Taming of the shrew

1. Why is Bianca crying at the start of act 2

- Katherine had been bullying her with “ horrible threats “ and “ superior strength “ and
had tied her hands together , pushing her out on the streets.
2. Who saves Bianca from Katherine’s bullying
- Baptista minola “he saw his angle bound and weeping and was outraged . Tenderly he
untied her and demanded of her cruel persecutor…”
3. Why do you think Katherine bullies Bianca so much?
- Perhaps she is jealous of Bianca . Her jealously could be making her react with aggression
Perhaps it’s her copying strategy.
- “her silence flouts me !”
- Baptista constantly praises and seems to love Bianca more and treats her like a delicate
flower.
4. Why does the morning, which had begum so stormily for Baptista, turn so radiant
- Gremio brought him a school master for Bianca, wise in Latin and Greek AND a suitor for
Katherine , Petruchio !
- Baptista knew Petruchio’s father too, so he was no stranger
5. Why does baptista only reveal Katherine’s name to petruchio and nothing more when asked
- He doesn’t want petruchio to be put off , nor does he want to misrepresent his child as he
is desperate to get both of his daughters married
6. What act od valance is carried out on page 110
- Katherine hits the schoolmaster ( hortensio in disguise ) that petruchio got with him with
the lute. “Katherine had broken his lute over his head “
7. After physically seeing what Katherine is capable of , is petruchio put off by Katherine ?
- No , he still wants to meet her . “ I pray you do “ ( he said to Baptista )
8. What state is Katherine in when she is sent out to meet petruchio ?
- Angry
o Because she does not want to be sent for
- Curious
o Because she does not know why
- “ she had never had a suitor before , and she did not like the look of him “
9. What is Petruchio’s first reaction upon seeing Katherine
- “ he smirked at her as is she was a joint of a lamb “
- Showing his pleasure , satisfaction etc.
10. Describe e the rest of Petruchio’s and katherine’s interaction in your words
- When K tells P to check his ears , he praises her for her beauty
o “ you lie , in faith , “ said he , returning her cold look with a warm one .
- When P proposes , K replies with strong dislike .
- The more dislike K shows the more p approaches her , trying to say sweet things to help
Katherine let down her guard .
11. “ I am he am born to tame you , kate , and bring you from a wild kate to a kate comfortable
as other household kate !” comment on Petruchio’s character. What kind of a person is he
- ( negative ) boastful , arrogant , pompous , selfish , manipulative , self-willed , self-
centered , eccentric
- ( positive) confident, determined , strong-willed , headstrong , assertive ( not afraid of
saying what you believe ) , self-assured ( having confidence in your own abilities )
12. What does baptista ask upon entering the room
- How they’re getting on ( “ how speed you with my daughter )
 13. summaries petruchio’s respond to Baptista
- “ how but well ( beautifully)
- “ … but petruchio , with the utmost cheerfulness assure them that all was well “
- He tells everyone that he gets along well with kate
- He even announces their marriage swiftly
14. Summaries katherine’s respond to Baptista
- She is angry at her father leaving her along with Petruchio (“call you me daughter ?”
- She is furious at petruchio forcing her to marry him) ( “ one half lunatic , a madcap ruffian
and a swearing jack !” “ she pointed a trembling finger at petruchio “ )
- She is “ speechless” hearing what petruchio says about their relationship and his
announcement of them getting married
15. Who wins the battle between Gremio and Tranio ( dressed as Lucentio ) in winning Bianca’s
hand ?
- Tranio
o Because he is able to offer more merchant ships “ argosies “ than Gremio does )
- Baptista “ declared that Bianca’s love was a prize to be won , not by words but by deeds .
Whoever offered most should have her”
----------------------------------------------------------- scene 2 -----------------------------------------------------------

