The Taming of the Shrew: Interpretations (OCR A Level English Literature): Revision Note

Interpretations

AO5 assesses your ability to understand different ways of reading and interpreting texts. Those different readings can take different forms, from interpretations discussed by different members of the peer group in your class, to reading and utilising published critical material, to watching and analysing different productions of plays.

There are numerous ways to explore “different interpretations” to meet the AO5 criterion and you should explore a range of secondary readings to supplement your understanding of the text. These can include:

• Exploring critics

• Interpretations over time

• Dramatisations

It is worth noting that editions of the play vary. Spellings of characters’ names can vary between editions, for example Petruchio/Petruccio, and Act 3 is sometimes split into three scenes rather than two.

Exploring critics

Different critics will offer varied insights and interpretations of The Taming of the Shrew and citations will lend credibility and authority to your analysis. Referencing well-known critics demonstrates that your interpretation is grounded in literary criticism. It will also enhance the validity of your argument. By citing multiple critics you can present a more comprehensive and balanced analysis and demonstrate the different range of perspectives and interpretations surrounding the play. 

Below are some notable critics who have commented on The Taming of the Shrew:

John C Bean

• John C Bean, Professor Emeritus, English at Seattle University, has published numerous articles on literary subjects, including Shakespeare

• Bean’s 1980 study, ‘Comic Structure and the Humanizing of Kate in The Taming of the Shrew’, argues that Katherina emerges as a “romantic character”

• Bean considers Katherina to be humanised in the denouement:

  • He claims the “role-playing of Petruchio” (his behaviour and language play) creates chaos for Katherina

  • Thus, Katherina ultimately emerges from a “depersonalised” farce as if from a “dream”

• Bean interprets the play as a revision of fabliau folk tales of shrew-taming: 

  • Katherina, he claims, is the opposite of “the fabliau stereotype of the shrew turned household drudge” as she becomes a willing participant in love

• He suggests Katherina exemplifies “the liberation of women from medieval notions of male autocracy”:

  • This claim argues that the comedy presents Katherina shedding a destructive social mask to discover a deeper sense of self

Coppélia Kahn

• Coppélia Kahn, Professor Emerita, English at Brown University, is the author of various articles on Shakespeare’s plays and poems:

  • She focuses on gender theory, race, and nation in 20th-century constructions of Shakespeare

• Kahn’s 1975/1977 ‘The Taming of the Shrew: Shakespeare’s Mirror of Marriage’ argues that Petruchio is a representative or “puppet” of patriarchal attitudes: 

  • She suggests that, rather than being Katherina’s rescuer, Petruchio is a satirical embodiment of male attitudes to women

• Kahn points out that Katherina’s defiant attitude to societal norms gives her a “psychological and moral validity”: 

  • Katherina is “a woman trapped in the self-destructive role of shrew by her male guardians”

• Kahn suggests that Katherina manages Petruchio’s “taming” of her by offering him what he needs while maintaining her own “intellectual freedom”:

  • She claims that Katherina appears to understand, by the end of the play, that her cleverness cannot be tolerated in her society

  • By denying it she is able to retain her inner independence

• Kahn considers Katherina’s final monologue to be ironic:

  • While she is outwardly compliant, she understands a woman’s power to authenticate a man by acknowledging him as her master

• Kahn’s argument centres on the feminine strength that lies behind submission

Gail Kern Paster

• Gail Kern Paster is an American Shakespeare scholar, historian, and author

• In the 2003 ‘The Humor of It: Bodies, Fluids, and Social Discipline in Shakespearean Comedy’, she discusses Elizabethan understanding of biology and psychology

• Paster considers Elizabethan doctrine of the bodily fluids of blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile, and the behaviours resulting from particular combinations:

  • The behaviours include sanguine, phlegmatic, choleric, and melancholic

• Paster suggests both Katherina and Petruchio are inclined to choler and violence:

  • She considers the characterisations in terms of how their “socially outrageous” behaviour is presented as “produced by chronic humoral imbalance”

