Baptista Minola, a lord in Padua, insists that if his youngest daughter Bianca is to be married that her older sister Katherine be married first. Bianca, the more desirable of the two sisters, has no shortage of suitors. However, Katherine, the titular "shrew", has a temper so notorious that it is thought that no man would ever wish to marry her. When Petruchio comes to town in search of a wife, Hortensio, one of Bianca's suitors convinces Petruchio to marry Katherine. Only interested in her money, Petruchio marries ...
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Baptista Minola, a lord in Padua, insists that if his youngest daughter Bianca is to be married that her older sister Katherine be married first. Bianca, the more desirable of the two sisters, has no shortage of suitors. However, Katherine, the titular "shrew", has a temper so notorious that it is thought that no man would ever wish to marry her. When Petruchio comes to town in search of a wife, Hortensio, one of Bianca's suitors convinces Petruchio to marry Katherine. Only interested in her money, Petruchio marries Katherine and returns with her to his country house in Verona in order to "tame" her, a task that he soon finds out is more than he bargained for. Meanwhile, Gremio, Lucentio, and Hortensio, now free to court Bianca, all vie for her hand in marriage. Believed to have been written between 1590 and 1592, "The Taming of the Shrew" is a comedy by William Shakespeare which has met with some criticism in the modern era for its apparent misogynistic elements. This edition is printed on premium acid-free paper, includes a preface and annotations by Henry N. Hudson, and an introduction by Charles H. Herford.
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I don't think that, these days, we should be exposed to play in which women are portrayed as irrational lunatics. It is offensive to those of us who know that they are nothing of the sort. Shakespeare, clearly, did not understand women. Of course, it is always possible that he based this play on his own experience, for which there is no accounting.
mallorysusan
May 22, 2007
Shakespeare's comedies get me every time. This was the first of them that I read, and I have to say it is one of my favorites. The subtle humor found within the pages makes it such a lively read. I have to say that I bought the one with the original version on one page and the modern English translation on the opposite page and it was easier to understand the complexities of the writing that way. This play is one of those things I read in high school English classes that I actually enjoyed.
