The Taming of the Shrew

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1. INDUCTION.

   The Induction. A drunken tinker, Christopher Sly, is thrown out of an alehouse and found asleep by a Lord returning from the hunt, who decides to trick him into believing he is a great lord. Sly wakes in a rich chamber, waited on by servants and a page dressed as his wife, and settles down to watch a play performed in his honour — the comedy that follows.

   1. Scene 1 — Before an alehouse on a heath.

      Before an alehouse on a heath, the Hostess ejects the drunken tinker Christopher Sly, who falls asleep. A Lord home from hunting finds him and, for a jest, orders him carried to bed and treated as a noble lord on waking; a troupe of players arrives and is enlisted to perform, and the Lord's page is to play Sly's lady.

   2. Scene 2 — A bedchamber in the LORD'S house.

      In a bedchamber, Sly wakes amid finery, servants, and music, insisting he is only a tinker — until the talk of his 'wife' and fifteen years of madness wins him over and he embraces his new lordship. The disguised page puts off his amorous advances; the players are announced, and Sly sits down with his 'lady' to watch the comedy.

2. ACT I.

   In Padua, young Lucentio arrives to study and instantly loves Bianca, Baptista's mild younger daughter — but Baptista will not let her marry until her shrewish elder sister Katherina is wed. Lucentio plots to woo Bianca disguised as a tutor while his servant Tranio plays his part; meanwhile Petruchio comes to town openly seeking a rich wife.

   1. Scene 1 — Padua. A public place.

      Lucentio and his man Tranio reach Padua; Lucentio falls for Bianca at first sight. Hearing that Baptista forbids her marriage until the curst Katherina is matched, Lucentio resolves to court Bianca disguised as a Latin tutor, 'Cambio,' while Tranio impersonates him to keep up appearances.

   2. Scene 2 — Padua. Before HORTENSIO'S house.

      Petruchio arrives to visit his friend Hortensio and declares he has come 'to wive it wealthily in Padua' — no woman too shrewish if she be rich. Told of Katherina and her dowry, he undertakes to woo her at once. Hortensio plans to court Bianca disguised as a music tutor, and Gremio and the disguised Lucentio jostle as rival suitors.

3. ACT II.

   At Baptista's house Katherina torments the bound Bianca. The suitors present their disguised tutors, and Petruchio, undaunted, woos Katherina in a duel of wits and announces — over her objections — that they will marry on Sunday. Baptista then promises Bianca to whichever suitor can guarantee the greatest wealth, and the disguised Tranio outbids old Gremio.

   1. Scene 1 — Padua. A room in BAPTISTA'S house.

      Katherina has bound and struck Bianca out of jealousy. The suitors bring in their disguised tutors as gifts to Baptista; Petruchio bargains over Katherina's dowry and then woos her in a fierce, punning wit-battle, claiming her consent and fixing the wedding for Sunday. Baptista offers Bianca to the highest bidder, and Tranio (as Lucentio) outbids Gremio.

4. ACT III.

   The disguised suitors vie to teach — and woo — Bianca, who favours Lucentio. On the wedding day Petruchio arrives outrageously late and grotesquely dressed, marries Katherina in a riotous ceremony, and then carries her off to his country house before the wedding feast, against all protest.

   1. Scene 1 — Padua. A room in BAPTISTA'S house.

      Under cover of a Latin lesson and a music lesson, the disguised Lucentio and Hortensio compete for Bianca, who quietly prefers 'Cambio' (Lucentio).

   2. Scene 2 — The same. Before BAPTISTA'S house.

      Petruchio comes hours late to his own wedding, dressed in absurd rags on a broken-down horse, behaves wildly through the ceremony, and then — playing the masterful husband — drags Katherina away to his country house before she can attend the marriage feast.

5. ACT IV.

   At Petruchio's house the taming proper begins: under the guise of loving care, he denies Katherina food, sleep, and fine clothes, contradicting her at every turn until she will say whatever he wishes — even that the sun is the moon. In Padua, the Bianca plot tangles further as a Pedant is dressed up to play Lucentio's father and seal the marriage bargain.