1. Who is the “ real “ schoolmaster in this scene

- Lucentio
2. What does he reveal
- By teaching the Latin translation of Ovid’s Greek story about Penelope and Ulysses , he
reveals that he Is in fact Lucentio in disguise and that he is in love with Bianca .
3. Who gets upset upon this revelation
- Hortensio gets upset about the relationship forming between Bianca and Lucentio
- “ while the sage music and mathematic watched suspiciously from the other side of the
room and twangled on his new lute , Bianca’s head was bent so close to the other sage’s ,
that she might have got knowledge through seepage .”
----------------------------------------------------------- act 3 4 5 -----------------------------------------------------------
1. Kate thrown into agony ( physical and mental suffering ) on her wedding day . give two
reason why
- Petruchio was late
o She feared that petruchio would not come to marry her after all and that she
would be abandoned as a bride
- She was humiliated by petruchio’s mad behavior
o He dressed in an outrageous way
o He acts like a wild man in during the ceremony and afterwards as well
2. Petruchio looks outrageous on his wedding day . describe four features on his appearacne
- He came in “ rags and rubbish “, on old patched clothes
- He out on boots
- He wielded a broken sword
- He rode upon a horse that could scarcely stagger
3. Petruchio behaves like a wild bridegroom . give five examples of such behavior
- He should his vows with swearing
- “ when asked if he would take Katherine for his wife , he answered so loud and with such
swearing “
- He slapped the priest hand for dropping the book
- He threw his cup of wine over the sexton
- He kissed the bride so loudly that the whole church echoes
- During the weeding feast , he sized katherine round the waist , waved his sword and
carried her out of the house before the banquet
4. What conditions was katherine in when she arrive at Petruchio’s home ? quote a line to
explain why
- She was faint ( dizzy ) and quiet , weary and hungry
- “ the journey to petruchio’s house was long , hard and muddy “
5. When petruchio brings katherine to her bridal chamber what reaction does katherine
have ? quote the line
- She went as mildly as a tiger
- With such a look that those who saw it might have supposed she meant to dine upon her
husband as he slept “
6. What is hortensio’s purpose of visiting petruchio , quote the lien
- As whiskers, spectacles and lutes had done him no good, he felt he had much to learn
before he tried again"
- He wanted to learn from Petruchio how to handle his relationships before marrying the
rich widow as he already failed in his relationship with Bianca.
7. When the tailor comes in petruchio seems enraged . why? Quote the relevant line
- "There was nothing, in all his stock, that was good enough or Kate"
- "He means to make a puppet of thee!" said Petruchio contemptuously.
- He found problems with all the garments. He was unhappy with everything the tailor
showed.
- He was angry at the tailor for making a fool of Katherine.
8. How does katherine react when petruchio says that the moon shines brightly
- She protested , saying that it is the sun and argued with him on this point
9. How does she react when petruchio threatens to discontinue the journey to Baptista’s
- When Petruchio threatens, she then gives up and says that she will take whatever he says
to be her reality
- She admires him for changing her fierceness and smiles at him
"The moon? The sun!" protested Kate.
"What you will have it named…even that it is, and so it shall be so for Katherine.
She felt "He was..... a mariner to be admired.
She smiled at him
10. In the story , petruchio hortensio and Lucentio place a bet of a hundred crowns on their
wives; obedience . how do they determine who wins the bet
- Each husband was to send for summon his wife and whichever came first should take the
prize
- Kate won
11. in the story , katherine lectures the two other wives on their duty to their husband . she
ends her speech with a shocking gesture . what does she do and what does that show
- She knelt and placed her hand beneath her husband’s foot to show that she respected
him .
 Themes
Theme 1 : marriage
“ crowns in my purse I have and goods at home , “ he said hastily , as if to reassure ______that he
had not come to borrow money . “ I come , “ he said with utter honesty, “ to wive it wealthily in
Padua”
- What was the speaker of the above quote ( speaker A )
o Petruchio
- Who is the speaker talking to in this quote ( speaker b )
o Hortensio
- Does speaker really have “crowns in his purse and goods at home “? Why or why not
o No
o It is because when Petruchio’s father died, he left him some what “ short of money “
- What does speaker a mean by “ wive it wealthily “?
o To marry a rich wife and rich woman

