Unit Test for

The Taming of
the Shrew
By William Shakespeare

*Answer Key
Included
Created by
Juggling ELA
Name________________________________ Date____________

The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare

Unit Test

Directions: Match each character with the appropriate description.

___1. Christopher Sly A) He “tames” Kate

___2. Baptista B) He comes from Pisa to visit his son
___3. Kate C) She is rich and beautiful, but fiery-tempered
___4. Bianca D) He disguises himself as Litio to woo Bianca
___5. Petruchio E) She is the opposite of her sister
___6. Lucentio F) Hortensio marries this rich woman
___7. Gremio G) Peruchio accuses him of marring Kate’s gown
___8. Hortensio H) Petruchio wrings this servant of his by the ears
___9. Vincentio I) He thinks Lucentio killed a man
___10. Pedant J) Kate and Bianca’s father
___11. Tranio K) This “graybeard” courts Bianca
___12. Biodello L) This servant pretends to be his master
___13. Grumio M) He pretends to be Vincentio to protect himself
___14. Tailor N) He disguises himself as Cambio to woo Bianca
___15. Widow O) This drunken tinker watches the comedy unfold

Directions: Write the letter of the best response in the space provided.

___16. Sly is told that “melancholy is the nurse of frenzy,” so his doctors advise: A) going on a
hunting trip B) marrying a beautiful woman C) watching a funny play D) visiting an old friend

___17. Which of the following BEST describes Baptista? A) anxious father with good intentions
B) ambitious father with no time for his children C) democratic father who gives his children a
long leash D) overbearing father who brutally browbeats his daughters

___18. What do Vincentio and Baptista have in common? Both: A) have sons who are Bianca’s
suitors B) want their children to marry for money and love. C) are middle-class merchants in
Padua D) have shrewish wives.

___19. Because Baptista has forbidden Bianca to marry before Kate: A) Bianca sneeks out to see
her suitors B) Bianca’s suitors work to find a suitor for Kate C) Kate vows that she will never
marry, to spite her sister D) Petruchio decides that Kate is the wife for him
___20. The audience is most likely to feel sorry for Kate when: A) her groom is late in appearing
B) the “music master” complains to Baptista C) she says that she will see Petruchio “hanged
first” D) Hortensio describes her to Petruchio as shrewish

___21. The pedant agreed to pretend to be Vincentio mainly because he: A) wanted to protect
himself B) loved a good joke C) wanted to help get two lovers together D) enjoyed pretending to
be rich

___22. If Kate refused to call the sun the moon, Petruchio probably would have: A) slapped her
B) denied her the trip to see her father C) refused to marry her D) insisted that Vincentio call the
sun the moon

___23. Lucentio and Hortensio get around Bianca’s father by: A) pretending to be interested in
Kate B) coming to court her while he is away on a trip C) disguising themselves as tutors
D) convincing her to meet them secretly

___24. Which is NOT mentioned as part of Pertruchio’s strategy for “taming” Kate?
A) returning her insults with compliments B) denying her food and sleep C) denying her stylish
clothing D) giving her the “silent treatment”

___25. Petruchio comes to Padua in order to: A) study B) find a wealthy wife C) visit his father
D) gather some debts

___26. Lucentio comes to Padua intending to: A) find a wealthy wife B) study C) visit his father
D) go to a baseball game

___27. When Kate’s groom is late on her wedding day, Kate’s father: A) tells her she is getting
her just desserts B) threatens to have the groom thrown in jail C) sympathizes with Kate D) jokes
that Bianca should marry that day instead

___28. Which of the following characters does NOT pretend to be someone he is not?
A) Vincentio B) Lucentio C) Hortensio D) Pedant

___29. When Kate and Petruchio meet Vincentio, Petruchio pretends that: A) the old man is
trying to kidnap Kate B) he is the old man’s son C) the old man is a young woman D) the
stranger is the man in the moon
.
___30. Vincentio fears that his son has been murdered because: A) Tranio is wearing Lucentio’s
clothing B) he has received a ransom note C) Biondello is pretending to be Lucentio D) the
pedant is pretending to be Lucentio

___31. Petruchio suggests that the three husbands test their wives to see who is the most:
A) witty B) honest C) intelligent D) obedient
Directions: Answer the following questions using specific details from the play.

32. What trick does the Lord plan to play on Sly?

33. What do Hortensio and Gremio agree to work on together?

34. Why does Lucentio need a “double” – and who acts the part?

35. How does Kate act when she first meets Petruchio?

36. How does Petruchio behave at the altar and how does the audience find out?

37. Why does Hortensio vow not to woo Bianca any longer?

38. Do Vincentio and Baptista react the same way when they learn that their children have
married without their knowledge? Explain.

39. Name two possible themes for the play The Taming of the Shrew.

40. Write down five facts that we learned about Shakepseare and his time-period.
Name________________________________ Date____________

The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare

Unit Test

Directions: Match each character with the appropriate description.

