Decoy . ' " A stale was a stalking horse, i.e.
the mock figure of a horse used in stalking game. But the
expression seems to have a quibbling allusion to the chess term
of stale-mate." (DOUCE. ) Singer compares Bacon's Twelfth
Essay, " Like a stale at chess, where it is no mate but yet the
game cannot stir. " The word is used again in iii. 1. 89, " To
cast thy wandering eyes on every stale, " where ' stale ' = decoy.
So, too, in The Tempest, iv. I. 187, " For stale to catch these
thieves." In 3 Henry VI. , iii. 3. 260, " Had he none else
to make a stale but me ? "
62 I wis. Properly an adverb, ywiss = ' certainly,' ' truly. '
Cp. Ralph Roister Doister, i. 4, " Nay, she shall make suit, ere
she shall know that, ywis. "
It is not half way, &c. ' You are not half way yet to her
heart, but even if you were. ' The idea is : Hortensio says he
is no mate for Katharina unless she were milder. She replies ,
" You fear me, do you ? Then you need never fear that I will
marry you, for to fear me is the least likely way of gaining my
affections ; but if ever I did marry a man that pleased me,

doubt not that I should comb," &c.
64 To comb your noddle. An old vulgar expression . Cp .
the Italian phrase, Io ti laverò il capo = I'll wash your head
for you.' Also French Peigner, the vulgar sense of which ,
according to Littré, is Se prendre aux cheveux, Se battre, also
Battre and Maltraiter. See Pheeze in Glossary.
65 Paint yourface. i.e. ' with the blood which should flow
from any rough treatment. ' " To paint with blood " occurs in
KingJohn, iv. 2. 253, " Not painted with the crimson spots of
blood." Cp. also Henry V. , iii. 5. 49, " Painted in the blood
of Harfleur " ; and 1 Henry VI. , ii. 4. 50 ; 3 Henry VI. ,
i. 4. 12 ; Coriolanus, ii. 2. 115, &c. Or possibly paint it black
and blue with bruises. It is just possible that there may be
here a satirical allusion to the use of paint, cosmetics, & c. ,
which was not entirely unknown to men. Cp. Much Ado About
Nothing, iii. 2. 56-58, where Claudio and Don Pedro, speaking
of the altered appearance of Benedict, say, " And when was
he wont to wash his face ? " 66 Yea, or to paint himself ? '
Fool. 'A domestic fool ' or ' jester.'
66 Deliver us. Hanmer reads ' deliver me. '
68 Toward. At hand ,' ' prepared ,' ' ready. ' See Glos-
sary. Cp. A Midsummer Night's Dream, iii. 1 , 81 , " What, a
play toward ! " As You Like It, v. 4. 35–36, " There is, sure,
another flood toward, and these couples are coming to the ark. "
And King Lear, iv. 6. 213 , " Do you hear aught, sir, of a
battle toward ?"
69 Froward. ' Perverse.' Cp. Gorboduc, iv. 1 , 66'What
froward fate has sorted us this chance ? " See Glossary.
73 Well said. Hanmer reads, " Why well said. "
Gentlemen, that. See note on 1. 48 above.
78 Peat. ' Pet. ' Cp . Coridon's Song, published in England's
Helicon, 1600, quoted by Grant White-
" And God send every pretie peate
Heigh ho ! the pretie peate !
That feares to die of this conceate
So kinde a friende to helpe at last. "
6
79 Put finger in the eye. Cry like a child. ' Cp. The
Comedy ofErrors, ii. 2. 205-207—
"Come, come, no longer will I be a fool ,
To put the finger in the eye and weep,
Whilst man and master laugh my woes to scorn.'99
Dyce thinks that the phrase " was possibly taken from some
song, ballad, or nursery rhyme."
81 I subscribe. ' Surrender, ' ' give in, ' ' yield. ' Subscribe
is used in this sense in 1 Henry VI. , ii. 4. 44-
" If I have fewest, I subscribe in silence. "
Scene 1] NOTES. 87
Again, in 2 Henry VI. , iii. 1. 38-

" I will subscribe, and say I wrong'd the duke. "
84 Minerva. Goddess of wisdom, and patroness of all
arts.
85 So strange. ' So odd, ' ' so different from others in your
conduct.' (JOHNSON. )
87 Mew her up. Keep her shut up like a hawk while moult-
ing. See Glossary. Cp. 1. 180 below, " And therefore has
he closely mew'd her up. Also cp. Richard III. i. 1. 38, " This
day should Clarence closely be mew'd up. " Again, same scene,
1. 132, " More pity that the eagle should be mew'd. " Also ,
i. 3. 138 of same play, " And for his meed, poor lord, he is
mew'd up."""
92 Andfor. And because. '
97 Prefer them hither. ' Recommend them hither. ' Cp.
The Merchant of Venice, ii. 2. 154-157-
""
' Shylock thy master spoke with me this day,
And hath preferr'd thee, if it be preferment
To leave a rich Jew's service, to become
The follower of so poor a gentleman.'""
On this passage Mr. Beeching (in Falcon Series) notes Bas-
sanio plays on the word ' preferred, ' meaning ' recommended, '
as in Julius Cæsar, v. 5. 62, " Ay, if Messala will prefer me
to you." He further cites two other instances of this use of the
word in Cymbeline, iv. 2. 385, 400, " Than thine ‫ دو‬own worth
prefer thee " ; " Boy, he is preferr'd by thee to us.
97 Cunning. Skilful.' See Glossary. Cp. 1. 184, " To get
her cunning schoolmasters to instruct her " ; ii. 1 , 56, " Cunning
in music and the mathematics " ; 90, " As cunning in Greek,
&c. See note on Induc. sc. I , 1. 80.
103 Belike. See note on Induc . sc. I , 74.
105 Gifts. ' Endowments. ' (MALONE. )
106 Here's none will hold you. 'Neither of us wishes to
detain you . '
Their love is not so great. This is the reading of folios
I and 2, and is explained ""by Malone as " the goodwill of Bianca
and Baptista towards us. Knight explains it as " the affection
between Katharina and her father, who have been jarring
throughout the scene. Baptista has resolved that Bianca shall
not wed till he has found a husband for his elder daughter.
Gremio and Hortensio, who aspire to Bianca, think there is so
little love between the Shrew and her father, that his resolve
will change, while they blow their nails together- while they
submit to some delay. " Grant White explains the passage in
a similar way.
Folios 3, 4 read our, which Monck Mason and Dyce prefer.
Malone conjectured your, accepting the reading Their ' and
SHREW
TAMIN
THE
[Act
OF
888
I
.
Knight's explanation Blow our nails together = ‘ Keep ourselves
and our love warm while waiting. '
And fast it fairly out = And put up with and overcome
present inconvenience. ' To fast = 'to be exiled from Bianca. '
If the reading ' our love, ' &c. , is adopted , the following is the
explanation given by Mr. Marshall : " Gremio means to say,
I suppose, that his and Hortensio's love is not so great but they
may together blow their nails (as people do when cold ) and
fast it out, i.e. expel their love by fasting. He recognises the
fact that they are both practically rejected , and may consider
themselves both out in the cold." " But Gremio could hardly
then continue, " For the love I bear my sweet Bianca. " For
the expression " blow our nails, " cp. Love's Labour's Lost, v. 2.
922-923-
"When icicles hang by the wall,
And Dick the shepherd blows his nail. "
Also 3 Henry VI. , ii. 5. 3, "What time the shepherd ,
blowing of his nails. "
108 Ourcake's dough on both sides. The stress is laid on the
last words, 66 on both sides." We are in the same plight. It is
a proverbial expression, meaning ' our hopes are brought to no-
thing,' ' our hopes are vain. ' Gremio uses it again in v. I. 130,
66
Thy cake is dough. " Staunton quotes from Ben Jonson's
The Case is Altered, v. 4, " Steward, your cake is dough as
well as mine. " Murray gives " 1687 Settle, Reflect. Dryden, 4,
' She is sorry his cake is dough and that he came not soon
enough to speed . ' 1708, Motteux, Rabelais, iv. vi. , ' You
shall have rare Sport anon, if my Cake ben't Dough, and my
Plot do but take.""
III Wish him to. ' Commend ' or ' recommend ' him to.
This expression occurs twice again in this play ; see i. 2. 59,
and i. 2. 63-
" And wish thee to a shrewd ill-favour'd wife. ”
" And I'll not wish thee to her."
Cp. also Much Ado About Nothing, iii. 1. 41-43-
" But I persuaded them, if they loved Benedick,
To wish him wrestle with affection,
And never to let Beatrice know of it. "
So in Ben Jonson's Alchemist, i. I , " I was wish'd to your
worship by a gentleman. "
113 Never brooked parle. Never allowed of a conference
on the subject being held between us.
114 Upon advice. Upon consideration ' or ' reflection, '
according to Steevens, who compares The Two Gentlemen of
Verona, ii . iv. 207-208-
" How shall I dote on her with more advice
That thus without advice begin to love her ? ”
Scene 1] NOTES. 89
123 To be married. Notice the omission of as, and cp. iii.

I. 9-10-
66 Preposterous ass ! that never
read so far
To know," &c. ; v. 2. 154, " I am ashamed that women
are so simple to offer war, " &c.
128 Would take her. For omission of relative, see note
on Induc. sc. 2, 1. 43 , ' hawks will soar. '
129 I had as lief. I would as willingly. ' See Glossary.
130 At the high cross. The cross in the market-place.
133 Bar in law. ' Hindrance laid by (parental) law upon us.
137 Happy man be his dole ! May the portion or share dealt
out to him who marries Bianca be that of a happy man .'> This
proverb occurs again in The Merry Wives of Windsor, iii. 4. 68 ;
The Winter's Tale, i. 2. 163 ; and 1 Henry IV. , ii . 2. 80-81 .
138 The ring. A ring was the prize sometimes given at
running and wrestling matches. Singer notes that in the Cokes
Tale of Gamelyn the prizes of a wrestling match are a ram and
a ring. Here = he that runs fastest to find a wife for Katharina
will get the wedding-ring.
148 Love in idleness. Cp. A Midsummer Night's Dream ,
ii. 1. 165-172-
" Yet mark'd I where the bolt of Cupid fell :
It fell upon a little western flower,
Before milk-white, now purple with love's wound ,
And maidens call it love-in-idleness.
Fetch me that flower ; the herb I shew'd thee once,
The juice of it on sleeping eye-lids laid
Will make or man or woman madly dote""
Upon the next live creature that it sees.'
The flower alluded to is the pansy, or heartsease.
151 Anna. Sister of Dido. See Virgil En. , iv.
153 Achieve. Cp . i. 2. 266, " Achieve the elder ; " Othello,
ii. 1. 61-62-
" He hath achieved a maid,
That paragons description and wild fame. "
And cp. King Henry's answer to the Herald Mountjoy who
offers him ransom in Henry V. iv. 3. 91 , " Bid them achieve
me and then sell my bones."
6
157 Ratedfrom. Scolded out from , ' ' driven out by chiding. '
Cp. 1 Henry IV. iv. 3 , 99, “ Rated mine uncle from the coun-
cil-board."
159 Redime, &c. This is taken from Lily's Latin Grammar,
and means ' ransom yourself from your captivity at as low a price
as possible. ' The correct lines from which Lily took this are
to be found in Terence's Eunuchus, i. 1. 29-30-
""
Quid agas ? nisi ut te redimas captum quam queas
Minimo si nequeas paululo at quanti queas.
Phædria being madly in love has just said to Parmeno, “ I don't

know what to do," to which he replies, " What can you do
but ransom yourself from your captivity at as low a price as
possible ? If you can't for a small sum, then at whatever price
you can. "
160 Gramercies. See 1. 41.
162 Longly. Steevens explains this as ' lovingly,' but it
certainly merely means ' long,' or ' for a long time. ' Cp. Cot-
grave, longuement, ' longly.'
165 The daughter ofAgenor. The allusion is to Europa ; she
was carried off by Jupiter (who had changed himself into a
bull), from Phoenicia to Crete. See Ovid Met. , ii. 839.
Shakspeare alludes to this story again in The Merry Wives
of Windsor, v. 5. 3, where Falstaff says, " Remember, Jove,
thou wast a bull for thy Europa.'
166 That made great Jove, &c. Words frequently drop or
66 el and le, especially before a vowel or h in the next word.
soften
' That made | great Jove | to húmb | le hím tó | her hánd. ” .
Sh. Gr. § 465.
171 I saw her coral lips to move. " To is often inserted after
verbs of perceiving— ‘ feel, ' ' see, ' ' hear. ' Cp. Faerie Queen,
v. 7. 32, " Whom when on ground she grovelling saw to roll. " "
Sh. Gr. § 349. Cp. also Gorboduc, i. I , " Methinks I see his
envious heart to swell. "
177 Curst. ' Ill-tempered, ' ' crabbed, ' or ' cross-grained. '
Cp. Richard III. , i. 2. 49, “ Sweet saint, for charity, be not
so curst. " See Glossary.
Shrewd. Malicious,' ' wicked. ' See Glossary.
180 Mew'd her up. See note on 1. 87.
181 She will not. Rowe reads she shall not, and explains
"thatthefather secludes Bianca until he has disposed ofKatharina,
because he will not be annoyed by suitors for Bianca's hand. "
Singer conjectures ' he will not.' Cowden Clarke explains it,
Because [then] she will not be annoyed with suitors. ' ' Will '
and ' shall ' were, however, not used in quite the same way as
they are now, and were often interchangeable, and ' Because
she will not seems to mean so that she may not. '
183 Art thou not advised. ' Do you not consider. ' Cp. the
use of the noun ' advice ' in l . 114.
184 Cunning. See note on 1. 97.
186 For my hand. A common expression in Shakspeare is
' By this hand. ' Cp. Twelfth Night, i. 3. 36, and iv. 2. 117.
Also Tempest, iii. 2. 78.
187 Jump. Agree."" ' Cp. Othello, i. 3. 5, " They jump not
on a just account. Also the proverb, " Good wits jump. "
193 Ply his book. Apply himself to his ( Lucentio's) book as
a student at the university. See note on apply, l. 19.
Scene 1] NOTES. 91
195 Basta. " Enough ' (Italian), dialectical abbreviation
for abbastanza. ' (MARSHALL. )
I have it full. I have got it perfectly, ' ' I have thoroughly
planned it out. ' Cp. Much Ado About Nothing, i. I. 110,
" You have it full, Benedick."
200 Port. ' State,' ' show,' ' style. ' Cp. The Merchant of
Venice, i. I. 124-125-
" Showing a more swelling port
Than my faint means would grant continuance. "
Also 2 Henry VI. , iv. I. 19, " And bear the name and
port of gentlemen ? "
202 Meaner man. 'A man of lower station in life. ' Walker
compares the stage direction în ii. 1 , " Enter. · .Lucentio in the
""
habit of a mean man.' Mean instead of meaner should pro-
bably be read here.
204 Uncase thee. " Undress thee. ' Cp. Love's Labour's Lost,
v. 2. 707-708, " Do you not see Pompey is uncasing for the
combat ?" Discase is used in the same sense in the Tempest in
v. I. 85, " I will discase me, " and in The Winter's Tale, iv. 4.
648, " Discase thee instantly. " The word cases is used as a
noun meaning dresses in 1 Henry IV. i. 2. 201-203, " I have
cases of buckram for the nonce , to inmask our noted outward
garments. " Subtle in Jonson's Alchemist, iv. 3, says to Face,
66 Off with your case " when he wishes him to remove his dis-
guise. The word case is used as a verb in several places in
Shakspeare, among others in 1 Henry IV. , ii. 2. 55, " Case
ye, case ye ; on with your vizards. "
My colour'd hat and cloak. " Coloured may here mean of
various colours, in contradistinction to the uniform colour of the
servant's livery.'." See note by Mr. Marshall, where it is shown
that blue was the colour usually worn by servants.
206 Charm him. Affect him so that he keeps silence like
one charmed. Cp. iv. 2. 58, " To tame a shrew and charm her
chattering tongue " ; 3 Henry VI. , v. 5. 31 , " Peace, wil-
ful boy, or I will charm your tongue. ' Also Othello, v. 2. 183 ,
"
" Go to, charm your tongue. "" Cp. also A Yorkshire
Tragedy, where Calverley snatches his child from the nurse and
threatens her-
" The surest way to charm a woman's tongue
Is-break her neck ; a politician did it."
208 In brief, sir, sith it your pleasure is. Mr. Marshall
reads, " In brief, sir, sith it thus your pleasure is. " Sith is a con-
tracted form of " sithence, ' which is the old form of ' since. '
Shakspeare uses all three forms of the word.
236 So could I, faith, boy. " This rhymed speech of
Tranio's is certainly unlike any of Shakespeare's known writ-
ing ; but in Comedy of Errors, iii. 1 , may be found some
rhymed lines very nearly, if not quite, as halting in rhythm . The
whole speech is printed in Ff. and Q. as prose. " ( MARSHALL. )
237 Daughter. The word daughter here rhymes with ' after.
Mr. Rolfe compares the chorus to act iv. of The Winter's Tale.
See lines 26-29.
" But let Time's news
Be known when 'tis brought forth. A shepherd's daughter
And what to her adheres, which follows after,
Is the argument of Time. ”
242 One thing more rests, that thyself execute. " The sub-
junctive is often used with or without that,' to denote a
purpose. But it is also used after ' that, ' ' who, ' &c. , in depen-
dent sentences where no purpose is implied , but only futurity.
In this line, " that may bethe relative, and execute an im-
perative. " Sh. Gr. § 368.
24466 Sufficeth. The singular verb is quite Shaksperian in
Though bride and bridegroom wants (are wanting)
For to supply the places at the table, " iii . 2. 240.
So in " Sufficeth my reasons are both good and weighty . "
66
Sufficeth I (am come to keep my word, " iii. 2. 102. The
comma after sufficeth ' is superfluous ; " That I am come to
keep my word sufficeth . " Sh. Gr. § 297.
247 The presenters above speak. That is Sly and his com-
panions on the upper stage or balcony above. See first note
on Induc. sc. 2.
SCENE 2.
As pointed out in the Introductory Remarks, p. vi. it is
probable that large portions of this play-for instance, the
greater part of this scene--were not written by Shakspeare.
Yet signs are not wanting that he did touch up even the weakest
scenes. All through, the development of character-e.g. that
of Bianca, Katharina, and Petruchio-appears as carefully
executed as in plays which are known to be his ; while the con-
struction of an excellent plot, based upon very poor incidents,
could scarcely have been successfully attempted by anyone else.
5 Knock, I say. Lettsom suggests ' Knock, -knock , I say. '
7 Rebused. Grumio's blunder for abused. '
8 Knock me here. 66 Me, thee, him, &c. , are often used in
virtue of their representing the old dative, where we should use
for me, by me, &c. In such phrases as ' Knock me here, ' the
action, and not merely the narrative of the action, is appro-
priated to the speaker. " See Sh. Gr. § 220. Shakspeare in
the following lines is laughing at the peculiar phraseology, such
as iv. 3, 98, " Go, hop me over every kennel home "; " He
plucked me ope his doublet " (Julius Cæsar, i. 2. 267) ; " I
made me no more ado " (1 Henry IV. , ii. 4. 223) ; " I followed
me close " (ib. 241 ) , which is common enough in his own plays.
Scene 2] NOTES. 93
9 Knockyou here. " Grumio's pretensions to wit have a strong

resemblance to those of Dromio in The Comedy of Errors ; and
this circumstance makes it the more probable that these two
plays were written at no great distance of time from each other. "
(MALONE. ) As played at the Globe Theatre lately (January
23, 1890), the actor impersonating Petruchio gave a hitch to
the clothes on his back to adjust them as he said " Knock me
here," and when Grumio replied , " Knock you here, sir !
Why, sir, what am I, sir, that should knock you here, sir ? " he
imitated his master's action, as if mistaking his meaning.
10 That I should knock. " Should " is sometimes used as
though it were the past tense of a verb "" shall, " ‫و‬meaning
" is to," not quite " ought." Cp. German " sollen. ‫ و‬Here
"should" is half-way between the meaning of " ought " and
66 was to." The present shall or " am to " might be expected ,
but there is, perhaps, an implied past tense. " I (you said)
was to knock you . '"" Sh. Gr. , § 324.
16 I'll ring it. A quibble on wringing his ears, ' and ' ring-
ing the bell.'
19 Sirrah villain. After these words Grumio falls down.
Cp. Rise, Grumio , ' 1. 27.
24 Con tutto, &c. 'With all my heart, well met ' (lit. , well
found).
25 Alla nostra . . . Petruccio. ' Welcome to our house, my
much honoured Petruchio.' The spelling Petruccio has been
adopted in this one instance, as the name occurs in an Italian
passage.
28 He 'leges, &c. Alleges. Grumio mistakes Italian for Latin ;
but as he is the clown of the piece, and also all the characters
speak English almost entirely throughout, it is quite con-
sistent .
32 Two-and-thirty— a pip out. Grumio had intended to finish
his sentence at ' two-and-thirty,' meaning thirty-twoyears old, but
seeing Petruchio turning on him , adds rapidly ' a pip out,' thus
alluding to the old game of ' Bone- Ace, or One-and- Thirty. ' A
pip is the spot on a card which helps to determine its 66 value.
Singer quotes from Massinger's Fatal Dowry, ii. 2, " You
think, because you served my lady's mother are thirty- two years
old, which is a pip out, you know. "
The best card carried the Bone '-i.e. took half the stake.
The ace of diamonds beat all others, and was called Bone-Ace,
and the object of the game was to get thirty-one exactly, if
possible, and if not, as near as might be.
45 This 's a. The folio reads this 'a, as in Measure for
Measure, v. 1. 131 , ' This 'a good friar belike, " and King Lear,
iv. 6. 187, " This 'a good block. "
Heavy chance. 'Sad occurrence.'
46 Pleasant. ' Full of pleasantry, ' so ' witty. '
50 Farther than at home Cp. The Two Gentlemen
51 Where
66 small experience grows. J of Verona, i. 1. 2—
Home-keeping youth have ever homely wits. "
Again, lines 7-8—
" Living dully sluggardized at home, ""
Wear out thy youth with shapeless idleness.
And see lines 4-23 of i. 3 of same play. Also cp. Cowper's
The Progress ofError, lines 416-417—
" How much a dunce that has been sent to roam
Excels a dunce that has been kept at home. "
In afew. In a few words, ' ' shortly. ' Cp. Hamlet, i. 3.
126-127-
" In few, Ophelia,
Do not believe his vows. ""
55 Haply. Folio has 6 happily, ' but ' happily ' was often
employed in the sense of haply, ' i.e. by chance, ' ' perhaps. '
Cp. Measure for Measure, iv. 2. 98-99, " Happily,
You something know. "
56 Crowns in my purse. One may be expected to doubt
this, as Hortensio seems to by his conduct, from Petruchio's
anxiety to find an heiress and at the same time be paid for
wooing her. Grumio perhaps should be consulted on the point
(1. 215, “ I would I were as sure of a good dinner ").
58 Come roundly. ' Speak plainly. ' Cp. Twelfth Night,
ii. 3. 102, " Sir Toby, I must be round with you. "
59 Wish thee to. See note on 1. III.
Shrewd. See note on 1.
67 Burden of my wooing dance. " The burden of his woo-
ing song had been a more proper expression. " (JOHNSON. )
68 Florentius' love. " The allusion is to a story told by
Gower in the first book De Confessione Amantis. Florent is
the name of a knight who had bound himself to marry a de-
formed hag, provided she taught him the solution of a riddle
on which his life depended. This story might have been
borrowed by Gower from an older narrative in the Gesta
Romanorum. See the Introductory Discourse to The Canter-
bury Tales of Chaucer, Mr. Tyrwhitt's edition, vol. iv. p. 153. ”
(STEEVENS. ) Farmer shows that the same tale is told in Book
XI. of Thomas Lupton's Thousand Notable Things, the earliest
known edition of which, according to Collier, was printed in
1586, a reprint following in 1595. A similar story is Chaucer's
Wife of Bath's Tale.
69 As old as Sibyl. Cp. The Merchant of Venice, i. 2. 116,
" If I live to be as old as Sibylla," on which passage Mr.
Beeching, in the Falcon edition of that play, notes as follows :
" A name borne by several prophetic women-four or ten,
according to different accounts. The most famous was the
Scene 2] NOTES. 95
Cumaan Sibyl, whom Æneas consulted (Æn. , vi. 10) , and who
is said to have offered the Sibylline books to Tarquin. Bacon
also -Essay xxi. 3. -uses the word like a proper name. " It
is sometimes like Sibylla's offer.' Of her great age a curious
story is told in Petronius, 48 : Sibyllam quidem Cumis ego
ipse oculis meis vidi in ampulla pendere, et cum illi pueri
dicerent Σίβυλλα τί θέλεις ; respondebat illa ἀποθανεῖν θέλω. ”
Cp. also Othello, iii. 4. 70-71-
" A sibyl that had number'd in the world
The sun to course two hundred compasses. ""
70 Socrates' Xanthippe. " The wife of Socrates, remarkable
for ill -humour and peevish disposition, which are become pro-
verbial ; some suppose that the philosopher was acquainted
with her moroseness and insolence before he married her, and .
took her for his wife to try his patience and inure himself
to the malevolent reflections of mankind . " ( LEMPRIÈRE. )
Socrates was born near Athens, B. C. 469 , and was condemned
to death B. C. 399. Milton, in Paradise Regained, Book iv.
275-280, thus speaks of him-
"Whom well inspired the oracle pronounced
Wisest of men ; from whose mouth issued forth
Mellifluous streams that watered all the schools
Of academics old and new, with those
Surnamed Peripatetics, and the sect
""
Epicurean, and the Stoic severe. '
74 I come to wive it. See note on iii. 2. 245, " Shall
sweet Bianca practise how to bride it. "
78 Aglet-baby. " A small image or head cut on the tag of a
point or lace. That such figures were sometimes appended to
them Dr. Warburton has proved by a passage in Mezeray, the
French historian, ' portant même sur les aiguillettes (points) des
petites têtes de mort. "" ( MALONE. ) Singer says that an
aglet was not only a tag of a point, but a brooch or jewel in
one's cap . An aglet-baby was therefore a diminutive figure
embossed on an aglet or jewel. Baby was used of the reflec-
tions of the eyes, and so not unfrequently of these tiny faces or
points.
Trot. An old woman. ' In Measure for Measure, iii. 2. 53,
Lucio applies this name to Pompey, " What sayest thou, Trot ? "
80 Two-and-fifty horses. " I suspect this passage to be cor-
rupt, though I know not how to rectify it. The fifty diseases of a
horse seem to have been proverbial. So in The Yorkshire
Tragedy, 1608, ' O, stumbling jade, the spavin overtake thee !
the fifty diseases stop thee ! "" ( MALONE.) Biondello, in iii. 2 .
48-55, enumerates a large number of diseases that the horse is
heir to. Grumio merely exaggerates the proverbial number fifty
slightly to increase the effect.
G
96 TAMIN OF THE SHREW . [Act I
81 Withal. 'With it.' The emphatic form of ' with. ' See
Sh. Gr. § 196, and Glossary.
83 Broach'd. See Glossary.
88 Intolerable. Adjective used for adverb. See note on
Induc. I. " Thou didst it excellent."
Curst. See note i. I. 177.
89 Shrewd. See note i. I. 177.
Froward. See note i. I. 69.
90 Worser. Note the double comparative, and see Glossary.
94 Board her. Lit. , enter a ship by force, ' here means ' ac-
cost. Cp. Twelfth Night, i. 3. 59–60, " Accost ' is front her,
board her, woo her, assail her " ; Hamlet, ii. 2. 170, " I'll board
him presently."
104 To give you over at this first encounter. To have done
with you at our first meeting. ' Note the omission of the corre-
lative conjunction ' as.'
. 110 Rope-tricks. ' Abusive language, ' lit. , ' tricks which de-
serve the rope.' In Wilson's Arte of Rhetorique ( 1553 ) Malone
informs us that an abusive passage is called by the author " rope
ripe chiding." Chapman also uses the phrase " rope-ripe
terms. " ' Ropery ' is used for roguery in Romeo andJuliet, ii.
4. 153-154, " What saucy merchant was this, that was so full of
his ropery? " Grumio undoubtedly plays upon the resemblance
6
in sound between tropes tricks and 6 rhetoric, ' or ' rope
tricks ' and ' rhetoric, ' for he jokes on the word ' figure '—¿.e.
' rhetorical figure ' — immediately afterwards. Hanmer un-
necessarily altered 6 rope-tricks ' to ' rhetoric. '
III Stand him. 'Withstand him. '
113 Than a cat. Probably Grumio intends a play upon the
words ' cat ' and ' Kate, ' and see below, 1. 194, 6 wild-cat. ' If
Grumio is to be translated seriously here, Johnson's explanation
appears to be the only one, viz. " that he shall swell up her eyes
with blows till she shall seem to peep with a contracted pupil,
like a cat in the light. " And Steevens quotes from The Castell
ofLaboure, printed "" by Wynkyn de Worde, 1506, " That was as
blereyed as a cat.
116 Baptista's keep. Keeping. '
119 And her withholds. The pointing of the Globe edition
has been followed. The first folio reads, " And her withholds
from me. Other more suitors, " &c.
With the pointing adopted above, the meaning is, " And he
withholds her from me, and many others who are suitors to her
and rivals in my love --supposing, as he does, that it is a thing im-
possible, " &c. For ' other ' used for ' others,
6 ' see Sh. Gr. § 12.
124 This order hath Baptista ta'en. Has taken measures.
Cp. Richard III. , iv. 2. 53 , “ I will take order for her keeping
close " ; Othello, v. 2. 72 , " Honest Iago hath ta'en order for❜t.
Scene 2] NOTES. 97
129 Do megrace. ' Do me a favour, or kindness. ' Cp. 1 Henry

