The Taming of the Shrew: Key Quotations (OCR A Level English Literature): Revision Note
Exam code: H472
Key quotations
The best way to revise quotations is to group them by character, or theme. Below you will find definitions and analysis of the best quotations, arranged by the following themes:
Patriarchal gender roles
Social class and hierarchy
Disguise and identity
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.
Patriarchal gender roles
Set in a patriarchal Renaissance society, Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew explores the impact of gender roles on characters’ autonomy. Moreover, the comedy satirises misogynistic attitudes by juxtaposing dominant and aggressive male characters against meek or rebellious female characters.
“My falcon now is sharp and passing empty;
And till she stoop she must not be full-gorged”
Petruchio, Act 4, Scene 1
Meaning and context
Petruchio delivers a soliloquy (opens in a new tab) articulating his aim to tame Katherina’s wild spirit:
He explains that his reason for mistreating Katherina is to make her obedient
He describes starving a wild bird, a “falcon”: he adds that he will feed it and allow it to be “full-gorged” only when it has submitted to him
The verb “stoop” is a falconry term describing a bird returning to its master for food
Analysis
Petruchio’s soliloquy articulates his desire to physically and psychologically control Katherina: his casual abuse reflects a misogynistic patriarchal Renaissance society
Petruchio’s metaphor (opens in a new tab) comparing Katherina to a “falcon” evokes the taming of a wild bird:
His comparison dehumanises her while presenting her as a pet under his control
Petruchio’s language illustrates Renaissance gender roles: he suggests that Katherina’s independent spirit is a negative female trait that needs to be subdued
Via Petruchio’s stereotypically dominant masculinity, Shakespeare highlights power imbalances between husband and wife:
His aim to make Katherina “stoop” to him illustrates his desire to be superior
In this farcical scene, Petruchio’s starving of Katherina makes her “sharp and passing empty”, which places her in a vulnerable, reliant position
Paired quotations
“I pray you, sir, is it your will
To make a stale of me amongst these mates?”
Katherina, Act 1, Scene 1
“I must, forsooth, be forced
To give my hand opposed against my heart”
Katherina, Act 3, Scene 2
Meaning and context
In Act 1, Katherina pleads with her father Baptista not to humiliate her by offering her up to two suitors, Hortensio and Gremio
While her request suggests the suitors are not worthy, it also speaks to her desire not to marry at all and, particularly, not to be exhibited as a commodity
Later, in Act 3, she expresses her shame that Baptista has approved her marriage to Petruchio against her will and without her consent
Analysis
Shakespeare’s Katherina, daughter to the wealthy Baptista, exemplifies a daughter struggling against patriarchal marital customs in Renaissance Italy
Shakespeare typically presents his strong female characters as intelligent:
Katherina’s intellect emphasises her difficulties in a society that demands passive female obedience and subservience
She creates a pun with the word “stale”, an Elizabethan colloquialism for both a laughing-stock and a prostitute, illustrating her humiliation at her father’s hands
Katherina extends the pun with a derogatory reference to the suitors: “mates” describes them as lowly and unworthy
The alliterative phrase “forsooth be forced” emphasises the coercive nature of her marriage, which illustrates constraints on female self-determination:
She describes her marriage as one that opposes her own wishes (her “heart”), revealing women’s lack of agency in Renaissance marital contracts
Examiner Tips and Tricks
Examiners reward answers which link ideas and themes in the given extract to the rest of the play. A convincing way to do this is to include short quotations or references from elsewhere in the play which show a connection, contrast, or that illustrate thematic or character development. The trick is to show how Shakespeare develops these themes and how they are shown by the end. It is equally valuable to include “paired quotations”: two quotations that might not feature in the extract but show these connections or changes.
Social class and hierarchy
In The Taming of the Shrew, Shakespeare satirises the performative nature of social class in Renaissance Italy. Shakespeare’s hyperbolic, comedic depiction of masters and noblemen playing pranks on servants and lower-class characters emphasises power imbalances. Equally, these power plays present hierarchy as a social construct built upon outward appearance and behaviour rather than a fixed reality. Even upper-class characters demean and deceive their peers in a bid for dominance in a competitive, status-driven Renaissance society.
