Zusammenfassung
Zusammenfassung von Der Widerspenstigen Zähmung
Für wen es gedacht ist
For readers who enjoy fast, witty comedy, disguises and duels of wit, and want to explore one of Shakespeare's most debated plays before seeing it or reading it.
Worum es in diesem Buch geht
A drunk man wakes in a fine bed and is told he is a lord. That cruel joke opens The Taming of the Shrew, William Shakespeare's comic play from the early 1590s. Its main story is set in Padua. Katherina, the sharp-tongued elder daughter of a rich merchant, meets Petruchio, a gentleman from Verona who has come to find a wife with a large dowry. Around them swirl a second courtship and a crowd of disguises. Is it a farce about power, a strange love story, or a joke that cuts both ways?
In dieser Zusammenfassung
- 1A drunk is fooled into playing a lordFree
- 2Two sisters and a father's strange rule
- 3Petruchio comes to Padua to find a rich wife
- 4Disguises, tutors and a tangle of suitors
- 5Taming at Petruchio's house, or cruelty as a game
- 6Control, money and performance: what the play is about
Punkt 1 von 6
A drunk is fooled into playing a lord
Christopher Sly, a tinker, is thrown out of an alehouse and falls asleep on the ground, dead drunk. A lord returns from hunting and finds him. For his own amusement he has Sly carried to a fine bedroom and dressed in rich clothes.
When Sly wakes, the servants tell him he is a great lord who has been mad for years. A page boy dressed as a lady is presented as his wife. Sly is coarse and poor, yet he soon decides he must be a lord, because the evidence says so. Travelling players then perform a comedy for him, and that comedy is the story of Katherina and Petruchio.
The frame tells you this is a play inside a play, where people put on roles and others choose to believe them. It asks whether a person is what he is or what others say he is. Keep that question in mind, because it returns when Petruchio goes to work on Katherina.
That’s 1 of 6 key points.
The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
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Who’s who
- Katherina
- Katherina is Baptista Minola's sharp-tongued elder daughter, whose fierce wit contrasts with her sister Bianca's apparent gentleness.
- Petruchio
- Petruchio is Hortensio's confident friend from Verona, seeking a wealthy wife and undaunted by Katherina's reputation.
- Bianca
- Bianca is Katherina's younger sister, whose many suitors must wait until their father permits her marriage.
- Baptista Minola
- Baptista Minola is the wealthy father of Katherina and Bianca, controlling their marriage prospects through financial bargains.
- Lucentio
- Lucentio is a young student from Pisa who courts Bianca disguised as a tutor, aided by Tranio.
- Tranio
- Tranio is Lucentio's resourceful servant, assuming his master's identity to help him pursue Bianca in secret.
- Hortensio
- Hortensio is Petruchio's friend and Bianca's suitor, disguising himself as a music teacher to approach her.
- Christopher Sly
- Christopher Sly is a drunken tinker whom a lord tricks into believing himself a nobleman watching theatrical entertainment.
About this edition
Every format is free to start, and print and large print are at cost.
- LengthAbout 23,000 words
- Reading timeAbout 1 h 30 min
- FormatseBook, large-print eBook, audiobook, 15-minute summary
- LanguagesEnglish and 14 other languages
Questions about Der Widerspenstigen Zähmung
What is The Taming of the Shrew about?
It is a comedy about Katherina, a sharp-tongued woman in Padua, and Petruchio, who marries her for her dowry and tries to change her ways. A second plot follows suitors who disguise themselves to court her sister Bianca.
Who is Christopher Sly in The Taming of the Shrew?
Sly is a drunken tinker who is tricked by a lord into thinking he is a nobleman. The main story is then performed for him by travelling players, which makes the play a play within a play.
What does the word shrew mean in the title?
In Shakespeare's time a shrew meant a scolding, bad-tempered woman. To tame her meant to bring her under a husband's control, as a trainer tames a wild animal. The title already hints at the debate about the play.
When was The Taming of the Shrew written and is it a true story?
It was probably written in the early 1590s and first printed in the Folio of 1623. Its plots draw on older tales of unruly wives and on an Italian comedy by Ariosto.
Is The Taming of the Shrew controversial today?
Yes. Readers argue about whether the play endorses his methods or mocks them. Directors stage it very differently, from broad farce to sharp satire.