IV. v. 4. 161-162—
" For my part, if a lie may do thee grace,
I'll gild it with the happiest terms I have. "
132 Well seen. Seen is ' versed, ' ' practised. ' So in a very
ancient comedy, called The Longer thou Livest the more Fool
thou Art-
" Sum would have you seene in stories,
Sum to feates of armes will you allure,
Sum will move you to reade Scripture,
Marry, I would have you seene in cards and dise."
(STEEVENS. )
141 A proper stripling. Grumio is making fun of the aged
Gremio. For Proper, see Glossary.
143 Sir. The metre would be improved by the omission of
this word.
144 At any hand. ' At any rate.' Steevens compares this
with All's Well that Ends Well, iii. 6. 44-45, " Let him fetch
off his drum in any hand. " Cp. I. 224, " Not her that chides ,
sir, at any hand I pray.'
148 Take yourpaper. So the folio. Pope changed the word
to ' papers, ' on account of the word ' them ' in the next line ;
but this seems unnecessary, because Shakspeare very frequently
uses a singular noun with a plural pronoun or verb. The
meaning of ' paper ' probably is ' manuscript lectures ' (which
were to be scented ).
151 To whom they go to. Collier says that the ' to ' "is re-
dundant by the sense and metre, and, therefore, to be rejected
in this instance, although warranted ""by the phraseology of the
time, if it did not injure the verse. Cp. As You Like It, ii.
7. 139, " The scene wherein we play in. "
153 As. ' As if. ' Cp. ii. 1 , 158 , " As she had studied to
misuse me so."
154 Were still in place. Were yourself there.'
158 Woodcock. Shakspeare alludes several times to this bird
as being one of the most foolish of the feathered tribe. Cp.
Twelfth Night, ii. 5. 92, where Fabian, seeing Malvolio pick
up Maria's letter, exclaims, " Now is the woodcock near the
gin. " Again, in All's Well that Ends Well, iv. I. 100, " We
have caught the woodcock " ; and also Hamlet, v. 2. 317,
" Why, as a woodcock to mine own springe. "
163 Inquire. A trisyllable here.
175 Bags. 6 Money bags. ' Grumio means that he suspects
that there is a plot between Hortensio and Petruchio to bleed
the rich Gremio, for notice that Hortensio does not introduce
Petruchio to Gremio as his friend, but says, " Here is a gentle-
man whom by chance I met, " and continues with " Upon
H
G OF THE SHREW .
98 TAMIN [Act I
agreement from us to his liking," which seems to suggest that

money was to be paid to Petruchio. See also the end of the
scene, where Tranio is told by Hortensio, " You must, as we
do, gratify this gentleman. "
176 Vent our love. This word was an affected one, and to
it Feste takes great exception in Twelfth Night, iv. 1. 12-15,
" Vent my folly ! he has heard that word of some great man
and now applies it to a fool. Vent my folly !‫ وو‬I am afraid this
great lubber, the world, will prove a cockney.'
178 Indifferent good. Either ( 1 ) Moderately good, ' as in
Twelfth Night, i. 3. 143-144, " It does indifferent well (mode-
rately well) in a flame-coloured stock " ; or (2) Equally good,'
as in the expression ' indifferent justice, ' .e. impartial justice.
The latter is the more generally accepted explanation, but the
former is a quite possible one, for Hortensio's news is after all
only moderately good . It is true he has found a man who says
he " will undertake to woo curst Katharine, Yea, and to marry
her, if her dowry please, " but it by no means follows that this
man will be successful ; indeed everything points to the proba-
bility of his failure.
187 The line should be scanned thus :
" No, sáy'st me só, | friend ? | What coún❘trymán ? ”
192 Have a stomach. See note i. I. 38.
194 Wild cat. Quasi Kate, as above.
200 Chafed with sweat. " The sweat of the boar is com-
pared to the foam of the sea. "" (SCHMIDT. ) Cp. Titus Andro-
nicus, iv. 2. 136-139—
When we join in league
I am a lamb ; but if you brave the Moor,
The chafed boar, the mountain lioness,
The ocean swells not so as Aaron storms. "
206 To hear. So the folio. Hanmer altered this to th'
ear,'and this reading is adopted by Mr. Marshall, who compares
King John, ii. 1. 463–465—
" He gives the bastinado with his tongue:
Our ears are cudgell'd ; not a word of his
But buffets better than a fist of France. "
·
208 Fear boys with bugs. Frighten children with bugbears. '
See Glossary. Fear was used transitively as frighten is used now.
Shakspeare employs it in this sense in several places. Cp. The
Merchant of Venice, ii. 1. 8-9, " This aspect of mine hath
fear'd the valiant " ; Measure"2for Measure, ii. 1. 2, " Setting
it up to fear the birds of prey.' For the use of bug in the sense
of hobgoblin,' ' scarecrow,' or ' bugbear,' cp. The Winter's
Tale, iii. 2. 93, " The bug which you would fright me with
I seek " ; 3 Henry VI. v. 2. 2, “ For Warwick was a bug
that fear'd us all " ; and Beaumont and Fletcher's Philas-
Scene 2] NOTES. 99
ter, i. 1, "'Spite of all these bugs, you should hear further

from me. "
219 He that has the two fair daughters. Biondello is not
over-respectful to his real master (cp. i. I , where he first appears ;
also iv. 4, just before his exit). And he is much less respectful
to Tranio. He adds, " He that has the two fair daughters ""
by way offurther explanation, and appeals to Tranio whether
it is not so. And in the first passage referred to above, Tranio
had doubts of his discretion.
222 Not her to. The sentence is interrupted . Possibly, as
Malone suggests, Gremio was going to add " woo, " and Tranio's
next speech, " Perhaps, him and her, sir, " alludes to his obtain-
ing the father's consent as well as the daughter's.
224 At any hand. See note on 1. 144, " All books of love,
see that at any hand. "
242 Fair Leda's daughter had a thousand wooers. Leda's
daughter Helen had thirty-one suitors among the young princes
of Greece, and by the advice of Ulysses, her father, Tyndarus,
bound them by a solemn oath to agree to the choice she herself
should make, and to unite to defend her. She chose Menelaus,
but was afterwards carried off by Paris, son of Priam , king of
Troy, and this abduction caused the Trojan war.
245 To speed. ' To prosper. ' Cp. ii. 1 , 137, “ Happy be thy
speed " ; 1. 273, " How speed you with my daughter ? " ; 1. 275,
" It were impossible I should speed amiss. " For a similar use of
the word, cp. Judges, v. 30, " Have they not sped ? "
247 A jade. A useless horse, ' ' A sorry nag.' See Glossary.
256 Alcides' twelve. Alluding to the twelve labours of
Hercules. Alcides was a patronymic of Hercules, whose
grandfather was Alceus. In The Merchant of Venice, Hercules
is twice alluded to under this name. See ii. 1. 35 ; and iii. 2.
53-57.
257 In sooth. ' In truth. '
258 Whom you hearkenfor. 'Whom you eagerly wait for,'
'seek,' or ' desire.' Cp. 1 Henry IV. v. 4. 52, " That ever
said I hearken'd for your death. " Also Ben Jonson's Al-
chemist, v. 3, " Come, let us go and hearken out the rogues. "
And again in his Epicone, i. I, " He has employed a fellow
this half year all over England to hearken him out a dumb
woman. ""
264 Stead. " Help. ' Cp. The Two Gentlemen of Verona, ii. 1.
119, " So it stead you, I will write. " Also the phrase to stand
in stead, i.e. to be ofuse or advantage to.
265 Feat. This is Rowe's emendation of ' seek. '
266 Achieve the elder. Cp. i. 1 , 153, " If I achieve not
this young modest girl. "
267 Whose hap. 'Whosoever may have the good fortune. '
H 2
268 Ingrate. Ungrateful. ' Shakspeare uses both ' un-

grateful ' and ' ingrateful,' but never ungrate. Note that ' as ' is
omitted before ' to be ingrate. ' Former instances of the same
idiom have been noted.
271 Gratify. 6 Recompense . ' Cp. The Merchant of Venice,
iv. I. 406-407-
" Antonio, gratify this gentleman,
For, in my mind , you are much bound to him. ”
272 Beholding. 6 Beholden ' = bound in gratitude , obliged.
For beholding ' for ' beholden, ' cp. Richard III. ii. 1. 129,
" Have been beholding to him. " In Sh. Gr. § 372, several
examples are given of Shakspeare's use of ing as equivalent to
en, the old termination of the passive participle.
274 Contrive . ' Pass away,' ' wear out, ' ' spend. ' Steevens
quotes Damon and Pithias , 1571-
" In travelling countries, we three have contrived
Full many a year."
Cp. also The Faerie Queen (quoted by Warburton), " Three
ages such as mortal men contrive. " The word does not occur
again in this sense in Shakspeare.
275 Quaffcarouses. See Glossary.
276 Adversaries. Not the ' clients, ' but the ' counsel em-
ployed on either side.
278 Fellows. Probably ' companions, ' and not ' fellow ser-
vants,' as Malone suggests ; for neither Grumio nor Biondello
would scruple to address their masters so. For Grumio's interest
in the proposal, see above , 1. 215, " I would I were as sure of a
good dinner. " Cp. Twelfth Night, iii. 4. 84-85 , " Let this fellow
be looked to : fellow ! not Malvolio, nor after my degree, but
fellow."
280 I shall be your ben venuto. Lit. , ' I shall be your wel-
come,' i.e. I shall secure for you a hearty welcome.
ACT II. SCENE I.
3 Gawds. The first folio has goods. The correction is
Theobald's. Gawds = 'showy ornaments,' and here, probably,
were presents either from Baptista or the suitors. Hence
Katharina's resentment.
4 Unbind my hands. Katharina seems to have interpreted
seriously her father's imprisonment of Bianca, even to herself
playing gaoler and tying her hands.
8 Thee. Omitted in first folio.
13 Minion . ' A spoiled favourite . ' French , mignon , a
darling.' " Its use as a substantive with a sinister sense was
probably borrowed from Italian mignone. " (FLORIO. ) Here
used contemptuously , as in Twelfth Night, v. i . 128, " But this
your minion."
Scene 1] NOTES. ΙΟΙ
14 Affect him. Cp. i. I. 40, " In brief, sir, study what you
most affect," and see note thereon.
15 But you shall have him. ' Rather than you shall not
have him.'
16 Belike. Cp. Induc. I. 74.
17 Fair. ' Fine, ' i.e. finely dressed ; which reading John-
son would prefer.
18 Envy. " Envý (verb), énvy (noun) . Ís it | for hím |
you do envý me só ? " Sh. Gr. § 490. Cp. Marlowe's
Edward II. " If for these dignities thou be envíed . "
26 Hilding. " Low wretch, ' applied to Katharina for the
coarseness of her behaviour. " (JOHNSON.) Capulet applies
this word to his daughter in Romeo and Juliet, iii. 5. 169,
" Out on her, hilding !" while it is applied to a man (Parolles)
in the sense of a coward in All's Well That Ends Well, iii. 6.
3-4, " If your lordship find him not a hilding. " And in
2 Henry IV. i. 57, " He was some hilding fellow "; also
Henry V. iv. 2. 29, " To purge this field of such a hilding
foe," it is used as an adjective, meaning ' cowardly. '
29 Her silence flouts me. Silence, or a soft answer, to a
temper like Katharina's, is often far from turning away wrath.
Flouts me = ' mocks me.'
31 What, will you not suffer me ? Pope omitted ' what ,'
which Malone thinks the compositor probably caught from
the preceding line. Not suffer me ? i.e. to strike her ?'
Nay, now Isee. i.e. " Nay, notwithstanding your affected
wish to play the good father, and find me first a husband , I
see that," &c.
33 Dance barefoot. According to Halliwell, to dance bare-
foot is an old proverbial phrase for being an old maid, but the
explanation, according to Mr. Rolfe, is to be found in Grose,
quoted in Brand's Popular Antiquities :: -" If, in a family, the
youngest daughter should chance to be married before her elder
sisters, they must all dance at her wedding without shoes ; this
will counteract their ill-luck, and procure them husbands. "
The following, contributed by a writer to Notes and Queries,
April 5 , 1890, seems to be analogous. " Last October a
Worcester lady was married, her elder sister Mary being un-
married. Thereupon a Scottish spinster said to me, ' Ah ! now
Mary will have to wear the green stockings. '999
34 Lead apes in hell. 66 Alluding to an old superstition not
complimentary to unmarried ladies. Says a character in an
old song printed in Bullen's Lyrics from Elizabethan Song
Books, p. 44-
'I marriage would forswear,
But that I hear men tell
That she that dies a maid
Must lead an ape in hell. ' '
(Mr. Verity's note in Falcon Series on " I will even take six-
pence in earnest of the bear-ward , and lead his apes into hell. "
Much Ado About Nothing, ii. 1. 41-42. ) No one apparently
has discovered the origin of this popular superstition. Cp.-
" Poor Gratia, in her twentieth year,
Foreseeing future woe,
Chose to attend a monkey"" here,
Before an ape below.
SHENSTONE ( 1714-1763) , To a Lady Buried in Marriage,
verse 6.
54 Entertainment. " Reception.'
56 Cunning. See note on i. I. 97.
63 Turn. Occasion. ' Cp. the common expression " to
serve the turn. ""
65 Like not of. Cp. Tempest, iii. 1. 56-57-
" Nor can imagination form a shape,
Besides yourself to like of. "
Much Ado About Nothing, v. 4. 59, " I am your husband , if
you like of me. " And Sonnet xxi. 13, " Let them say more
that like of hearsay well. "
70 I know him well. This is the reading of the first folio.
Dyce reads, " I knew him well, " but the former reading is sup-
ported by a subsequent speech of Baptista's about Lucentio's
father, the old gentleman's courtesy, perhaps, in one of the
cases, getting the better of his veracity. But see note on
1. 103-104.
73 Baccare. "A cant word meaning ' go back, ' in allusion
to a proverbial saying , ' Backare , quoth Mortimer to his sow.
Probably made in ridicule of some ignorant fellow who affected
a knowledge of Latin without having it, and produced his
Latinized English instead . " (NARES . )
In Ralph RoisterDoisterthe same proverbial expression
6 occurs.
Knight says the word is pure Saxon, back-are, go back, ' and is
used in that sense by Heywood, Udall, and Shakspeare.
This is the only place in Shakspeare in which the word occurs.
Steevens quotes the following instances of the use of this word.
Lyly, Mydas, i. 2—
" LIC. Thou servest Mallacrites, and I his daughter ; which
is the better man ?
PET. The masculine gender is more worthy than the
feminine . Therefore, Licio, backare. "
Sir John Grange's Golden Aphroditis, " Yet wrested he so
his effeminate bande to the siege of backwarde affection , that
bothe trumpe and drumme sounded nothing for their larum,
but Baccare, Baccare. "
78 Beholding. See note on i. 2. 272.
Freely give. The nominative to give is ' myself. '
Scene 1] NOTES. 103
80 Rheims. The University of Rheims, now no longer

existing, was founded probably about 1549. Henri II. obtained a
bull from Pope Paul III., " authorising the establishment in Reims
of a University constituted after the fashion of that of Paris. "
This was in 1547, but it was not founded till two years later.
Among its most distinguished early professors was Antoine
Fournier. The "Écoles de Reims " were in existence long before,
for " Gerbert, who introduced into Europe the arithmetic of
the Arabs, was a master in the schools before he was appointed
bishop, 991. " Abridged from Notes and Queries, 6th Series, x.
No. 236.
Cunning. See note on i. 1. 97.
268,
85 So bold to know. See latter ,‫ د‬portion of note on i. 2,
" So graceless he to be ingrate.
92 In the preferment of the eldest sister. 'As to the putting
the elder sister first.'
98 A simple instrument. ' The lute carried by Biondello. '
99 Packet of Greek and Latin books. The revival of learn-
ing, especially the study of classics, was a remarkable feature of
Shakspeare's day. Lady Jane Grey, Queen Mary, and Queen
Elizabeth were all good classical scholars, and the ladies of
that period were given a liberal education, being taught Greek,
Latin, mathematics and philosophy.
IOI Lucentio is your name. As the name had not been men-
tioned, Baptista could only have learnt it, either by a private
conversation held with Tranio, while Biondello presents the
lute and packet of books (a proceeding which would retard
the action of the play), or else Lucentio had written his
name on the books, and this Baptista had read. The diffi-
culty can be most easily explained by regarding it as an over-
sight of the author.
103 A mighty man of Pisa ; by report The folio reads -
104 I know him well.
" A mighty man of Pisa by report,
I know him well."
But the pointing of the Globe edition has been followed here,
for, " It appears in a subsequent part of this play that Baptista
was not personally acquainted with Vincentio. The Pedant
indeed talks of Vincentio and Baptista having lodged together
twenty years before at an inn in Genoa, but this appears to have
been a fiction for the nonce ; for when the pretended Vincentio
is introduced, Baptista expresses no surprise at his not being
the same man with whom he had formerly been acquainted
(Act iv. Sc. 4), and when the real Vincentio appears (Act v.
Sc. 1 ) he supposes him an impostor. " (MALONE. ) Malone, how-
ever, prefers the old pointing and proceeds to defend it.
108 To mydaughters ; and tell them both. This is the reading
of the first folio. The second folio reads, " To my two daughters
and then tell them both. "
110 Orchard. ' Garden,' its literal meaning. See Glossary.
Cp.Much Ado About Nothing, i. 2. 9-10, " The prince and Count
Claudio, walking in a thick-pleached alley in mine orchard. "
III Passing. See note on Induc. I. 66.
113 Asketh haste. For ' ask ' in the sense of ' require ' or
demand, ' cp. Richard II. ii. 1. 159, " And for these great
affairs do ask some charge. "
114 And every day I cannot come to woo. " This is the burthen
of part of an old ballad entitled The Ingenious Braggadocio-
' And I cannot come every day to wooe.
It appears also from a quotation in Puttenham's Arte of
English Poesie, 1589, that it was a line in his Interlude entitled
The Woer-
' Iche praye you good mother tell our young dame
Whence I am come, and what is my name,
929
I cannot come a woing every day.' (STEEVENS. )
119 To wife. Cp. 3 Henry VI. iii. 1. 30, "" 31 , “ To crave
the French king's sister to wife for Edward.
122 Assure her of. Hanmer reads for. Steevens prefers on.
123 Widowhood. "Her provision or jointure as a widow. "
(SINGER. ) " Petruchio would assure Katharina ofa widow's full
provision in all his ' lands and leases ' ; he would not ' bar dower'
by fine and recovery. " ( KNIGHT. )
125 Specialties. ' Special contracts ' or ' bonds. ' Cp. Love's
Labour's Lost, ii. 1. 164-165-
" So please your grace, the packet is not come
Where that and other specialties are bound. "
129 Father. The use of this word may signify Petruchio's
certainty of success.
131 Fires. A dissyllable. " Fear, dear, fire, hour, your, four,
and other monosyllables ending r or re, preceded by a long
vowel or diphthong, are frequently pronounced as dissyllables.
See Sh. Gr. § 480.
133 Though little fire, &c. An almost exact equivalent of -
" Nutritur vento, vento restinguitur ignis :
Lenis alit flammam , grandior aura necat. "
Ov. Remed. Amoris, 807-808.
The idea is, that if two people get angry at the same thing,
their anger passes away the sooner. Baptista's contradictions
are like the " lenis aura, " which serves to fan the flame of
Katharina's wrath ; but Petruchio's contradiction will be the
66 grandior aura," which will " blow out fire and all. "
134 Extreme. The accent falls on the first syllable, as usual
in Shakspeare. For one example Cp. Richard III. iii. 5. 44,
" But that the extreme peril of the case. ""
Scene 1] NOTES. 105
137 Speed. See note on i. 2 , 245, " Though Paris came in

hope to speed alone. ”
139 Tothe proof. i.e. armed to the proof. ' Cp. RichardIII.
v. 3, 218-219, " Than can the substance of ten thousand
soldiers armed in proof ”—¿.e. armour proved by experience or
thoroughly tested.
144 Soldier. A trisyllable. Cp. Julius Cæsar, iv. 1. 28.
147 To me. Το = motion to, or perhaps better, motion
against.
148 Frets. "A fret was a stop such as is seen on a guitar, to
regulate the fingering, formed by thin pieces of metal or wires
running like bars across the neck. of the instrument. Derived
through O.F. frete, a ferrule; through Low. Lat. ferrata, an iron
grating ; through ferrare, to bind with iron, from Lat. ferrum ,
iron. (SKEAT. ) Cp. Hamlet , iii. 2. 387-389, " Call me
what instrument you ""will, though you can fret me, yet you
cannot play upon me.
151 I'llfume. To fret and fume ' is a phrase still in vogue.
Richardson quotes an instance from Udall, " Thei stand with-
29
out the doores fuming and freatyng.
157 Twangling. To twangle is a provincial expression, and
signifies to flourish capriciously on an instrument, as performers
often do after having tuned it, previous to their beginning a
regular composition. " (HENLEY. ) It is an imitative word
descriptive of the sound of stringed instruments, and used in the
same sense as ' tang.' The word only occurs in one other
passage in Shakspeare, viz. The Tempest, iii. 2. 146-147—
" Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments
Will hum about mine ears.
"
Jack. A contemptuous name for any low-born saucy fellow. '
Common in Shakspeare.
158 As had she studied. 'As if she had studied.' See note
‫وو‬
on i. 2. 153 , " As for my patron.
159 It is a lusty wench. For it is, ' &c. cp. Love's Labour's
Lost, iv. I. 150, " Ah, heavens, it is a most pathetical nit ! ”
Lusty= ' fine,' hearty. '
172 As morning roses newly washed with dew. In the old
play there occurs the line, " As glorious as the morning washt
with dew. " Milton has borrowed this in L'Allegro, line 22,
" And fresh blown roses wash'd in dew. "
182 Heard . . . hard. Heard was pronounced like hara
in Shakspeare's time. See extract quoted in the last note in
this play-
" I have had
The bravest dreame to-night that ever thou
Hardest in all thy life. "
Where heardest ' is written ' hardest.'
Hard of hearing. Means that Petruchio must be deaf to

have got hold of the first syllable only of her name.
185 Curst. See note on i. 1 , 177, Curst and shrewd. '
187 Kate of Kate Hall. i.e. the best of the name. An
expression equivalent to the Scotch of that ilk,' ' the Mac-
gregor. '
188 Kates. Pope reads ' cates,' but a pun on Kates and cates
=· ‘ delicacies, ' is evidently intended .
6
191 Spoke of. Spoken of. ' So I have spoke, ' ' I have
writ,' &c. , are common in Shakspeare .
197 A join'd stool. " This is a proverbial expression . Cry
you mercy, I took you for a join'd stool. ' (See Ray's collec-
tion. ) It is likewise repeated as a proverb in Mother Bombie,
a Comedy by Lyly, 1594, and by the Fool in King Lear."
(STEEVENS. )
200 No suchjade as you, if me you mean. The meaning is,
women are not made to bear such a jade as you, that is to say,
if I am to be counted a woman. There are several other read-
ings. Jade, " a term of extreme contempt when applied to
persons, male as well as female. " ( SCHMIDT. ) Cp. i. 2. 247, “ I
know he 'll prove a jade, " and KingJohn, ii. 1. 385, " These
jades," where jade is used in a masculine sense.
205 Should be ! should-buzz. Petruchio is exhausted by this
wit tournament, but knows it would be fatal not to reply, so he
replies with what Beatrice would call “ a jade's trick. There
is a quibble in his answer on be and bee, and the buzz of the
insect and the buzz of busy conversation. Buzz or buz is used
as an exclamation of ' contempt, ' ' impatience, ' or ' ridicule ' in
Hamlet, ii. 2. 412, where Hamlet answers Polonius's remark
that the actors are come with " Buz, buz ! " According to the
Variorum Shakspeare ( 1803 ) this expression was made use of
when anyone was telling a well-known story. So in Middle-
ton's Mad World, v. i. 93 (quoted by Murray), " She was
married yesterday. " SIR B. " Buz. " Also cp. Ben Jonson's
Epicone, iv. I. DAUP. " Captain He-otter, your She-otter is
coming, your wife. " OTT. " Wife ! Buz. "
Well ta'en, and like a buzzard, &c. ' To take ' here
means to receive and return the ball in the wit combat, ¿.e.
" Well retorted like a fool. ' Buzzard has two distinct mean-
ings (1 ) A cockchafer or blind buzzard , and so by metaphor
a blockhead or ignorant person, probably derived from the
stupidity of the insect, which dashes itself against one in its
headlong flight. ( 2 ) An inferior hawk. The sense is, a buzzard
is as likely to take me (to find me a turtle) as a turtle to take
a buzzard. Only in Katharina's remark, " As he takes a buz-
zard we should expect she.
208 Wasp. This word is suggested by buzzard as last used.
Scene 1] NOTES. 107
218 Arms. A quibble on ' coat of arms ' and ' arms. ' Cp.
Hamlet, v. 1. 34-38-
" FIRST CLO. They hold up Adam's professsion.
SEC. CLO. Was he a gentleman ?
FIRST CLO. A' was the first that ever bore arms. ""
219 0, put me in thy books. i.e. as a herald places names of
persons and their armorial bearings in his register, but there is a
punning reference to being in a person's good books, i.e. being
trusted and liked by them. Cp. Much Ado about Nothing,
1. 78-79, “ I see, lady, the gentleman is not in your books.
220 A coxcomb. The comb, resembling that of a cock, worn
by a licensed jester or fool on his cap. In King Lear, i. 4.
105, the Fool offers Kent his cap, and says, Here's my
coxcomb. ”
221 A combless cock. i.e. a cock without a crest,' with a
quibble on armorial bearings ' and ' the jester's cap, ' and with
a possible allusion to an ' over-crowed ' or beaten cock.
222 A craven. 'A degenerate or beaten cock. ' For deriva-
tion, see Glossary. 6
224 Crab. i.e. a crab apple. '
228 Well aimed of. 6 Well guessed at for, ' equivalent to our
'good shot. '
233 In sooth. See note on i. 2. 257.
Scape. It is unnecessary to print this ' scape, for Johnson
gives both a noun and a verb scape in his dictionary.
235 Passing gentle. See note on Induc. I. 66.
236 Coy. Disdainful.' Cp. Herrick, " Then be not
coy," &c.
245 Limp. This is interesting as the possible explanation of
Katharina's ill temper, for she would brood over her misfortune.
There is no hint of it in the old play.
250 Go, fool, &c. Hanmer reads, " Go fool, and whom
thou keepest those command. " Lines with four accents are,
unless there is a pause in the middle of the line, very rare.
The following, however, seem to have no more than four
accents :
" Let's éach | one sénd | únto | his wife. "-
Taming ofthe Shrew, v. 2. 66.
"No worse than I' | upon sóme [ agreément."29
Ibid. iv. 4. 33.
" He shall you find | reády and willing.' -Ibid. 34.
" The match is made | and áll | is dóne. "-Ibid. 46.
" Go fool, and whóm | thou keéps't | commánd. "-
Ibid. ii. 1. 259.
"The frequent recurrence of these lines in The Taming of the
Shrew will not escape notice. " Sh. Gr. § 505. (N.B. -The
references just given are according to the Globe edition. )
251 Did ever Dian so become a grove. Dian = 'the chaste