• Paster claims Katherina offers Petruchio the opportunity to expend his choleric temper on a social outcast (an “unruly woman”):

  • Both characters transform, but only Katherina’s “reformation is called a taming”

• Paster links the play’s induction to the main plot: she argues that the play’s “underlying interest in social regulation” focuses on the lower-class Sly and gentrified Katherina:

  • Paster argues that Shakespeare shows both the lower-class tinker and the gentrified Katherina undergoing behavioural “reformation”

  • While the lord subjects Sly to a sensory manipulation, Petruchio subjects Katherina to deprivation; both aim to “cure” physiological ailments 

• Paster suggests Elizabethan plays may “biologize” social hierarchy:

  • Of Sly, Paster suggests the “sensual inducements” offered intend to “warm” him “into activity from the lethargy associated with lowness and drink”

  • For instance, the line “frame your mind to mirth and merriment, / Which bars a thousand harms and lengthens life” may suggest Sly's identity is an illness

Interpretations over time

Interpretations of The Taming of the Shrew have evolved significantly over time, reflecting shifts in cultural and literary perspectives. Below are some examples of how interpretations of the play have evolved over time. These are explored in relation to some schools of critical reading. 

Early interpretations: 17th century

• Early audiences of The Taming of the Shrew may have viewed the ending as a restoration of natural patriarchal order:

  • In the Elizabethan era, marriage and a family were considered to be a kind of government that maintained social order

• Some early critics reviewed the play as lacking in depth, viewing it as a physical comedy about domestic management rather than a complex study of gender:

  • Early audiences may have interpreted the play in the context of the widely circulated domestic manuals and marital conduct books at the time

  • Elizabethan rituals punished husbands and wives who broke traditional gender roles because this upset the social order that marriage was meant to maintain

  • Elizabethan words like “shrew” or “scold” described irritable wives who undermined the assumed authority of husbands

• Around 1611, some two decades later, John Fletcher’s ‘The Woman’s Prize’, also known as ‘The Tamer Tamed’, provided a sequel to Shakespeare’s original play:

  • In this play, Petruchio’s second wife reverses the roles and tames him

  • This suggests gender themes in the original play may have caused some controversy

Romantic interpretations: 18th-19th centuries

• Eighteenth-century reactions to The Taming of the Shrew are best understood by alterations to the original play:

  • Responses that the play contained too much sub-plot meant that the play was reduced to the main plot

  • The induction and sub-plot (the romance between Bianca and Lucentio) were often dropped, limiting the play to three acts

• Petruchio’s “taming” of Katherina was considered too vulgar by some critics:

  • Performances were altered to present physical comedy rather than psychological torture, in line with Enlightenment ideals (like empathy and tolerance)

• Other critics considered the play as a celebration of romantic love, suggesting that the “taming” was mutual and educational for both Katherina and Petruchio

• Critic William Hazlitt (1778-1830) praised the “bustle, animation, and rapidity of action”:

  • He perceives Petruchio to be a master of trickery, and claims the character demonstrates how stubborn self-will is conquered by an even stronger will

Marxist interpretations: 20th century

• Marxist interpretations of The Taming of the Shrew examine depictions of social mobility:

  • For instance, the sub-plot of Lucentio and Bianca explores class mobility 

• Such interpretations consider how Renaissance society viewed class identity:

  • In the induction, the lord shows disdain for the lower-class Sly — it suggests clothes can make a lord out of a tinker, cutting against what the culture officially believed

• Through a Marxist lens, both Bianca and Katherina present early capitalist ideologies in their depiction of daughters viewed as commodities:

  • Katherina and Bianca’s marriages illustrate the transfer of wealth

• Marxist interpretations consider the way Katherina is considered a valuable asset once tamed, thus maintaining patriarchal, ruling-class power: 

  • The mercenary Petruchio aims to humble the upper-class Katherina, refusing her luxurious clothing and goods, while he exploits his servants

