Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew"

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that, although misogynistic stories abounded in Shakespeare's time, stories of men exercising their rightful dominance over women and others of men in torment from their unbearable wife; a single source for the main plot of Petruchio's taming of Katherina has not been found. The author points out that to contextualize "Taming of the Shrew" in relation to material practices of anti-feminist oppression is not to remove the problems of the play's representation of gender or to justify reading the play in terms of power rather than knowing. The paper relates that, while there is no doubt that Katherine is subjected to power, it also is true that she wields an irreducible force of her own.

From the Paper:

"Although it is not possible to determine the dates of composition of William Shakespeare's plays with absolute certainty, it is generally agreed that the early comedy "The Taming of the Shrew" was probably written after "The Two Gentlemen of Verona", in 1594-1595 and before "A Midsummer Night's Dream", in 1595-1596. Even at this early date, Shakespeare shows himself to be a master of plot construction. Disregarding the classical unity of action, which forbade subplots, for a more enlightened concept of unity, Shakespeare creates two distinct lines of action, each derived from a different source, and integrates them into a unified dramatic whole."

More papers on Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew":

• Book Review # 128016 : "Marriage in "The Taming of the Shrew"
• Book Review # 75726 : "Gender Themes in 'The Taming of the Shrew'"
• Analytical Essay # 2384 : "Shakespeare's "Taming of the Shrew"
• Book Review # 105632 : "Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew"

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