Suitors
Who gets final say about who Katherine and Bianca will marry?
Baptista
What is a shrew?
Shrew is also an offensive term used to refer to a woman who is argumentative, nagging, and ill tempered.
Identify a motif or a recurring idea in Act 1.
Marriage
Women's oppression
Patriarchy
What are qualities that make a woman a desirable wife during this time period?
Wealthy, beautiful, obedient to the expectations of a woman during this time.
What is it called when you treat someone in a certain way based on a group or category the individual belongs to, instead of on the person as an individual?
Discrimination.
What qualities is Petruchio looking for in a wife?
Rich.
He doesn't care if she is beautiful or ugly, young or old.
How is Katherine described?
Katherine is wealthy, young, and beautiful; she has had the best upbringing for a lady. However, she is also intolerable, rude and moody.
What is Grumio’s purpose? What literary technique does Shakespeare use to achieve this?
Comic relief - Puns - “knock you”
Why is a family's reputation so important in this play?
Social Hierarchy.
Define objectification.
Treating someone more like an object than a person.
What is Gremio's plan to woo Bianca?
He hires Cambio (Lucentio) to be an English tutor and to teach her stories of love while putting in a good word for Gremio. Gremio gifts Cambio to Bianca.
His motivation is Bianca's beauty, and Baptista's money and reputation.
Why do Gremio and Hortensio decide to work together and join forces? What obstacles do they face?
To find a suitor to marry Katherine.
Katherine does not wish to get married and her behavior makes her unappealing to men during the Elizabethan time.
Define aside.
When a character makes a brief remark revealing his thoughts or feelings to the audience, or another character, yet unheard by the other characters on stage.
Identify two people that Katherine resents and explain why she feels this way.
Baptista - Forcing her to marry, making her feel desperate.
Bianca - Bianca behaves like the perfect daughter and ideal wife.
Provide an example of someone in the play being objectified.
Bianca and Katherine are being treated as objects rather than individuals. Bianca and Kate are considered Baptista’s possessions. Baptista gives them and their dowry to their husbands. The girls have no choice and no voice. Treated similarly to a financial transaction.
What is Hortensio plan to win Bianca's hand in marriage?
What is his motivation?
He will dress up as a Music tutor to get close to Bianca and win her love. Petruchio will gift him to Katherine.
Bianca's beauty and Baptista's money & family reputation.
What is the term used for the property or money given to a husband by the bride's family?
Dowry
Explain a reason in Act 1, when Shakespeare shifts from blank verse to prose.
Gremio & Hortensio conspire together.
Lucentio and Tranio conspire together.
List two of the elements of the Historical Lens. Think about the societal values discussed thus far in the play.
EDUCATION
MARRIAGE / COURTSHIP
ANCESTRY / FAMILY REPUTATION
SOCIAL HIERARCHY
How has social hierarchy and family reputation played a role in the play thus far?
Lucentio's education.
Opportunity to be a suitor and court either Bianca or Katherine.
Lucentio - Vincentio's son, good reputation, rich
Petruchio - Antonio's son, Knows Baptista
Provide two details of Lucentio's plan to win Bianca's hand in marriage.
What is his motivation?
He is going to dress up as a English Tutor to get close to her and woo her with love poems and stories of love.
Tranio will pretend to be Lucentio and wear his clothes.
Biondello agrees to play along as well.
He believes he has fallen in love at first sight. He admires her behavior as well.
What lie does Lucentio tell Biondello to ensure that he will keep up the ruse/trick of Tranio pretending to be Lucentio?
That upon arrival Lucentio got into a fight with a man and killed him.
Tranio is pretending to Lucentio to protect him in case anyone comes after him seeking revenge.
Identify the literary device Petruchio uses when he repeats “HAVE I NOT” to show his strength and arrogance, and that is unafraid of a woman of a woman with a sharp tongue.
Anaphora
Explain the purpose or significance of the Induction.
The induction sets a comedic tone for the play. This prepares the audience for the lighthearted intentions and reminds them not to take the actions and events of the play too seriously.
The Lord even gives his servants the order not to laugh as they are deceiving Sly.
Define Patriarchy.
A government/society based on male dominance and power.