The Taming of the Shrew

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The Taming of the Shrew (1592) is a comedy by William Shakespeare. Written between 1590 and 1592, The Taming of the Shrew is one of Shakespeares earliest works. Frequently critiqued by scholars for its demeaning portrayal of Katherina and for Petruchios violence, the play has also been considered as an ironic treatment of the inequality experienced by women in marriage. The Taming of the Shrew has served as source material for countless film and television adaptations, including McClintock! (1963) starring John Wayne and Maureen OHara. If I be waspish, best beware my sting. For his wit and wordplay alone, William Shakespeare is often considered the greatest writer to ever work in the English language. Where he truly triumphs, however, is in his ability to portray complex human emotions, how these emotions contribute to relationships, and how these relationships interact with politics, culture, and religion. The Taming of the Shrew, like many of Shakespeares works, begins with a framing device. Christopher Sly, a notorious drunk, has come to believe that he is a lord. In order to distract him, his fellow denizens of the alehouse stage a play set in Padua. As suitors line up to marry the beautiful young Bianca, they find themselves prevented by her fathers only rule: her older sister Katherina must be married first. Notoriously independent, Katherinathe shrew of the titlesimply refuses to tie herself to a man. When Petruchio arrives from Verona in search of a wife, he finds himself up for the challenge. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of William Shakespeares The Taming of the Shrew is a classic of English literature reimagined for modern readers.

Author Bio

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) was an English poet, playwright, and actor. Born in Stratford-upon-Avon, he was the son of John Shakespeare, an alderman and glove-maker, and Mary Arden, a woman from a wealthy family. Likely educated at the Kings New School, he would have studied Latin in his youth. At eighteen, he married Anne Hathaway, then twenty-six. Together, they raised three childrenSusanna and twins Hamnet and Judith. By 1892, several of his early plays had appeared on stage in London. These works, including Richard III and Henry VI, show the influence of Elizabethan dramatists Thomas Kyd and Christopher Marlowe. He then found success with a series of comedies, such as A Midsummer Nights Dream, The Merchant of Venice, As You Like It, and Twelfth Night. By the late 1590s, Shakespeare wrote two of his finest tragedies, Romeo and Juliet and Julius Caesar, proving his talent and thematic versatility. The beginning of the 17th century marked a turn in his work, ushering in an era often considered his darkest and most productive. Between 1600 and 1606, he produced such masterpieces as Hamlet, Othello, Macbeth, and King Lear, all of which are undoubtedly some of the finest works ever written in the English language. In addition to his 39 plays, many of which were performed by his own company at the legendary Globe Theatre, Shakespeare wrote 154 sonnets and three long poems, many of which continue to be read around the world.