Cautiously he mentioned that he knew of a lady who was very rich . then he shook his head . She
had disadvantages . “ thou’rt too much my friend,” he said regretfully , “ I’ll not wish thee to her.”
But ____ was not so easily put off. What was wrong with the lady ? a sharp tongue and a bad
temper? “ think you a little din can daunt mine ears ? “ he demanded bravely . “ Have I not in my
time heard lion roar?”
- Who is the “lady who was very rich “
o Katherine
- What “ disadvantages” does she have ? give textual evidence to explain you answers
o She has very bad temper
o “ a sharp tongue ands a bad temper “
- What makes speaker A so determined to marry this woman
o Katherine’s father Baptista had offered a very attractive dowry
- What are the literary devices used in “ a little din can daunt mine ears “
o Alliteration
o Metaphor
Theme 2 :
Katherine Bianca
Personality Is shrewish , violent , disobedient , fiery-
tempered , very outspoken , abusive ,
strong-willed
“ tongue like burnt bacon “
“ temper like mustard without beef”
“ none could fail to hear her stormy
passage through the house “
Relationship When he suggest the suitors change to Bianca is like the treasure his “ angle
with their marry his elder daughter , kate reacted “ to baptista .
father with a disrespesful look . “ his father When Bianca is bullied by
glared at her and she glared back “ katherine , baptista was furious . “
When her father asks her to stay with the he saw his angle bound and
suitor , she disobeyed “ she cried and weeping and was outrage “
went in after her father like a whirlwind He saved Bianca right away blames
 and slammed the door “ katherine for her cruel act , “
She is jealous of how Bianca is loved by tenderly he untied her and
their father “ I see she is your treasure “ demanded of her cruel prosecutor “
Relationships Katherine treatens to hit gremio in the Lucentio falls in love with Bianca at
with other head with a stool ( “ comb his noddle with first sight
men a three-legged stool “ ) “ he had seen an angle , a gentle
Katherine hits the music master angle of loveliness “
( hortensio in disguise ) on his head with “ honey-sweet Bianca was gathering
the lute on the first lesson suitor like bees “
Mens are frightened of her
Katherine responds rudely and coldly to Mens are attracted to her
everything Petruchio says to her. She even
slaps him “ so the courtship proceeded ,
sweet as vinegar and gentle as a raging
sea: she the wind and he the mariner
fighting contain her blast “
Dominating , Dominate – have control over a place or Submissive – a submissive person
submissive person allows themselves to be controlled
by people
An ideal wife Nope Yes
at that time
Theme 3 : transforming / disguise
- “ disguise” suggest the impermanence of our roles, identities
Do cloth’s make the man ?
- This phrase is proverb that mean
o People are judged to the way they are dressed
It is not only disguise because katherine didn’t change the outer look of herself but she changed
her inner self instead )
Lucentio hortensio Tranio
Disguises A schoolmaster of Latin A schoolmaster of music Lucentio ( his master )
himself as and Greek and math
Why To get closer and woo To get closer and woo To win Bianca’s love for
Bianca Bianca his master and to
entertain merchants for
his master
How does “ a pudding faced boy , “ with a lute , thick Wearing brightly colored
he look like bearing a pile of Greek spectacles , ( whiskers ) cloak and hat
in disguise and Latin volumes and a black clothes gown “
lute “
Is he Yes , he successfully No , Bianca doesn’t fall for Yes, he helps to win
successful in gotten closer to Bianca him Bianca’s trust and
achieving and is even able to therefore the price of
the goal reveal his love while Bianca’s love
teaching a translation
of a Greek story

1. Who are the two other characters that changed

- Christopher
 o A thinker transformed into a lord
- Katherine
o A fiery-tempered shrew transformed into a household , domestic kate , who is
obedient and respectful to her husband in the end

2. Explain how their transformation differ from the changes seen in the characters mentioned
in q1
- Lucentio , hortensio , Tranio
o The three characters in q1 only transformed physically and temporarily by putting on
different clothes disguising themselves into other roles to achieve their perspective
goal , they themselves are well aware of the change
- Christopher
o However for Christopher he was transformed into a lord without himself knowing as
it is part of a trick played on him
- Katherine
o Her transformation is neither physical nor temporary
o Her change stems from the insider of her
o Though initiated by Petruchio
o While being tamed by Petruchio she has realized how she has been making other
suffer including her husband
 With her shrewish character and has changes for the better