“I smell sweet savours and I feel soft things:
Upon my life, I am a lord indeed”
Christopher Sly, Induction, Scene 2
Meaning and context
In the induction, a passing lord and his huntsmen play a joke on the drunken tinker Christopher Sly, who they find sleeping outside of an ale-house
When Sly is offered smelling sweet fruit and laid upon a sweet-smelling bed, Sly is persuaded that he may, in fact, be a lord
Analysis
Shakespeare’s induction is a comic introduction to the theme of social class:
Shakespeare’s presentation of Sly as drunk and unsophisticated is a typical representation of a comedic lower-class character
The lowly Sly is subjected to humiliation by the ruling class
Shakespeare highlights the fragility of social hierarchy:
The scene reflects the way luxurious goods that are “sweet” and “soft” represent high status and class, illustrating the superficiality of social class
Sly is easily persuaded that he is of noble birth simply because he imagines a more luxurious and fragrant environment: “I am a lord indeed”
Sly, who previously speaks in prose to represent his lower-class status, begins to speak in blank verse when he begins to believe that he is a lord
His altered language presents social status as a fluid concept
Paired quotations
“I come to wive it wealthily in Padua;
If wealthily, then happily in Padua”
Petruchio, Act 1, Scene 2
“To me she’s married, not unto my clothes”
Petruchio, Act 3, Scene 2
Meaning and context
In Act 1, Petruchio, a wealthy gentleman from Verona, comes to Padua to find a rich wife:
He claims that if he is able to find a wealthy wife it will be a happy marriage
In Act 3, when Petruchio arrives for his wedding in strange attire, he tells Baptista that he plans to marry Katherina dressed this way because she is marrying him, not his status
Analysis
Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew examines Renaissance customs that view marriage as a contract that improves financial and social status:
As well as this, Petruchio’s already wealthy status affords him the opportunity to court upper-class women
Shakespeare characterises Petruchio as mercenary: he prioritises the dowry over love:
His alliterative phrase “wive it wealthily” underscores his nonchalant attitude to marriage, as well as his financial motivations
In Act 3, Shakespeare uses comedy to challenge Renaissance attitudes to social status:
Petruchio, the comic villain, asserts that Katherina is married to him and “not his clothes”, reflecting his disinterest in outward appearance and social expectations
He embarrasses Baptista when he arrives for his wedding “fantastically dressed”, illustrating his irreverence towards societal conventions
Examiner Tips and Tricks
Examiners recommend using quotations as support for a thoughtful argument that closely links to the question. Therefore, rather than trying to write lots of short, under-developed paragraphs on a plethora of quotations, it is better to choose quotations carefully and closely analyse the way the character’s dialogue represents ideas or relationships. As well as literary techniques, you could consider the dynamic of the scene, the tone of the character’s voice, and the intent behind their words. Essentially, examiners want to see how Shakespeare’s methods are understood by audiences.
Disguise and identity
Shakespeare’s comedy employs disguise as a tool for deception. By manipulating others’ perceptions, characters exert influence and secure their personal objectives. Female characters manipulate their own identities to avoid marriage, win husbands, or find peace, while male characters deceive others to improve their positions. Shakespeare challenges rigid societal boundaries by presenting identity as a fluid concept.
Paired quotations
“And not a jot of Tranio in your mouth:
Tranio is changed into Lucentio”
Lucentio, Act 1, Scene 1
“Love wrought these miracles. Bianca’s love
Made me exchange my state with Tranio”
Lucentio, Act 5, Scene 1
Meaning and context
When Baptista decrees that Bianca’s tutors are the only men allowed access to her, Lucentio plots with his servant Tranio:
He decides to impersonate a tutor while Tranio pretends to be Lucentio
Lucentio tells Tranio to speak like him and to never mention the name “Tranio” in a bid to convince Baptista he is a gentleman
In Act 5, Lucentio reveals to Baptista that he and Tranio traded roles in the name of love, and that he and Bianca have been secretly married
Analysis
Typical for Shakespearean comedy, disguise complicates the play’s love dilemma:
Lucentio’s impersonation of a tutor illustrates the elaborate scheming that becomes necessary in a patriarchal society that rigidly controls courtship
Shakespeare challenges Elizabethan social hierarchical customs by presenting masters manipulating servants to achieve personal success:
Lucentio instructs his servant to impersonate him by sounding less like a servant and more like a master, so he can deceive Baptista and woo Bianca
The short, rhyming phrase “not a jot of Tranio” effectively eradicates the identity of his servant
Shakespeare satirises the competitive nature of Renaissance courtship:
In Act 5, Lucentio explains that his love for Bianca was behind his deception
His hyperbolic reveal (“Bianca’s love / Made me”) undercuts his trickery as he endeavours to present his aims as pure
Further, he describes his successful deceptions as “miracles”, an ironic framing of his scheming
Paired quotations
“They call me Katherina that do talk of me”
Katherina, Act 2, Scene 1
“You lie, in faith; for you are call’d plain Kate,
And bonny Kate and sometimes Kate the curst”
Petruchio, Act 2, Scene 1
Meaning and context
When Petruchio meets Katherina for the first time, he calls her “Kate”:
Katherina defiantly tells him people call her by her full name
However, Petruchio rudely ignores this request and tells her she is lying:
He suggests she is known by names that describe her appearance (“plain” or “bonny”) and her difficult nature (“curst”)
Analysis
Shakespeare’s Katherina is characterised as independent and confident: her identity, initially, is presented as fixed:
By insisting Petruchio call her by her full name, she attempts to stand up to him and retain her self-hood
Shakespeare raises themes of identity in his depiction of Petruchio’s "taming" of Katherina:
Petruchio undermines Katherina by renaming her “Kate”
He further begins to dismantle her identity by referring to her with superficial and uncomplimentary names given by others
Initially, Katherina’s identity is defined by her rebellious and defiant nature:
Here, Petruchio reminds her she is labelled “curst”, which, particularly, refers to the unlikeliness of her finding a husband
Shakespeare’s presentation of identity raises questions about gender roles and customs:
Petruchio’s disdain towards typical courtship rituals confuses Katherina (and the other characters)
His rhetoric, simultaneously praising and insulting Katherina, ultimately serves to transform her into an obedient and, seemingly, mild-tempered, happy wife
Sources
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]
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