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The Taming of the Shrew

William Shakespeare (1564-1616)

Summary
The Taming of the Shrew is an early comedy by Shakespeare that seems to have been written circa 1592. It was first published in the First Folio of 1623. The source of some of its story is the George Gascoigne comedy called Supposes (1566) which itself derives from Ariosto's Suppositi of 1509, although Shakespeare seems to have invented much of the main plot. A play called "The Taming of A Shrew" was published in 1594 but there is a strong likelihood that this is not Shakespeare's source as was once thought but a corruption or alternate version of it compiled by actors. The play opens with the Induction in which a drunken tinker called Christopher Sly appears and is convinced that he is a lord by a nobleman as a practical joke, and eventually he agrees to watch a play being performed for his benefit. The play that follows is that which Sly is supposed to be watching, but he is soon removed from the action and only in the bad quarto text is he given a further part. The play that is performed for Sly is set in Verona, where we meet Baptista Minola of Padua's two daughters: the popular Bianca and Katherina the Shrew. Petruchio endeavours to woo the seemingly unwinnable Katherina so that he can take her dowry and so that his friend Hortensio may marry Bianca who has sworn not to wed until her sister has found a husband. The play follows his taming of Katherina by such methods as appearing to find her appalling manners courteous and trying to "kill a wife with kindness" (IV.i). Inevitably, marriages ensue and the play concludes with a bet to see who has the most subservient wife. Recently, the play has been updated and appeared as the film "10 Things I Hate About You".

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