Diana.' She was goddess of hunting, and loved to dwell in
the groves.
253 O, be thou Dian, &c. The sense of the passage is, ' ex-
change characters with her as you well may, only then Dian
must be sportful. This last line is a very necessary saving
clause in a lover's speech. The whole speech is an excellent
specimen of mock heroics.
258 Yes ; keep you warm. A proverbial phrase alluded to
again in Much Ado About Nothing, i. 1. 68-69, “ If he have
wit enough to keep himself warm.." Steevens quotes Beaumont
and Fletcher's Scornful Lady-
" Your house has been kept warm , sir.
I am glad to hear it, pray God, you are wise too. "
263 Willyou, nill you. Whether you like it or not. ' Cp.
Hamlet, v. 1. 19, " Will he, nill he. " Steevens quotes Damon
and Pithias ( 1571 ), " Neede hath no law ; will I or mill I, it
must be done. " Nill is from A.-S. nillan, short for ne willan,
not to wish ; cognate with Lat. nolle, short for ne velle.
264 Foryour turn. 'For your occasion. ' Cp. l. 63, " She
is not for your turn. "
268 I am he am born. For omission of relative, see note on
Induc. II. 43, " Hawks will soar. "" Am is, however, gram-
matically wrong ; it should be is.
269 A wild Kate to a Kate. A pun on cat and Kate is
intended.
273 Speed. See note on i. 2. 245, " Came in hope to speed
alone. "
280 Jack. See note on 1. 157 , " Twangling Jack. "
287 Second Grissel. " An allusion to Chaucer's Griselda in
The Clerk of Oxenford's Tale. But Chaucer got the story from
Boccaccio, who himself had it from those who lived long before
him. " (GRANT WHITE. ) Douce says the story " is to be found
among the compositions of the French Fabliers. "
288 Roman Lucrece. Lucretia, daughter of Lucretius, and
wife of Tarquinius Collatinus, whose death by her own hand
led to the establishment of the Roman Republic.
293 Speeding. See note on i. 2. 245, Speeding := success,'
as in Pericles, ii. 3. 116, " To-morrow all for speeding do their
best."
Good night our part. Tranio means that the chance of
playing the part of lover to Bianca was now gone, as Petruchio
had apparently failed to win Katharina.
300-301 And kiss on kiss She vied so fast. i.e. " she added
kiss to kiss, or competed with herself in kissing. " See 1. 377,
" Gremio is out-vied."
302 In a twink. ' In the twinkling of an eye. ' Cp. The
Scene 1] NOTES. 109
Tempest, iv. 1. 43, " Ay, with a twink. " So, too, in Gorboduc,
iv. 2, " Even with a twink a senseless stock I saw. "
303 'Tis a world to see. ' It is wonderful to see.' So Dog-
berry in Much Ado About Nothing, iii. 5. 38, " God help us !
it is a world to see." Cp. also Holinshed, quoted by Johnson,
vol. i. p. 209, " It is a world to see how many strange
heartes," &c.
305 Meacock wretch. " A tame, dastardly fellow, particularly
an over-mild husband. Probably from meek cock, originally
‘ henpecked . ' ” (NARES. )
315 We will have rings and things. Collier quotes-
" To church away !
We shall have rings
And fine array,
With other things,
Against the day,
For I'm to be married o' Sunday. ""
This, he says, comes from " the recitation of an old lady who
heard it from her mother more than sixty years ago." In Ralph
Roister Doister ( 1566), v. 6, the Fourth Song (quoted by Mr.
Marshall), the refrain runs-
" I mun be married a Sunday,
I mun be married a Sunday.
Whosoever shall come that way,
I mun be married a Sunday.'
So, too, in iii. 2. Merrygreeke says, " But to be wedded on
Sunday next if be list. "
317 Clapp'd up. " Made up by joining hands, accomplished
hastily. ' Cp. King‫وو‬John, iii. 1. 235, " To clap this royal
bargain up of peace. (SCHMIDT. ) Cp. Henry V. v. 2. 133,
" And so clap hands, and a bargain. "
319 Mart. Bargain,' as in Hamlet, i . 1. 73-74-
" And why such daily cast of brazen cannon, ‫دو‬
And foreign mart for implements of war.
The sense of the passage is : ' I am like a merchant wildly
speculating on an almost hopeless venture, for I seek to barter
Katharina for quiet in my house. ' It is quite possible that
the match may never come off at all, or, in commercial par-
lance, that the consignee may refuse to accept delivery of the
goods.
320 Commodity. ' An article of commerce or goods. ' Cp.
Measure for Measure,‫ دو‬iv. 3. 5-6, " A commodity of brown
paper and old ginger. ' For further uses of the word see Glos-
sary.
Fretting. Wearing away. ' There is probably a play on
the word, it being used in the sense also of being ' fretful ' or
" peevish,' as Katharina was.
330 But thine doth fry. " Old Gremio's notions are con-
firmed by Shadwell :-
The fire of love in youthful blood,
Like what is kindled in brush- wood,
But for the moment burns : ---
But when crept into aged veins,
It slowly burns and long remains ;
It glows, and with a sullen heat,
Like fire in logs, it burns, and warms us long ;
And though the flame be not so great,
Yet is the heat as strong.' (JOHNSON. )
Ray, in his Collection of Proverbs, has, " Lad's love 's a busk of
broom, hot awhile, and soon done.
331 Skipper. Young, thoughtless, and frivolous person, ' used
scornfully as ' skipping ' is in 1 Henry IV. iii. 2. 60, " The skip-
ping king, he ambled up and down. " And in The Merchant
of Venice, ii. 2. 195-196, " Allay with some cold drops of
modesty thy skipping spirit. "
336 My. Dyce says that the ' my ' should be omitted, the
printer being led into the mistake by the ' my ' just above.
340 Basins and ewers. It was customary for our ancestors to
wash their hands both before and after meals, for knives and
forks had hardly come into common use in Shakspeare's day ;
this made basins and ewers ' an important piece of the house-
hold plate or furniture.
341 Tyrian tapestry. 'Tapestry dyed purple. '
343 Arras. 'Tapestry.' Arras, so called from Arras in
Artois, in the North of France, where it was first made.
Counterpoints. " Counterpanes. ' See Glossary. Malone
says 66 Counterpoints were in ancient times extremely costly.
In Wat Tyler's rebellion , Stowe informs us, when the insurgents
broke into the wardrobe in the Savoy they destroyed a coverlet
worth a thousand marks. So in the old play where rich gifts
are enumerated we find-
' Arabian silkes,
Rich affric spices, arras, counterpoints,
Muske, Cassia, sweet smelling ambergreece,
Pearle currol, chrystal, jet, and ivory.'
344 Tents, and canopies. " Tents were hangings. Fr. ,
tentes, probably so named from the tenters upon which they
were hung, tenture de tapisserie signified a suit of hangings.
The following passage shows that a canopy was sometimes a
tester, ' a canopy properly that hangeth aboute beddes to keepe
away gnattes, sometimes a tent or pavilion, some have used it
for a testorne to hang over a bed. ' Baret in voce.' (SINGER. )
345 Boss'd'embossed , ' i.e. adorned with bosses or raised
work. See Glossary and note on Induc. I. 1. 16, "the poor
cur is embossed."
Scene 1] NOTES. III
346 Valance. ' A fringe of drapery. ' Cp. Hamlet, ii. 2. 442-
444, " O, my old friend ! thy face is valanced (i.e. fringed with
a beard) since I saw thee last ; comest thou to beard me in
Denmark ?" Valance is now applied to the hangings from the
head of a bed. The word is derived from Valence , a town
south of Lyons , where it was manufactured .
347 Pewter. " Pewter was considered as such costly furni-
ture that we find in the Northumberland Household Book
29
vessels of pewter were hired by the year. (SINGER. )
All things that belong. The folio has ' belongs. ' " The
relative (perhaps because it does not signify by inflection any
agreement in number or person with its antecedent) frequently
takes a singular verb, though the antecedent be plural. "
Sh. Gr. § 247.
352 Am struck in years. Cp. Richard III. i. I. 91–92—
" And his noble queen
Well struck in years. ""
Cp. also Genesis xviii. 11 , " Now Abraham and Sarah were
old and well stricken in age. "
357 To my wife. " To, from meaning ' like, ' came into
the meaning of ' representation, ' ' equivalence,' ' apposition. '
(Comp. Latin ' Habemus Deum amico. ') ' I have a king here
to my flatterer.'-Richard II. iv. I. 308.
" To crave the French king's sister
To wife for Edward. '
3 Henry VI. iii. 1. 31.
" Now, therefore, would I have thee to my tutor.'- Two
Gentlemen of Verona, iii. 1. 84. " Sh. Gr. § 189.
361 Ducats. A ducat was a gold coin of Italian origin struck in
the dominion of a duke, and was worth about 9s. 4d. There
was also a silver one, worth from 35. to 45. See Glossary.
365 Not to so much in all. Warburton reads, but so much
in all,' and is followed by some modern editors. Heath ex-
plains, " Gremio only says his whole estate in land doth not
indeed amount to two thousand ducats a year, but she shall
have that whatever be its value, and an argosy over and above ;
which argosy must be understood to be of very great value
from his subjoining, ' What, have I choked you with an
argosy?'"
366 Argosy. A big merchant vessel. See Glossary, and
Cp. Merchant of Venice, i. I. 9-14-
" There, where your argosies with portly sail,
Like signiors and rich burghers on the flood,
Or, as it were, the pageants of the sea,
Do overpeer the petty traffickers
That curt'sy to them, do them reverence
As they fly by them with their woven wings. "
367 Marseilles. A trisyllable, as in All's Well that Ends
Well, iv. 4. 9, " His grace is at Marseilles ; to which place. ""
Sh. Gr. § 489. The 1st folio has ' Marcellus road. '
370 Galliases. Large three-masted galleys, which were also
propelled by oars. The Spanish Armada contained four gal-
liasses, each rowed by three hundred slaves, and armed with
fifty guns apiece.
371 Galleys. Long low-built vessels, navigated with sails
and oars.
377 Gremio is out-vied. The expressions vie and revie were
used at the games of Primero and Gleek. Gifford defines " To
vie = to hazard or put down a certain sum upon a hand of
cards ; to revie = to put down a larger sum by which the
challenged becomes the challenger. " For further particulars,
see Nares' Glossary. Malone quotes Howel's Dictionary,
" Faire peur ou intimider avec un vray ou feint envy, et faire
quitter le jeu a la partie contraire. " This seems to be equiva-
lent to the modern bluffing ' at the game of ' poker. ' See
note on 1. 300-301 , " She vied so fast. "
379 Make her the assurance. ' Give her a conveyance of the
promised property. ' Assurance is used in the sense of ' con-
veyance ' or ' marriage settlement ' in l. 388, and occurs in that
sense or that of ' a written legal declaration to that effect ' in
iii. 2. 130-131-
" And make assurance here in Padua
Of greater sums than I have promised. "
iv. 2. 117, " To pass assurance of a dower in marriage. ”
iv. 4. 49-50-
" And such assurance ta'en
As shall with either part's
""
agreement stand ? "
iv. 4. 90, " A counterfeit assurance. '
392 Young gamester. 'Young frolicsome fellow. ' Cp.
Henry VIII. i. 4. 45-46—
" You are a merry gamester,
My Lord Sands.
As You Like It, i. I. 170, " Now will I stir this gamester. "
394 A toy. Gremio means he is not to be taken in by such
a ་ trifling stratagem ' or ' such trash ' as Tranio has made
use of.
397 Faced it with a card of ten. Tranio here compares him-
self to a daring primero player, who, with only plain cards in his
hand, outfaced his opponent , who very possibly holds ' faced '
or court-cards. In other words, he has much exaggerated
Vincentio's wealth. The same expression is quoted from
Day's Law- Tricks. " I may be outfac'd with a card often."
To outface also means to brave out unblushingly. For a
further play on the word see iv. 3. 123, " Thou hast faced
Scene 1] NOTES. 113
many things. Face not me. "" And again, ib. , " I will neither
be faced nor braved," &c.
400 Supposed Vincentio. I.e. Tranio has already thought of
the scheme which he proceeds to carry out in iv. 2.
403 Cunning. Steevens suggests " doing ' for the sake of
rhyme.
At the end of this act, the old play has—
" SLIE. Sim, when will the foole come again ?
LORD. Heele come again, my lord , anon.
SLIE. Gis some more drink here, souns wheres
The tapster, here, Sim, eate some of these things.
LORD. So I doo, my lord.
SLIE. Here, Sim, I drinke to thee. "
Mr. Swinburne (Study of Shakespeare) regrets that Shak-
speare omitted this first speech of Sly's. Probably he would
not remain upon the stage without speaking, and the discon-
tinuance of his part may be due to accident.
ACT III. SCENE 1 .

3 Withal. See note on i. 2. 81 , and Glossary.
4 But, wrangling pedant, this is. Many attempts have been
made to improve this line. Theobald printed " She is a
shrew, but wrangling pedant this is. " Ritson's emendation
is " But wrangling pedant know this lady is. " ' Pedant ' in
Shakespeare usually means not one vain of his learning, ' but
merely a schoolmaster. Cp. Twelfth Night, iii. 2. 80-81 ,
" Like a pedant that keeps a school i' the church. "
9 Preposterous. The word is here used almost in its literal
sense of ' reversed , ' ' inverted , ' ' the last part forward ' ( Latin
6
præposterus). Hortensio means it would be putting the cart
before the horse ' to give a music lesson before one on philoso-
phy.
10 To know. 'As to know.' See note on i. I. 123.
12 Pain. 'Labour. '
15 Braves. ' Vaunts , ' ' hectorings , ' ' brow -beatings . ' For
the use of this word as a verb cp. iv. 3. 125. And for the
noun cp. I Henry VI. iii. 2. 123, " Now where's the Bastard's
braves , and Charles his gleeks ?
6
18 Breeching scholar. Literally a young scholar still subject
to the birch,' so figuratively ' a novice. (MURRAY. ) Cp.
The Merry Wives of Windsor, iv. i. 80-81 , " You must be
preeches. " Sir Hugh Evans means ' breeched, ' i.e. flogged .
Steevens quotes from Marlowe's King Edward II. 1598 ,
"Whose looks were as a breeching to a boy."
19 'Pointed. I have kept in the apostrophe before the word
I
114 TAMING OF THE SHREW . [Act III
as it is more usual to do so, but both Johnson and Schmidt give
a verb to point = 'to appoint . '
22 The whiles. The genitive of while, meaning ' during the
time. ' "Now only used for ་ during the time when, ' but in
Elizabethan English both while and whiles meant also ' up to
the time when. Compare a similar use of ' dum ' in Latin
and ews in Greek. " Sh. Gr. 137.
28 Hic ibat, &c. So the folio. The reading in Ovid's
Epist. Heroid. I. 33, from which this is taken, is ' hac.'
Penelope is describing how someone who has returned from
Troy represents the scene, drawing it on the table with wine.
" This way ran the Simois ; here is the Sigeian land ; here had
stood the lofty palace of the aged Priam. "
31 Hic ibat, &c. This style of joke, namely translating, or
rather mistranslating, Latin into English of a totally different
meaning, is common among old writers. Cowden Clarke
notes, Chaucer also turns it to excellently humorous effect
in his story of The Cock and the Fox, where sly Master
Chanticleer thus befools his Madame Partelote :-
" For all so siker, as ' In principio
Mulier est hominis confusio.'
(Madam, the sentence of this Latin is,
Woman is manne's joy and manne's bliss. ) "
Furnivall compares The 3 Lords and 3 Ladies of London, 1588,
printed 1590 (Hazlitt's Dodsley, vi. 500) —
" O Singulariter Nominativo. Wise Lord Pleasure.
Genitivo. Bind him to a post .
Dativo. Give me my torch.
Accusativo. For I say he's a cozener.
Vocativo. O give me room to run at him.
Ablativo. Take and blind me."
36 Old pantaloon. One of the regular characters in most
Italian comedies, here equivalent to ' old fool , ' ¿.e. Gremio.
49 Pedascule. " He should have said ' didascale ; ' thinking
this too honourable, he coins the word ' pedascule,' in imita-
tion of it from pedant. " (WARBURTON. ) Pedascule is, of course,
a quadrisyllable.
51 Mistrust it not. " This is only said to deceive Hortensio,
who is supposed to listen. " (STEEVENS . )
55 But unless ' as in iv. 4. 2, " and but I be deceived. ” Cp.
Antony and Cleopatra, iii. II. 47-48, " And death will seize
her, but your comfort makes the rescue. "
57 Pleasant. Jocular. '
60 Formal = 'given to forms,' ' ceremonious.'
66 Gamut. Knight remarks, " Gamut, or, more correctly,
Gammut, is, in the sense here intended, the lowest note of the
musical scale, established in the eleventh century by a Bene-
Scene 1] NOTES. 115
dictine monk, Guido, of Arezzo, in Tuscany. To this sound

(G, the first line in the bass) he gave the name of the third
letter in the Greek alphabet, r (Gamma), cutting off the final
vowel, and affixing the syllable ut. This and other syllables,
re, mi, fa, &c. , names assigned by Guido to the notes of the
diatonic scale, were suggested to him by the following verses,
which form the first stanza of a hymn by Paulus Diaconus, to
St. John the Baptist :-
Ut queant laxis resonare fibris
Mira gestorum famuli tuorum
Solve polluti labii reatum,
Sancte Joannes .
The tune to which this hymn was anciently sung in the Catholic
church, ascends by the diatonic intervals G, A, B, C, D, and
E at the syllables here printed in italics. " It is to be remarked,
however, that Knight is probably wrong in assuming this hymn
to have been written by Paulus Diaconus - vide Smith and
Wace's Dict. of Eccl. Biography, nor does he show that the
last term si is made from the initials of the final words. The
translation of the above runs, That thy servants may be able to
sound forth the wonders of thy deeds with free strings ; take
away, holy John, the offence of a sin-defiled lip. In Love's
Labour's Lost, iv. 2. 102, Holofernes gives a gamut in a
different order, viz. : " Ut, re, sol, la, mi, fa. " Those who
wish to understand this gamut should consult the art. Hexachord
in Grove's Dict. of Music. In those days, when music was a
necessary part of a gentleman's education, there would be no
improbability in Hortensio's disguise.
79 Nice. Foolish, ' ' simple.' See Glossary.
80 To change true rulesfor odd inventions. There are several
readings. The first folio reads, " To charge true rules for old
inventions. " The editor of the second folio altered charge to
change. Theobald altered old to odd. Malone suggests " To
change new rules for old inventions, " i.e. to accept of new
rules in exchange for old inventions, but he shows that in
Richard III. iv. i. 96, “ Eighty odd years of sorrow have I
seen" was misprinted " eighty old years," &c. , and that therefore
there is sufficient ground for Theobald's emendation.
81 Enter a Servant. The prefix Nicke is written for Servant
in front of this speech. It has been thought that this is
Nicholas Tooley, an actor whose name is mentioned - as is also
that of William Sly-in the list of Shakspeare's Company pub-
lished in the first folio. This could hardly be the man though,
unless, as suggested by Collier, ' he doubled his part in order
to summon Bianca," for he would have been given something
better to play than the part of a servant.
I2
89 To cast. 'As to cast.' See note on i. i. 123.
Staie. 'Decoy.' See note on i. I. 58.
90 Seize thee that list. ' Let those that desire thee have
thee.'
91 Quit with thee. ' Be quits or even with,' i.c. Hortensio
will ' change ' as well as Bianca. Shakspeare often uses the
word in the sense of ' requite . ' Cp. Richard III. iv. 4. 20,
" Plantagenet doth quit Plantagenet. " Again 1. 64, Thy
other Edward dead, to quit my Edward . " Cp . Measure
for Measure, v. I. 416, " Like doth quit like, and measure
still for measure . '
SCENE 2.
I This line requires is to be dropped in reading. See
Sh. Gr. § 461 .
'Pointed. See note on iii. 1. 19.
Baptista speaks to Tranio as if he were a friend of
Petruchio's, and Tranio, by his answer to Katharina (1. 21-25) ,
implies that he knows Petruchio intimately. This looks like a
slip, as Tranio and Petruchio are strangers, with the exception
that Tranio was a witness to the engagement between Petruchio
and Katharina.
10 Mad-brain rudesby, full of spleen. Rudesby = rude,
rough"" fellow. ' Cp. Twelfth Night, iv. 1. 55, Rudesby, be
gone. Spleen 6 anger. See note on Induc. i. 135. Cp.
I Henry IV. v. 2. 19, " A hare-brain'd Hotspur, govern'd by
a spleen. "
12 I told you, I. Note the repetition of I for emphasis.
Cp . iv . 3. II5 , " I tell thee, I, that thou hast marr'd her gown. 29
Cp. also Julius Cæsar, iv. 3. 30, " I am a soldier, I ; " ""and
again, v. 4. 7, " And I am Brutus, Marcus Brutus, I ; A
Midsummer Night's Dream, iii. 2. 340, " I will not trust you,
I;" Romeo and Juliet, iii. 5. 12, " Yon light is not daylight,
I know it, I."
15 'Point. See note on iii. 1. 19.
16 The first folio reads, ' Make friends, invite and proclaim
he banes.' The reading adopted in the text is Dyce's emenda.
tion.
24 Passing wise. See note on Induc. i. 66.
27 To weep. " To was originally used not with the infini-
tive, but with the gerund in e, and like the Latin ' ad ' with
the gerund, denoted a purpose. Thus to love ' was origi-
nally to lovene,' i.e. to (or toward) loving ' (ad amandum) .
Gradually as to superseded the proper infinitival inflection, to
was used in other and more indefinite senses, ' for,' ' about,'
' as regards,' and, in a word, for any form of the gerund as
Scene 2] NOTES. 117
well as for the infinitive. " See Sh. Gr. § 356, where many
examples are given.
28 A very saint. Many modern editors omit very, as un-
necessary.
30-31 The first folio omits old, which Rowe supplied.
Staunton remarks, " By old news the speaker obviously intends
a reference to the old jerkin, old breeches, old rusty sword, &c. ,
which form part of Petruchio's grotesque equipment. " This is
more than likely, but still the word old probably has its usual
intensive or augmentative meaning as in other passages. Cp.
Macbeth, ii. 3. 2-3, he should have old turning the key ;
The Merry Wives of Windsor, i. 4. 5-6, ' old abusing of God's
patience and the king's English ; ' The Merchant of Venice,
iv. 2. 15 , " old swearing ; " in all of which old = ' excessive.'
Here old news = 'extraordinary news,'96 astounding news. '
42 What to thine old news. It is tempting to read what is
thine old news, ' as Collier's MS . does.
45 Candle-cases = ' that have been used as boxes to hold
candles.'
"
47 Chapeless = without a chape,' i.e. the thin metal plate
at the end of the scabbard , or possibly a catch or hook on
the scabbard . Cp. All's Well that Ends Well, iv. 3. 162-164,
" that had the whole theoric of war in the‫ وو‬knot of his scarf, and
the practice in the chape of his dagger. '
Two broken points. Properly speaking, " Points were
metal hooks fastened to the hose or breeches (which had then
no opening or buttons), and going into the straps or eyes fixed
to the doublet, and thereby keeping the hose from falling down. "
(BLACKSTONE. ) Cp. I. Henry IV. ii. 4. 238–239 : FALSTAFF.
" Their points being broken. POINS. Down fell their hose. ""
This is probably the meaning here, or the ' points ' may pos-
sibly mean" the fastenings, ' or what Osric in Hamlet, v. 2. 164,
calls the carriages ' or ' hangers, ' by which the scabbard was
attached to the sword-belt.
48 Hipped. 'Covered over the hips with. ' Collier MS. has
' heaped, ' which Collier explains, " because the saddle was too
big. "
50 Glanders. A contagious and malignant disease of the
mucous membrane .
Mose in the chine. 'To mose or mourn in the chine ' was
one of the effects of glanders.
51 Lampass. A fleshy swelling behind the fore-teeth in
the palate.
Fashions. ' Farcins ' or ' farcy, ' a disease affecting the skin
and its blood-vessels, of a leprous character, and allied to the
glanders.
Windgalls. Soft tumours on the fetlocks.
IIS TAMING OF THE SHREW . [Act III
52 Spavins. Swelling in the joints.