   1. Scene 1 — A hall in PETRUCHIO'S country house.

      At Petruchio's country house, Grumio describes the disastrous journey home. Petruchio rejects the supper as unfit for his bride and keeps Katherina hungry and sleepless — 'this is a way to kill a wife with kindness' — all under a show of solicitude.

   2. Scene 2 — Padua. Before BAPTISTA'S house.

      In Padua, Hortensio abandons Bianca on seeing her with 'Cambio' and vows to marry a rich Widow instead. Tranio (as Lucentio) and Biondello recruit a passing Pedant to impersonate Lucentio's father Vincentio and guarantee the dowry.

   3. Scene 3 — A room in PETRUCHIO'S house.

      Petruchio torments Katherina with a tailor's gown and a haberdasher's cap he then rejects as unworthy, denying her finery as he denied her food, while preaching that the mind, not the apparel, makes the woman. He insists they will travel to Padua by his clock, not the true time.

   4. Scene 4 — Padua. Before BAPTISTA'S house.

      Before Baptista's house, the Pedant — now playing Vincentio — formally assures the marriage settlement, and arrangements are made for Lucentio and Bianca to be secretly married while the elders dine.

   5. Scene 5 — A public road

      On the road to Padua, Petruchio makes Katherina agree that the sun is the moon and that an old man they meet is a blushing maiden; she yields, playing along with whatever he says. The old man proves to be the real Vincentio, travelling to see his son Lucentio.

6. ACT V.

   In Padua the disguises collapse: the true Vincentio confronts the Pedant and Tranio impersonating his family, and Lucentio and Bianca, now secretly married, kneel for pardon. At the wedding banquet Petruchio wins a wager that his wife is the most obedient, and Katherina delivers her contested speech on a wife's duty.

   1. Scene 1 — Padua. Before LUCENTIO'S house.

      The real Vincentio reaches Lucentio's lodging to find the Pedant claiming to be him and Tranio dressed as his son; uproar and threats of arrest follow until Lucentio and Bianca, newly married, arrive to kneel and confess all. The fathers are reconciled.

   2. Scene 2 — A room in LUCENTIO'S house.

      At the marriage banquet the three new husbands wager on whose wife will come most obediently when called. Bianca and the Widow refuse; Katherina alone obeys, fetches the others, and delivers a long speech on a wife's duty to her husband — winning Petruchio the wager and leaving the company astonished.

Characters

• Petruchio protagonist

  A gentleman of Verona who comes to Padua 'to wive it wealthily,' and undertakes to marry and 'tame' the sharp-tongued Katherina. Boisterous, quick-witted, and theatrical, he masters her not by force but by out-shrewing her — denying her food, sleep, and contradiction until she yields. Whether his 'taming' is cruelty, game, or genuine courtship is the play's central question.

• Katherina deuteragonist

  Baptista's elder daughter, 'Katherine the curst' — fierce, clever, and scorned by Padua as an unmarriageable shrew. Married off to Petruchio, she is starved and contradicted into apparent submission, and delivers the play's famously contested closing speech on a wife's duty to her husband.

• Bianca major

  Baptista's younger daughter, courted by three suitors and prized for her mild sweetness — which the play slyly questions. Baptista forbids her marriage until shrewish Katherina is wed, so her suitors disguise themselves as tutors to woo her. She secretly marries Lucentio.

• Baptista major

  Baptista Minola, a wealthy Paduan and father of Katherina and Bianca. Anxious to marry off his difficult elder daughter first, he strikes bargains over dowries and suitors, and is repeatedly deceived by the young men's disguises.

• Lucentio major

  A young gentleman of Pisa, son of Vincentio, who falls for Bianca at first sight and disguises himself as a Latin tutor, 'Cambio,' to woo her — while his servant Tranio impersonates him. He wins and secretly marries Bianca.

• Tranio major

  Lucentio's quick-witted servant, who at his master's bidding disguises himself as Lucentio and plays the wealthy suitor — outbidding Gremio for Bianca and stage-managing much of the intrigue, until the real Vincentio's arrival threatens to unravel it.

