The Taming of the Shrew

The play begins in earnest. An idealistic young Pisan nobleman named Lucentio has just arrived in Padua to attend its famous university, and he’s full of noble thoughts about all the studying he’s about to do. His loyal, canny servant Tranio cautions that he shouldn’t get too caught up in his studies. It’s important to leave time for other things—like love, for instance. Lucentio heartily agrees.

Just then, there’s a flurry in the street. A local gentleman named Baptista appears, trailed by his two daughters, Katherine and Bianca, and two flustered suitors, Gremio (a ridiculous old man) and Hortensio (a slightly more reasonable young man). For what sounds like the umpteenth time, Baptista tells Hortensio and Gremio that he has resolved “not to bestow [his] youngest daughter,” Bianca, “[b]efore [he has] a husband for the elder,” Katherine (1.1.50-51). Finding a husband for Katherine seems like a difficult proposition: She’s famously quick-tempered and angry, a notorious “shrew,” or angry, scolding woman. Even now, she insults her sister and her sister’s suitors with equal relish.

Bianca isn’t too happy with her father’s rules about when she gets to marry, but she’s also the picture of virtue, mildly agreeing to return to her studies while she waits for Katherine to get married. Katherine doesn’t think much of this, though, accusing Bianca of faking tears to get their father’s sympathy.

Baptista tells the two suitors that if they know any good tutors, they should send them his way; he wants to give Bianca a solid education to make up for her present difficulties. With that, he and his daughters withdraw.

Hortensio and Gremio confer gloomily. They decide they’ll find some poor sap who’s willing to marry Katherine in exchange for the huge dowry she’ll bring with her, since Baptista is a wealthy man. Then they can go back to vying for Bianca’s hand on level ground. They, too, depart.

Watching this scene, Lucentio immediately falls head-over-heels in love with Bianca—so much so that he doesn’t register the immediate difficulties with that love. The exasperated but affectionate Tranio proposes a scheme: He and his master can switch places, and Lucentio can get close to Bianca by presenting himself to Baptista disguised as a tutor. Tranio, meanwhile, can arrange the business side of the marriage with Baptista while disguised as Lucentio—and the two can swap their roles back later. Lucentio eagerly agrees.

After the pair exchange clothes, Lucentio’s other servant Biondello arrives and is flabbergasted to find his master dressed as Tranio. Lucentio cooks up a story about how he needs to go into hiding because he accidentally killed a guy; Tranio explains what’s actually going on. Still bewildered but game to play along, Biondello accepts this new state of affairs.

The scene ends with some commentary from Christopher Sly. Asked how he’s enjoying the play, he remarks that he likes it so much he wishes it were over already.

There’s another new arrival in Padua: Petruchio, a cocky young nobleman from Verona. He brings with him his servant Grumio (not to be confused with Gremio, Bianca’s elderly suitor). Master and servant almost come to blows when Petruchio instructs Grumio to knock on the door of his old friend Hortensio, and Grumio mistakenly thinks that Petruchio is asking Grumio to knock him over.

At last, they work through it, and Hortensio greets Petruchio warmly. It turns out Petruchio is in town on business: His father has died, and he wants to find a wealthy wife—quickly. Hortensio says he knows just the woman and tells Petruchio all about Katherine—though he honestly warns that she’s famous throughout Padua for being “intolerable curst / And shrewd, and froward” (1.2.90-91). This suits Petruchio just fine; he’s not afraid of any woman. And besides, his deceased father and Baptista were buddies, so he has a good in.

In addition to courting Katherine, Petruchio will also help Hortensio with his own plot. Like Lucentio, Hortensio has decided to disguise himself as a tutor to get close to Bianca. Petruchio will present him to Baptista in this disguise.

Just then, the elderly Gremio appears with a disguised Lucentio in tow; he announces that he’s found a good tutor to present to Baptista. Hortensio tells him that Petruchio is willing to woo Katherine and has also found a good tutor. Gremio warns Petruchio that Katherine is notoriously hard work, but Petruchio laughs him off, saying he’s dealt with things far scarier than an angry woman in his time.

To complete the picture, Tranio turns up disguised as Lucentio, served by Biondello. As Lucentio, he declares his intention to woo Bianca, too, despite Gremio and Hortensio’s protestations.

With that, everyone withdraws to begin their separate schemes.

Back at Baptista’s house, Katherine is busy tormenting Bianca. She’s tied Bianca’s hands behind her back and is interrogating her about which of her suitors she prefers. Not liking Bianca’s namby-pamby non-answers, Katherine’s giving her a whack upside the head when Baptista rushes in and breaks things up. Katherine declares that Baptista has always preferred Bianca to her and runs away, weeping.

