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

Plot summary

Examiners always praise students who clearly know the plot of the texts they are studying, as having this base of knowledge leads to the best exam responses. Below you will find:

• A general overview of the whole play

• Detailed summaries by act

Overview

One of Shakespeare’s earliest comedies, The Taming of the Shrew is thought to have been written around 1590, at a time in which the role of women in marriage was a topic of much debate. The play highlights aspects of appearance and identity, especially within the context of a rigid social hierarchy. Characterised by traditional comic devices, such as disguise, complicated romantic plotting, and a denouement which restores a sense of order, the play also employs farce to satirise gender roles and power dynamics.

The main plot explores the courtship and marriage of elder daughter Katherina, while the sub-plot depicts the courtship and marriage of Bianca, the youngest daughter of Baptista Minola. 

The Taming of the Shrew, though, is a play within a play. Shakespeare employs an induction which frames the main story and introduces themes of disguise and identity. In this scene, a Lord, accompanied by his train of huntsmen and servingmen, tricks a drunken tinker, Christopher Sly, into believing he is a noble lord who has been suffering from lunacy.

Hereafter, the play proper begins in Padua, Italy, where the audience is introduced to Lucentio (a scholar from Pisa) who, along with two men, Gremio and Hortensio, wish to woo Bianca. The wealthy Baptista’s order that Bianca cannot marry until her older sister Katherina is married begins the play’s conflict. Amidst a web of deceit, Lucentio exchanges identities with his servant Tranio to secretly court and wed Bianca behind her father’s back. At the same time, Petruchio, a gentleman of Verona, assumes a domineering persona to tame the spirited and resistant Katherina. Petruchio’s humiliation and mistreatment of Katherina to turn her into a subservient and obedient wife raises themes of gender and misogyny, while Lucentio’s deceptions in order to marry Bianca highlight the intricacies of love in a patriarchal society that considers marriage a financial contract. 

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.

Act-by-act plot summary

Act 1

• The induction frames the play: a drunken tinker Christopher Sly wakes from his sleep outside a village ale-house and is tricked by a noble huntsman into believing he is a lord:

  • The huntsmen dress Sly in luxurious clothing and offer him sweet treats

  • The lord’s servant, Barthol’mew, dresses as a lady; Sly wonders if he has been dreaming or if he is, indeed, married to a lady

  • A group of actors arrive and put on a play for Sly

• The play proper begins with Lucentio, a travelling scholar from Pisa, arriving in Padua to study at the university

• Lucentio and his servants see the wealthy gentleman Baptista and his two daughters, Katherina and Bianca:

  • Two suitors to Bianca, Hortensio and Gremio, wish to court Bianca

  • Baptista tells them Bianca cannot marry until her older sister has a husband

  • Neither Hortensio nor Gremio want to marry the bad-tempered Katherina

• Baptista explains that tutors are the only men allowed near Bianca:

  • Lucentio, who has instantly fallen in love with Bianca, plots to woo her

  • He decides to disguise himself as a schoolmaster while his servant, Tranio, impersonates Lucentio

  • Tranio (disguised as Lucentio) introduces himself to Gremio as another of Bianca’s suitors

• Petruchio arrives in Padua looking for a wealthy wife:

  • While Hortensio tells him Katherina is too ill-tempered to be a good wife, Petruchio is not dissuaded

Act 2

• Katherina ties up Bianca and demands she choose a husband from her many suitors

• Baptista’s anxiety over Katherina’s behaviour worsens

• Gremio visits Baptista with a Latin teacher Cambio (Lucentio in disguise)

• Rival suitor Hortensio disguises himself as a music tutor, Licio, to win Bianca’s love:

  • Petruchio arrives with Licio and expresses his desire to marry Katherina

• Baptista accepts the tutors into his household and warns Petruchio about Katherina:

  • Petruchio asks what dowry he will have; Baptista offers half his lands after his death plus twenty thousand crowns on condition Petruchio wins Katherina’s love

• Petruchio is aroused by Katherina’s temper and they engage in a battle of wits 

• Baptista informs Gremio and Tranio (Lucentio’s disguised servant) that whoever has the largest dowry can marry Bianca:

  • Baptista fully believes he is speaking directly to the wealthy Lucentio, completely unaware that he is actually negotiating with Tranio, his disguised servant

  • Tranio easily outbids Gremio by claiming to possess vast lands and multiple merchant ships; Baptista agrees that his offer is best, but because “Lucentio” is young, he insists that Lucentio’s father must guarantee the wealth — Bianca will only marry “Lucentio” if this assurance is made

  • This strict condition means the matter is not fully settled and forces Tranio to plot to find a “fake” father

Act 3

• Lucentio (disguised as Cambio) and Hortensio (disguised as Licio) argue over Bianca

• In private, Lucentio reveals his true identity to Bianca and his plan to win her:

  • She offers him hope, but Hortensio, who also reveals his real identity, is not met so well

• Seeing “Cambio” flirting with Bianca, Hortensio grows suspicious and vows that if she casts her eyes on a lesser man, he will give her up

• Petruchio’s late arrival and strange attire at their wedding embarrasses Katherina:

  • They depart from their wedding early, missing the feast

• Lucentio and Tranio discuss plans to convince Baptista they can pay Bianca’s dowry:

  • They must find someone who will pretend to be Lucentio’s father, Vincentio

Act 4

• At Petruchio’s house in the country, servants discuss the terrible ordeal Katherina has endured on their journey home:

  • When the couple arrive, Petruchio is rude, prevents Katherina from eating, and denies her sleep: he tells the audience his plan to subdue her spirit 

• In Padua, Hortensio grows impatient with Bianca’s growing fondness for Lucentio and decides to look elsewhere

• Lucentio’s other servant, Biondello, finds a passing pedant who is willing to pretend to be Lucentio’s father, Vincentio:

  • They plot to have the impersonator convince Baptista of the family’s wealth and status so that Lucentio can marry Bianca

• At Petruchio’s house, Katherina’s mistreatment continues to confuse her but she begins to submit

• In Padua, the pedant disguised as Vincentio approaches Baptista and persuades him he is able to pay Bianca’s dowry

• Biondello tells Lucentio that he and Bianca’s marriage has been approved:

  • He advises them to marry in secret while Baptista is otherwise occupied

• On the journey back to Padua, Katherina and Petruchio continue to argue, however Katherina soon relents and agrees with the absurd things Petruchio says:

  • On the way, they meet the real Vincentio, Lucentio’s actual father

Act 5 

• In Padua, Biondello swiftly guides Lucentio and Bianca to Saint Luke’s church so they can secretly marry:

  • Meanwhile, Petruchio, Katherina and the real Vincentio arrive at Lucentio’s house

  • When Vincentio knocks, the pedant (still disguised as Vincentio) looks at the window and claims that he is Lucentio’s true father

• Biondello returns, followed by Baptista and Tranio (still disguised as Lucentio):

  • To protect the secret wedding, Biondello and Tranio both pretend they have never seen the real Vincentio before

  • Vincentio concludes that Tranio has murdered his son and stolen his clothes; he is about to be hauled away to jail when the newly married Lucentio and Bianca arrive

  • Knowing their plot is exposed, Biondello, Tranio and the pedant flee

• Lucentio begs his father’s forgiveness and reveals the entire plot

• In Lucentio’s house, a wedding feast is held to celebrate the marriages of Bianca to Lucentio, Katherina to Petruchio, as well as Hortensio to an older widow

• The men decide to test their wives’ obedience by calling them to their side:

  • While Bianca and the widow snub their new husbands, Katherina immediately comes to Petruchio’s call

  • Baptista is so amazed by this transformation that he happily adds another twenty thousand crowns to Petruchio’s winnings

• Petruchio asks Katherina to teach the guests about a woman’s duty to her husband:

  • She gives a speech that advocates for a woman’s servitude in marriage 

  • The play ends as Petruchio and Katherina leave to go to bed, having won the wager

The Taming of the Shrew contains episodes rounding off the Christopher Sly induction which may echo passages written in later versions of the play, but are not printed in the First Folio. The exchange between Sly, the lord, and a tapster (alehouse worker) refers to the play they have just watched and Sly’s desire to go home and tame his 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]