Introduction/Themes

The convoluted plot of Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew begins within the Induction and immediately after, when the entity of the frame story is established. The Lord's practical joke on Sly and Sly's resultant false and farcical relationship with his supposed wife provide for the outlying story, while the play that the traveling group of actors performs for Sly adds the remaining story of the frame tale. One of the major themes of the play is established in the beginning with the situation between Baptista and his two daughters, Katherine and Bianca, and Bianca's two suitors, Hortensio and Gremio. In the play, marriage is not approached in terms of love. Instead, suitors seek women who are submissive (Bianca) instead of fiery and independent (Katherine). Money also plays a big role in marriage, as is evidenced when Baptista chooses Tranio (disguised as Lucentio) to marry Bianca if his father can guarantee his wealth, simply because he has more material prosperity to offer Bianca than does Gremio. Another prominent theme in the play is the effect that social status has on social relationships and marriages. Baptista welcomes Petruchio to his home, even though he doesn't believe the marriage between he and Katherine will work out, because of his deceased father's (Antonio's) status in Verona.