taming of the shrew 6

"Thus have I politically begun my reign
And 'tis my hope to end successfully
My falcon now is sharp and passing empty,
And, till she stoop, she must not be full gorged,
...She ate no meat today, nor none shall eat.
Last night she slept not, nor tonight she shall not.
As with the meat, some undeservèd fault
I'll find about the making of the bed,
And here I'll fling the pillow, there the bolster,
This way the coverlet, another way the sheets.
Ay, and amid this hurly I intend
That all is done in reverend care of her.
...And with the clamor keep her still awake.
This is the way to kill a wife with kindness.
And thus I'll curb her mad and headstrong humor.
He that knows better how to tame a shrew,
Now let him speak; 'tis charity to shew."
Act 3, Sc. 2, Lines 188-211

This passage is spoken by Petrucio on his return to his house. He speaks to his servants regarding his new, shrewish wife and how he will handle her anger. He plans to keep her hungry and weakened. He also plans that she will not sleep either, as he will find something wrong with the bed and make noise and not allow her to rest, all the while pretending to care for her well-being and to give her no reason to able to rail at him. This is important because this speech is Petrucio's master plan for taming the shrew and wooing his new wife. He will be kind to her without end, but will kill her nature in doing so. At the end he says

taming of the shrew 5

"Hic ibat, as i told you before, Simois, I am Lucentio, hic est, son unto Vincentio of Pisa, Segia tellus, disguised thus to get your love, Hic steterat, and that Lucentio that comes a wooing, Priami, is my man Tranio, regia, bearing my port, celsa senis, that we might beguile the old pantaloon."

The Taming of the Shrew is a comedy, and this passage proved that fact exactly. Lucentio, disguised as a Latin teacher, is wooing Baptista's daughter through translations of Latin text. This specific passage is important because it is when Lucentio confesses that he is not a teacher, and that he has employed this deception to gain Bianca's affection. She replies that she does not yet trust him, but for him to have hope, thereby foreshadowing that something important is going to happen between the two of them.

taming of the shrew 4

"That 'only' came well in. Sir, list to me.
I am my father's heir and only son.
If I may have your daughter to my wife,
I'll leave her houses three or four as good,
Within rich Pisa walls, as any one
Old Signior Gremio has in Padua,
Besides two thousand ducats by the year
Of fruitful land, all which shall be her jointure.
What, have I pinched you, Signior Gremio?"

This quote is spoken by Tranio while he is impersonating Lucentio in a ploy to gain access to Baptistas' daughter Bianca. Tranio speaks of how he has gained a great inheritance and will take care of Bianca so much better than Gremio will. This demonstrates the mood of this part of the play, as the suitors are all vying for both Bianca's affection and Baptista's permission to marry her, and they are all sniping at each other during their individual courtships.

taming of the shrew 3

"Moved! In good time, let him that moved you hither
Remove you hence. I knew you at the first
You were a movable."

This is Katharine. She is shrewish and mean-spirited and generally permanently pms'ing. The importance of this quote is that it is the beginning of the "woo-ing" of Kate, and it proves just how hard it is going to be, even for an ubermensch like Petrucio, who prides himself in being able to woo anything female. (Incidentally, this quote has a special significance for me because when I played Petrucio in Kiss Me Kate Sarah Kerper, who was playing Kate, punched me. Its a good memory)

postscript: This post is a little late because I was experiencing technical difficulties with the computer.

post numero dos

"Katharine the curst!
A title for a maid of all titles the worst."

This quote, spoken by Petrucio's manservant, Grumio, basically sums up the first part of the first act, which I have read. The main character, Petrucio, has decided to take on the daunting task of wooing a violent, shrewish woman, Katharine, who the men of the town call Katharine the curst. The humor in this is that Grumio is able to see that this is a task that may be beyond the talents of his master. The irony is that though Petrucio is the master, his servant is the wiser and shrewder of the two.

1st entry

"Your honors players, hearing your amendment,,
are come to play a pleasant comedy.
For so your doctors hold it very meet,
seeing too much sadness hath congealed your blood,
And melancholy is the nurse of frenzy.
Therefore they thought it good you hear a play
and frame your mind to mirth and merriment,
which bars a thousand harms and lengthens life."

This is the passage spoken by the messenger to the tricked Christopher Sly. The Lord who started the trick has some players, or traveling actors, come and perform a play for him. This is important because the rest of the play is based on the fact that it is a play within a play and the whole thing is a practical joke. This passage is also ironic because they refer to the fact that Sly was found drunk, a state that might be considered a "frenzy", and they are "trying" to keep him sane and treating him like a lord.

yeah stufff

woot