Rayed. " Defiled , discoloured , from Fr. rayer. ” (NAREs. )
So in iv. I. 3.
Yellows. A disease of the bile causing yellowness of the
eyes.
53 Fives, or vives. A contagious disorder peculiar to young
horses, in which a tumour is formed under the jaw.
Stark. Wholly, absolutely. '
Staggers. A disease of horses, attended with giddiness.
Begnawn. Cp. Richard III. i. 3. 222, " The worm of
conscience still begnaw thy soul ! "
54 Bots. 'Small worms .
Swayed in the back. A kind of lumbago caused by a fall
or overloading.
Shoulder-shotten. ' Strained in the shoulder.'
Near-legged before. " Knock-kneed." (SCHMIDT. ) Lord
Chedworth remarks, " The near leg of a horse is the left ; and
to set off with that leg first is an imperfection. This horse
had (as Dryden describes old Jacob Tonson) two left legs, i.e.
he was awkward in the use of them ; he used his right leg like
the left." " Mr. Tennyson," says Mr. Furnivall, " has been
good enough to give me his judgment that the horse- passage
may well be genuine Shakspere-it has such a rollicking,
Rabelaisian, comic swing about999 it , that I cannot but suspect it
to be genuine Shakspere. (New Shak. Soc. Transactions,
1874,
66 pt. i. p. 105. ) On the above passage Knight remarks,
Shakspeare describes the imperfections and unsoundness of
a horse with as much precision as if he had been bred in a
farrier's shop. In the same way, in the Venus and Adonis, he
is equally circumstantial in summing up the qualities of a noble
courser-
" Round-hoof'd , short-jointed , fetlocks shag and long,
Broad breast, full eye, small head and nostril wide,
High crest, short ears, straight legs and passing strong,
Thin mane, thick tail, broad buttock, tender hide. ' "
55 Half-checked bit. " Perhaps a bit which had only one of
the two necessary parts. Cp. Gimmal-bit and the modern
check strap. (SCHMIDT. )
56 Which being restrained. 'Which being pulled at.'
59 Velure. Velvet.' A term borrowed from French
velours.
64 Stock. Stocking. '
Kersey boot-hose. A thick woollen stocking.
66 The humour offortyfancies. " A penny book containing
forty short poems, would, properly managed , furnish no unapt
plume of feathers for the hat of a humourist's servant. "
(STEEVENS. ) Grumio rolled up such a collection of poems and
Scene 2] NOTES. 119
stuck them in his hat. These short doggerel compositions were

called fancies, as we learn from II . Henry IV. iii. 2. 340-343,
" And sung those tunes that he heard the carmen
whistle, and sware they were his fancies or his good-nights. "
Malone adds that a fancy was also an ornament worn in the
hat, and Grumio did not wear a common fancy, but some
fantastical ornament comprising the humour of forty different
fancies." This makes a play upon the word worth notice.
For some unexplained reason, it is a stage tradition for Grumio
to appear having several playing-cards fastened on to his hat.
Pricked in. Stuck or pinned into. '
68 Christian footboy. Biondello , being such, knows what is
becoming to the part. Grooms were always spruce.
69 'Tis some odd humour pricks him to. "Tis some queer
turn of mind ' spurs him on, ' ' incites him. ' Cp. Othello, iii. 3.
411-413-
" But, sith I ain enter'd in this cause so far,
Prick'd to 't by foolish honesty and love,
I will go on. ""
78 Nay, by Saint Jamy. " Mr. Collier supposes that these
lines are part of an old ballad , now lost, and was the first to
print them in the present form. In the original this passage is
printed as prose..”
' ~ (GRANT WHITE. )
82 Enter Petruchio and Grumio. Rowe adds ' fantastically
habited.'
85 Not so well apparell'd.
"" Pope reads, " Not so well 'parell'd
as I wish you were.'
87 Were it better, I should rush in thus. Walker (Crit.
Exam. ) bids us add an interrogation to this line, which his
editor (who would read " were it not better ? ") approves. The
sentiment is Falstaff's in 2 Henry IV. v. 5. 21-23, " As it
were, to ride day and night ; and not to deliberate, not to re-
member, not to have patience to shift me. "
92 Some comet. " Importing change of times and states,"
1 Henry VI. i. 1. 2. Cp. 1 Henry IV. iii. 2. 46–47—
" I could not stir
But like a comet I was wonder'd at. "
96 Doff. ' Put off,' lit. do off. So don = do on, dup = do
up, and dout = do out.
97 Solemn. " Solemn, ' besides its ordinary sense of grave,
serious, ceremonial, bore in Shakspeare's time the meaning of
public, accustomed, and the like. Thus, in the present instance,
Baptista does not mean a grave religious festival, but the cus-
tomary public entertainment provided at weddings. (STAUN-
TON. ) So Tybalt, on recognising Romeo as a Montague among
the maskers in Capulet's hall (Romeo and Juliet, i. 5. 57-59),
says-
" What dares the slave
Come hither, cover'd with an antic face,
To fleer and scorn at our solemnity. "
And cp. same, play iv. 4. 88, " Our solemn hymns to sullen
dirges change. " For the original sense of ' solemn, ' see Glossary.
99 Hath allso long. " All ' used intensively was frequently
prefixed to other adverbs of degree, as ' so.' The connection
of all and so is perpetuated in the modern also. '299 Sh. Gr.
§ 28.
102 Sufficeth I am( come to keep my word. See note on i. 1. 244.
103 To digress. To deviate from my promise. ' (JOHNSON. )
Digression is used in the sense of ' deviation ' in Love's Labour's
Lost, i. 2. 121-122,"" " I may example my digression by some
mighty precedent. And in Romeo and Juliet, iii. 3. 126–127,
=
digressing 'deviating from '
66 Thy noble shape is but a form of wax, ‫دو‬
Digressing from the valour of a man.
Cowden Clarke explains the passage thus :-" Petruchio refers
to his having said he will repair to Venice to buy apparel ' gainst
the wedding day, and we will have rings and things and fine
array. He means that to disappoint Katharina of promised
finery is part of his taming scheme, and that when hereafter
he shall explain this, they will all be well satisfied withal."
108 Unreverent. Shakspeare uses both unreverent ' and
' unreverend,' apparently never ' irreverent. '
119 Lovely. Altered to ' loving ' in the corrected folio of
1632. Dyce says that ' lovely ' in A Midsummer Night's
Dream, iii. 2. 211 , " Two lovely berries moulded on one
stem, " is probably equivalent to ‘ loving, ' and he quotes Peele's
Arraignment of Paris, " I will give thee many a lovely
kiss."
124 But, sir, to her love concerneth us to add The first folio
125 Herfather's liking. reads, But, sir,
love concerneth us to add Herfather's liking. Theobald reads,
" But, sir, to our love, " &c. Tyrwhitt reads, " But, sir, to her
love concerneth, " &c. , and notes " Lucentio had before in-
formed Tranio in private of his having obtained Bianca's love ;
and Tranio here resumes the conversation by observing that to
her love it concerns them to add herfather's consent ; and then
goes on to propose a scheme for obtaining the latter. " The
sir is important as marking Tranio's change of tone when he
and his master are left together. For the ellipsis of it, see
Sh. Gr. § 404, where, among other instances, the following is
given-
" (It) remains
That, in the official marks invested, you
Anon do meet the Senate. " Coriolanus, ii. 3. 147.
Scene 2] NOTES. 121
This construction is quite as correct as our modern form with

'it.' The sentence " That in . . . Senate " is the subject to
remains.
126 Before imparted. See end of act ii.
128 It skills not much. ' It doesn't matter much. ' Cp.
Twelfth Night, v. I. 294-295, " But as a madman's epistles
are no gospels , so it skills not much when they are delivered. "
2 Henry VI. iii. 1. 281 ---
" It skills not greatly who impugns our doom. "
130 Make assurance. See note on ii. I. 379.
136 Marriage. A trisyllable, as in The Merchant of Venice,
ii. 9. 13-
" To wóo a máid | in wáy | of márriage. "
See Sh. Gr. § 479.
143 Quaint. Generally == = ' neat,' '' dainty, '' spruce, ' in Shak-
speare. So in The Tempest, i. 2. 317 , " My quaint Ariel. "
And in A Midsummer Night's Dream, ii. 2. 7, we have " Our
quaint spirits," &c. Besides the above, Cotgrave also gives
under Coint, ' smirke smug, ' which latter explain the word
best here. Cp. the use of ' quaint ' in iv. 3. 102-
" More quaint, more pleasing, nor more commendable. "
For derivation, see Glossary.
146 As willingly as e'er, &c. " A proverbial saying found in
Ray's collection." (STEEVENS. )
147 And is the bride and bridegroom, &c. " When the sub-
ject is as yet future and, as it were, unsettled, the third person
singular might be regarded as the normal inflection. Such
passages are very common, particularly in the case of 6 there
is. As-
There is no more such masters.'-Cymbeline, iv. 2. 371 .
' How comes these staggers on me.'—Ibid. v. 5. 233. "
See Sh. Gr. § 335.
155 Should ask. Perhaps should is here " half-way be-
tween the meaning of ' ought ' and ' was to."" See note
on i. 2. 10.
156 Bygog's-wouns. 'A corruption of " By God's wounds. " '
' Gog ' is used for God in Roister Doister, iv. 8, " By Gog,
she shall not slay me.'‫دو‬
162 Rose again. So fol. i. Fol. ii. supplies ' up ' before
again.
163 For why = ' for this reason that, ' so = because. Cp.
Richard II. v. I. 46———
“ For why the senseless brands will sympathise
The heavy accent of thy moving tongue. "
So also The Old Hundredth-
" For why, the Lord our God is good. "
164 To cozen. 'To cheat,' 'to deceive. ' See Glossary.
168 Quaff'd offthe muscadel. Cp. a play by R. Armin ( 1609),

The Muscadine Stays for the Bride at Church. In an account
of the marriage of Mary and Philip in Winchester Cathedral,
1554, we find " wyne and sopes were hallowed and delyvered to
them both " after mass : which is an example of what we know
from the Sarum Missal , that the use of wine and cake at a
wedding was originally a religious ceremony, afterwards per-
verted ; perhaps the " gold for tokens of spousal " passed into
" the accustomed duty to the priest and clerks. " Muscadel
was a sweet wine, and so called from its scent, which resembled
musk.
169 Sops = ' small cakes dipped in the wine. '
174 Kissed her lips. A rubric in the Salisbury Missal (quoted
by Malone) runs thus :-" Surgant ambo, sponsus et spõnsa, et
accipiat sponsus pacem [i.e. the pax] a sacerdote, et ferat
sponsæ, osculans eam, et neminem alium, nec ipse, nec ipsa. "
Manuale Sarum, Paris, 1553, Quarto.
180 Gentlemen and friends, &c. Words frequently drop or
soften ' le, ' &c.-
" Géntlemen | and friends | I thánk | you fór | your páins. ”
See Sh. Gr. § 465. Cp. i. 1. 166, " That made great Jove to
´humble him to her hand, " and see note thereon.
189 Honest. i.e. honourable, ' as in iv. 5. 69, " Thy honest
son"; The Merchant of Venice, iii. 1. 14, " The honest Antonio " ;
Julius Cæsar, i. 2. 258, " Honest Casca, " &c. &c. So, too,
'honesty' commonly means ' honour, ' as in Julius Cæsar, ii. 1 .
127 ; iv. 3. 67.
200 Horse was plural as well as singular, and is here used for
horses, as shown by Steevens, who quotes the old play of The
Taming of a Shrew-
" FER. Sirra, go and make readie my horse presently.
SAN. I shall give them another peck of provender.
FER. Out, slave, and bring them presently to the door. "
201 The oats have eaten the horses. Probably merely Grumio's
blunder, comparable with Sir Toby Belch's remark, " "T were
as good a deed to drink when a man's a-hungry," Twelfth
Night, ii. 3. 135-136 ; or the First Carrier in 1 Henry IV. ii.
I. 31-32, " Hast thou never an eye in thy head ? Canst not
hear ? " or, again, Launcelot Gobbo's remark in The Merchant
of Venice, ii. 2. 113-114, " You may tell every finger I have
with my ribs " ; though there may be a possible allusion to the
fact that the horses were not worth their keep.
206 Be jogging while your boots_are green. " Be off while
your shoes are good. " (SINGER. ) Equivalent to the proverbial
expression of the present day, " before your shoes wear out. "
Green often = 'fresh,' 'new,' so comes to mean ' good. '
6
208 Jolly. Merry,' ' festive ' ; spoken ironically.
Scene 2] NOTES. 123
209 It. i.e.6 the position of bridegroom. '
Roundly. Unceremoniously. ' Cp. i. 2. 58.
215 I see a woman may . if she had. Note the false
sequence of tenses.
6
219 Domineer. Enjoy yourself without check or control,' or
as Skeat gives it, ' feast luxuriously. ' So in Tarlton's jests quoted
by Halliwell, " Tarlton having been domineering very late at
night with two of his friends. " Cp. also Ben Jonson's Every
Man in His Humour, ii. 1 , " Let him spend, and spend , and
domineer till his heart ache ! "
222 Nay, look not big, &c. This is probably spoken to
Baptista and the rest ; for he goes on " she is my," &c.
224 Chattels. In law ་ any article of property, except such as
is freehold.'
225 Myhouseholdstuff, &c. Hanmer inserted " she is " at the
beginning of the verse, to remedy the metre. Capell added " my ""
stable " at the end of it, and Walker suggested “ my grange.
226 My ox, my ass, &c. Alluding to the tenth command-
ment. " (RITSON. )
228 The proudest he. " He and she are used for ' man ' and
" woman. 299 Cp. As You Like It, iii. 2. 414, " I am that
he, that unfortunate he " ; Twelfth Night, i. 5. 259, " Lady,
you are the cruell'st she alive, " &c. See Sh. Gr. § 224.
233 Buckler. ' Shield.' For the use of this word as a verb
cp. 2 Henry VI. iii. 2. 216, " But that the guilt of murder
bucklers thee."
238 Mated. Probably there is a play on the word here,
mated also meaning ' check-mated , ' or ' confounded , ' as in
Macbeth, v. 1. 86, " My mind she has mated , and amazed my
sight." And again in The Comedy of Errors, iii. 2. 54,
" Not mad but mated, " and v. 1. 281 , " I think you all are
mated or stark mad. "
239 Is Kated. Gremio means, " No, Petruchio will get the
worst of it. She may be mated, but he's kated."
240 Wants. See note on i. I. 244.
6
242 Junkets. A kind of sweetmeat. ' " The original sense
was a kind of cream cheese, served up on rushes, whence its
name. Also used as a name for various delicacies made of
cream." (SKEAT. )
245 To bride it. " Any noun or adjective could be converted
into a verb by the Elizabethan authors, generally in an active
signification. "" See Sh. Gr. § 290. To give three among
numberless examples, cp. Hamlet, iii . 2. 15-16, " It out-herods
Herod " ; Macbeth, ii. 3. 19-20, " I'll devil-porter it no
farther" ; Measure for Measure, iii. 2. 100-101 , " Lord Angelo
dukes it well in his absence. " Also in this play we have, i. 2.
74, " I come to wive it wealthily in Padua, "
ACT IV. SCENE I.

