Abstract
This paper examines how both the characters of Portia and Katherine in William Shakespeare's plays, "The Merchant of Venice" and "The Taming the Shrew" are intelligent women who each goes through a character metamorphosis. It looks at how just as Portia transformed from submissiveness to a role of command, Katherine's transformation took the opposite turn. She submitted her independence and thus found her true self. It shows how both women were miserable in the beginning of the plays, Portia from obeying and Katherine from disobeying and how by swinging the pendulum, each woman found a balance and triumphed in their feminine roles.

From the Paper
"Katherine in "Taming of the Shrew" is perhaps Shakespeare most famous female character. She and Portia are opposite in initial character. Katherine is ill-tempered and scoffs at obedience. She is prone to tantrums and physical attacks on the victims of her rage. Just as Portia is miserable from obedience despite her charm, Katherine too is unhappy, despite her foul disposition. Katherine's unpleasant nature may stem from fear of her own feminine desires and feelings of inadequacy. She may also be anxious that she will never marry, thus sealing her fate and her role in society as the maiden daughter. Katherine is intelligent and her spirit surely recoils at the thought of such a fate. In fact Katherine's spirit seems out of place amid an era when women were considered nothing more than property."

Tags:katherine, portia, feminism, independence

Abstract
This paper compares the concept of deception with the character of Kate in William Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew". The argument that Kate uses deception as a survival technique is used throughout the essay, concluding with how Kate sought to maintain her very freedom through presenting a "tamed" version of her true nature.

Abstract
This paper examines how, through symbolism, allusions, and dialogue, Shakespeare reveals his attitudes concerning love, marriage, and gender roles in 16th-century society in his play, "The Taming of the Shrew".

From the Paper
"One of William Shakespeare's best-loved comedies, The Taming of the Shrew takes audiences on a rather comprehensive journey through Renaissance social culture. Though the courtship between main characters Petruchio and Katherina is far from typical, it does offer insight into not only the customs and attitudes of Europeans in general but those of Shakespeare himself. Shakespeare seems to hold the same opinions as those of most men of the late 1500s that love is generally very superficial and based on physical attraction; that marriage closely resembles a business proposition; and that women are nothing without their husbands or fathers to whom they must submit. Through literary devices ranging from witty dialogues and impassioned speeches to plentiful allusions and creative symbolism, Shakespeare reveals his attitudes concerning love, marriage, and gender roles in sixteenth-century society."

Tags:16th, allusions, bianca, century, gender, kate, love, plays, roles, shakespeare, sixteenth

Abstract
The paper examines several analytical articles regarding the character of Petruchio and his blatant oppression of Katherine in Shakespeare's "Taming of the Shrew". Feminist opposition to modern productions of the play and arguments regarding the value of historic perspectives are discussed.

From the Paper
"Understanding how Petruchio could be interpreted a hero to historical audiences and also symbol of villainy to some modern audiences is in itself a reason to continue study of Shakespeare's works. It is precisely these types of diametrically opposed views that encourage the search for a better understanding of differences in social structure and historical attitudes. Many other authors will also require comparison between modern society and the culture of their origin in order to be comprehensively understood."

Tags:domination, oppression, patriarchal, verona

Abstract
This paper examines the role of women in Shakespeare's classic play; their reactions and coping abilities within the Elizabethan patriarchal society. Katharina is often looked upon as a threat to the system. She defies the expectations of society upon women and plays with masculine characteristics. In her defiance, she gains power. She discovers a power within her choices. To play along, or not to play along? Her realization of existing oppression is power in itself.

From the Paper
"Elizabethans were attentive to the world's digression from the ideal order. Shakespearean comedy is farcical with a comic re evaluation of social norms. The ideal order consists of a hierarchical system in which everything and everyone has a fixed place. The family was to follow a corresponding order within the divine system. Tensions concerning Elizabethan faith in the order were heightened by the Puritan challenge to the established regime. The feisty and independent Katharina reflects the increasing threats to authority in society. Katharina inflates the attempt to re establish order within the familial system in Shakespeare's, "The Taming of the Shrew". Katharina communicates the notion that freedom is not absolute as she plays with accepted social restraints."

