Taming of the Shrew: Incduction and Act 1

Describe each character:

• Katherine- rude and outspoken, and seems to have a chip on her shoulder
• Bianca- quiet and naïve, also very well mannered and respectful
• Gremio- an old man who is greedy, conceited, and in love with Bianca
• Hortensio- sneaky and blinded by love for Bianca, also would do anything to get her
• Petruchio- a man who is very wealthy and odd, and wants Kate mostly for her money
• Lucentio- a honored man, who is blinded by love and will do anything to get what he wants
• Compare Katherine and Bianca to modern day people- sort of like Cinderella and her two stepsisters, no one wants to be with the stepsisters but the mother wont let anyone get near Cinderella because she is their slave.

1.

The Induction portrays role-playing. Who acts the part of whom? Why? How does such role-playing address issues of gender and class? What effects might these representations have on the play? The Lord portrays a servant, and the page portrays a lovely wife. Sly is being portrayed to himself by the Lord, page, and others that he is a King or very high royalty to play a joke on him. The play issues playing a woman was something looked down upon so lower class people played those parts.

2.

From the outset, we learn from Bianca's suitors that Katherine is the less desirable of the two sisters. Examine and question this claim. How are Biance and Katherine different? What makes Katherine rather than Bianca the shrew? Bianca is rather quiet, sweet, and well mannered, while Katherine is the total opposite, which is that she shares her opinion, very independent, and very rude. Katherine is more of the shrew because she is so sour and harsh towards everyone including people who try to be nice to her.