I Jades. See note on i. 2. 247 ; ii. 1. 200. And see Glossary.
3 Rayed. Fouled or ' dirtied with the mud.' See iii. 2.
52. Cp. The Faerie Queen, iii. 8. 32—
The whiles the pitteous lady up did ryse
Ruffled and fowly raid with filthy soyle.
Also vi. 4. 23-
" From his soft eyes the tears he wypt away,
And from his face the filth that did it ray. '
5 A little pot and soon hot. There is a proverb, " A little
pot is soon hot "-i.e. small persons are quickly made angry.
Grumio is called " you three-inch fool " by Curtis.
9 A taller. Taller here signifies ' stronger or sturdier ' as
well as taller.'
13 With no greater a run but my head and my neck. But
commonly is used by Shakspeare after negative comparatives
where we use than.
15 Is my master and his wife. Cp. note on iii. 2. 147, " And
is the bride and bridegroom. "
16 Fire, fire ; cast on no water. Alluding to the old popular
three-part catch-
" Scotland burneth, Scotland burneth ,
Fire, fire ; Fire, fire ;
Cast on some more water. "
20 Winter tames, &c. No doubt Grumio has in mind the
proverb, Wedding and ill wintering tame both man and
beast. " ( Ray's collection. )
22 Myself, fellow Curtis. By adding ' fellow Curtis ' Grumio
calls Curtis a beast, for he employs the word as Malvolio
imagines Olivia does, when she says, " Let this fellow be looked
to." See Twelfth Night, iii. 4. 67, and 84, 85. Fellow =
companion, ' equal,' ' partner, ' or ' associate. '
25 On. ' On is frequently used where we use of ' in the
sense of 6 about , ' &c. " Be not jealous on me, ‫ د"و‬Julius Cæsar,
i. 2. 71, and in Sonnet 84, " Fond on praise. See Sh. Gr.
§§ r8o , r8I. Cp. iv. 3. II4 , " Thou shalt think on prating . "
See also note on v. 2. 64, " I'll venture so much ofmy hawk or
hound , ” and in this scene , 1. 60, " loth of one horse. "
31 Do thy duty, and have thy duty. Do that which is due
from you (i.e. render obedience) and receive that which is due
to you (i.e. your wages).
35 Jack, boy! ho, boy! " The beginning of an old catch
given in Ravenscroft's Parmelia, 1609--
'Jacke boy, ho boy, newes :
The cat is in the well ;
Let us sing now for her knell
Ding dong, ding dong, bell. '
Scene 1] NOTES. 125
Of course the word news suggests it to Grumio. Part of the
tune is given in a note by Sir J. Hawkins (Var. Ed . vol. v.
P. 459). " ( MARSHALL. )
37 Cony-catching. " To cony-catch = ' to deceive a simple
person, ' ' to cheat ' or ' impose upon,' a cony or rabbit being
considered as a very simple animal. In the seventeenth century
there was a collective society of sharpers called a warren and
their dupes rabbit-suckers (that is, young rabbits or conies),
sometimes called bird-catchers, and their prey a gull. ' See
D'Israeli's Curios. of Liter. , vol. ii. p. 78. Cp. " Take heed ,
Signor Baptista, lest you be cony-catched in this business. "
Here, once only, to express harmless roguery, playing_jocular
tricks, and no more. (NARES. ) Cp. the title of Greene's
pamphlet, “ A Notable Discovery of Cozenage, a Disputation be-
tween a He Coney-catcher and a She Coney-catcher. "
40 Rushes strewed. Rushes were strewed on the floor instead
of carpets. Cp. Romeo and Juliet, i . 4. 35-36, " Let wantons
light of heart Tickle the senseless rushes with their heels. "
" Erasmus gives no pleasant description of the floors of the
poorer houses in England. He says :-The floors are commonly
of clay, strewed with rushes ; under which lies unmolested an
ancient collection of beer, grease, fragments, bones, spittle, and
everything that is nasty..'' ” ( Collier's “ British Empire, " Senior
Class Book, p. 194. )
41 Fustian . A kind of coarse cloth. Derived from the
Arabic fustát, another name of Cairo, in Egypt, whence the
stuff first came. ( SKEAT. )
42 TheJacksfair within, the Jills fair without. " A play on
the words, meaning two drinking vessels, a jack and ajill, and
also a man-servant and a maid-servant. The jacks, being of
leather, could not be made to appear beautiful on the outside,
but were apt to contract foulness within ; whereas the jills,
being of metal, were expected to be kept bright externally, and
were not liable to dirt in the inside like the leather. "
(STEEVENS. ) For the proverbial use of Jack and Jill cp . A
Midsummer Night's66 Dream, iii. 2. 461–463—
Jack shall have Jill ;
Nought shall go ill ;
The man shall have his mare again, and all shall be well."
Cp. also Love's Labour's Lost, v. 2. 884-885--
" Our wooing doth not end like an old play ;
Jack hath 6not Jill. "
43 Carpets, i.e. the tablecloths ' ofthe period, probably more
like rugs than our modern tablecloths. Dauphine, in Ben
Jonson's Epicane, iv. 2 , disguises himself in a carpet. Also cp.
Thomas Heywood's A Woman killed with Kindness : "JENKIN.
A pair of cards, Nicholas, and a carpet to cover the table.
49 Thereby hangs a tale. This expression occurs in Merry
Wives of Windsor, i. 4. 159 ; As You Like It, ii. 7. 28 ; and
Othello, iii. 1. 8.
60 Of. " Of ' signifying proximity of any kind is sometimes
used locally in the sense of on. ' The connection between of
and on is illustrated by Merchant of Venice , ii. 2, where old
Gobbo says, " Thou hast got more haire on thy chin than
Dobbin my philhorse has on his taile " ; and young Gobbo
retorts, " I ""am sure he had more haire of his taile than I have
of my face. Sh. Gr. § 175. See note on 1. 25.
66 Bemoiled. ' Be-draggled ,' ' bemired. ' ( STEEVENS. ) Derived
from O. F. moiller, later mouiller, to wet, moisten, soake.
(COTGRAVE. )
69 That never prayed before. Clearly a hackneyed phrase,
but appropriate here to the new deprecatory tone of Katharina.
See the supper scene, where she intercedes for the servants.
71 Burst. ' Broken, ' cp. Induc. i. 7, " The glasses you have
burst. "
73 Unexperienced. We say ' inexperienced, ' but Shakspeare
does not use the word at all , and this is the only instance of
' unexperienced ' in his plays.
74 Shrew. Here applied to a male. " The Wife of Bath
says her fifth husband was the most shrewe, ' the most churlish,
of all. Chaucer, Canterbury Tales, 608. " ( SKEAT. ) See
Glossary.
79 Blue coats. The colour worn by servants of the time.
See note on i. 1. 204, " take my colour'd hat and cloak. " Reed
quotes Decker's Belman's Night Walkes, sig. E, 3, " the others
act their partes in blew coates, as they were their serving men,
though indeed they be all fellowes. " Singer says, " Blue-bottle
was a term of reproach for a servant. " A serving man in
Jonson's Case is Altered is made to say " Ever since I was of the
blue order. ‫ وو‬Also cp. Every Man in His Humour, ii. 2,
" For so must we that are blue waiters." That the beadles were
dressed in blue we knew from Doll Tearsheet calling the First
Beadle " You blue-bottle rogue " in 2 Henry IV. v. 4. 22.
80 Of an indifferent knit. Probably indifferent = ' not
different,' .e. the garters are to be a pair. Others take it to be
' ordinary,' ' quiet,' ' not loud.' Cp. " gartered with a red and
blue list," iii. 2. 65.
Curtsy with their left legs. 'Make their bows with their
left legs thrust forward,' or as young Spenser in Marlowe's
Edward II. expresses it, " making bow legs to a nobleman. ”
Curtsy is any gesture showing courtesy, and was employed as a
general term to express any act of respectful civility made either
by woman or man. Cp. Twelfth Night, ii. 5. 67-68, " Toby
approaches courtesies there to me. " Julius Cæsar, iii. 1. 43,
Scene 1] NOTES. 127
" Low-crooked court'sies and base spaniel fawning. "" Thus
Richard II. , speaking of Hereford, says (Richard II. i. 4.
32-33)-
" A brace of draymen bid God speed him well
And had the tribute of his supple knee. "
82 Kiss their hands. This custom, which was in vogue as a
token of respect, is alluded to several times by Shakspeare.
Cp. As You Like It, iii. 2. 49-50, " You told me you salute not
at the court, but you kiss your hands. " All's Well that Ends
Well, ii. 2. 10-13, " He that cannot make a leg, put off's cap,
kiss his hand and say nothing, has neither leg, hands, lip, nor
cap ; and indeed such a fellow, to say precisely, were not for the
court. "
87 To countenance. ' To do honour to,' to receive
properly. '
90 Calls. Grammar would require ' callest. '
92 To credit. 'To show respect, ' or ' do honour to.'
IOI Spruce. Gaily or smartly dressed. See Glossary.
104 Cock's passion. A corruption of God's Passion. Cp.
Roister Doister, iii. 4, " I meant it not so, by cock. ”
105 At door. Malone says, " Dooris here and in other places
a dissyllable. " Seymour says, " The article the ought certainly
to be inserted in the text before door," but " monosyllabic ex-
clamations often take the place of a whole foot thus :-
"Where be these knáves ? | Whát | no mán | at door ! "
Sh. Gr. §§ 481-482.
110 Logger-headed. ' Dull,' ' stupid. ' So Love's Labour's
Lost, iv. 3. 204 ; and I Henry IV. ii. 4. 4. Loggerhead =
blockhead, ' ' dolt. ’
114 Malt-horse drudge. This term of reproach is only once
used again, viz. , in The Comedy of Errors, iii. 1. 32, " Mome,
malt-horse, capon, coxcomb, idiot, patch ! " The expression
evidently refers to the large heavy brewers' horses. Falstaff
in I Henry IV. iii. 3. 10 compares himself to " a brewer's
horse, " of which he evidently had a profound contempt. Delius
suggests that this was because it had to drag beer about, but
might not drink it.
117 Nathaniel's coat, &c. These excuses are ofcourse invented
by Grumio upon the spur of the moment. His tale had been
drawn out just a little too far.
118 Unpink'd. " Not marked with eyelet holes " (Johnson's
Dic. ed. Latham). These eyelet holes were apparently orna-
mental, not useful, for in Henry VIII. v. 4. 48-51 , we read
" There was a haberdasher's wife . . . that railed upon me till
her pinked porringer fell off her head, " the pinked porringer '
being probably a bonnet trimmed with silk which had round
holes or eyes cut in it. Unpink'd here probably means ' un-
patched,' for ornament on the heel would not show. Cp.
Middleton's Mayor of Quinborough, ii . 1 , “ If it were but well
pinked it would last longer for a summer suit. "
119 No link, &c. "A link is a torch of pitch. Greene in
his Mihil Mumchance says, ' This cozenage is used likewise in
selling old hats found upon dunghills, instead of newe, blackt
over with the smoake ofan old linke."' " ( STEEVENS . )
120 Was not come from sheathing. Had not been returned
from being fitted with a new sheath. Staunton remarks, " In
this ludicrous enumeration of his fellows' deficiencies, Grumio is
evidently playing into his master's hands. It is all, as Lucio (in
Measure for Measure, v. 1. 510) says, ' according to the trick. " "
125 Where is the life, &c. " A scrap of some old ballad.
Ancient Pistol elsewhere (2 Henry IV. v. 3. 147 ) quotes thesame
line. " The song itself is lost, though an answer to it is found
in an old collection of Sonnets entitled A Handeful of Pleasant
Delites, &c., " by Clement Robinson, 1584, in which is found
Dame Beautie's replie to the lover late at libertie, and now
complaineth himselfe to be her captive intituled ' Where is the
life that late I led.'
" The life that erst thou led'st, my friend,
Was pleasant to thine eyes. '
This shows it was a lament of a newly married man.
Soud, soud. According to some this word is used as an ex-
pression of heat and fatigue, or perhaps impatience ; according
to others Petruchio is humming to himself. The word is one
coined by Shakspeare and not used elsewhere by him.
129 When. An expression of impatience often occurring in
Shakspeare. Thus in The Tempest, i. 2. 316, Prospero calls to
Caliban, " Come, thou tortoise ! when ? " and in Richard II. i.
1. 162, " When, Harry, when ? " and Brutus in Julius Cæsar,
ii. 1. 5, " When, Lucius, when ? awake, I say ! what, Lucius. "
When and why were used in the same manner.
130 It was the friar of orders grey. "Dr. Percy has con-
structed his beautiful ballad The Friar of Orders Grey from
the various fragments and hints dispersed"" through Shakspeare's
plays, with a few supplemental stanzas. (SINGER. )
134 Some water here. See note on ii. 1. 340, " Basins and
ewers."
136 My cousin Ferdinand. It is hard to see the point of
this remark. Perhaps it is possible Shakspeare intended to
introduce Ferdinand , but afterwards gave up the idea , and
forgot to strike out this passage.
140 Will you let it fall. This may refer either to the
servant having actually let the basin drop, or, what seems more
probable, to his having spilt some of the water, an offence
amply sufficient to call down Petruchio's pretended wrath.
Scene 1] NOTES. 129
142 Beetle-headed. With a head like the head of a mallet,
soblock-headed.'
143 Stomach. 'Appetite.' See note on i. I. 38. The word
also has many other meanings, such as ' courage, ' ' pride, ' ' fiery
spirit,' &c. Cp. v. 2. 169, " vail your stomachs, " and Petruchio
may possibly be also alluding to Katharina's temper.
151 Joltheads. " Teste de bœuf, a joult-head, jobernoll, loger.
head, one whose wit is as little as his head is great. " (COTGRAVE. )
In The Two Gentlemen of Verona, iii. 1. 290, Launce calls Speed
a "jolt-head."
152 What, doyou grumble ? Of course the servants do nothing
of the kind, but Petruchio chooses to pretend that they do.
152 Pll be with you straight. ' I'll come and teach you
manners in a moment. '
6 Impatient.'
153 Disquiet.
157 For it engenders choler. For this idea cp. The Comedy of
Errors, ii. 2. 60-64-
" ANT. S. Well , sir, then 'twill be dry.
DRO. S. If it be, sir, I pray you eat none of it.
ANT. S. Your reason.
DRO. S. Lest it make you choleric and purchase me
another dry basting.
And cp. iv. 3. 19, where Grumio thinks " a neat's foot " "too
choleric a meat " for Katharina.
161 Patient. A trisyllable here. For the use of the word as
a dissyllable and also trisyllable cp. III. Henry VI. i. 1. 215-6—
KING. Be patient gént le queen | and I will stay.
QUEEN. Who can be patient | in súch | extrémes ? '
"A word repeated twice in a verse often receives two accents
the first time, and one accent the second, when it is less em-
phatic the second time than the first. (But) on the other hand
when the word increases in emphasis the converse takes place. "
Sh. Gr. §§ 475, 476.
169 That. So that.' " So before that is very frequently
omitted ." See Sh. Gr. § 283.
175 Sharp. ' Hungry.'
176 Stoop = ' submit, ' as in 3 Henry VI. i.‫ دو‬1. 108, " Who
made the Dauphin and the French to stoop. There is a play
on the term used in falconry. To stoop (of a falcon) meant 66 to
fall, or pounce upon, as a hawk on the wing does upon its prey. "
(HALLIWELL. )
177 Lure. A stuffed bird of similar appearance to that which
the hawk chases. It was used to entice the hawk to return.
An over-fed bird would take no notice of it. Steevens quotes
The Tragedie of Cræsus, 1604—
" And like a hooded hawk, gorg'd with vain pleasures,
At random flies, and wots not where he is. "
K
And Singer compares Watson's Sonnets, 47, " No lure will cause
""
her stoop, she bears full gorge.
178 To man my haggard. To tame my wild hawk. ' The
sense of taming comes from ' making accustomed to man. Cp.
Much Ado About Nothing, iii. 1. 35-36, " Wild as haggerds of
the rock.' Juliet uses unmann'd in this technical sense-
" Hood my unmann'd blood , bating in my cheeks,
With thy black mantle. "
(See SCHMIDT. )
6
180 Watch her. Keep her from sleep,' a term in falconry ;
so Troilus and Cressida, iii. 2. 45 , " You must be watched ere
you be made tame, must you ? " and Othello, iii. 3. 23 , “ I'll
watch him 6 tame. "" (SCHMIDT. ) Steevens compares The Lady
Errant by Cartwright, " We'll keep you as they do hawks,
watching you until you leave your wildness. "
181 Bate and beat. Flutter and beat their wings. ' Cp.
Romeo and Juliet, iii. 2. 14-15, " bating in my cheeks. ‫ دو‬See
Glossary.
183 Last night she slept not. As a night had not elapsed since
the marriage, Petruchio
6 must take this for granted.
188 Hurly. Clamour, ' as in 2 Henry IV. iii. 1. 25, " That
with the hurly death itself awakes. " The word is used in King
John, iii. 4. 169, in the sense of ' tumult, ' ' confusion , ' " Me.
thinks I see this hurly all on foot ; " and it occurs in a redupli-
cated form in Macbeth, i. I. 3, " When the hurlyburly ' s done,"
and in I Henry IV. v. 1. 78, " hurlyburly innovation. " See
Glossary.
188 Intend. ' Pretend.' Cp. Richard III. iii. 7. 45, " in-
tend some fear, " and again, iii. 5. 8 of same play, " intending
deep suspicion. "
193 To kill a wife with kindness. The phrase " to kill with
kindness " is an old proverb found in Ray's Collection. There
is a play called A Woman Killed with Kindness, by Thomas
Heywood, 1602.
195 Shrew. The word was pronounced to rhyme with show.
The folio has it spelt ' shrew ' here, but in the last line but one
of the play it is spelt ' shrow. ' In the early copies of Hamlet
the word beshrew ' in ii. I. 113 is spelt ' beshrow. '
SCENE 2.
2 Fancy. ' Love, ' in its fullest sense, with no idea of caprice
or mere whim .
3 She bears me fair in hand = ' keeps me in good expecta-
tion, ' ' gives me encouragement. ' This expression occurs several
times in Shakspeare, and commonly means ' to buoy up with
false hopes. ' Cp. Macbeth, iii. I. 81, " How you were borne in
hand, how cross'd ; " Much Ado About Nothing, iv. 1. 305-306,
Scene 2] NOTES. 131
" What, bear her in hand until they come to take hands ; "
2 Henry IV. i. 2. 41-43 , " to bear a gentleman in hand, and
then stand upon security ! " and Hamlet, ii. 2. 65-68—
" whereat grieved
That so his sickness, age, and impotence
Was falsely borne in hand , sends out arrests
On Fortinbras. "
7 Resolve me. ' Answer me,' or ' explain. ' Cp. Tempest, v.
I. 248, " I'll resolve you ; " Measure for Measure, iii. 1. 194,
" I am now going to resolve him. "
8 The Art to Love. An allusion to Ovid's Ars Amatoria,
which perhaps they had been reading.
6
II Quick proceeders. They are quick proceeders in,' or
'they proceed quickly in ' their study of The Art to Love. There
is a ‫و‬play upon the academical term " to proceed Master of
Arts. ‫ و‬Cp. Timon of Athens, iv. 3. 252-253-
" Hadst thou, like us from our first swath, proceeded
The sweet degrees that this brief world affords. "
12 That your mistress. Walker proposes to omit that. '
14 O despiteful love. " Sometimes, perhaps, the prefix, though
written, ought scarcely to be pronounced : O (de)spiteful love !
unconstant womankind,' unless the O stands by itself out of the
regular verse (as in Greek peû, &c. ). " Sh. Gr. §§ 460, 512.
18 Scorn. Grammar requires scorns. ' There is a confusion
between two constructions, " I that scorn, ' and ' one that
scorns. '
20 Cullion. ' A mean wretch. ' Cullion occurs in Henry V.
iii. 2. 22, 66 Avaunt, you cullions , ” and in 2 Henry VI. i. 3. 43,
"Away, base cullions , " while in King Lear, ii. 2. 36, occurs
66' cullionly barber -monger. " Cp. also Marlowe's Edward II.,
"With base outlandish cullions at his heels."
31 Her. Folios 1 and 2 have them , corrected in 3rd folio,
1664.
34 Beastly. Apparently an adjective used as an adverb (cp.
Induc. i. 87, " Thou didst it excellent " ), but beastly occurs as
an adverb in More's Richard III. (quoted by Murray), " Hee
would bite and chew beasly his nether lip. " It is not found as
an adverb in modern English, except as an adjunct to an adjec-
tive in such slang phrases as beastly dirty, ' ' beastly drunk,' &c.
39 Haggard. Wild hawk. ' See note on iv. I. 178.
45 Longeth. There is no reason for printing this ' longeth
(short for 6 belongeth ' ), as many editors do, for there is an obso-
=
lete verb to long to belong. Johnson's Dictionary edited by
Latham quotes-
" But he me first through pride and puissance strong
Assayl'd, not knowing what to armes doth long. "
Faerie Queen, vi. 2. 8.
K 2
And again, " But wit's ambition longeth to the best. ” (Sir J.
DAVIES. ) Cp. iv. 4. 7, “ With such austerity as longeth to a
father. "
54 The taming school. So in the old play-
" AUREL. Faith he 's gon vnto the taming schoole.
VALE. The taming schoole ; why is there such a place ?
AUREL. I and Ferando is the Maister of the schoole."
Hortensio went to pay a visit to his friend Petruchio (see next
scene). We can hardly be meant to suppose that he went for
the express purpose of learning the art of taming, but as he had
made the match, he was naturally curious as to the issue. Still
he imagined he had profited by what he saw. (See last words
of Act IV. )
57 Eleven and twenty long. Another allusion to the game
of Bone Ace or One and Thirty. See i. 2. 33. Tricks probably
= 'card tricks.'
59 And charm. See note‫ دو‬on i. 1. 206, " But I will charm
him first to keep his tongue.
60 Dog-weary. With a quibble on watchdog.
61 Ancient angel. Either this must be taken in its almost
literal meaning of (i) a messenger providentially
6 sent to render
assistance, or (ii), as Cotgrave explains un angelot à gros
escaille ' = ' an old angell, ' and by metaphor, a fellow of th' old
sound and worthie stamp ,' so ' a simple old soul, ' or, in collo-
quial English ' a worthy old boy. '
62 Will serve. For other omissions of relative pronoun see
note on Induc. 2. 43.
63 Mercatante. Mercatanté = ' merchant.'
Pedant. See note on iii. 1. 4. Possibly with a fling at his
master Lucentio, whom he has been told not to recognise.
64 Formal. Precise.
69 Give assurance. See note on ii. I. 379.
73 Travel. El and le are frequently dropped or softened.
Trável you far ón or áre | you át | the farthest ?
Cp. i. 1. 166, " That made great Jove to humble him to her
hand ; " iii. 2. 180, " Gentlemen and friends, I thank you for your
pains. " See Sh. Gr. § 465.
79 And come to Padua careless ofyour life. Steevens com-
pares The Comedy ofErrors, i. I. 19-20-
" If any Syracusan born
Come to the bay of Ephesus, he dies. "
95 Pisa renowned for grave citizens. Lucentio makes this
remark in i. I. 10.
IOI And all one. But that's all the same ; 'that doesn't
matter.' Cp. 1 Henry IV. iv. 2. 52, " But that's all one. "
106 Undertake. Take upon yourself. '
108 Take upon you. ' Play his part,' ' assume his character.
Scene 2] NOTES. 133
117 Pass assurance. See note on ii. I. 379.

120 To clothe you as becomes you. " There is an old comedy
called Supposes translated from Ariosto by George Gascoigne.
Thence Shakspeare borrowed this part of the plot (as well as
some of the phraseology). 99 This latter statement, however, is
refuted by Mr. Marshall. " There likewise he found the quaint
name of Petruchio. My young master and his man exchange
habits, and persuade a Scenæse, as he is called , to personate the
father exactly as in this play by the pretended danger of his
coming from Sienna to Ferrara, contrary to the order of the
government." (FARMER. ) Malone says, " In the same play our
author also found the name of Licio. "
SCENE 3.
5 Present. ' Immediate ' or ' instant.' See line 14. 'Pre-
sently ' commonly means ' immediately,' ' instantly, ' in Shak-
speare.
II Spites me. ' Mortifies me,' ' vexes me, ' so ' angers me. '
13 As who shouldsay. ' As if he should say,' or ' like one
who should say. ' Cp. The Merchant of Venice, i. I. 93, 66 As
who should say, ' I am Sir Oracle. " " And again, same play, ii. I.
51-52, " As who should say, ' If you will not have me, choose. " "
For further examples &c . , see Sh. Gr. § 257.
18 ' Tis passinggood. This is the seventh time that the word
passing has been used in this play. See note on Induc. 1. 66,
" It will be pastime passing excellent. "
I prithee let me have it. Grumio sets off as if to fetch ""
it, pauses a moment, and then returns, and proposes " tripe
instead. On Katharina acquiescing to this , he goes
through the same business, and then proposes " beef and
mustard," which he starts to fetch, and then remembers the
mustard is " too hot a little. "
19 Too choleric a meat. Cp. iv. I. 157, where Petruchio says
that " burnt and dried meat 99 66 engenders choler. "
25 Mustard too hot a little. " This is agreeable to the
doctrine of the times. In The Glass of Humours (no date),
p. 60, it is said : -' But note here that the first diet is not only in
avoiding superfluity of meats, and surfeits of drinks, but also in
eschewing such as are most obnoxious and least agreeable with
our happy temperate state ; as for a choleric man to abstain from
all salt, scorched dry meats, from mustard, and such like things as
will aggravate his malignant humours. ' ” ( REED . )
30 Why then, the mustard without the beef. This is the
reading ofthe Globe edition. Hanmer reads, " Mustard e'en with-
out," &c.; Capell, " The mustard now without " ; Mr. Marshall,
" The mustard-but without, " &c. , and this last seems to give
additional point to Grumio's joke,
36 All amort. All drooping, ' ' dispirited ,' dejected. ' Cp. I
Henry VI. iii . 2. 124, " What, all amort ? " Also Greene's
Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay, line 22, " Shall he thus all
amort live malcontent ? " Howell , in his Lexicon, translates all
amort by ' triste, ' ' pensatif. ' See Amort, in Glossary.
Sweeting. This word occurs, among other places in Shakspeare,
in the Clown's song in Twelfth Night, ii. 3. 43, " O mistress
mine, where are you roaming ? " the song, however, being pro-
bably written earlier than the play.
43 All my pains is sorted to no proof. 6 All my labour has
ended in nothing or proved nothing. ' " We tried an experiment
but it sorted not. "-Bacon (JOHNSON). Cp. Much Ado About
Nothing, v. 4. 7, " Well, I am glad that all things sort so well,"
where sort = ' turn out. ' Cp. 2 Henry IV. iv. 3. 97-98,
" There's never none of these demure boys come to any proof. "
Here the idea seems to be, ' All my trouble proves worthless,
comes to no good, turns out to be of no use. '
50 Eat it up all. The stage tradition here is for Petruchio to
take care that Hortensio has very nearly all the food. Hortensio,
seeing his design, eats as rapidly as he can, and before Katharina
has time to eat anything to speak of, Petruchio eagerly clears
away.
" Finely. ' See note on Induc. I. 39.
54 Bravely.
56 Fardingales. 'Farthingales, ' large hooped or crinoline
petticoats, as much the fashion in Elizabeth's reign as ' ruffs '
were. So in Two Gentlemen of Verona, ii. 7. 51 , we have,
" What compass will you wear your farthingale ? "
Things. Simply a reminiscence of a common phrase, as in
ii. 1. 315 , " We will have rings and things and fine array. "
"
57 Bravery. Finery. ' See note on Induc. 1. 39.
58 Knavery. The word is no doubt suggested by the rhyme,
just as ' treasure ' is below, and has probably much the same
meaning as is often conveyed by 6 the epithet ' roguish. '
60 Ruffling. Possibly ( 1 ) rustling,' to which Pope changed
the word. Or else the idea is (2) that the dress is ornamented
with ' ruffles or ruffs. ' Or (3) " Flaunting finery which Petru-
chio has just enumerated. " (SINGER. ) In supporting the last
view Malone quotes Euphues and his England, 1580, " Shall I
ruffle in new devices, with chains, with bracelets, with roabes ?" ;
and Drayton's Battaile of Agincourt, 1627, " With ruffling
banners, that do brave the sky. "
Enter Tailor. In Shakspeare's time women's dresses were
commonly made by men. So we have Francis Feeble, a
woman's tailor, in 2 Henry IV.
Enter Hab. Instead of Hab ' the folio has Fel, probably
the beginning of some actor's name.
64 Porringer. The original meaning of this word was a
Scene 3] NOTES. 135
vessel in which porridge was eaten, and then it became used

contemptuously for the head-dress. See note on iv. 1. 118,
unpink'd.
65 Lewd. Lit. , ' ignorant, ' ' base , ' then ' vile, ' ' despicable. '
Probably here only means ' vulgar.' See Glossary.
67 Knack. ' Knick-knack .' Cp. A Midsummer Night's
Dream, i. I. 33-34 , " rings, gawds, conceits, Knacks, trifles,
nosegays ," &c.
Trick. 6 Trifle. ' See Glossary.
70 Gentlewomen wear such caps as these. Gifford tells us
that citizens' wives and daughters used to wear small velvet
caps. Cp. Every Man in his Humour, iii. 2—
" Our great heads
Within the city never were in safety,
Since our wives wore these little caps. "
73 Why, sir, I trust I may have leave to speak. War-
burton considers that in this passage Katharina
"" " flies out into
all the intemperate rage of her nature. But this speech seems
far from " intemperate. " It is reasonable and not without
dignity, and might well show Petruchio that his efforts had not
been wasted. On the other hand , Petruchio's " When you are
gentle," &c. , is a slip in manners, and helps to turn sympathy to
Katharina.
75 Endured me say. See Sh. Gr. § 349, for the omission of
' to, ' and cp. iii. 2. 188, " Entreat me rather go. "
82. A custard coffin. The raised crust of a pie, ' or ' the
crust round a custard.' Douce quotes from a MS. Book of
Cookery, temp. Henry VI. , a receipt to bake lampreys : —“ And
then cover the coffyn, but save a littell hole to blow into the
coffyn with thy mouth, a gode blast, and sodenly stoppe, that the
wynde abyde withynne to rise up the coffyn that it falle nott
down." Cp. Titus Andronicus , v. 2. 189, " And of the paste
a coffin I will rear.
Bauble. See Glossary.
87 Masquing. 6 Masquerading, ' i.e. a dress suitable for a
masquerade .
88 Demi-cannon. An old piece of ordnance, some twelve
feet long, which used to carry a ball of from thirty to thirty- six
pounds.
90 Slish. A lighter form of ' slash ,' ' a cross-cut. ' (Im-
perial Dictionary. )
91 Censer in a barber's shop. Steevens says the censers had
66 pierced convex covers and stood on feet. They not only
served to sweeten a barber's shop, but to keep his water warm
and dry his cloths on." The smoking or fumigating of rooms
is alluded to in Much Ado About Nothing, i. 3. 60-61 , where
Borachio says, 66 Being entertained for a perfumer, as I was
smoking a musty room. " Cp. 2 Henry IV. v. 4. 20, " You
thin man in a censer. Schmidt says the lids of the censers
were perforated and adorned with figures.
96. Marry, and did. A very common form of retort. Cp.
" Marry, and will " in Richard III. iv. 36.
If you be remembered. The same phrase occurs in
Measure for Measure, ii. 1. 114, and cp. Richard III. ii. 4.
23, " IfI had been remembered , " on which Mr. Payne- Smith,
in Falcon Series, notes :-" From the transitive sense of to
remember, i.e. to remind (cp. Tempest, i. 2. 243, ' Let me
remember thee what thou hast promised ' ), comes this passive
participle, equivalent in sense to mindful. So As You Like It,
ber'd not ' = ' As friend unmindful
ii. 7. 189, As 999 friend remem
of gratitude."
97 Mar. Playing on the phrase ' make and mar. ' Common
in Shakspeare. Cp. Macbeth, ii. 3. 35–36, “ It makes him, and
it mars him " ; A Midsummer Night's Dream, i. 2. 30-40,
" And make and mar The foolish Fates " ; Timon ofAthens, iv.
2. 41 , " For bounty, that makes gods, does still mar men.'29
98 Hop me. See note on i. 2, " Knock me here."
Kennel. ' Gutter. ' See Glossary.
99 You shall hop without, &c. Hop without was a phrase
equivalent to be deprived of. ' Hence the play in the previous
line. Cp. the Old Play of King Leir, " She is like to hop
without her hope.' To "hop without one's head " is a fre-
quent phrase, e.g. used in 2 Henry VI. i. 3. 140, " Would
make thee quickly hop without thy head. " Cp. also The
Troublesome Raigne of King John, Pt. I , Sc. v. , " And he
that contradicts me in this, I'll make him hop headless. "
102 Quaint. See note on iii. 2. 143. Its meaning here is
' trim, ' ' neat. ' Cp. Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay, " Not
whilst I may have such quaint girls as you. "
103 Belike. See note on Induc. 1..74.
O monstrous arrogance. Several readings have been pro-
posed. Malone reads—
" O monstrous arrogance ! Thou liest,
Thou thread, thou thimble,
Thou yard," &c.
Ritson would omit " thou thread," as Petruchio calls him a
skein of thread two lines lower down.
109 Thou yard three-quarters, &c. " The tailor's trade,
having an appearance of effeminacy, has always been,"" among the
rugged English, liable to sarcasm and contempt. ' (JOHNSON. )
IIO Nit. ' An egg of any small insect. '
Winter-cricket. The force of this expression lies, perhaps,
as much in the constant chirping made by the insect, as in its
size. Cp. 1 Henry IV, ii. 4. 100, " As merry as crickets. "
Scene 3] NOTES 137
Thou. Thou was usually employed by a master to his
servant without any idea of anger or offence being expressed by
it, and usually the change to you denotes anger. Thou was
employed offensively when used towards strangers who were
not inferiors. Cotgrave, in his French Dictionary, gives
66 Tutoyer, to thou one. "" (For further particulars, see Sh. Gr.
§§ 231-233. ) But here the tailor is certainly an inferior to
Petruchio, and there can be no doubt that the latter, in con-
stantly ' thouing ' him, shows that he is angry, and that he
means to be offensive. It is also worth notice that Katharina
always employs you to Petruchio, Petruchio nearly always thou
to Katharina.
III Braved. ' Defied,' ' bearded , ' with a quibble on the
word in the sense of ' made fine,' ' dressed finely. ' See 1. 126
below.
With. In the sense of ' by. ' Cp. 2 Henry VI. iv. 9. 33,
" Boarded with a pirate " ; and Winter's Tale, v. 2. 68,
" He was torn་ to pieces with a bear. " See Sh. Gr. § 193.
112 Rag. A term of reproach. ' Cp. Richard III. i. 3.
233, " Thou rag of honour ! " and v. 3. 328, " Lash hence these
overweening rags of France "; and Timon of Athens, iv. 3. 271-
272, " If thou wilt curse, thy father, that poor rag, Must be thy
subject. "
Quantity. ' Small quantity,' ' little thing. ' Cp. 2 Henry
IV. v. 1. 70-72, where Falstaff says, " If I were sawed into
quantities (i.e. small pieces), I should make four dozen of
such bearded hermits' staves as Master Shallow " ; and King
John, v. 4. 22-25, where Melun, being wounded , says-
" Have I not hideous death within my view,
Retaining but a quantity oflife,
Which bleeds away, even as a form of wax
Resolveth from his figure ' gainst the fire ? "
113 Be-mete. ' Measure.'
114 As = ' That. ' See note on Induc. 1. 69, or Sh. Gr. § 109.
Thou shalt think on prating whilst. 'You shall bear in
mind your impertinence as long as,' &c. For the use of on
instead of of, see note on iv. I. 25, 66 Complain on thee to our
mistress ."
115 I tell thee, I. For similar examples of emphatic I, see
note on iii. 2. 12.
123 Faced. ' Put facings upon. ' Cp . 1 Henry IV. v. 1 .
74, " To face the garment of rebellion. "
125 Braved. Made fine ,' with a quibble on its sense of
' defied. ' Cp. Induc. I. 39. " Brave attendants," i. 2, and see
note, " Enter Tranio brave, " " Double change of bravery, " 1. 57.
131 Lies in 's throat. A stronger expression than merely
' lies.' According to the laws of the duello, it was possible to
say to a man " Thou liest," but " Thou liest in thy throat 99 was
unpardonable, and must end in a duel. See note in Twelfth
Night, iii. 4. 158, Falcon Series.
134 Bottom. ' A ball of thread. ' Hunter says, " The word
in this sense suggested the name of the Weaver in A Midsummer
Night's Dream."
137 Compassed cape. ' Round cape. ' Steevens notes that
a circular bow window in Troilus and Cressida, i . 2, 120, i
called " the compassed window. "
139 Trunk sleeve. 'A wide full sleeve.'
"
147 An I had thee in a place where. i.e. Where we could
fight it out. '
149 The bill. A quibble on the word, as a bill was a mili-
tary weapon . The same jest occurs in Timon of Athens, iii. 4.
90-92-
" All our bills.
Knock me down with ' em : cleave me to the girdle. "
150 Mete-yard. ' Yard measure.'
151 No odds. This expression seems to convey more than
' no advantage ' -the usual meaning of the word ; it implies
that the tailor will have no chance ; we use the expression ' the
odds are,' i.e. the chances are. Cp. Cymbeline, v. 2. 9-10,
" The odds Is that we scarce are men and you are gods." And
The Winter's Tale, v. I. 207, " The odds for high and low 's
alike. " Schmidt explains it as ' probability, ' ' likelihood. '
159 Exit tailor. It is not stated that the haberdasher also
makes his exit, but he probably leaves with the tailor.
161 Even in these honest poor. These two lines are
from the Old Play,6 with the exception of ' poor ' for ' plain. '
165 Peereth. Appears,' ' peeps out from. ' As in The
Winter's Tale, iv. 3. 1, " When daffodils begin to peer. " See
Glossary.
171 Furniture. Here means ' dress. ' The word is used for
any equipage of a person, and in All's Well That Ends Well,
ii. 3, 65, " Bay Curtal and his furniture " = bay Curtal and his
trappings.
178 Some seven o'clock. ' Some ' being frequently used with
numeral adjectives qualifying nouns of time, as 66 some sixteen
months " (The Two Gentlemen of Verona, iv. I. 21 ), is also
found, by association , with a singular noun of time. " Some
hour before you took me, " Twelfth Night, ii. 1. 22 ; " I would
detain you here some month or two," Merchant of Venice, iii. 2.
9 ; " Some day or two, " Richard III. iii. 1. 64. It would
seem that in such expressions " some " has acquired an adver-
bial usage, as in the provincialisms " It is some late," " Five
mile or some " ( Mätzner, ii. 253) . Cp. " I think ' tis now some
seven o'clock. " Sh. Gr. § 21.
Scene 3] NOTES. 139
179 Dinner-time. The upper classes used to dine about
II A.M. or noon, and had supper about six or seven o'clock.
184 Still. ' Ever,' its usual meaning in Shakspeare.
SCENE 4.
Johnson thought Act v. should begin here.
I This line is thus scanned in Sh. Gr. § 461-
" Sir, this is | the house, | please it | you thát | I cáll ? "
The is as in iii. 2. 1, " Signior Lucentio, this is the ' pointed
day." " Please is often found in the 6 subjunctive interro-
gatively, and represents our modern May it please ? ' and
expresses a modest doubt. " See Sh. Gr. § 361.
99
2 Ay, what else, &c. Hanmer reads, " Ay, ay, what else ?
&c. " But a monosyllabic exclamation often takes the place of
a whole foot, thus-
A'y, what else ? | and bút | I bé | decéiv'd. "
Sh. Gr. § 482.
And but I be deceived. ' And unless or except I be deceived , '
as in iii. 1. 61.
7 Longeth. See note on iv. 2. 45, " As longeth to a lover's
blessed case.
9 He were school'd. ' Informed of our plot and taught how
to act. '
II Throughly. The earlier form of ' thoroughly.' Shakspeare
uses both forms, as he does also thorough ' and ' through."
12 Were. " Is often used as a subjunctive in dependent sen-
tences, even after ' know ' as well as ' think. ' ' Imagine ' t were
the right Vince ntio. "" See Sh. Gr. § 301 .
·
17 Tall. Ready-witted. ' Colloquial ' smart ' perhaps comes
nearest. One of the common meanings of the word in Shak-
speare is brave.'
Hold thee. ' Keep thou.' For thee used for thou, cp. Julius
Cæsar, v. 3. 85, " Hold thee, take this garland on thy brow
The Winter's Tale, iv. 4. 651 , " Yet hold thee, there 's
some boot " ; and All's Well"" That Ends Well, iv. 5. 46,
" Hold thee, there's my purse. For further examples see Sh.
Gr. § 212.
20 Scan thus-
" Sir, this is the gént | lemán | I told you óf. "
See note on line I above.
34 Me shall you find, &c. " Lines with four accents are,
unless there is a pause in the middle of the line, ‫ دو‬very rare.
" Me shall you find | réady | and willing. ‫دو‬
Sh. Gr. § 505, where, however, the reading is, " He shall,'
&c. Hanmer reads, " Me shall you find most ready and most
willing.'"" See ii. 1. 250, and cp. line 33 above- ""
"No worse than I ' | upon sóme | agréement. '
36 Curious. Scrupulous. ' Cp. All's Well That Ends

