Petruchio

Paper Summary:

The essay explores the character Petruchio in Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew" and especially his relationship with Katherina. It analyses to what extent he tries to dominate her using sexual intimidation and the different ways this can be interpreted.

From the Paper:

"A particularly revealing episode is Petruchio's soliloquy in Act IV, Scene 1. Soliloquies are usually associated with Shakespeare's tragedies, not his comedies, which in itself makes this a very interesting episode. Perhaps Shakespeare did this in order to highlight the importance and seriousness of Petruchio's thoughts and intentions, which do indeed seem cruel, exposing the crude methods he proposes to use on Katherina, in order to "tame" her. He starts his soliloquy with "Thus have I politicly begun my reign", suggestive of the beginning of his dominance over Katherina. The language used by Petruchio, such as "Thus have I", "politicly", and "my reign", is reflective of that in Shakespeare tragedies and, besides being funny due to its "mock seriousness", show how he is self-important, power hungry and his belief that these plans are of massive importance."

More papers on Petruchio:

• Comparison Essay # 37070 : "Lady Anne and Katherine"
• Analytical Essay # 2384 : "Shakespeare's "Taming of the Shrew"
• Book Review # 109484 : "Gender Roles in "The Taming of the Shrew"

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