Taming Comedy Is a Vehicle for Satire, Essay

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Taming

Comedy is a vehicle for satire, and satire is a means by which to convey social commentary. In The Taming of the Shrew, Shakespeare uses the medium of comedy to transmit potent yet socially subversive ideas related to gender roles and norms. Cloaked in the ascription to patriarchy, The Taming of the Shrew instead describes the ridiculousness of gender inequity. Shakespeare's commitment to farce and satire are evident in the diction and characterization used throughout Taming of the Shrew. The play is constructed to evoke the gentlest nudge of discomfort in the audience, which in Shakespeare's time, would not have questioned with any sincerity the fundamental values of patriarchy and the social subjugation of women. Yet given the shrew was a trope that would have been recognizable to Elizabethan audiences, women and men had already grown uncomfortable with their proscribed roles. In order to evoke any laughter, the euphemism of the shrew to refer to a rebellious or incorrigible female would have been commonplace. Women were continually striving to stretch their boundaries, and could only do so from within the confines of the domestic sphere. The shrew is by definition a woman who persistently annoys, or nags, like the rodent the word connotes. In this case, the shrew nags in order to assert her dominance. The fact that Shakespeare has his shrew ultimately capitulate into patriarchal submission proves that the play is a satire. After all, Shakespeare relies on the frame narrative to suggest the topsy-turvy nature of the world of Katherine and Petrucio. Plays like Taming of the Shrew provided a cathartic release, respite from conformity, as well as insight into the means by which to challenge patriarchy.

There is no coincidence that Shakespeare chose the word shrew as a euphemism for the nagging wife. A shrew is similar to the word "shrewd," meaning cunning and connoting intelligence. In fact, Tranio, Lucentio's servant, remarks that Katherine is "curst and shrewd," and that she will "not be annoy'd with suitors," (Act I, scene i). The fact of Katherine's shrewdness, and not just her shrew-ness, is a prevalent theme of Taming of the Shrew. Katherine is "annoyed with suitors" because they appear to her as bumbling idiots. She is depicted immediately as being far more intelligent than Bianca, her sister who has beauty but perhaps not brains. As early as Act I, scene I, Bianca is depicted as being in need of an education, whereas Katherine most certainly is not. Katherine's rejection of the men is related to her rejection of their rank stupidity, and her knowledge that she is far superior to them in intelligence. Later, Katherine's superiority is subtly alluded to when Hortensio discusses Katherine with Petruchio. "Petruchio, shall I then come roundly to thee / And wish thee to a shrewd ill-favour'd wife? / Thou'ldst thank me but a little for my counsel," (Act I, scene ii). Hortensio is surely intimidated by Katherine because of her intelligence, her "shrewdness," and her cunning. These are qualities that threaten patriarchy and the presumed intellectual, social, and political superiority of men.

Education is a primary means by which females gain access to social, cultural, and financial capital. This was as true in Shakespeare's society as it ever was, and in fact, the theme of education is significant in Taming of the Shrew. As Hutcheon points out, "The Taming of the Shrew is a text deeply invested in the idea of education -- scenes of pedagogy fill the play, from Katherine's attack on the music teacher to Bianca and Lucentio's love lessons to Petruchio's taming of Katherine." Education is a symbol, and it is also a function. As a symbol, education represents power and particularly self-empowerment. Katherine is immediately established as a self-sufficient woman with a strong education, and is therefore contrasted sharply with her more attractive and docile younger sister Bianca. As a process, education serves as the means by which to achieve knowledge, power, and enlightenment. Education is not constricted to book learning, although book learning is as important in Taming of the Shrew as it is in The Tempest. In Taming of the Shrew, book learning is presented as being essentially gender neutral. Book learning is a universal human constant. "A system originally developed for the education of boys works equally well to educate women," (Hutcheon). Education beyond book learning entails the transformation of values, and the realization that some social structures prove inefficient.

Lucentio ironically never comes to recognize the fallacies of chauvinism, precisely because he serves as the farcical symbol of the patriarchal system.

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His character never transcends patriarchy, thereby proving that Katherine's education is far more comprehensive than his. Lucentio may have a command of book learning and classical education, but Katherine has more deeply mastered the understanding of how patriarchy functions as a social system. Furthermore, through Lucentio more than any other character in Taming of the Shrew, the audience perceives the fallacies of the system and welcomes radical change. Beck goes so far as to suggest that Lucentio is actually privy to the transformative nature of feminist liberation, and actively participates in feminist discourse himself. For example, Petruchio does tell Katherine to remove her cap, which is a core symbol in the play. In Act IV, scene iii, the cap represents the symbolic hats that people wear as they assume their gendered identities. Beck states that Petruchio's telling Katherine to remove her cap "may…be a sign that he thereby liberates her from subordination to him." Even if Lucentio is unaware of his subconscious motives of liberating Katherine, the act is symbolic on multiple levels, including the connection between the cap and gown and the motif of education. Katherine clings to the cap as a symbol of her power in their relationship, too. "Love me or love me not, I like the cap; / And it I will have." Her statement does not take into account Lucentio's feelings, because Katherine does not care about how Lucentio feels about the cap. She only cares about restoring order and balance to the power structures of society. It does appear as if Petrucio might also feel that the hat, a "bauble" in his eyes, trivializes her power, and this is why he asks Katherine to toss it.

Katherine is perpetually aware of how Lucentio, and all men, intend to make her docile and subservient, and it remains her perpetual struggle to resist. When she states, "you mean to make a puppet of me," Shakespeare has Katherine take the lead and two men echo her sentiments" first the tailor and then Petruchio. The men are thoroughly perplexed by a woman who has the strength and courage to stand up for herself and assert her needs, wants, and desires. That a woman's opinions, needs, and desires should be subpar to men is the core political problem of the play. Katherine is only labeled as a "shrew" because she acts more like a man than a woman, and in so doing, subverts gender roles and norms. By the close of the play, Katherine has so fully owned her designation as the shrew that the term ceases to be an insult, even when it is bandied about as such in the play. Interestingly, Petruchio has likewise come to realize the fault in perceiving strong women as being problematic. When Baptista states, "Now, in good sadness, son Petruchio, / I think thou hast the veriest shrew of all," Petruchio responds, "Well, I say no," (Act V, scene ii). Herein begins a wager between the men, based on the perceived obedience of the women. Katherine is clever enough to subvert the wager itself by feigning obedience.

Furthermore, Katherine does not intimidate Lucentio, but his motives for courting her are entirely shallow and based on his desire to marry a rich woman. The dynamic serves a dual purpose. On the one hand, Shakespeare subverts the prevailing norm of women being financially dependent on men. By suggesting Lucentio wants to be dependent on a female for his financial security, Shakespeare flips the typical scenario. Lucentio is fine with being with a powerful, shrewd, and rich woman who can potentially serve as a partner or equal if not a superior to him. Second, the dynamic that emerges between Katherine and Lucentio allows Shakespeare to make a different comment on patriarchy by shifting attention to the theme of masculinity. In Taming of the Shrew, it is not women's roles that are being discussed only, but men's roles are also significant to the outcome of the play. Katherine remains in control of the situation throughout the play, although it seems she conforms to patriarchy at the end. She never does conform, but rather, encourages Petruchio to see her point-of-view. Thus, Katherine educates him, ironically becoming his teacher. When, after her monologue, Petruchio states, "Why, there's a wench! Come on, and kiss me, Kate," he affirms his love for the woman who tamed him, not the other way around. Bertucci also situates Petruchio within the collective subversion of patriarchy.….....

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