Just then, all the various plotting suitors arrive at the door. Baptista welcomes the new tutors (Hortensio and Lucentio in disguise) and sends them to meet with his daughters. He’s taken aback when he learns that Petruchio is here for Katherine but agrees to let him meet with her and see if he can woo her. Before the wooing can even begin, Hortensio staggers back into the room bleeding; Katherine has broken a lute over his head. Petruchio’s only response to this new information is, “I love her ten times more than ere I did” (2.1.170). Befuddled, everyone withdraws to let him take his chance.

Petruchio lays out his scheme in a brief monologue. Essentially, he’ll practice reverse psychology on Katherine: If she shouts at him, he’ll praise her sweet voice; if she scowls, he’ll praise her fresh face—and so on.

When Katherine actually arrives, things go rather differently. The pair exchange a furious volley of insulting puns and vicious jokes, each capping the other’s wordplay with some wordplay of their own.

Petruchio remains determined to marry Katherine, and when Baptista returns, he goes back to his original scheme: Even when Katherine says she’ll see Petruchio dead before she marries him, Petruchio tells Baptista that she’s only teasing and that in private she’s as sweet as can be. With that (and some talk of money), the wedding is arranged for the next Sunday.

Now that Katherine is out of the way, Gremio and Tranio (disguised as Lucentio) begin to vie for Bianca’s hand. Hortensio, of course, is still in disguise as a tutor. Gremio promises his bride a houseful of riches—but Tranio offers three or four such houses and ships full of treasure besides. Baptista seems swayed by this offer, but since Tranio is new in town, he demands that Lucentio’s father—Vincentio, whom Baptista knows by reputation—back this lavish offer up so Bianca isn’t left with nothing in the event she’s widowed. If Tranio/Lucentio can make good on his offer by Petruchio and Katherine’s wedding day, he can marry Bianca; if not, Gremio can have her. Tranio finds himself in the awkward position of needing to produce a father!

Hortensio and Lucentio, disguised as a music tutor and a Latin tutor, respectively, are vying for Bianca’s love under the guise of arguing about whose turn it is to give a lesson. Bianca, who is subtly in control of the situation, sends Hortensio away to tune his lute while Lucentio teaches her.

Pretending to translate some Ovid for Bianca, Lucentio explains himself and his plan. Bianca is intrigued but guarded, and responds by the same method: “Hic ibat Simois, I know you not; hic est Sigeia tellus, I trust you not; Hic steterat Priami, take heed he hear us not; regia, presume not; celsa senis, despair not” (3.1.44-47).

Then Hortensio barges in for his turn, saying he’ll begin by teaching Bianca her “gamut,” or scales. Bianca protests that she learned her scales a long time ago, but Hortensio demands that she read the cheat sheet he’s written up for her. This, of course, is a declaration of love, spelled out according to the notes of the scale: “Gamut I am, the ground of all accord: / A re, to plead Hortensio’s passion; /B mi, Bianca, take him for thy lord, / C fa ut, that loves with all affection” (3.1.76-79). Bianca doesn’t like this at all; things are looking up for Lucentio.

Hortensio isn’t pleased, and when Bianca is called away to help with Katherine’s wedding preparations, he vows to investigate his fellow tutor and defeat him.

It’s Katherine and Petruchio’s wedding day, and everyone is nervous. Petruchio is late, and the assembled party fears he won’t turn up at all. When he eventually does, he’s dressed up like an utter madman, wearing crazy-colored, worn-out clothing. He refuses to listen to everyone’s pleas that he put on some suitable clothes, and his behavior doesn’t get any less strange at the wedding itself; he spits, swears, and cheerfully punches out the priest.

The last straw comes when he refuses to stay for his own wedding feast, an event that his new father-in-law spent a lot of time and expense concocting. He has to get back to his own home, he says. This is too much for Katherine, who insists that everyone go to the wedding feast. But Petruchio maintains his course of willful misinterpretation, saying everyone must of course do as his new wife says and go to the feast—but she must leave with him, immediately. He vows to fight anyone who tries to force her to stay for her own wedding reception. With that, he and a disgruntled Katherine depart.

The remaining crowd marvels and lays bets on which member of this insane couple will destroy the other first.

Meanwhile, Lucentio and Tranio have been discussing the next steps of their plot. Tranio offers to find an old man to pretend to be Lucentio’s father, and Lucentio argues that he might as well just secretly marry Bianca now. Once they’re married, there’s nothing anyone can do about it.

There are signs that Baptista is pleased about the idea of having Lucentio as a son-in-law: Since Petruchio and Katherine are gone, Baptista suggests that the disguised Tranio and Bianca should take their seats at the banquet table.