• A Marxist analysis of Katherina’s monologue in Act 5 considers the way she presents marriage as an economic transaction and underscores Renaissance power dynamics:

  • She discusses a husband’s “painful labour”, suggesting that a wife offers “Too little payment for so great a debt”

  • Katherina goes on to suggest a woman’s “duty” to her husband is such “as the subject owes the prince”

Feminist interpretations: 20th century

• Early feminist critics explored the play as an illustration of gender ideals:

  • Male characters exemplify competitiveness and violence, while female characters represent or defy female ideals of gentility 

• Nevertheless, some feminist criticism notes that Elizabethan performances had males playing female roles, which presents attitudes to gender fluidity

• While many feminist explorations of the play consider Petruchio's violence as a representation of abusive marriages, others consider Katherina and Petruchio as equals

• Germaine Greer, in ‘The Female Eunuch’, says “Kate has the uncommon good fortune” to “find Petruchio, who is man enough to know what he wants and how to get it”:

  • She suggests the play is “not a knockabout farce of wife-battering” but a “cunning adaptation of a folk-motif to show the forging of a partnership between equals”

  • Greer claims that Katherina escapes the pseudo-humility of more traditional women like Bianca

• Judith Butler, in contrast, examines gender identity as performative:

  • In her 1990 book, ‘Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity’, she proposes that people enact “performative” acts and social roles over and over; through this constant repetition, society creates the illusion that gender is a fixed, biological truth rather than a social construction

  • The play, and specifically the character of Katherina, can therefore be read through this lens

New Historicist interpretations: 20th-21st centuries

• New Historicist criticism of The Taming of the Shrew notes that the induction reminds us that Shakespeare uses a play-within-a-play structure:

  • Thus, Katherina and Petruchio’s relationship is not meant to be understood as reality and is designed to be ambiguous

• Modern criticism of Petruchio notes that his dressing-up and scripting of the part he will play to tame Katherina indicates male dominance is a farce

• New Historicist examinations of the play urge the consideration of the play as a comedy:

  • While it presents Katherina’s failed challenge to patriarchal authority, Bianca and the widow do not obey their husbands

  • This examination considers how Shakespeare’s tragedies typically highlight societal injustices while comedies satirise human fallibility 

• Still, some critics argue that Petruchio’s psychological and physical torture of Katherina reflects Elizabethan rituals designed to punish men or women who defy gender norms:

  • Karen Newman, Professor of Literature at Brown University, considers the play as a reflection of Elizabethan practices that aimed to maintain rigid social roles

  • She compares aspects of the play to skimmingtons, rituals designed to shame “hen-pecked” husbands and assertive wives

Dramatisations

Dramatisations of The Taming of the Shrew convey different readings and interpretations of the text. Directors and actors make choices regarding performance, setting, costumes and character portrayals, all of which can influence the audience's understanding of the play. There are many different dramatisations of The Taming of the Shrew which present diverse readings and interpretations of the play. These interpretations shed light on the depth and complexity of the characters, highlighting diverse aspects of their motivations and psychological states. 

Examining various productions of The Taming of the Shrew will enable you to appreciate different interpretations of the characters and themes and how they may have evolved over time, reflecting shifts in society and culture. Below are two examples of different film productions of The Taming of the Shrew, though you should view a wide range of film and stage performances of the play to help inform your own interpretations.

Kiss Me, Kate: Dorothy Kingsley (1953)

Kiss Me, Kate is a 1953 film adaptation of Cole Porter's 1948 musical. The musical romantic comedy film was directed by George Sidney and written by Dorothy Kingsley. The title employs one of Petruchio’s final lines. In the film, the original play’s comedic elements were modernised by presenting a recently divorced couple. The characters Fred Graham and Lilli Vanessi are musical theatre actors who find themselves performing the roles of Katherina and Petruchio. 

