Book Review : Taming Of The Shrew

Taming of the shrew, story of Katherina and Petruchio, written by the great author William Shakespeare. An author, who doesn’t need any introduction, has many best sellers to his credit and one such best seller is taming of the shrew. Well taming of the shrew in not like any other intense love story, in fact it is not intense at all. It’s actually a love story with a comic essence to it.

Starting with the story it is showed in the form of a play to Christopher Sly, a drunkard who is made to believe that he is a lord.  The play is about Katherina also called as Kate “the Shrew”, Katherina Minola, eldest daughter of Baptista Minola. Kate is a rebel with a high temper, who thinks men are inferior to her also it is thought that no one would ever marry her. On the other hand there is Bianca, the sweet and loving younger daughter of Baptista Minola, who has many suitors. But all the suitors of Bianca has to return empty handed because Baptista has made a vow that until his eldest daughter Kate is wed he won’t give Bianca’s hand to any of the suitor, thus saddening all of them. Lucentio one of Bianca’s suitors, who fell in love with Bianca at first sight, comes to know about this vow and makes his servant Tranio to pose as himself while he tries to woo Bianca and disguises himself as a Latin teacher named Cambio.

Meanwhile Petruchio comes to Padua (where the Minolas’ live) with his servant Grumio and meets his friend Hortensio. Petruchio has gained a lot of money after the death of his father and now his main purpose is to get married. Hortensio himself being a suitor to Bianca also wants Kate to wed off so he can compete for Bianca, hence he recruits Petruchio as a suitor for Kate. Also Hortensio disguises himself as a music teacher to woo Bianca with the name Litio. Petruchio manages to woo Kate by saying whatever Kate says to be very kind, sweet and gentle, and finally marrying her. Petruchio even takes Kate forcibly to his house even though it was against her wishes. After Kate is wed the competition to woo Bianca starts where Tranio (disguised as Lucentio) promises much more wealth than Lucentio possess. Hence Baptista decides to marry Tranio and Bianca once this association is confirmed by Lucentio’s father. Hence Tranio decides to fake Lucentio’s father, Vicentio. Also he cleverly persuades Hortensio of not marrying Bianca.

On the other side, Petruchio starts the taming of Kate. She is made to starve for food and clothes as he thinks nothing is good enough for Kate. He also goes to the extent of saying that a perfectly well cooked meat is not cooked properly, beautiful clothes doesn’t fit her and many other things. He even starts to disagree with her and forcing her on every matter to agree with him. Finally Kate starts to agree with everything her husband says, while on the journey to Padua for attending Bianca’s wedding Petruchio calls the sun as the moon to which Kate agrees that sun is indeed the moon. Thus whatever her husband says Kate agrees to it without any questions. On the way back they meet Vicentio and bring him to Padua.

Now comes the revelation time, Tranio convinces a man to pretend as Vicentio so that the marriage takes place. But in the nick of the time Bianca runs away with the real Lucentio and Vicentio coming there and recognizes Tranio, which creates confusion about the true identities. This confusion ends when Lucentio comes and tells everyone about the situation and asks for forgiveness.

The final scene of the play leads to a wager to whose wife is the most obedient. And the results turn out to be that such that shocked everyone. Only Kate obeyed Petruchio when the other wives decided to disobey their husbands.