COMIC FEATURES

T H E TA M I N G O F T H E S H R E W B Y W I L L I A M
SHAKESPEARE
1. LOVE IS THE CRUX OF THE MATTER IN
A TYPICAL SHAKESPEAREAN COMEDY.
EVERY SHAKESPEAREAN COMEDY,
PREDOMINANTLY DEALS WITH THE THEME
OF LOVE.
• Immediately the main plot i.e not the induction begins with two suitors to Bianca being told
that they cannot court Bianca unless they find a husband for Katherina. The two are obviously
in love with Bianca. Three men fall in love with Bianca: Lucentio, Gremio and Hortensio
• For this reason the men must dress up as school masters: Lucentio as Cambio and Hortensio
as Litio. Gremio acts as the old man in the way of young lovers and Tranio must obey his
master and disguise himself as Lucentio.
• Katherina though shrewish towards Petruchio is indeed in love with Petruchio hence she cries
at her wedding when Petruchio arrives late for the ceremony. It is at the wedding banquet that
this veil is further removed when she tells Petruchio, “If you love me… stay.”
• One can safely say it is because she loves him she allows herself to change by the end of the
play. Other critics may say differently.
• It is for love of Katherina that her father Baptista is concerned in her suitor. He probably is
concerned that the man who marries Katherina must fill the void that Baptista has afflicted
Katherina by loving the younger sister Bianca more.
2. MARRIAGE PLAYS AN IMPORTANT
ROLE IN ALL OF SHAKESPEARE
COMEDIES.
• In Shakespeare’s day, marriage was done for political gains and to maintain the status quo
among the rich. Thus Petruchio has come to “wive it wealthily in Padua.” Baptista offers
Petruchio, “the one half of my lands, and in my possession twenty thousand crowns.”
• Comedies usually end with a marriage but The Taming of the Shrew does not end with a
marriage in which all comic complications are resolved. Instead, Shakespeare places a marriage-
occurring offstage and described by characters on stage- In Act 3 Scene 2 almost at the centre
of the play.
• The marriage between Katherina and Petruchio ends the sibling rivalry between Katherina and
Petruchio and most certainly ends Katherina mean ways
• The marriage between Bianca and Lucentio ends the competition among her suitors
3. MISTAKEN IDENTITY IS ANOTHER
IMPORTANT FEATURE OF SHAKESPEAREAN
COMEDY. SHAKESPEARE EMPLOYS THE
ELEMENT OF MISTAKEN IDENTITY IN HIS
COMEDY TO CREATE FUN AND IRONY. IT IS
ONE OF THE BEST TOOLS FOR
SHAKESPEARE TO GIVE A TWIST TO THE
STORY AND ACHIEVE THE PURPOSE OF
GIVING ENTERTAINMENT TO HIS READERS
• From the onset in the induction, Christopher Sly is tricked to believe that he is a Lord and that
he has a wife. The very fact that the Lord and his serving men are beguiling Christopher Sly is
funny but added humour come when Bartholomew acts as his wife. Such disguise adds
dramatic irony in the play
• There are further mistaken identities: Lucentio is disguised as Cambio a school master;
Hortensio is disguised as Litio, a school master; Tranio is disguised as Lucentio and lands
himself in problems when Lucentio’s father Vencentio comes to town. These men take on
disguise in the sub-plot in order to secure Bianca’s affections.
• Done for the particular purpose of adding to dramatic irony and fun in the play
4. PUN IS A FIGURE OF SPEECH, WHERE IN THE
SOUND OF A WORD IS USED IN SUCH A WAY IN A
SENTENCE THAT IT MAY CREATE A SORT OF
CONFUSION IN TERMS OF ITS MEANINGS FOR THE
READERS. SHAKESPEARE IS A GREAT LOVER OF
PUNS AND HE USES THEM FREQUENTLY IN ALL OF
HIS COMEDIES TO CREATE FUN AND LAUGHTER AND
CONFUSION IN THE MINDS OF HIS AUDIENCE. HE
LEAVES THE READERS TO DERIVE MEANING FOR
THEMSELVES FROM THE PUNS EMPLOYED BY HIM
• Puns in the play are as follows:
• ‘stand’ or ‘fall’. A sexual pun and it adds to humour in the play and hints on the theme of duty in the
play as a woman’s role is to fulfil her husband’s sexual needs
• ‘Mate.’ on the one hand means men while on the other hand it means sex. This adds to humour in
the play.
• Petruchio and Katherina’s meeting is filled with puns to highlight a perfect example of such use in
the play. E.g. A joint stool meaning a wooden stool while on the other hand it means a man’s penis.
Thus, Petruchio tells her to come sit on him. “Asses are made to bear and so are you. Women are
made to bear and so are you.” Here the meaning is it is the woman who has to carry the weight of
bearing a child. “Light” used by Petruchio means that Katherina is said to be promiscuous. “What my
tongue in your tail?” is a sexual implication by Petruchio.
• All these puns add to verbal irony in the play
6. BUFFOONERY- EVERY SINGLE COMEDY OF
SHAKESPEARE HAS GOT TO HAVE A CLOWN OR
FOOL WHO PROVIDES HUMOUR IN THE PLAY.
THE FOOL IN SHAKESPEAREAN COMEDY HAS
GOT THE GIFT OF GAB. THEY ARE WITTY AND
THEY KNOW HOW TO REPLY TO A PERSON
DURING AN ARGUMENT. THEY ARE VERY MUCH
LIKE JOKERS AND JESTERS. THEY ACT AS A
MESSENGER AND MEDIATOR BETWEEN
VARIOUS CHARACTERS .
• It is Grumio, Petruchio’s servant who is the fool and he is very witty. He provides a comic moment
as well as a shrewd observation when he says ‘the oats have eaten the horses.’ This is a ridiculous
image of an upside down world where horses are eaten by their food.
• Grumio further has no knowledge of Italian language and mistakes it for Latin in the play. He is
confused by the word ‘knock.’ He offers witty and critical comments about other characters in the
play. He says of Gremio “O this woodcock, what an ass it is”
• He says of Petruchio “And that his bags shall prove.”
• Though a fool he is somewhat wise as he asserts in the plot, “will he woo her? Ay, or I’ll hang her.”
Grumio’s words recall two proverbs: Better to be half hanged than ill wed and wedding and
hanging go by destiny.
THE OLD MAN IN THE WAY OF YOUNG
LOVERS
• Gremio- he has riches to offer as a dowry for Bianca but is outdone by Tranio deguised as
Lucentio
THE CUNNING AND WORLDLY
SERVANT
• This is a stock character from Italian Comedy whose role is to explain the plot to his lovesick
master. It is Tranio who explains the plot of disguising himself as a school teacher to get closer
to his love and Tranio taking on Lucentio’s identity through the exchange of clothing.
• “That by degrees we mean to look into
• And watch our vantage in this business
• We’ll overreach the greybeard Gremio
• The narrow-prying father Minola
• The quaint musician, amorous Litio
• All for my master’s sake, Lucentio
ARRIVAL OF STRANGERS

• Petruchio has arrived in Padua in search of a rich wife

• Lucentio has arrived in Padua for study purposes
• Vencentio arrives in Padua for the sake of his son
 JOURNEYS FROM TOWN TO COUNTRY
• Katherina must go to Petruchio’s country house to be tamed of her shrewish ways. Grumio tells of
the journey, “thou shouldst hav herad 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 puck 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…”
THE UNFAITHFUL MIRROR