_O__1. Christopher Sly A) He “tames” Kate

__J_2. Baptista B) He comes from Pisa to visit his son
__C_3. Kate C) She is rich and beautiful, but fiery-tempered
__E_4. Bianca D) He disguises himself as Litio to woo Bianca
__A_5. Petruchio E) She is the opposite of her sister
_N__6. Lucentio F) Hortensio marries this rich woman
_K__7. Gremio G) Peruchio accuses him of marring Kate’s gown
__D_8. Hortensio H) Petruchio wrings this servant of his by the ears
_B__9. Vincentio I) He thinks Lucentio killed a man
__M_10. Pedant J) Kate and Bianca’s father
__L_11. Tranio K) This “graybeard” courts Bianca
__I_12. Biodello L) This servant pretends to be his master
__H_13. Grumio M) He pretends to be Vincentio to protect himself
_G__14. Tailor N) He disguises himself as Cambio to woo Bianca
__F_15. Widow O) This drunken tinker watches the comedy unfold

Directions: Write the letter of the best response in the space provided.

__C_16. Sly is told that “melancholy is the nurse of frenzy,” so his doctors advise: A) going on a
hunting trip B) marrying a beautiful woman C) watching a funny play D) visiting an old friend

__A_17. Which of the following BEST describes Baptista? A) anxious father with good
intentions B) ambitious father with no time for his children C) democratic father who gives his
children a long leash D) overbearing father who brutally browbeats his daughters

__C_18. What do Vincentio and Baptista have in common? Both: A) have sons who are Bianca’s
suitors B) want their children to marry for money and love. C) are middle-class merchants in
Padua D) have shrewish wives.

_B__19. Because Baptista has forbidden Bianca to marry before Kate: A) Bianca sneeks out to
see her suitors B) Bianca’s suitors work to find a suitor for Kate C) Kate vows that she will never
marry, to spite her sister D) Petruchio decides that Kate is the wife for him
_A__20. The audience is most likely to feel sorry for Kate when: A) her groom is late in
appearing B) the “music master” complains to Baptista C) she says that she will see Petruchio
“hanged first” D) Hortensio describes her to Petruchio as shrewish

_A__21. The pedant agreed to pretend to be Vincentio mainly because he: A) wanted to protect
himself B) loved a good joke C) wanted to help get two lovers together D) enjoyed pretending to
be rich

__B_22. If Kate refused to call the sun the moon, Petruchio probably would have: A) slapped her
B) denied her the trip to see her father C) refused to marry her D) insisted that Vincentio call the
sun the moon

__C_23. Lucentio and Hortensio get around Bianca’s father by: A) pretending to be interested in
Kate B) coming to court her while he is away on a trip C) disguising themselves as tutors
D) convincing her to meet them secretly

_D__24. Which is NOT mentioned as part of Pertruchio’s strategy for “taming” Kate?
A) returning her insults with compliments B) denying her food and sleep C) denying her stylish
clothing D) giving her the “silent treatment”

__B_25. Petruchio comes to Padua in order to: A) study B) find a wealthy wife C) visit his father
D) gather some debts

__C_26. Lucentio comes to Padua intending to: A) find a wealthy wife B) visit his father
C) study D) go to a baseball game

_C__27. When Kate’s groom is late on her wedding day, Kate’s father: A) tells her she is getting
her just desserts B) threatens to have the groom thrown in jail C) sympathizes with Kate D) jokes
that Bianca should marry that day instead

_A__28. Which of the following characters does NOT pretend to be someone he is not?
A) Vincentio B) Lucentio C) Hortensio D) Pedant

__C_29. When Kate and Petruchio meet Vincentio, Petruchio pretends that: A) the old man is
trying to kidnap Kate B) he is the old man’s son C) the old man is a young woman D) the
stranger is the man in the moon
.
__A_30. Vincentio fears that his son has been murdered because: A) Tranio is wearing
Lucentio’s clothing B) he has received a ransom note C) Biondello is pretending to be Lucentio
D) the pedant is pretending to be Lucentio

__D_31. Petruchio suggests that the three husbands test their wives to see who is the most:
A) witty B) honest C) intelligent D) obedient
Directions: Answer the following questions using specific details from the play.

32. What trick does the Lord plan to play on Sly?

The Lord convinces Sly that he is actually a wealthy nobleman who has been insane for 15 years.

33. What do Hortensio and Gremio agree to work on together?

They agree to work on finding a suitor for Kate.

34. Why does Lucentio need a “double” – and who acts the part?

While he is pretending to be a tutor, someone needs to visit the friends of his father who are
expecting him. Tranio is his double.

35. How does Kate act when she first meets Petruchio?

She is insulting, tells him to go away, strikes him but seems to enjoy his wit.

36. How does Petruchio behave at the altar and how does the audience find out?

Gremio describes how he knocked down the priest and threw wine in the sexton’s face.

37. Why does Hortensio vow not to woo Bianca any longer?

He doesn’t think she is nice

38. Do Vincentio and Baptista react the same way when they learn that their children have
married without their knowledge? Explain.

Baptista is annoyed because he didn’t give permission. Vincentio is mad at the servant but not
mad about the marriage.

39. Name two possible themes for the play The Taming of the Shrew.

Answers will vary

40. Write down five facts that we learned about Shakepseare and his time-period.

Answers will vary

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