Well, i. 2. 20-21—
" Frank nature, rather curious than in haste,
Hath well composed thee. ""
Cp. also Beaumont and Fletcher's Philaster, iii. I—
" But how shall we,
Ifhe be curious, work upon his faith ? "
And the same author's A King and No King, iv. 4—
" For thou hast all thy actions bounded in
With curious rules, when every beast is free. "
See Glossary.
45 And pass my daughter, &c. Ritson says, "To pass is in
this place synonymous with to assure or convey ; as it sometimes
occurs in the covenant of a purchase deed, that the granter has
power to bargain, sell, &c. , and thereby to pass and convey
the premises to the grantee. "" Cp. iv. 2. 117, "To pass assurance
of a dower in marriage, " and see note on ii. 1. 379, " Make her
the assurance. "
46 All is done. Hanmer added 6 fully ' before done, and
Steevens says he might have justified his emendation by com-
paring " Nathaniel's coat, sir, was not fully made. " But see
note on line 34 above, " Me shall you find ready and willing,"
and scan thus--
“ The mátch | is máde | and áll | is dóne. "
Sh. Gr. § 505.
48 Know. Hanmer suggests trow, Collier's MS. reads hold.
49 Affied. i.e. betrothed ' or ' affianced . ' The old word for
this solemn promise of marriage was ' espousal . ' Espousals
were not marriages , but solemn promises of marriage , the breach
of which was punishable by excommunication and public pen-
ance. They were common in England down to the time of the
Reformation , and the penalty of excommunication was only
removed by Act 26 George II . c. 33. Many old families have
contracts of this kind among their documents, usually made
between the parents , and fixing the time of marriage . There
seems to have been no prescribed form, but an interchangement
of rings, a kiss, and joining of hands, and the presence of wit-
nesses was essential . (See Douce's Illustrations of Shakspeare. )
So Olivia in Twelfth Night, iv. 3. 26, says to Sebastian ,
" Plight me the full assurance of your faith. " For the use of
the word affy, cp. 2 Henry VI. iv. 1. 80-81—
" For daring to affy a mighty lord
Unto the daughter of a worthless king. "
49-50 Such assurance ta'en as shall, &c. This is an example
of as being used after ' such ' where we should use ' that. ' See
note on Induc. 1. 69, " I warrant you we will play our part as
he shall think," &c,
Scene 4] NOTES. 141
52 Pitchers have ears. This proverb is put into Queen Eliza-
beth's mouth in Richard III. ii. 4. 37. The usual form of the
proverb is " Little pitchers have large ears and wide mouths. "
53 Is hearkening still. 'Is always lying in wait, ' with per-
haps the double idea of listening to conversations and trying to
get hold of Bianca. Cp. Act v. ad init. It has been objected
as a fault in the plot that no notice is taken of Hortensio's
absence while he plays the part of Licio, but it was only reason-
able that he should retire until Petruchio's marriage , and Gremio's
not doing so is matter of comment .
54 Happily. ' Haply,' ' by chance. ' See note on i. 2. 55,
" Haply to wive and thrive as best I may. "
55 Then at my lodging an it like you. The editor of second
folio added sir ' at the end of this line.
56 Lie. ' Lodge. ' Cp. 2 Henry IV. iii. 2. 299, " When I
lay at Clement's Inn. "
57 Pass. Negotiate. '
58 Your servant. Rather an undignified title for the Professor
of Languages : but having presented him, he may use it to flatter
Baptista, and it comes appropriately from the mouth of a ser-
vant. Baptista calls him 6 my Cambio ' (v. 1 ).
59 Scrivener. One who draws up contracts, ' ' a notary. ' In
Richard III. iii. 6, we have " Enter a scrivener with a paper in
his hand." SCRIV. " This is the indictment of the good Lord
Hastings. "
Presently. ' At once.'
61 Pittance. i.e. 'fare,' 6 diet. '
62 It likes me well ; Cambio, hie you home. This is the read-
ing of the first folio. Pope, to improve the metre, inserted ' go '
before Cambio.
67 I pray the gods, &c. The first folio gives this line to
Biondello, and Rowe was the first to give it to Lucentio. This
change is judicious, as it gives more point to the remark. Either
Cambio, as he retires, receives a signal not to go away, and
returns after the others are gone, or more probably, he does go,
and a new scene should begin after Baptista's exit. Biondello
would overtake Cambio without difficulty. The scene would
then be parallel to iv. 2. in The Merchant of Venice. Bion-
dello's speech, “ Baptista is safe talking with the deceiving father
of a deceitful son, " implies that Cambio had left the stage before
Tranio and Baptista.
70 One mess. ' A dinner of one course only, and that pos-
sibly barely enough for two. '
6
78 Moral. Hidden meaning. ' Cp. Much Ado About Nothing,
iii. 4. 77-78, " You have some moral in this, Benedictus. "
79 Moralize. 'Draw out the moral or meaning, ' hence
'interpret. ' Cp. As You Like It, ii. 1. 44, " Did he not moralize
this spectacle ? " And Richard III. iii. 1. 82-83, 66 Thus,
like the formal vice, Iniquity, I moralize two meanings in one
word. "
89 Expect. This is the reading of the first folio, but the
other folios read except. If the latter reading is adopted, it
may be thus explained. Biondello says, “ I cannot tell, except
this, that they are busied , " &c. , i.e. " All I have to say is, that
as they are out of the way and busied about a counterfeit assur-
ance, if I were you I should be busied about a real one," and
make " assurance doubly sure. ‫وو‬
90 Assurance. See note on ii. I. 379.
Cum privilegio ad imprimendum solum. " Words put in
books where exclusive right had been obtained for printing
them . " (REED. )
91 To the church. 'Away to,' or ' go to the church. '
6
101 Appendix. Lit. , ' something appended,' ´ a supplement. '
Here of course it means Bianca, the idea being suggested by
cum privilegio, &c.6
104 Roundly. Straightly,' ' directly, ' as in i. 2. 58, " Shall
I then come roundly to thee ? " Here in the Old Play the
Tinker says-
" Sim, they must be married now ?
LORD. Ay, my lord. [Enter FERANDO and SANDER.
SHE. Looke, Sim, the foole is come againe now. ""
SCENE 5.
2 Goodly. Adjective used for an adverb, as in Induc. 1. 87,

" Thou didst it excellent. "
8 Or ere. Or = ere, i.e. before, ' ' sooner than. ' Cp. Hamlet,
i. 2. 183 , " Or ever I had seen that day, Horatio. " This
use of or is especially common in the 66 orphrase or ere. Cp .
Tempest, i. 2. II - 12- ere
It should the good ship so have swallowed "
Macbeth, iv. 3. 173 , 66'Dying or ere they sicken. " It is
probable that or ere arose as a reduplicated expression, in
which ere repeats and explains or ; later this was confused with
or e'er, whence or ever. ( SKEAT . )
9 Go on. Capell conjectured one. Either reading is equally
intelligible, as Petruchio, Katharina, and the rest are walking
to their horses, which have been sent on to wait for them.
Or ' go ' may be used where we should say ' come. ' See
Sh. Gr. § 30.
6
14 An if. If. ' An, when it means if,' is commonly spelt
and in the Bible, especially where it occurs with a redundant
if. Cp. Matt. xxiv. 48, " But and if that evil servant shall
say," &c. Cp. also the last line but two of the Old Play,
Scene 5] NOTES. 143
quoted in the last note, " And if she anger me. " See
Glossary.
16 The moon . Steevens omits the moon ' as redundant,
but it is surely more forcible as it stands, for it shows us a
picture of Katharina like a humbled child repeating a lesson
to Petruchio when she is bid. " The humour of this scene
bears a very striking resemblance to what M. Bernier tells
us of the Mogul Omrahs, who continually bear in mind the
Persian proverb, ' If the king saith at noon-day it is night,
you are to behold the moon and stars.' " History of the Mogul
Empire, vol. iv. p. 45, quoted by Douce.
25 Unluckily. ' Perversely. ' (Cowden Clarke . )
Against the bias. Bowls have a certain construction to
make them run obliquely , so against the bias = against the slope
or inclination.
26 But, soft, &c. In the Old Play the line runs, " But soft,
whose this that's coming here ?" Ritson, to improve the metre,
inserted what ' before ' company,' but this would seem un-
necessary, as exclamations naturally imply a pause.
30 Such war of white and red within her cheeks. " Cp ,
Lucrece, 1. 71 , ' Their silent war of lilies and of roses,'
their referring to ' beauty's red and virtue's white , ' 1. 65. "
( MARSHALL. ) Cp. also Coriolanus, ii. 1. 231–234—
" Our veil'd dames
Commit the war of white and damask in
Their nicely-gawded cheeks to the wanton spoil
Of Phoebus' burning kisses. "
47 Seemethgreen. It is just possible that the word is used
in the sense of ' young, ' as well as its literal sense. There is
certainly a quibble on the word in The Tempest, ii. 1. 52–56—
" GON. How lush and lusty the grass looks ! how green.
ANT. The ground indeed is tawny.
SEB. With an eye of green in 't.
ANT. He misses not much. "
The effect of dazzling sunshine is commonly to make things
appear slightly green : this is an effect of complementary
colours.
53 Mistress. Here used as a trisyllable . ( STEEVENS . )
54 Strange encounter. 6 Unexpected address ' or 6 accost-
ing.
55 My name is call'd Vincentio. Lettsom suggests, " My
name 's Vincentio , " & c.
57 Which. Used for ' whom. ' Cp. Tempest, iii. 1. 6, " The
mistress which I serve."
64 Nor be not. A double negative, of which there are
countless examples in Shakspeare.
70Joyous. Our expression is ' joyous at. ' Shakspeare here,
and for the only time, uses ' joyous of,' but ' joyful of ' is quite
common in his plays.
72 Pleasant. 'Jocular, ' as in iii. 1. 57.
75 Go along. i.e. ' Go along with us. Cp. A Midsummer
Night's Dream, i. I. 123, " Demetrius and Egeus, go along,"
i.e. with me.
76 Jealous. Here ' suspicious. ' Cp. Richard III. iii. 1 .
36, " And from her jealous arms pluck him perforce ” ; Romeo
and Juliet, v. 3. 33-34, " But if thou, jealous, dost return to
pry In what I further shall intend to do," &c. Halliwell gives ,
66'Jealous = ' fearful, ' ' suspicious , ' ' alarmed. ' A common
sense of the word in old plays, and still in use in some counties.
' Before the rain came I jealoused the turnips, ' i.e. was alarmed
for them." Cp. Hamlet, iv. 5. 19, “ So full of artless jealousy
""
is guilt.
78 Have to. ' I'll have at, ' ' set to. ' Cp. i. I. 136, “ Have
to 't afresh."
Froward. See Glossary.
79 Untoward. See Glossary.
ACT V. SCENE I.
5 Master's. The folio reads ' mistris. ' The correction is
Capell's.
IO You shall not choose but. 'You must of necessity.' Cp.
Induc. I. 41, " He cannot choose."
13 You were best. " The old (to) me (it) were better, ' being
misunderstood , was sometimes replaced by ' I were better. ' 'I
were better to be eaten to death, ' 2 Henry IV. i. 2. 245. And
when the old idiom is retained , it is generally in instances like
the following :-' Ay, and truly, you were best,' Julius Cæsar,
iii. 3. 15 ; Madam, you're best consider, ' Cymbeline, iii. 2. 79.
Where you may represent either nominative or dative, but was
almost certainly used by Shakspeare as a nominative. " Sh. Gr.
$ 230.
15 What's he? Not uncommon. Cp. 2 Henry IV. i. 2. 66,
" What's he that goes there ? " Henry V. iv. 3. 18, " What's
he that wishes so ?" Twelfth Night, i. 2. 35, " What's she ? "
See Sh. Gr. § 254.
18 Withal. " The emphatic form of ' with ' is used for with
after the object at the end of a sentence. Cp . Measure for
Measure, v. I. 347, Such a fellow is not to be talked withal. '
Sh. Gr. § 196.
20 To make merry withal. See last note, ' Therewith.' Cp.
As You Like It, i. I. 138-139, " I came hither to acquaint you
withal." Sh. Gr. § 196.
28 From Padua. Tyrwhitt's conjecture is ' from Pisa. '
Scene 1] NOTES. 145
Malone would read " Mantua, " " from whence the Pedant him-
self came, and which he would naturally name, supposing he
forgot, as might well happen, that the real Vincentio was of Pisa. "
The Cambridge editors retain " from Padua, " and say : -" The
Pedant has been staying some time at Padua , and that is all he
means when he contradicts the newly-arrived traveller from Pisa. "
35 To cozen. See Glossary, and cp. iii. 2. 164, " As if the
vicar meant to cozen him. "
36 Under my countenance. Under my appearance,' i.e.
'by representing me. ' So in i. 1. 225-226. Lucentio tells
Biondello-
" Your fellow Tranio here, to save my life
Puts my apparel and my countenance on.
38 Good shipping. Bon voyage, ' ' good fortune. '
41 Crack-hemp. " A fellow likely to hang, a term of con-
tempt. " (HALLIWELL. ) The more usual compound just before
the time of Shakspeare was crack-rope. Cp. Damon and Pithias,""
by R. Edwards, 1571 , Handsomely, thou crack-rope.
(COLLIER. )
43 Forgot. " Owing to the tendency to drop the inflection en,
the Elizabethan authors frequently used the curtailed forms of
past participles, which are common in early English, ' I have
spoke, forgot, writ, chid, ' " &c. Sh. Gr. § 343.
48 Master's father. The first folio has my " mistris father. "
57 What are you ? See note on 1. 15, but what ' here im-
plies ' kind or quality, ' i.e. What manner of man are you ? '
60 Copatain hat. " Is, I believe, a hat with a‫دو‬conical crown,
such as was anciently worn by well-dressed men. (JOHNSON. )
" A conical hat in the form of a sugar-loaf. " (HALLIWELL. )
Steevens quotes from Gascoigne's Hearbes, " A coptankt hat
made on Flemish block. " The word apparently was also spelt
coppidtanke, coppentante, copintank, coptancke, &c. See Glossary.
61 Play the good husband. Act the part of a careful or frugal
manager,' or economize. ' Cp. Measure for Measure, iii. 2.
73-74, where Lucio on learning that Pompey is going to prison
says, " You will turn good husband now, Pompey ; you will keep
the house. " Cp. also Hamlet, i. 3. 77, " And borrowing dulls
the edge of husbandry " ; and Macbeth, ii. 1. 4–5, " There's hus-
bandry in heaven ; their candles are all out. "
68 Cerns. 'Concerns. '
84 Call forth an officer. Here, in the Old Play, the Tinker
speaks-
" SLIE. I say weele have no sending to prison.
LORD. My lord, this is but the play ; they're but in jest.
SLIE. I tell thee, Sim, weele have no sending
To prison, that's flat ; why Sim, am not I Don Christo Vari?
Therefore, I say they shall not go to prison.
L
LORD. No more they shall not, my lord ;

They be runne away.
SLIE. Are they run away, Sim ? that's well.
Then gis some more drinke, and let them play againe.
LORD. Here, my lord.
[Slie drinkes, and then falls asleepe."
Staunton notes that Christo Vari is a humorous variation of
Christopher ; whence, probably, Shakspeare's " Christopher Sly. "
91 Cony-catched. Deceived,' ' cheated. ' See note on iv.
I. 37.
99 Haled. Dragged off. ' See Glossary.
Abused. ' Misused. '
107 That have. Notice that two constructions are mixed ,
" Here's Lucentio . . . that has, " and " Here am I, Lucentio
.. that have."
108 Supposes. ' Impostors,' ' changelings ' ; as in Gascoigne's
comedy, The Supposes. (STAUNTON. ) Some annotators see a
direct allusion to this comedy of Gascoigne's, but Steevens shows
it was a word in common use, and also the name of a game of
some kind.
108 Blear'd thine eyne. Lit. means ' made your eyes watery
or dim, ' but it was a common phrase meaning ' to deceive ' or
'hoodwink. ' Holt White compares Chaucer's Manciple Tale,
v. 17. 202 (Tyrwhitt's edition), " For all thy waiting, blered is
thine eye ; and Comus, 153-156 ---
" Thus I hur
My dazzling spells into the spongy air,
Of power to cheat the eye with blear illusion,
And give it false presentments. "
Eyne. The old plural of_eye. Used four times in A Mid-
summer Night's Dream. It is used for the sake of rhyme,
except in Lucrece, 1,229, where the word occurs in the middle of
a line. And in Pericles III. (GowER), line 5, " The cat, with
eyne of burning coal. ”
109 Packing. Plotting. ' Nares gives ' pack ' for ' pact,'
an agreement or contrivance. " Go pack with him," Titus
Andronicus, iv. 2. 155. Also metaphorically from packing the
cards or putting them together in an unfair manner. So Lear,
" Snuffs and packings of the dukes, " iii. 1. 26 ; and Antony
says of Cleopatra, suspecting her to have betrayed him,
" Pack'd cards with Cæsar, " iv. 14. 19. Cp. Much Ado About
" Who, I believe, was pack'd in all this
Nothing ‫دو‬, v. 1. 308,
wrong. Comedy of Errors, iv. 4. 105 , pack = ' a band of con-
spirators ; v. I. 219–220—
" That goldsmith there, were he not pack'd with her,
Could witness it. "
116 Bear my countenance. Cp. 1. 36 , ' under my countenance,'
and i. I. 226. " Puts my apparel and my countenance on."""
Scene 1] NOTES. 147
125 Go to. Here used in the sense of never fear,' ' don't be
afraid .'
130 My cake is dough. Cp. i. I. 108. " Our cake's dough on
both sides," and see note thereon. In the Old Play, the stage
direction is " Slie sleepes, " and the dialogue runs thus-
" LORD. Whose within there ? Come hither sirs, my lords,
Asleepe againe ; go, take him easily vp,
And put him in his one apparel againe,
And lay him in the place where we did find him,
Just underneath the alehouse side below.
But see you wake him not in any case.
Boy. It shall be done, my lord : come, helpe to beare him
hence. [Exeunt. "
ACT V. SCENE 2
2 Done. Rowe's emendation of ' come ' of the first folio,
which latter cannot be right. Malone suggests ' calm,' some-
times spelt ' calme, ' as in Othello, ii. 1. 187, " If after every
tempest come such calms. " This is supported somewhat by
the word ' overblown ' in the next line. The Collier MS. has
'gone.'
3 Scapes. Not ' scapes. See note on ii. I. 233.
9 Banquet. " A course of sweetmeats, fruit, and wine,
served either as a separate entertainment or as a continuation
of the principal meal, but in the latter case usually in a
different room.'"" (MURRAY. )
9 To close our stomachs up. To finish our sumptuous repast
and make " our jarring notes agree. 999 Cp. iv. I. 143. " I know
you have a stomach, " and see note thereon.
16 Fears. Petruchio means that Hortensio is afraid of his
widow, but the widow takes it in the sense of frightens. Cp.
i. 2. 208. " Tush ! fear boys with bugs. "
21 Roundly replied. 6 Plainly,' and so ' well replied. '
24 Shrew. Sometimes spelt ' shrow,' and evidently pro-
nounced as such, for here it rhymes with ' woe, ' and in the last
line but one of the play rhymes with ' so. '
28 And I am mean indeed, respecting you. 'I am mean
indeed if I respect you. '
37 Bitter. The old copies read ' better. ' ' Bitter ' is Capell's
emendation, which is supported by Malone, who quotes iii. 2.
13, " Hiding his bitter jests in blunt behaviour " ; and Love's
Labour's Lost, iv. 3. 174, " Too bitter is thy jest. '
42 This bird. i.e. Bianca .
44 Slipp'd me like his greyhound = ' Let me loose from the
leash. ' Cp. Henry V. iii. 1. 31-32-
" I see you stand like greyhounds in the slips
Straining upon the star
L2
148 TAMING OF THE SHREW . [Act V
46 Swift simile. " Besides the original sense of speedy in
motion, swift ' signified · witty,' ' quick-witted. ' So in As
You Like It, v. 4. 65-66, the Duke says of the Clown, ' He is
very swift and sententious . ' Quick is now used in almost the
same sense as nimble ' was in the age after that of our author.
Heylin says of Hales, that he had known Laud for a nimble
999
disputant . (JOHNSON. ) For this latter expression cp. As You
Like It, iii. 2. 293 , where Jacques says to Orlando, " You have
a nimble wit. " And for ' swift, ' cp. Much Ado About Nothing,
iii. 1. 89, " Having so swift and excellent a wit. "
48 At a bay. This expression comes from stag-hunting,
and is a term used when the stag turns on the hounds. Cp.
I Henry VI. iv. 2. 48-52-
" If we be English deer, be then in blood ;
Not rascal-like, to fall down with a pinch,
But rather, moody-mad and desperate stags,
Turn on the bloody hounds with heads of steel
And make the cowards stand aloof at bay. "
Cp. also Venus and Adonis, 877, " By this, she hears the
hounds are at a bay. " For derivation, see Glossary.
50 Gird. ' Cut, ' ' hit at, ' ' bitter jest, ' sarcasm . ' See
Glossary.
54 You two. The first folio has ' you too. ' Corrected by
Rowe.
55 In good sadness. Seriously. ' This phrase occurs in The
Merry Wives of Windsor, iii. 5. 125 , and iv. 2. 93 ; All's Well
That Ends Well, iv. 3. 230. And cp. Romeo and Juliet, i. I.
205, " Tell me in sadness, who is that you love ? " 1. 210,
" In sadness, cousin, I do love a woman. "" Also Much Ado
About Nothing, ii. 3. 229, " The conference was sadly ( i.e.
seriously) borne. "
57 For assurance. ' To make certain.'
58 Let's each one send unto his wife. To avoid a verse
with four accents, which " is rarely used except when witches
or other extraordinary beings are introduced as speaking. " See
Sh. Gr. § 504. Mr. Marshall reads, " Let us each one send
word unto his wife. "
64 Of my hawk. For the use of of with the meaning of on,
concerning, about, see Sh. Gr. §§ 174, 175, and cp. iv. 1. 60.
" Both of one horse," and for the reverse case , where on is used
for of, cp. iv. 1. 25. " Shall I complain on thee ? " and see Sh.
Gr. § 181. Taking ' upon ' as synonymous with ' on,' the use of
both constructions is exemplified here, viz. " of my hawk,"
"upon my wife. ”
85 She will not come. The first folio reads " she will not. "
" Come "" was added by Steevens.
Scene 2] NOTES . 149
86 Worse and worse. " Monosyllables containing a vowel
followed by ' r' are often prolonged-
Wórse and worse ! She will not cóme ! | O víle ! '"
Sh. Gr. § 485.
92 Holidame. Probably a corruption of ' halidom, ' i.e.
' holiness, ' ' faith,' ' sanctity. ' Possibly from A.-S. halig, sacred,
and dom , house. Grant White compares " Kingdom ,' ' Christen-
dom.' The expression occurs in The Two Gentlemen of Verona,
iv. 2. 136, " By my halidom , I was fast asleep. "
96 If they deny to come. Cp. ii. 1. 178. " If she deny to
wed "; Love's Labour's Lost, v. 2. 228, " If you deny to dance,
let's hold more chat " ; King Lear, ii. 4. 89, " Deny to speak
with me " ?
97 Swinge me them. 6 Whip or beat them. ' For one
instance of the word in Shakspeare cp. The Two Gentlemen of
Verona, ii. 1. 88, " You swinged me for my love." See
Glossary. For expletive use of me, see note on i. 2. 8.
99 Of a wonder. Lettsom conjectures of wonders. '
102 Awful rule. Awful is here used in its active sense of
' inspiring awe, ' just as in King Richard III. ii. 4. 52, " the
innocent and aweless throne, ” aweless = ' inspiring no awe. '
104 Fair befall thee. May good fortune be yours. ' Cp.
King Richard III. i. 3. 282, " Now fair befal thee and thy
noble house. "
108 As. ' As if.' Cp. i. 2. 152-153.
" I'll plead for you
As for my patron.
And ii. 1. 158. " As had she studied to misuse me so. ‫ وو‬For
other examples, see Sh. Gr. § 107.
IIO Show more sign of her obedience. Walker (Crit. Exam. )
proposes ' submission. '
III Virtue and obedience. Capell reads ' virtue of obedience. '
The Cambridge editors suggest either and her gentleness, ' or
' and her patience. '
116 Lord, let me never have a cause to sigh. This remark of
the widow's, scornful though it is, is only quite natural, and
does not augur unhappiness to come for herself or husband.
Her character differs entirely from Katharina's, and it was
unnecessary for her to go through " the taming school, " and
then to be compelled to give a public exhibition of the lessons
she had learnt there.
122 Laying on. 'Wagering,' or ' betting on. '
129 Unkind. Schmidt says the accent falls on the second
syllable, but when the word is placed before a substantive (as
here) it falls on the first. Cp. The Two Gentlemen of Verona,
i. 2. 109, " Look ! here is writ ' kind Julia. ' Unkind Julia. "
135 Moved. i.e. moved with anger.'
137 None so dryor thirsty "i.e. None is so dry or thirsty

