The War of the Sexes in The Taming Of The Shrew :: The Taming Of The Shrew William Shakespeare

The Taming Of The Shrew The Battle Continues in the fight of the Sexes The plot of William Shakespe ars The Taming Of The Shrew is derived from the popular war of the sexes theme in which males and females are pitted against one anformer(a) for dominance. Although the diddle has been condemned for the blatant sexist status it has toward women, a close examination of the play reveals that it is not a shamhood of how men should put women in their place. The play is, in fact, a comedy nigh an assertive woman coping with how she is expected to act in purchase order and of how one must obey the unwritten rules of a society to be accepted by it. Although the play ends with her outwardly conforming to the norms of society, this is in meet only, not in mind. Although she assumes the role of the obedient wife, inwardly she still retains her assertiveness. The play begins with an induction in which a drunkard, Christopher tricksy, is fooled into believing he is a pansy and has a p lay performed for him. The play he watches is what constitutes the main body of The Taming Of The Shrew. In it, a wealthy landowner, Baptista Minola, attempts to have his two daughters married. One is very shrewish, Katherine, darn the other is the beautiful and gentle Bianca. In order to ensure Katherine is married, Baptista disallows Bianca to be espoused until Katherine is wed, forcing the many suitors to Bianca to find a mate for Katherine in order for them to postulate for Biancas love. Most of the plays humor comes from the way in which characters create false realities by disguising themselves as other people, a device first introduced by having Christopher Sly believe he is someone he is not and then by having the main play performed for him. By putting The Taming Of The Shrew in a play within a play structure, Shakespeare immediately lets the audience know that the play is not real thus making all events in the play false realities. Almost all characters in the play take on identities other than their own at some point of time during the play. Sly as a king, Tranio as Lucentio, Lucentio as Cambio, Hortensio as Litio and the pedant as Vicentio are all examples of this. Another example of this is Katherine as an obedient wife.