• Hortensio major

  A suitor of Bianca and friend of Petruchio. He disguises himself as a music tutor, 'Litio,' to court her; rebuffed, he abandons the chase and marries a rich Widow instead, then studies Petruchio's 'taming-school.'

• Gremio supporting

  An old, rich Paduan, the 'pantaloon' of the comedy — the aged, foolish suitor of young Bianca. He is out-bid for her hand by the disguised Tranio and left a disappointed bachelor.

• Grumio supporting

  Petruchio's chief servant, a saucy, punning comic who bears the brunt of his master's tantrums and joins in tormenting Katherina at the country house — refusing her food with mock-helpfulness.

• Biondello supporting

  Lucentio's younger servant, who helps carry off the tangle of disguises and brings the breathless news — of Petruchio's grotesque wedding-day arrival, and of the moment for Lucentio and Bianca to slip away and marry.

• Vincentio supporting

  A wealthy old gentleman of Pisa, Lucentio's father. Arriving in Padua, he is astonished to find a Pedant impersonating him and a servant playing his son, and is nearly arrested before the disguises collapse and all is revealed.

• Pedant minor

  A travelling schoolmaster from Mantua, talked by Tranio into impersonating Vincentio in order to guarantee the marriage settlement for Bianca — until the real Vincentio appears.

• Widow minor

  A wealthy widow who marries Hortensio. At the closing banquet she trades barbs with Katherina and, with Bianca, fails the wives' obedience test that Katherina alone passes.

• Curtis minor

  A servant in charge of Petruchio's country house, who hears Grumio's account of the disastrous journey home and helps muster the household for their master's arrival.

• Tailor minor

  A tailor who brings Katherina a fashionable gown, only for Petruchio to abuse and dismiss him in his campaign to deny her every comfort and contradiction.

• Haberdasher minor

  A hatmaker who brings Katherina a cap, which Petruchio scornfully rejects as unworthy.

• Nathaniel minor

  One of Petruchio's serving-men at his country house, mustered to greet their master and bride.

• Peter minor

  One of Petruchio's serving-men at his country house.

• Philip minor

  One of Petruchio's serving-men at his country house.

• Joseph minor

  One of Petruchio's serving-men at his country house.

• Nicholas minor

  One of Petruchio's serving-men at his country house.

• Servant minor

  A serving-man — the messenger who announces the players to the Lord in the Induction, and Baptista's servant in Padua — who announces arrivals and carries messages.

• First Servant minor

  An attending serving-man — one of those who wait on the bewildered Sly in the Induction, and on Petruchio's household.

• Second Servant minor

  One of the Lord's serving-men who wait on Christopher Sly in the Induction, urging him to believe he is a great lord.

• Third Servant minor

  One of the Lord's serving-men who wait on Christopher Sly in the Induction.

• All Servants ensemble

  Petruchio's serving-men, answering together.

• Christopher Sly supporting

  A drunken tinker of Wincot, thrown out of an alehouse and found insensible by a hunting Lord, who for sport convinces him he is a great lord waking from fifteen years' madness. Sly watches the 'taming' play that follows as entertainment staged for his benefit — the frame around the whole comedy.

• Lord supporting

  A nobleman returning from the hunt who finds the drunken Sly and devises the elaborate practical joke of the Induction — dressing his page as Sly's lady and summoning a troupe of players to perform 'The Taming of the Shrew' for the gulled tinker.

• Page (Bartholomew) minor

  Bartholomew, the Lord's page, dressed as a fine lady and presented to Sly as his long-suffering wife — playing the part of the obedient gentlewoman with comic skill.

• Hostess minor

  The alewife who throws the drunken Sly out of her tavern at the play's opening over the glasses he has broken.

• First Huntsman minor

  One of the Lord's huntsmen, who helps plan the trick played on Christopher Sly.

• Second Huntsman minor

  One of the Lord's huntsmen in the Induction.

• Player minor

  One of the strolling players summoned by the Lord to perform the comedy for Sly; he recalls once playing a wooing scene.

• Players ensemble

  The troupe of strolling players, answering the Lord together.

• All ensemble

  Those present, speaking together.

Cross-references

• Folger Shakespeare
• MIT plain text
• Wikipedia