138 Will deign, &c. } (who)willdeigis, where we
"
say '999as to deign.' Less probably none (be he how) so (ever)
dry. ' Sh. Gr. § 281.
141 Andfor thy maintenance. The reading of the first folio
with a full stop after ' maintenance ' has been retained here.
In the Globe Edition there is no stop after that word.
150 Peevish. See Glossary.
154 Simple. ' Silly. '
155 To offer. 'As to offer. ' Cp. i. I. 123. " So very a fool
to be married," and see note thereon.
159 Unapt. ' Not suited . '
160 Softconditions. Gentle dispositions ' or ' temperaments. '
165 Bandy. Lit. , ' to beat to and fro, ' as in Romeo and
Juliet, ii. v. 14-15-
66 My words would bandy her to my sweet love,
And his to me."
Here it means ' give and take,' as in 3 Henry VI. i. 4. 49,
" I will not bandy with thee word for word." See Glossary.
167 Compare. Comparison. ' So in Twelfth Night, ii. 4.
104-106-
" Make no compare
Between that love a woman can bear me
And that I owe Olivia."
Also Romeo and Juliet, iii. 5. 237-238 ; " With that same
tongue which she has praised him with above compare, " and
A Midsummer Night's Dream, iii. 2, 290-291-
" She hath made compare
Between our statures."
169 Vail your stomachs. i.e. " Abate your pride , your
spirit. " (STEVENS) Cp. 2 Henry IV. i. I. 127-130—
" The bloody Douglas, whose well -labouring sword
Had three times slain the appearance of the king,
'Gan vail his stomach, and did grace the shame
Of those that turn'd their backs."
To vail is from French avaler, to lower, let down. So in
Hamlet, i. 2. 70-71—
" Do not for ever with thy vailed lids
Seek for thy noble father in the dust ; "
and The Merchant of Venice, i. 1. 27-29-
" And see my wealthy Andrew dock'd in sand,
Vailing her high-top lower than her ribs
To kiss her burial.'‫وو‬
Stomach. See note on i. I. 38.
169 It is no boot. ' It is profitless,' ' it is of no use.' Cp.
1 Henry VI. iv. 6. 52, "Then talk no more of flight, it is
no boot," and Richard II. i . 1. 164, " Norfolk, throw down,
we bid ; there is no boot."
Scene 2] NOTES . 151
172 May it do him ease. 'Give him ease,' as in Twelfth
Night, v. 1. 136 " To do you rest " = ' to give you rest.'
175 Toward.
Glossary.
176 Froward. } See
178 Are sped. ' The fate of both of you is decided . ' " You
are dispatched , undone. " ( SCHMIDT. ) You have got disobedient
wives. Cp. The Merchant of Venice, ii. 9, 72, " So be gone :
you are sped. " So too in Romeo and Juliet, iii. 1. 94,
Mercutio, on being stabbed , exclaims " I am sped. " ' Cp. Pope,
quoted in Webster's Dictionary-
" A dire dilemma , either way I'm sped :
Iffoes, they write, if friends, they read, me dead. "
The word also means to destroy, kill, despatch. Cp. " He
sped the centaur with one single thrust, " Dryden, quoted in
Worcester's Dictionary.
179 Hit the white. " A phrase borrowed from archery ;
the mark was commonly white. Here it alludes to Bianca or
white. " (JOHNSON. ) Malone quotes Sir Aston Cockayn's Poems,
1658, " And as an expert archer hits the white. "
Shrew. See note on v. 2. 24.
182 'Tis a wonder, &c. This is as much the moral of the
play as the previous line. The merit lies with Katharina as
well as with Petruchio.
Exeunt. The Old Play continues--
" Enter two bearing of Slie in his own apparell againe and
leaves him, where they found him, and then goes out. Then enter
the Tapster, who rouses Slie, on which the latter remarks-
Sim gis some more wine, whats all the
Plaiers gon : am not I a Lord ?
TAPSTER. A lord with a murrin : come art thou dronken
still ?
SLIE. Whose this ? Tapster, oh Lord sirra, I have had
The brauest dreame to-night, that euer thou
Hardest in all thy life.
TAPSTER. I marry but you had best get you home,
For your wife will course you for dreaming here to-night.
SLIE. Will she ? I know now how to tame a shrew,
I dreamt upon it all this night till now,
And thou hast wakt me out of the best dreame
That euer I had in my life, but Ile to my
Wife presently and tame her too
And if she anger me.
TAPSTER. Nay tarry Slie for Ile go home with thee,
And heare the rest that thou hast dreamt to-night. [Exeunt. "
It has been suggested that Shakspeare also wrote a somewhat
similar conclusion , which has been lost, but it seems more pro-
bable that he purposely omitted the scene, lest he should mar
the climax of the more important play.
152 TAMING OF THE SHREW.
GLOSSARY
IN compiling the Glossary I have made free use of the other

Glossaries in the Falcon Series. " H. C. B. " are the initials of
the editor ofJulius Cæsar, The Merchant of Venice, and Corio-
lanus ; " W. H. P.-S. " those of the editor of Richard III.
A
Advice (i. I. 114. ) ' Consideration , ' ' deliberation. ' Cf. The
Merchant of Venice, iv. 2. 6, " My Lord Bassanio upon more
advice Hath sent you here this ring. " Henry V. ii. 2. 43,
" And on his more advice we pardon him. " O. Fr. avis, from
late pop. Lat. advisum, view, opinion-ad + visum, p. pple. of
videre. (MURRAY. )
Advised (i. 1. 183. ) " Art thou not advised " := ' Do you not
consider. ' Adopted from Fr. aviser, from late Lat. advīsāre,
formed on late Lat. advisum. See Advice. (MURRAY. )
Aglet in Aglet-baby (i. 2. 78. ) From Fr. aiguillette, dim. of
aiguille, a needle. Late Lat. acúcula, var. of acicula, dim. of
acus, a needle. The metal tag of a lace (formerly called point),
intended primarily to make it easier to thread through the
eyelet-holes, but afterwards also as an ornament to the pendant
ends. Hence, an ornament consisting properly of a gold or
silver tag or pendant attached to a fringe ; whence extended to
any metallic stud, plate, orspangle worn on the dress. (MURRAY. )
See Note.
Alarums (i. 1. 126. ) ‘ ' larums, i. 2. 204. From Ital. all'arme,
to arms. Used in i. 1. for ' loud scolding, ' and in i. 2 in its
literal sense of 6 calls to arms. ' In Macbeth ii. 1. 53 the word
is used as a verb, " Alarum'd by his sentinel, the wolf. "
Amort (iv. 3. 36) , adv. and pred. adj. [adopted from French
à mort, at or to the death ; but it appears that the French à
la mort, ' to the death, ' was originally adopted, and corrupted
to all amort, the French à mort excusing the change and
leading to the "use of amort without all. ] 6 In the state or
act of death, ' lifeless, ' inanimate ; ' fig. ' spiritless, ' ' de-
jected. ' 1600 Holland Livy xxxiv. xxvi. 868 : " They were
GLOSSARY. 153
all amort (obpressam) for feare. " 1619 H. Hutton Follie's
Anat. ( 1842) , 24 : " She counts him but a nazard, halfe
a-mort." Alamort, sometimes corrupted to all amort (cf. al a
mode, all agog) and at length amort, was occasionally used
without al or all, being taken as == Fr. à mort, to death.
(MURRAY. )
An ( iv. 5. 14, &c. ). The words an, and are the same, an
being written for the copulative not uncommonly from 1100-
1500, and for the conditional conjunction occasionally after
1600. Except in an't, an is found only once ( Love's Labour's
Lost, v. 2. 232) in the first folio of Shakspeare, the full form
and being used. Sometimes and was. strengthened by the
addition of if, as in S. Matthew xxiv. 48, " But and if that
evil servant." ( H. C. B. ) Skeat says, 66 Shakespeare's an is
nothing but a Scandinavian use of the common word and. The
Icelandic use of enda in the sense not only of moreover,' but
of ' if,' is the obvious origin of the M. E. and in the sense of
' if.'"
Anon ( Induc. I. 128). A.-S. on án ' in one moment, ' and
used in its literal sense of ' instantly ' in Coriolanus, ii. 3. 149,
152, " Anon do meet the senate. "" · " To meet anon
upon your approbation , " but here, and now usually, anon has
come to mean ' soon.'
Antic ( Induc. I. 99). Apparently adopted from Italian
antico, but used as equivalent to Italian grottesco, a form ofgrotta,
a cauerne or hole vnder grounde ' ( Florio). Originally applied
to fantastic representations of human , animal, and floral forms
incongruously running into one another, found in exhuming
some ancient remains (as the Baths of Titus) in Rome, whence
extended to " anything similarly incongruous or bizarre. Antic
was not developed in English from antique, ' but was a distinct
use of the word from its first introduction. Yet in the 17th
century it was occasionally written antique, a spelling proper to
the other word. (MURRAY. )
Argosy (ii. 1. 368). A merchant vessel of the largest size
and burden, especially those of Ragusa and Venice. Argosy is
apparently an adaptation of Ragusea, pl. Ragusee, i.e. una ( nave
or caracca). In Roberts' Map of Commerce (1628) 237, we find
" Rhagusa from hence was the original of those great
ships here built, and in old times vulgarly called Argoses, pro-
perly Rhaguses. " (MURRAY. )
Aught (i. 2. 32).6 O. Eng. á, ó, ' ever ' + wiht, ' creature,'
6 being, ' ' wight, ' whit,' ' thin8 ' ; lit. ' e'er a whit ' = ' any.
thing whatever. ' In O. E. the full á-wiht was phonetically
contracted through several stages to áht, whence regularly M. E.
ōht, ōght, modern ought, the usual form in English writers

from 1300-1550. But there must also have been a form awht,
aht, with the original long á shortened before the two conso-
nants, whence regularly (as in caught, taught, &c. ) M. E. aht,
aght, modern aught, the spelling now preferred, as distinguish-
ing this word from ought verb. In Shakespeare, Milton, and
Pope, ought and aught occur indiscriminately. (MURRAY. )
B
Baggage ( Induc. 1 , 3). A worthless woman. OF ba-
gage. French bagasse.
Balk (i. 1. 34). Formed from two stems - and these differen-
tiate the meaning-(a) O. E. balca, a ridge, ' hence verb ' to
plough in ridges, ' then = to omit intentionally. (b) O.E.
bolca, ' gangway of a ship ' or ' beam, ' hence the intransitive
verb ' to stop short at an obstacle, ' or transitive = ' to place an
obstacle in the way, ' hence to meet argument with objection,'
as here i. 1. 34, balk logic = ‘ bandy logic. ' (See MURRAY. )
Bandy (v. 2. 165) . Give and take. ' Skeat suspects the
word to be " a corruption of the French bander (or bande), the
French word being taken as a whole instead of being shortened
by dropping -er in the usual manner. ' Bander, to bind, fasten
with strings ; also to bandie at tennis ' (COTGRAVE ). He also
gives Iouer à bander et à racler contre, ' to bandy against at
tennis ; and by metaphor to pursue with all insolence, rigour,
extremity. "
Banns (iii. 2. 16). The plural of ban, which is, according to
Murray, " partly O. Fr. ban with influence of med. L. bannum,
partly from ban, a verb. The old Norse bann, excommunica-
tion, interdict, prohibition, curse, seems too late to have been
the source of the English. But as O. E. had the verb bannan,
ban from O. Fr. early assumed the position of its verbal sub-
stantive, and the two words with the med. L. bannum -us in its
various legal and ecclesiastical uses subsequently reacted upon
each other, so that the development of sense is complicated.
Bate (iv. 1. 181 ). Bate, also baite, bayte, bait, O. F. batre
(mod. battre), late L. batěre, battere, for cl. L. batuěre. 'To
beat the wings impatiently and flutter away from the fist or
perch. ' (Fr. se battre. ) 1486 Bk. St. Alban's Hawking, A vj :
" Holde faste at all timys and specially when she baitith. " 1631
Celestina 1. 3 : " The Gyrfalcon bated , and I came to set him
on the pearch. " 1828 Sebright Observ. Hawking, 14 : " In the
field the hood prevents them from baiting. " Ibid. 48 : " Which
assists the hawk in regaining the perch when he has baited off. "
(MURRAY. )
GLOSSARY. 155
Bauble (iv. 3. 82). A plaything. French, from the Italian.
Probably a mere adaptation of the French babiole, modified so
as to coincide with bauble in the sense of 6 a fool's mace. ' From
Italian babbola, pl. babbole, child's toys, from Italian babbeo, a
simpleton. (SKEAT. )
Bay (v. 2. 48). " Two different words seem to be here
inextricably confused. Originally the phrase to hold at bay
seems an adaptation of O. F. tenir à bay (Godefroy) = It. tenere
abada, where bay, bada, means the state of suspense, expecta-
tion, or unfulfilled desire indicated by the open mouth (late L.
badare, to open the mouth) , but to stand at bay, be broughtto bay
correspond to mod. French être aux abois, meaning to be at
close quarters with the barking dogs, and bay is aphetically
formed from abay and O.F. abai, barking. Of effective action
of the hunted animal, to hold or keep at (a) bay (the assailing
hounds), to give the bay to (obs. ), and (rarely) of the correspond-
ing position of the hounds, to be at bay. 1553-87 Foxe A. and
M. iii. 239 : ' Whereat the Chancellor was much offended, but
Bradford still kept him at the bay. ' " (MURRAY. )
Befall (v. 2. 104) . From A.-S. befeallan, compounded of the
prefix be-, a weak or stressless form of the prep. and adv. bi-,
and tall. Skeat says, " This is one of the original verbs on
which so many others beginning with be were modelled . "
Behaviour (Induc. 1. 93 , i. 1. 71 , i. 2. 166, ii. 1. 50 , iii. 2.
13). Formed very abnormally from be + have. The curious suffix
is best accounted for by supposing a confusion with the Fr. avoir
used substantively, a word which not only meant wealth or posses-
sions , but also ability. (See COTGRAVE. ) It must be remembered
that (1 ) behaviour was often shortened into haviour, as in
Shakespeare ; and (2) that havings, at least in Lowland Scotch ,
had the double meaning of (a) possessions ' and (b) ' carriage, '
behaviour. See Jamieson's Scot. Dict. (SKeat. )
Bemete (iv. 3. 113) . O.E. bemetan, formed from be + metan,
to mete [see Befall], but in Shakspeare probably an independent
re-formation. (MURRAY. )
Beware (ii. 1. 209). There was a transitive verb in O.E.
warian to guard, take care of, with a compound bewarian, to
defend. The imperative in phrases like " Ware holes ! " has
often been mistaken for a contraction of beware. Besides these
two verbs there was also an O. E. adj . wær, cautious, on one's
guard, which survived in M. E. as ware, common in the phrase
to be ware to be on one's guard. From this equivalence of
meaning be ware early became treated as a compound of the
verb ware, thus stepping into the place of the O.E. bewarian.
Beware is now used only where be ware would be a possible
construction, viz. in the imper. (chiefly) , the infin. , and pres.

subj . (rarely). (For fuller particulars see MURRAY. )
Boot (v. 2. 169). It is no boot =" ' it is no gain, ' ' it is of
no use.' Boot, O.E. bót, means, profit,' then ' something
thrown into a bargain, ' so ' besides, ' ' in addition. '
Boss'd (ii. 1. 345). ' Studded,' ' ornamented. ' O.N.F.
boche. Botch, Italian bozza, perhaps connected with O.H.G.
bôzan -= beat, according to Skeat, is a doublet of boss, but"
Murray says that boss is not recorded in the sense of ' pimple
or boil,' and that botch does not occur in the sense of the ' boss
of a shield.'
Brach ( Induc. 1 , 17). M. E. braches, pl. , probably adopted
from O.F. brachès, brachez, pl. of brachet. Med. L. bracco,
-onem, adopted from O.H.G. bracco (M.H.G. bracke), a hound
hunting by scent. From this pl. braches was apparently
educed an English sing. brache, brach (French braque, masc. , is
a modern form, probably from Italian or M. H. G. ). ' A kind
of hound that hunts by scent, ' in later English use always femi-
nine, and extended to any kind of hound ; a bitch-hound.
(MURRAY. )
Broach'd (i. 2. 83). To broach to give vent or publicity
to ' ; ' to give out ' ; ' to begin conversation or discourse about ' ;
'to moot. From to pierce (a cask) so as to draw out the
liquor. The verb is derived from broach or brooch, M. E. broche,
adopted from French broche, derived from Romanic or late
Latin brocca, a spike, akin to broccus. Brocchus is an adj . in
brocchi dentes, projecting teeth. (MURRAY. )
Bugs (i. 2. 208). Obsolete or dialectal. M. E. bugge, pos-
sibly from Welsh bwg ( = bug) a ghost, but the word is appa-
rently now known chiefly in its derivatives. When bug became
current as the name of an insect, this sense fell into disuse, and
now survives only in the compound Bugbear. To swear by no.
bugs to take a genuine oath, not a mere pretence of one.
1535 Coverdale Ps. xc. [ xci. ] 5 : " Thou shalt not nede to be
afrayed for eny bugges by night. " Jewel Def. Apol. (1611 )
285 : " A bug meet only to fray children. " (MURRAY. ) A
curious compound of this word occurs in Philaster, v. 4, " That
you talk no more such bug-words,'‫ وو‬i.e. words intended to
terrify the hearers. Again in Philip Massinger's A New Way to
Pay Old Debts, iii. 2, Greedy having just said, " A man in
commission give place to a tatterdemalion ! " Marrall replies,
" No bug words, sir. "
Buttery (Induc. I. 100). Adopted from O. F. boterie =
bouteillerie (Godef. ) Derived from late Latin botaria, a form
of bota, variation of butta, cask, bottle. The transition from
GLOSSARY. 157
the sense of ' store-room for liquor ' to that of ' store-room for
provisions generally ' is in accordance with analogy, but may
have been helped by association with Butter. (MURRAY. )
Buzzard (ii. 1. 205). Adopted from O. F. busart -= Pro-
vençal buzart. Supposed to be derived from Latin buteōnem,
inferior hawk, hence apparently the sense of a worthless ,
stupid, or ignorant person. Cf. French buse, buzzard, also
' sot,' ' ignorant, ' ' stupide ' (BoISTE), ( imbécille ' ( LITTRÉ).
(MURRAY. )
C
Carouses (i. 2. 275). Carousing (iii. 2. 167). Carouse, an
adv. obsolete, also garaus, carous [adopted from German gar
aus in gar-aus trinken, to drink all out,' to empty the bowl.
Cf. All out, the English phrase in the same sense. In 16th
century Rabelais has boire carrous et alluz]. The adverb
was mistaken for the object of the verb in this phrase. Cf.
French une carrouse, obsolete in England, in the sense of a
full bumper to one's health, before 1700, but used by Scott in
Rokeby i. 7, " Quaff the full carouse. (MURRAY. )
Commodity (ii. 1. 320) . Here ' bargain, ' ' piece of goods,'
from Latin commodum , advantage. The word is used in many
senses in Shakspeare.
Companions (iv. 1. 101 ) . From company, which is through Fr.
from Low Lat. companiem, ' a taking of meals together. ' " The
notion originally involved in companionship would appear to
have been rather that of inferiority than of equality " (TRENCH).
We use ' fellow ' in the same way. Craik, in a note on Julius
Cæsariv. 3. 138 ( " Companion , hence ! " ), quotes from Smollett,
Roderick Random, " Scurvy companion ! saucy tarpaulin ! rude
impertinent fellow ! " [H.C.B. ]
Cony, in cony-catching, iv. I. 37, and in cony-catched, v. I.
91 (for meaning of which see Notes) , is derived from the O.F.
connil, which is from the Latin cuniculus.
Copatain (v. 1. 60). Apparently from cop or coppe, A.S. for
a head, cp. the Celtic cob, a head. The word cop occurs in the
sense of conical ' in The Alchemist, ii. I , " She wears a hood,
but it stands a cop. " For explanation of ' copatain hat ' see
Note.
Countenance , in the sense of general appearance, ' i. I. 226,
iv. 2. 65, v. I. 36, and 116 ; ' face, ' iv. 2. 100, iv. 4. 18 ; to coun-
tenance = ' to welcome, ' iv. 1. 87. Derived from O. F. conten-
ance, from Latin continentia, continent being stem of pres. part.
of continere, from cum, together + tenere, to hold.
158 TAMING OF THE SHREW .
Counterfeit. In iv. 4. 90, counterfeit assurance = ' sham ' ;
v. I. 108, counterfeit supposes (see Note), O. F. contrefait, Lat.
contra +facere, an imitation, ' with no notion of dishonesty.
Trench quotes from Tyndale, " Christ prayseth not the unright-
eous stuard, neither setteth him forth to us to counterfait."
(H.C.B. )
Counterpoints ( ii. 1. 343). 'Counterpanes. ' Derived from
O.F. contrepoinct, the back-stitch or quilting-stitch ; also a
quilt, counterpoint, quilted covering (COTGRAVE). The right
form is coutrepointe or coutepointe, where coutre is a variant of
the O.F. coute, quieute, or queute, a quilt, from Lat. culcita, the
same as culcitra, a cushion, mattress, pillow, or quilt, Low Lat,
culcita puncta, a counterpane, lit. stitched quilt. Estque
toral lecto quod supra ponitur alto Ornatus causa, quod dicunt
culcita puncta ' (DUCANGE). Thus coutepointe has become
courtepointe in Mod . French, but also produced contrepoincte in
Middle French, whence the E. derivative counterpoint, now
changed to counterpane. (SKEAT. )
Cozen (iii. 2. 164 ; v. 1. 36) . ‘ To flatter, to beguile. ' A
verb evolved out of cousin through the French cousiner, ' to
claime kindred for advantage, or particular ends ; as he, who
to save charges in travelling, goes from house to house as cosin
to the honour of every one ' (COTGRAVE). So in Mod.
F. cousiner is ' to call cousin, to sponge, to live upon other
people
6 ' ( HAMILTON and LEGROS). The change of meaning from
sponge ' to ' beguile ' or ' cheat ' was easy. Derivatives cozen-
age, cozener. (SKEAT. )
Craven (ii. 1. 222). ' One who is defeated ,' M. E. crauand
(with u for v) , also spelt crauant, crauaund. Cravant is the
O. F. participle cravanté, or perhaps rather its compound acra-
vanté, with the frequent M. E. loss of final -é. As this O.F.
word corresponds to a Lat. crepantare , its primitive form,
which is not uncommon , was clearly crevanter with e, but the
form with a in the first syllable, though anomalous , is at least
as common. See Skeat's Etymological Dictionary , Errata and
Addenda .
Cullion (iv. 2. 20). A mean wretch. '
Cunning (Induc. 1. 90) . Skill, ' ' art, ' lit. ' knowledge ac-
quired by experience, ' with no modern sense of subtlety or de-
ceit. Cp. Ps. cxxxvii. 5 , " If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let
my right hand forget her cunning " (ii. 1. 403 ). The word,
though probably only meaning ' skill,' appears to be employed
in the sense of craft or artifice. i. 1. 97, i. I. 184 , ii. 1. 56, ii. 1 .
80. Cunning= skilful. From A. S. cunnan to know.
Curious iv. 4. 36) .
6 busy Scrupulous. ' O. F. curios, ' careful, '
;' Latin curiosus, careful.
GLOSSARY. 159
Curse (ii. 1. 75) . M. E. cursien, cursen, corsen, A.-S. cursian.
Remoter origin unknown ; perhaps originally Scandinavian, and
due to a particular use of Swedish korsa, Dan. korse, to make
the sign of the cross, from Swed. and Dan. kors, a cross, a cor-
ruption of Icel. kross, a cross, and derived from O.F. crois.
(SKEAT. ) The participle ' cursed ' does not occur in this play.
Schmidt shows that cursed = ' wicked or accursed , ' and has not
the same meaning as curst, which see.
Curst (i. 1. 177 , i. 2. 69 , i. 2. 88, and i. 2. 126 and 127 , ii. 1 .
6
185, 284, and 297, v. 2. 181 ) . Ill-tempered, ' ' crabbed, ' ' cross-
grained. Written as one syllable to distinguish it from cursèd,
the p. p. of curse. The comparative CURSTER and the superlat-
ive CURSTEST occur in iii. 2. 150, and ii. 1. 305 respectively.
D
Deck (i. 1. 16). ' Adorn, ' iv. 3. 60, clothe or adorn. '
Skeat says the word is derived from O. Dutch decken, to hide ;
Dutch, dekken, to cover ; dek, a cover, a ship's deck. Cognates
are German decken to cover, Latin tegere ; A.-S. peccan, to
thatch.
Digress (iii. 2. 103). ' Deviate. ' See Note. Latin digressus,
p.p. of digredi, ' to step aside. '
Dole (i . 1. 137) . Lit. ' a small portion, ' from A.S. dál, a
variant of dæl. Thus dole is a doublet of deal. The difference
between deal and dole appears to be dialectal. Cf. Lowland
Sc. bane, mair, with E. bone, more (SKEAT).
Ducats (ii. 1. 361 ) . So called because when first coined in
the duchy of Apulia (about A.D. 1140) they bore the legend :
' Sit tibi, Christe, datus, quem tu regis, iste ducatus. ' (SKEAT. )
Dumps (ii. 1. 276) . Skeat gives " I dumpe, I fall in a
dumpe or musyng upon thynges, Je me amuse ; Palsgrave.
The root-verb is seen in Swed. dial. dimpa, to fall down plump,
pt. t. damp, supine dumpið ( RIETZ) . Cf. M. E. dumpen, to fall
down plump, Allit. Poems, c. 362. " Cp. the use of the word
in Greene's Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay, lines 10-12 :
" Nor have I seen my lord more frolic in the chase,
And now chang'd to a melancholy dump."
E
Emboss'd (Induc. 1. 16) . Foaming at mouth,' or ' swell-
ing at knees.' See Note. O.F. embosser, to raise in bosses or
knobs. ' See Boss'd. The ordinary meaning of emboss'd in Shak-
speare is swollen. ' Cp. As You Like It, ii. 7. 67, " embossed
sores and headed evils," King Lear, ii. 4. 227, " an embossed
carbuncle," I Henry IV. iii. 3. 177, " embossed rascal. "
F
Fancy (Induc. 1. 43. In ii. 1. 12, and iv. 2. 2 = ' love. ' A
corruption of the fuller form fantasy, M. E. fantasie, through
O.F. fantasie, Low Lat. fantasia or phantasia, Grk. pavτaσía, a
making visible, imagination, from pavτáce , to make visible,
extended from paíveiv, to bring to light, shine. ( SKEAT. )
Fardingales (iv. 3. 56). Hooped petticoats. A corrupt
form derived from O.F. verdugalle, a vardingall ' (Cor. ) ;
from Span. verdugado, a fardingale, so called from its hoops, the
literal sense being, provided with hoops. From Span. verdugo,
a young shoot of a tree, a rod ; Span. verde, green, from Lat.
uiridis, green. ( SKEAT. )
Fiend (i. 1. 88, iii. 2. 151 ). A.S. feónd, fiónd, ' an enemy,'
' hater' ; properly the pres. pt. of feón, contr. form of feógan,
to hate. Similarly friend is a pres. pt. from Teut. base fri,
to love. ( SKEAT. )
Flouts (ii. 1. 29). A form of flute, ' to jeer. ' " Fit enim
fistulatione et inflatione oris irrisio " (MINSHEU ). —H. C. B.
Fondly (iv. 2. 31). ' Foolishly. ' A derivative of fond,'
which is the p.p. of fonnen, to act foolishly. ' from fon, ' a
fool. ' The sense in this passage might possibly be which I
have lovingly flatter'd her with ' ; but the secondary sense of
this word , viz. ' loving, ' is not so common in Shakspeare as its
first sense, ' foolish. '
Froward (i. 1. 69 ; i. 2. 89 ; ii. 1. 285 ; iv. 5. 78 ; v. 2. 112,
150, 176 ). 6 Perverse. ' M.E. froward, but commonly fra-
ward. This fraward is a Northern form of from -ward, due to
substitution ofthe Scand. Eng. fro for the A.-S. from. A.-S.
fromweard only in the sense of ' about to depart ' in Grein, i.
351 ; but we have retained the original sense offrom-ward, i.e.
´averse, ’ ´ perverse. ' (SKEAT. ) See Toward in Glossary.
Fustian (iv. I. 41 ) . See Note.
G
Gambold (Induc. 2. 124). An older spelling of ' gambol. '
O.F. gambade, Italian gambata, a kick, and gamba the leg.
Gamut (iii. 1. 66) . See Note.
Gird (v. 2. 50). 'Bitter jest. ' The same word as gride,
which means ' to pierce, ' ' to cut. ' Cp. ' griding sword, Paradise
Lost, vi. 329. For a converse metathesis of girn for grin cp.
Scott's Redgauntlet (Wandering Willie's Tale) Letter XI.
" Major Weir sat opposite to him, in a red laced coat, and the
GLOSSARY. 161
Laird's wig on his head, and aye as Sir Robert girned wi' pain,
the jackanape girned too, like a sheep's head between
"" a pair of
tangs - an ill-faured fearsome couple they were. '
Goodman ( Induc. 2. 105 ). ' Husband. ' " Goodman, or rather
godeman, is used as a translation of Lat. paterfamilias in an
O.E. Miscellany, edited by Morris, p. 33 , " Two bondmen
whyche be all under the rule and order of the good man and the
good wyfe of the house ” (Sir T. MORE's Utopia, English version ,
edited by Arber, p. 75 ) . Compounded of good and man. Cp.
Lowland Scotch, gude man, ' the master of a family. ' ” (SKEAT. )
H
Haled (v. 1. 99). Same word as hauled. A.-S. holian,
geholian.
Hap (i. 2. 267). 6 Fortune. ' Icelandic happ, chance, iv. 4.
104. The verb hap is derived from the substantive.
Hilding (ii. I. 26). A base menial wretch. ( E. ) In
Shakspeare used of both sexes. 'The word is still in use in
Devonshire, pronounced hilderlingor hinderling' ( HALLIWELL).
Hilding is short for hilderling, and hilderling stands for M.E.
hinderling. Made up from A.-S. hinder, behind, and the
suffix ling. (SKEAT. )
Holidame (v. 2, 92). See Note.
Humour (Induc. 2. 13. ) = 3 ' frame of mind ; ' i. 2. 106 =
'whim ; ' iii. 2. 29 = ' temper ; ' iii. 2. 66 = humour offortyfancies
(see Note) ; iii. 2. 69, ‘ odd humour = ' queer turn of mind ; ' iv. I.
165, in her own humour ' by means of assuming her frame of
mind , ' ¿, e. being always in a passion ; iv. 1. 194, humour =
' temper. ' 66 According to medieval views , derived from the
Schoolmen, and widely prevalent in Shakspeare's time, the
disposition of every man was believed to be the result of the
mingling of four principal elements. These being fluids, were
termed humours, and were blood, choler, phlegm, melancholy ;
the resulting temperaments, according as this one or that pre-
dominated, were the sanguine, choleric, phlegmatic, melan-
cholic. So soon as they ceased to be duly proportioned or
tempered , and one gained too much influence, the man became
humorous. This term, therefore, signifies, not as now, ' droll ,'
' whimsical, ' but ' peculiar, ' ' capricious. ' Cp. especially As
You Like It, i. 2. 275--
" Yet such is now the Duke's condition
That he misconstrues all that you have done.
The Duke is humorous. "
M
For Shakspeare's ridicule of the affected use of the term in

