Реферат: The Taming Of The Shrew An Critique

very unacceptable in their society, because women just did not do that at that

time. Kate committed four physically violent acts on stage: she broke the lute

over the Hortensio’s head, tied and beat Bianca, and hit Petruchio and Grumio

(Kahn 415).

Petruchio, however, never once committed an act of physical violence, but he

did, in the name of love, deprive Kate of her needs until she bent to his will.

Because Petruchio was a male, though, his violence was more accepted by society

than was Kate’s (Kahn 414). Petruchio’s therapy for Kate has been compared to

holding up a mirror and letting the shrew see herself. Whenever Kate would

throw her tantrums, Petruchio would throw them right back, in perhaps even more

exaggerated form. These provided the comical aspect of the play, as well as

giving Kate a chance to look at her own image (Nevo 262). This exchange of

roles, which landed Kate on the receiving end of all of those hideous tantrums,

took her out of herself. This remedy appealed to the intelligent aspect of

Kate’s complex personality, and they brought about a change in her. This appeal

to her intelligence is why Kate’s will was not broken, but rather changed to

meet Petruchio’s mold to some extent (Nevo 263). The patriarchal styles that th

e marriages took on during the Elizabethan age are very well represented in

Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew.

Works Cited

Cyclopedia of Characters II. Vol. 3. Salem: Salem Press, 1990. 1106-

1107.

Dash, Irene G. “Wooing, Wedding, and Power: Women in Shakespeare Plays”.

The Critical Perspective Volume 2. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea

House Publishers, 1986. 825-833.

Evans, Bernard. Shakespeare’s Comedies. Oxford: Oxford University Press,

1960.

Kahn, Copella. Untitled Essay. Shakespearean Criticism. Ed. Mark W.

Scott and Sandra L. Williamson. Detroit: Gale Research, Inc., 1989.