Tags:constraints, elizabethan, oppression, patriarchy, women

Abstract
Through his comedies, William Shakespeare was able to address many taboo subjects in the name of entertainment. His comedies provided him an avenue to express marginalized voices that were sometimes muffled in Renaissance society. This cannot be truer for the voice of women. This paper shows how, in his plays, "The Taming of the Shrew" and "A Midsummer Night's Dream", Shakespeare gives voice to strong women who refuse to become victims of society. Kate is what we would call a strong-willed child with a mind of her own, with no fear of expressing her opinions. Despite the mistreatment she endures in the play, she emerges a winner for many reasons. The paper shows how, similarly, Hippolyta and Hermia demonstrate independence uncommon to their female counterparts. These women illustrate that true love is its own reward in any age.

From the Paper
"Both sisters are playing a game of sorts. Kate is a shrew and cannot be manhandled while Bianca pretends to be the image of feminine sweetness. Bianca is revealed to be the true manipulator because she does not follow the demands of her husband. In the end, we come to appreciate Kate for her genuine character as opposed to Bianca's fraud. Margaret Ranald believes that "Katharina's liberated spirit remains unbroken, but that she has learned the value of realpolitik not only in marriage, but also in the even wider world of sociopolitics" (Ranald 1994). However, when we observe the entire action of the play, we can only surmise that Shakespeare is supporting the role and voice of the independent woman of his age."

Tags:Baptista, Bianca, Katharina

Abstract
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."

Tags:katherina, soliloquy

Abstract
This paper details the background of Elizabethan England in Shakespeare's time, in which there were many rigid standards for social customs and marital traditions, but the Reformation was encouraging women to be more independent and to control their own lives, resulting in the emergence of a new "Renaissance woman." It is this conflict of ideas that is played out in "The Taming of the Shrew" and an understanding of the times as put forth in this paper, along with parallel examples from the text, adds to a richer understanding of the play.

From the Paper
"Contrary to young Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, the average age for brides of the time was twenty-four, and for grooms it was twenty-seven, but the legal age of consent for girls was twelve, for boys fourteen (Mack 54). Although Kate's age is never mentioned in the The Taming of the Shrew, one can assume that she is probably close to this age, if not a bit older. It is frustrating for her to be single, when Bianca has so many suitors, and her anger at Baptista for helping Bianca to obtain a husband is understandable. When she accuses him of favoritism, and declares that, because of him, she will have to "lead apes into hell," she actually is citing a common conception of the period. When a younger sister married before an older one, it was customary for the elder sister to dance barefoot at the wedding to avoid becoming a spinster. It also was believed that the eternal fate of an "old maid" was leading apes into hell (Charlton 87)."

Tags:Renaissance, Reformation, play, woman

Abstract
This paper looks at the elaborate disguises that are used in "The Taming of the Shrew" as well as the double meaning and puns that Shakespeare uses to portray the theme of matrimonial relationships, and the idea that people are not always as they appear.

From the Paper
"Shakespeare illustrates his theme by painting a perfect picture of the time in which he wrote. Arranged marriages were common, and many fathers of this period gave their daughters' hand to the man who could best provide for her, as does Baptista with Bianca (Leggatt 47). It was also customary in Elizabethan England for a father to give a dowry to the bridegroom of his daughter, so that she would be financially secure in the event of her husband's death. Hortensio acknowledges this tradition, when he tells Gremio that Petruchio will marry Kate "if her dowry should prove satisfactory" (Leggatt 47). The actual ceremonies of matrimony are also correctly depicted, as are the traditions. When Kate shouts to her father that she will have to dance at her sister's wedding barefoot, her fears are valid. In Elizabethan times when a younger sister married before the elder, the latter was to perform this act to avoid becoming a spinster (Leggatt 48). These minute details transport the reader back to the time in which the play was created."

Tags:mask, comedy, Kate, marriage, double, meaning, pun

Abstract
This paper details the differences and similarities between the characters of Katherina and Bianca in this Shakespearean play and shows how their characters change throughout the play. It looks at how Katherina begins as a shrew and how Bianca is shown to be exactly the opposite of Katherina and how, by the end of the play, Katherina and Bianca have completely switched places, with Katherina being the modest, submissive wife and Bianca the shrew.

From the Paper
"At the beginning of the play we see Katherina as a beautiful and wealthy woman with a high social status like her father, but she is also condemned as being a curst shrew and a devil, and Gremio clearly shows this when, in Act I Scene 1, he says: "Think'st thou, Hortensio, though her father be very rich, any man is so very a fool to be married to hell?". In addition, in Act I Scene 2, he says "Katherine the curst, / A title for a maid of all titles the worst." "

Tags:baptista, comedy, inversion, love, lucentio, petruchio, tranio