vogue in his time, see Merry Wives, ii. 1. 132, fol.; Henry V.
iii. 2. ad init " [W. H. P.-S. ]. See also the Induction to Every
Man out ofhis Humour, and cp. Every Man in his Humour.
Hurly (iv. 1. 188 ). Tumult, ' F. hurler, to howle, yell ';
Cot. cf. Ital. urlare, to howl, yell. Both these forms are
corrupt, and contain an inserted r The O.F. form was origi
nally huller, to howl, and the correct Italian form is ululare, to
shriek, also to howl or yell as a wolf (FLORIO). Lat. ululare ,
to howl, from Lat. ulula, an owl. The form hurly-burly is a
reduplication, the second syllable being an echo of the first to
give more fulness. (SKEAT. )
J
Jade (i. 2. 247 ; ii. 1. 200 ; iv. 1. 1 ). Derivation unknown.
Skeat says " perhaps connected with Du. jagen, "" to hunt, chase,
drive, ride ; jagten, to hurry ; jagt, the chase.'
Jump (i. 1. 187). " Agree. ' From this verb is derived the
adverb jump = exactly. Cp. Hamlet (i. 1. 65) , "jump at this
dead hour. "
་
Junkets (iii. 2. 242). See Note. Ital. giuncata, a kind of
fresh cheese and creame, so called because it is brought to
market on rushes ; also a iunket ( FLORIO). From Ital. giunco.
Lat. iuncus, a rush. ( SKEAT. )
K
Kennel (iv. 3. 98). ' Gutter.' O. F. canel ; Lat. canalis, a
canal, or channel.
Knave ( i. 2. 12) , etc. , etc. Original meaning, ' a boy, '
from A.S. cnafa, a boy, a later form of cnapa. Mr. Beeching
cites " If it is a knave child sleye him " (ŴYCLIF, Exodus, i.
16) ; and adds " How many serving lads, " says Trench, " must
have been dishonest before knave acquired the meaning it has
now ! " For a similar transition of sense cp. varlet.
L
Largess (i. 2. 148). ' gift. ' From Fr. largesse, Lat. largiri,
to give.
Lewd (iv. 3. 65). 6 vulgar. ' From A. S. lawede, adj.
lay, .e. belonging to the laity, hence untaught, ignorant, as
opposed to the clergy. The phrase lered and lewed = clergy and
laity, taught and untaught, is not uncommon ; see P. Plowman,
B-text, iv. 11. The verb lewan = to enfeeble, but its more usual
sense is to betray, and is cognate with Goth. lewjan, to betray,
GLOSSARY. 163
which is a mere derivative of Goth. lew, an occasion, oppor-
tunity. Thus the train of thought can be deduced in the order
following, viz. opportunity, opportunity to betray, betrayal ,
enfeeblement, ignorance, baseness, vileness. (See SKEAT. )
Lief (i. 1. 129). I had as lief= ' I would as soon, ' from A. S.
leof, dear, loved. Shakspeare apparently does not use the
comparative liefer, but the superlative liefest occurs in 2 Henry
VI. iii. 1. 164, My liefest liege," and same play, i. 1. 28,
" Mine alder-liefest (dearest) sovereign. '
List. In ii. 1. 355 = listen. In iii. 1. 90, iii. 2. 161 , iv. 5. 7.
A.S. lystan, to desire. List and lust are the same, so listless =
' without desire ; ( iii. 2. 65 ) Red and blue list = ' red and blue
border ' A. S. list.
M
Meacock (ii. i. 305 ). See Note.
Mew (i. 1. 87. Mew'd, i. 1. 180). “ Shakspeare uses only
the verb to mew, i.e. to keep shut up in a cage or coop. The
substantive mew is from Old Fr. mue, a moulting, ' also ' a
cage for hawks while moulting, ' through muer, ' to moult,'
from Lat. mutare. So Spenser, Fairy Queen, i. 5, 19, " Forth
coming from her darksome mew. 29 Hence the verb to mew,
(1) 'to moult, ' (2 ) to confine. As regards the modern use of
mews, Skeat says, The plural mews now means a range of
stabling, because the royal stables were rebuilt (A.D. 1534) in
a place where the royal falcons had been kept " (W. H. P.-S. ).
N
Nice (iii. 1. 79). · Fastidious, ' M. E. nice, foolish , simple ;
later it took the sense of fastidious, and lastly that of delicious.
Chaucer, C. T. 6520, ' Wise and nothing nice ' wise and not
simple at all. O.F. nice, lazy, slothful, idle, faint, slack, dull,
simple (COT. ). The original sense was ignorant, Lat. nescium.
The remarkable changes in the sense may have been due to E.
nesh, which sometimes meant 6 delicate ' as well as ' soft. '
(SKEAT. )
O
Orchard (ii. 1. 110). ' Garden, ' from A. S. orceard or orcerd,
older form ortgeard and wyrtgeard = herb-yard , ' or ' garden of
fruit.'
P
Pack (ii. 1. 176). ' Bid me pack,' i.e. pack up and be off;
(iv. 3. 33) all the pack ( = set) of you ' ; (v. i. 109) packing, see
Note. All of these are allied to Lat. pangere, to fasten.
Paltry (iv. 3. 81 ). Stands for palter-y. Palter = ' rags, '

from Swedish paltor, rags, ' pl. of palta, a rag '; so paltry=
' ragged, ' hence ' vile, ' ' worthless. ' (See SKEAT. )
Peereth (iv. 3. 165). Short for appear. M. E. peren, short
for aperen. As the M. E. aparen was frequently spelt with one
p, the prefix a easily dropped off, as in the case of peal for
appeal. In F. the simple verb paroir ( Lat. parere) was used in
a similar way. ' Paroir, to appear, to peep out, as the day in
a morning, or the sun over a mountain. ' COT. ( SKEAT. )
Peevish (v. 2. 150) . ‘ Silly, ' . foolish, ' ' childish. ' According
to Grant White it acquired its present meaning because fools
and children are apt to fret. Skeat also gives the meanings of
' wayward, froward, uncouth, ill-natured, perverse, and even
witty 'to this word, and says " all these may be reduced to the
sense of ' childish , ' the sense of ' witty ' being equivalent to that
of ' forward, ' the child being toward (see Glossary), instead of
froward (see Glossary). Probably of onomatopoetic origin from
the noise made by fretful children. Cp. peewit.'
Pheeze (Induc. sc. 1 ) . ' Plague you, ' ' pay you out ; ' the
word is also spelt pheese, phese, fese, fease, feaze, feize. Fese
is a synonym of Fere, to terrify, in Promptorium. " R. Brunne
uses the word fesid, which Hearne explains as meaning whipped
or beaten. A.-S. Fesian."
Pip (i. 2. 32). ' A spot on cards. ' The true name is pick,
still preserved provincially. O.F. picque, pique. The word
seems to have meant ( 1 ) a spade , ( 2 ) a diamond , and (3) a pip
(on cards) in general. (SKEAT. )
Practise (Induc. 1. 35). See Note. The noun practice is
often employed in a bad sense in Shakspeare (cp. Othello, i. 3.
102, " To find out practices of cunning hell "), and sometimes
implies treachery, ' as in Coriolanus, iv. 1. 33
" Your son
Will or exceed the common or be caught
With cautelous baits and practice. "
Proper (i. 2.141 ) . Here means ' well-made, ' ' good - looking, '
or ' handsome.' Derived through French (propre) from
Lat. proprium, ( 1 ) ' Own. ' The Tempest, iii. 3. 60, " Men
hang and drown their proper selves. " I Chron. xxix. 3.
(2) Unique,' and so handsome. ' Heb. xi. 23, " A proper
child. " Shakspeare uses both the comparative and superlative. ”
(H.C.B. )
Q
Quaff (i. 2. 275). ' To drink in large draughts. ' The double
fstands for a guttural. The true form is quach (ch as in Ger-
GLOSSARY. 165
man), meaning to drink out of a quach or cup, called quaich,

quech, or queffin Lowland Scotch. To quaffis to cup: ' Cup
us, till the world go round , ' Antony and Cleopatra. From Irish
and Gaelic cuach, a cup, bowl, milking-pail. Cp. W. cwch
a round concavity, hive, crown of a hat, boat. (SKEAT. )
Quaint (iii. 2. 143) . Smug ; ' iv. 3. 102 ' trim, ' ' neat. ' See
Notes. Through O.F. coint, quaint, neat, from Lat. cognitus,
known, famous. Confused with comptus.
R
Rascal (i. 2. 37 ; etc. etc. ). M. E. raskaille, used col-
lectively the common herd , ' ' certain animals not accounted
beasts of chace were so termed ; the hart until he was six years
old was accounted rascayle ' (WAY). He also cites " Plebecula,
lytell folk or raskalle ; plebs, folk or raskalle. Probably through
Ó.F. rascaille, Mod. F. racaille, " scrapings,' so ' refuse ,'
from O. F. rascler, Mod. F. racler, ' to scrape.' (See SKEAT. )
Rayed (iii. 2. 52). 'Discoloured ' ; (iv. 1. 3 ) ‘ dirtied . '
Ray is an aphetic
· form of array, which latter verb has the
meaning of disfigure, ' ' dirty, ' ' befoul,' ' defile, ' according to
Murray, who quotes Palsgr. 435, 2 : " I arraye or fyle with myer. "
Revel (iii. 2. 219 ; iv. 3. 54 ) . From O. F. revel, ' sport,'
' disturbance,' which is formed from reveller, to revel.
Rout (iii. 2. 177). ' Disorderly crowd. ' Same word as French
route, derived from Latin rupta, broken. So route = ' a way
broken or cut through a forest. '
Rudesby (iii. 2. 10) . ' Rude, rough fellow. ' " So Suresby
applied as a proper name to an over-cautious or accurate person,
as if he were a native of a place so called. Cp. Idlesby and
Sneaksby." (JOHNSON'S Dictionary, ed. Latham. )
S
'
Scrivener (iv. 4. 59) . Notary. ' Properly a scriven ; the
suffix er (of6 the agent) is an E. addition. Through the O.F.
escrivain, a scrivener, ' from Low Lat. scribanus, a notary ;
extended from scriba, a scribe. (SKEAT. )
Shrew (ii. 1. 305 , &c. ). Shrewd. (i. 1. 177 ; i. 2. 59,
69, 89). " The substantive shrew is the first form of the
word, originally, according to Nares, of the shrewmouse, fabled
to have a venomous bite. Thence shrew = ' a scold, ' ' a spiteful
woman. ' Cp. the Taming of the Shrew. (Screw, ' a vicious
or worthless horse, ' is the same word. -SKEAT. ) Next comes
the verb to shrew or beshrew ; i.e. to curse. Cp. Cymbeline,
ii. 3. 147, " Shre w me. "" Then the past participle shrewd, lit.
6
cursed , ' ' bad, ' ' mischievous, ' ' spiteful. ” So ‘ a shrewd turn ' ;
e.g. Henry VIII. v. 3. 177, " Do my Lord of Canterbury a
shrewd turn, and he is your friend for ever. " Later shrewd has
to a great extent dropped the999sense of maliciously sharp , ' and
means only " sharp , ' " clever. (W. H. P. S. )
Skills (iii. 2. 128) . In the phrase it skills not much = ' it
makes no difference, ' skill is a verb from Icel. skilja, to separate,
"
which is frequently used impersonally, with the sense it differs. '
(SKEAT. )
Solemn (iii. 2. 97). Through O.F. solempne, from Lat.
solemnis, older forms of solennis, sollenis, yearly, annual, occur-
ring annually like a religious rite, religious, festive, solemn.
From Lat. soll-us, entire, complete ; and annus, a year, which
becomes ennus in composition , as in E. bi-ennial, tri-ennial.
Hence the orig. sense of solemn is ' recurring at the end of a
completed year. ' (SKEAT. )
Sort (iii. 1. 66). ' Manner. ' " Is sorted to no proof, iv. 3. 43,
see Note. Sort is through the French from the Latin sortem,
'lot ' : from serere, ' to bind together,' ' to contrive, ' and when
used intransitively means to happen. '
Spruce (iv. 1. 101 ) . Fine, ' ' smart, ' ' gaily dressed, ' To dress
sprucely was to dress after the Prussian manner. Spruce was
early used in place of Pruce, particularly with reference to
Prussian leather, and Prussia was called Sprucia by the English
as late as A. D. 1614. Spruce is derived through O. F. Pruce,
mod. F. Prusse, Prussia, from the German Preussen, Prussia, or
from an older form of the same. (SKEAT. )
Stale (i. 1. 58 ; iii. 1. 89) . See Note. ' Decoy, ' from A.-S.
stalu, theft, which comes from the verb stelan, to steal.
Swain (ii. i. 203 , iv. I. 114). Icelandic sveinn, ' a lad. '
Swinge (v. 2. 97 ). A.-S. swengan, to shake, to toss, causal
form of swingan, to swing, to beat ; and swinge (pt. t. swinged)
is the causal form of swing (pt. t. swang) ; just as fell is from
fall and set from sit. (SKEAT. )
T
Toward (i. 1. 68 ; v. 1. 12 ; v. 2. 175) . From tó + weard =
' tending ' or ' becoming, ' so in i. I. 68 and v. I. 12 = ' at
hand,' and in v. 2. 175 = ' docile, ' ' tractable. ' The opposite
of froward, which see in Glossary. Towardly is used in this
sense of willing ' in Timon of Athens, iii. 1. 36-37, " I have
observed thee always for a towardly prompt spirit. '22
GLOSSARY. 167
Trick, Tumbling-trick ( Induc. 2. 124) . Rope-tricks (i. 2.

110). Tricks (iv. 2. 57). From Dutch trek = sharp stroke. '
Trick in iv. 3. 67 ' a toy, ' ' a trifle, ' is from Dutch trekken
(formed from trek) to make use of a trick, ' ' to use a neat
style in dress.' Cp. our phrase ' tricked out, ' i.e. dressed out.
Twain (ii. 1. 296) . Skeat says " the difference between two
and twain is one of gender only, as appears in the A.-S. forms.
Twain is masc. while two is fem. and neut. ; but this distinction
was early disregarded. A.-S. twegen, masc. nom. and accus. ;
twá, fem. nom. and accus. ; twá, tu, neut. nom . and accus. ;
twegra, gen. (all genders) ; twám, dat. (all genders) . "
Twink (ii. 1. 302). 6 Moment, the twinkling of an eye. ' A
nasalised form of A.-S. twiccan, ' to twitch. '
U
Untoward (iv. 5. 79). 'Not toward. ' Hence a synonym
for froward. ' See Froward and Toward in Glossary.
V
Vail (v. 2. 169) . Lit. ' lower, ' through Fr. avaler. (Cf.
avalanche. ) O.F. a val from Lat. ad uallem , towards the
valley ; so downwards. See Note. Cockeram, English Dic-
tionary, 1613 (cited by Mr. Beeching) , gives vail your bonnet
as a finer phrase for ' put off your hat. '
Vied (ii. 1. 301 ). For explanation of passage see Note. To
vie comes through Fr. envier, Lat. inuitare, to invite.
Villain (i. 2. 8. etc. etc. ) " Lat. villanus, ' farm -ser-
vant ; hence ' serf, ' 6 bondsman. ' So in As You Like It, i.
1. 59, I am no villain ; I am the youngest son of Sir Rowland
de Boys. ' Then used to persons of low rank sometimes without
abusive sense, but commonly as equivalent to vile wicked
wretch.' [W. H. P.-S. ]
W
Whit (i. 1. 232 ; i. 2. 172 ; ii . 1. 235) . A thing, a particle, a
bit. The h is in the wrong place ; whit stands for wiht = wight,
and is the same as wight, a person. A.-S. wight, (1 ) a wight,
person ; (2) a whit, bit. The latter sense is particularly con-
spicuous in áwiht = aught, i.e. a whit, and náwiht = naught,
i.e. , no whit. [ SKEAT. ] See Aught in Glossary.
Wis (i. 1. 62). In the phrase I wis, wis is not a verb but a
corruption of A.-S. vwis, gewis, an adverb meaning ' certainly. '
Wit (Induc. 2. 77 ) = ' mind , intelligence. ' In ii. 1. 48 it has

its ordinary meaning of ' mother-wit. ' From A.-S. witan, to
know.
Withal (v. 1. 20). " Is properly an adverb from with and
all, frequently meaning at the same time, ' but also commonly
used as a preposition, equivalent to with, but (nearly) always
placed after the governed word , and at the end of the clause.
[W. H. P.-S. ]
Worser (i. 2. 90). Worse is a comparative adj . and adv.
M.E. wurs, wors, wers, adv.; wurse, worse, werse (properly
dissyllabic ), adj. ' Now is my prison werse than before '
(CHAUCER, Canterbury Tales, 1226) . [ Hence perhaps the sug-
gestion ofthe double comparative wors-er, The Tempest, iv. I.
27. ] From A.-S. wyrs, adv. , wyrsa, wirsa, adj. Worse really
does duty for wors-er, which was in actual use in the sixteenth
century, and wors-t short for wors-est. (SKEAT. )
Worship (i. 2. 7, etc. , etc.). "Lit. worth-ship, the state
of worth or worthiness. ' So ' honour, ' ' dignity ' ; then used
as a title of honour, ' your worship ' ; and to worship is
properly to treat according to desert. ' [ W. H. P.-S. ]
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The Taming of The Shrew

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The Taming of The Shrew

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This is a reproduction of a library book that was digitized

by Google as part of an ongoing effort to preserve the

TAMING OF THE SHREW

LIBRARY VERITAS OF IGAN

SI-QUAERIS PENINSULAM AMOENAM

THE FALCON' SERIES.

With Notes and Introduction to each Play.

Price ONE SHILLING each.

JULIUS CÆSAR. By H. C. BEECHING.

London LONGMANS , GREEN, & CO.

TAMING OF THE SHREW

Taming of the Shrew

HE first edition of The Taming of the Shrew ap-

Beyond these facts little or nothing is known, and the

Night's Dream, and his early historical plays, such as

of Henry IV., where Rumour appears as a Presenter

Greene's James the Fourth brings Oberon with his elves

Bianca's system of encouraging many lovers , and ex-

loyal in her submission, as hearty in defence of her

The play is full of apparent inconsistencies. Katharina,

Comedy of Errors. The two characters, however, have

CHARACTERS IN THE INDUCTION.

SCENE I.—Before an Alehouse on a Heath.

And twice to-day pick'd out the dullest scent :

SCENE II.—A Bedchamber in the Lord's House.

Enter aloft SLY, with Attendants ; some with apparel,

Enter the Page as a lady, with Attendants.

GRE. [aside.] To cart her rather : She's too rough for

In music, instruments and poetry,

SCENE II .- Padua. Before Hortensio's House.

a puppet or an aglet- baby ; or an old trot with ne'er a

Supposing it a thing impossible,

Enter GREMIO ; with him LUCENTIO disguised, with

GRU. Here's no knavery ! See, to beguile the old folks,

Have I not heard great ordnance in the field ?

Baptista is a noble gentleman,

SCENE I - Padua. A Room in Baptista's House.

Enter GREMIO, with LUCENTIO in the habit of a mean

Re-enter HORTENSIO, with his head broken.

BAP. What, will my daughter prove a good musician ?

KATH. Well have you heard, but something hard of

KATH. So may you lose your arms :

KATH. Where did you study all this goodly speech ?

Re-enter BAPTISTA, GREMIO, and TRANIO.

KATH. I'll see thee hang'd on Sunday first.

And twelve tight galleys : these I will assure her,

SCENE I. - Padua. A Room in Baptista's House.

BIAN. Farewell, sweet masters both ; I must be gone.

SCENE II.-Padua. Before Baptista's House.

Enter PETRUCHIO and GRUMIO.

The narrow-prying father, Minola,

Enter PETRUCHIO, KATHARINA, BIANCA, BAPTISTA,

SCENE I. Petruchio's Country House.

Enter four or five Serving-men.

Enter PETRUCHIO and KATHARINA.

Re-enter Servants, with Supper.

SCENE II .-Padua. Before Baptista's House.

And makes a god of such a cullion : 20

PED. Ay, sir, in Pisa have I often been,

SCENE III -A Room in Petruchio's House.

And that which spites me more than all these wants,

Enter PETRUCHIO, with a dish ofmeat; and HORTENSIO.

HOR. Signior Petruchio, fie ! you are to blame.