Comedies and Romances of Shakespeare

In The Taming of the Shrew, Petruchio sets out to domesticate an obstreperous Kate as he would a pet falcon, to "cure her mad and headstrong humor" (IV.ii). The humor arises from what in real life would not be a comic situation--what for her was a forced marriage. Why that is comic goes to the fact that they were meant for each other. Kate has no intention of being a submissive wife, and Petruchio has no intention of marrying one: "I tell you, father, / I am as peremptory as she proud-minded; / And where two raging fires meet together / They do consume the thing that feeds their fury" (II.i). It remains only for them to find common ground. When Kate acquiesces in domestication--"a woman moved is like a fountain troubled, / Muddy, ill-seeming, thick, bereft of beauty" (V.ii)--it is as if he's got her right where she wants him. Whether she has truly surrendered pride or just gotten the joke, she knows how to handle her husband, much as a pet learns how to train the master. The play closes as a celebration of a marriage of equals, making

. . .
Some common words found in the essay are:
Shrew Petruchio, IIiv Viola's, Orsino Shakespeare, Oberon Bottom, Romeo Juliet, Orsino Comedy, Olivia Olivia's, , Night's Dream, Toby Maria, clarkson potter inc, york clarkson potter, vols york clarkson, vols york, comedies ed, 3 vols, rowse 3, ed al, al rowse, 1 comedies, rowse 3 vols, 3 vols york, night's dream, midsummer night's, twelfth night,
Approximate Word count = 1118
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page)

More Essays on Comedies and Romances of Shakespeare