• While post-war society supported the nuclear family, noir films or sophisticated sex comedies about bachelors and career women illustrated alternative attitudes

• The film draws attention to the physicality of the original play by incorporating the throwing of objects at the camera, shot in three-dimensional cinematography

• The character Lilli (who recreates Katherina) has divorced her husband Fred:

  • She blames the divorce on Fred's ego and Fred blames Lilli's temper

  • But the film, like the Shakespeare play, hints at the passion between the couple

  • By the end of the film, and after quarrels on and off stage, the couple are reunited

  • This reflects the popularity of “happily-ever-after” 1950s romances

• The film shows Lilli working on Broadway, which may draw on the number of women gaining job independence after World War II:

  • However, like Katherina, Lilli’s temper causes problems in her environment

• The film recreates the sub-plot of The Taming of the Shrew in the guise of flirtations between Lois Lane and Bill Calhoun:

  • Modernising themes of courtly love in the Shakespeare play, the film features Lois, a club singer, and her love interest Bill, who is a gambler

• The backstage-and-onstage structure of the film reinvents the Sly frame: Shakespeare’s play is again performed inside another fiction:

  • Katherina’s submission speech is delivered by Lilli in character, which builds distance in the moment

10 Things I Hate About You: Gil Junger (1999)

10 Things I Hate About You is a 1999 American teen romantic comedy directed by Gil Junger. The film was created from a screenplay written by Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith. It is set in an American high-school and stars Julia Stiles as Kat, representing Katherina, and Heath Ledger as Patrick, representing Petruchio. 

• Films about teenagers were popular in the 1990s; they explored coming-of-age themes and teen angst, focusing on crises of identity:

  • The 1990s also saw a revival of classic literary adaptations 

• In keeping with the Shakespeare play, the film depicts a younger sister, Bianca Stratford, whose father prohibits her from dating until her feminist older sister, Kat, starts dating:

  • The father, like Baptista, is an anxious single father 

  • Unlike Baptista, Dr Stratford’s main concern is teen pregnancy

• The film adapts the sub-plot of Shakespeare’s play, maintaining the theme of trickery:

  • The superficial and love-struck Bianca’s prospective love interest is Cameron

  • Cameron recruits “bad boy” classmate Patrick Verona to win over Kat so that he can pursue his romance with Bianca

• While Kat is as clever and antagonistic as Katherina, Patrick is as rude and off-hand as Petruchio: both characters appear as misfits and defy societal expectations

• Patrick, unlike Petruchio, is a kind character, epitomising the charming, misunderstood rebel of iconic 1980s films such as The Breakfast Club:

  • Patrick offers a lighter and more teen-friendly version of Petruchio

• The film pays tribute to Shakespeare through a variety of references:

  • The students attend Padua High School

  • Kat’s class assignment is to write her own version of Shakespeare's Sonnet 141

• Critical response to the film was positive: particularly praised was the sophisticated script

Sources 

• Dutton, R. & Howard, J.E. (eds.) (2003) A Companion to Shakespeare’s Works

• Greer, G. (2006) The Female Eunuch. Harper Perennial

• Kahn, C. (1981) Man’s Estate: Masculine Identity in Shakespeare. University of California Press. Accessed 24 July 2026

• Lenz, C.R.S., et al. (eds.) (1980) The Woman’s Part: Feminist Criticism of Shakespeare. University of Illinois Press. Accessed 24 July 2026

• “Kiss Me, Kate Director’s Word” (n.d.) Shakespeare Theatre Company. Available at: https://www.shakespearetheatre.org/blog/kiss-me-kate-directors-words/ (opens in a new tab) (Accessed 24 July 2026)

• Smirnov, A.A. (1936) Shakespeare: A Marxist Interpretation

• Shakespeare, W. (1998) The Taming of the Shrew, Oxford Complete Works [SME Digital Texts Library edition]

• Shakespeare, W. (1951) The Taming of the Shrew, in P. Alexander (ed.) The Complete Works of William Shakespeare: The Alexander Text. London: Collins [edition printed in OCR exam papers]