The Taming of the Shrew

von William Shakespeare

The Taming of the Shrew is a comedy by William Shakespeare. It was one of his earlier plays, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1594. The play begins with a framing device in which a drunkard is deceived into thinking he is a nobleman who then watches the &quote;play&quote; itself, which depicts a nobleman, Petruchio, who marries an outspoken, intelligent, and bad-tempered shrew named Katherina. Petruchio manipulates and &quote;tames&quote; her until she is obedient to his will. The main subplot features the courting of Katherina's more conventional sister Bianca by numerous suitors.