Shakespeare Series: "Taming of the Shrew"

"Taming of the Shrew" revolves around a pair of sisters who antagonize each other. Bianca is the desire of every man in Padua, yet Katherina is just the opposite. Their father, Baptista, forbids her to wed until her elder sister does so first. As I read "Shrew", Disney kept coming up in my mind. One of Bianca's prominent suitors, Lucentio, resembles Gaston of "Beauty and the Beast". He assumes a man of his status and wealth deserves a girl such as Bianca. He decides with the help of his servants he absolutely must marry her. Among him, many other men try to court the Italian beauty. One of these methods includes intricate disguises in which the men try to earn Bianca's love. Of course, these admirers are quite aware of her father's restrictions. Petruchio was just the hero Lucentio and the others were looking for. He traveled from Verona to seek out a wife whose father will provide him with wealth. Hortensio, another desperate seeker of Bianca's love, offers Katherina as his bride. Although he warns Pertuchio of her rude demeanor, the offer still sounds enticing. Pertuchio develops a scheme in his attempt to tame his acquired bride. Shakespeare craftily mixes a clever wit and insightful commentary on the way people live.

This play is nearly bursting at the seams with relevance. As I said, Disney kept coming back up in my mind. When Baptista and Pertuchio decide that Katherina will be married at once, the discussion prompted me to remember the saltan and Aladdin boasting about how the phony prince would be right fo his Jasmine. Disney's princess and Shakespeare's shrew are a duo of strong-willed women. At first, I thought Katherina's struggle would bring out her inner feminist. When I continued reading the play, I realized her unattractiveness was insignificant. Her bitter nature stemmed from a far deeper plight all humans suffer. Katherina was plainly misunderstood. I believe Katherina was cruel because no one cared for her. Even Baptista favored Bianca. He did not know how to deal with his complex, eldest daughter. Perhaps Hortensio offers the most important advice of all the characters in "Shrew"; if a girl does not seem interested, move on instead of moping with heartbreak. Certainly, the Bard crammed some fairly deep concepts between his jokes.

I recommend this play for a truly experienced fan of Shakespeare. It was not my favorite show of all time, but I believe this is to due to the fact it is really a play. In order to fully enjoy this piece, I feel one must see an actual performance. I am sure that parts I found difficult to comprehend would be much more lucid on stage. Although this play is intended to be a comedy, one can not expect a laugh from every line. In modern cinema, most comic characters are shown continually stupider plunders. "Taming of the Shrew" is written with a more subdued tone. There are moments where Pertuchucio is flamboyantly funny, but the show is also centered around a complex plot that forces a reader to think. It was a challenge to read, but if one feels up to the task they are assured to enjoy a story full of joy and wisdom.