The Taming of the Shrew

The Taming of the shrew is a play by William Shakespeare, written between 1590 and 1592, and to this day remains one of his most popular plays. In this play, among other things, there are two couples and it shows how the more disciplined husband has a better marriage, while the previously good tempered wife becomes irreverent. This goes to show that discipline is key in any good relationship.

            The play begins with a man named Baptista who has two daughters: Katherina and Biaca. Baptista wants to marry off his daughters, but it is customary to have the eldest daughter wed first, and this is problematic because she is an ill natured and malevolent person who shows contempt for pretty much everyone. In essence the story is based upon the attempts of the suiters to get someone to tame the “Shrew”. The two main suiters are Lucentio and Hortenseo, and it is up to them to figure out how to tame the shrew so that one of them can marry Biaca. Before long the suiters come up with a plan, they will have their friend Petruchio marry Katerina because he is motivated by the dowry, being the money loving sort, and that along with their own methods of persuasion, results in Petruchio and Katerina being married. Following this, Lucentio is married to Biaca through his own cleaver scheme. Following their marriage Petruchio begins the process of taming Katerina, and he begins by allowing Katerina no food or sleep until she says that she loves him, and this does indeed work. A fortnight later, the entire family gathers for a dinner together and they make a bet to see who had the most obedient wife by calling them and whichever one came, would be the more obedient wife, as Katerina came, Petruchio won the bet, and lives happily ever after having tamed the shrew through his disciplined strategy. 

            The Taming of the Shrew is one of William Shakespeare’s most famous plays, and when you read it, it makes you realize that behind the beautiful writings are important principals of wisdom. I would recommend the ideas and lessons learned from reading this play to anyone, and I believe it teaches, among other things, that being disciplined in a relationship brings both balance and a deeper connection.