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Remind yourself of Act 5 Scene 2. How successful do you feel the scene is as an ending to the play?
Act 5, Scene 2 is the ultimate scene in Shakespeare’s comedy The Taming of the Shrew and thus is responsible for successfully concluding the preceding five acts. Throughout the play several different issues are present, with the primary plot revolving around Katherina and Pertruchio and the ‘taming’ of Katherina, but with other subplots, such as the relationship between Bianca and Lucentio also being addressed. Shakespeare uses the final scene to end The Taming of the Shrew in a way relevant to all these plots.
All main characters from The Taming of the Shrew are present in Act 5 Scene 2, and the banquet at Baptista’s house provides the perfect platform for Shakespeares’ ending. The key part of this scene comes in Katherinas speech ‘And graceless traitor to her loving lord?’ in which she reprimands the other woman for not obeying their husbands. This speech holds a lot of irony for the audience as it makes the differences between Katherina now and in the beginning strikingly obvious.
‘And when she is froward, peevish, sullen, sour’ (Act 5, Scene2, Line 158)
Shakespeare uses these adjectives ironically to highlight how Katherina has been ‘tamed’, in comparison to the start of the play when Tranio describes her ‘scolding tongue’. This ending to the play is very successful in summarising the whole topic of the play; the taming of Katherina.
Katherina’s speech is only one part of the final scene; Petruchio plays a large part in concluding the play by betting with the others and remaining confident in Katherina. Like in the rest of the play Petruchio continues to use hunting imagery, highlighting one of the themes of the play.
‘This bird you aim’d at, though you hit her not’ (Act 5, Scene2, Line 50)
His character uses consistently throughout the play, showing he is one of the few characters who remain consistent with their original ideals. His goal since the beginning has been to ‘hunt’ and ‘tame’ Katherina and this remains apparent even in the last scene. However it could be argued that even he has changed to some extend; at the start of the play he readily admitted his main motivation for marrying Katherina was money, ‘One rich enough to be Petruchio’s wife’ yet toward the end there are hints that he may actually love her.
“Come, my sweet Kate”
Describing her as ‘sweet’ gives evidence to suggest genuine affection between them, and hence may be enough to quell concerns about the final scene for a modern audience. Resolving Petruchio and Katherina’s relationship is one of the main aims of the final scene and comparison between their first few scenes together and Act 5 Scene 2 is vital to understand just how Shakespeare has developed it.
‘I swear I’ll cuff you if you strike again’ (Act 2, Scene 1, Line 219)
Their initial meeting is violent and volatile, Shakespeare uses slapstick comedy to portray their fiery personalities, which predictably clash upon their first meeting. They argue constantly and Katherina in particular seems to hate Petruchio, while he is only interested in getting his money and taming her.
‘And thus I’ll curb her mad and headstrong humour
He that knows better how to tame a shrew’ (Act 4, Scene 1, Lines 196-197)
Here we can see Petruchios initial reaction to Katherina’s behaviour and how he intends to deal with it, he has little regard for her personal wants and doesn’t even refer to her by name, instead depersonalising her as ‘a shrew’. In the beginning it seems as if Petruchio views her as a challenge to conquer rather than a wife to love. He uses more hunting imagery referring to himself as the ‘falcon’ and her as a ‘kite’ showing his continuous train of thought. Shakespeare builds emphasises Petruchio’s methods of ‘taming’ Katherina is order to increase the audiences curiosity and desire to know if he does succeed and who is triumphant in the gender division. The ending of the play, while does show how their relationship has developed it is not entirely successful in completely resolving the reasons for their change, or showing if Katherina has genuinely become ‘tamed’.
While Katherina and Petruchio are the main focus of the final scene, the other characters present must not be forgotten. In particular the role Bianca, Lucentio, Hortensio and the widow play are very important.
‘Sir, my mistress sends you word
That she is busy and she cannot come.’ (Act 5, Scene 2, Line 81-82)
The scene highlights the differences between Bianca and Katherina, but this time it is Bianca who is acting in the unconventional manner, by refusing to come to Lucentio. Biance, it appears, is now the more dominant female character, her personality bearing resemblance to Katherina’s in the initial acts. This leaves the play slightly unresolved, as although Katherina has been ‘tamed’ Bianca has now taken her place. A Shakespearean audience may feel that this leaves the play too open and doesn’t bring closure on the theme of ‘taming’. However a modern audience is likely to be pleased that Bianca is now none conforming as it downplays Katherina’s submission and the continuing presence of a strong woman character is more refreshing.
It must be considered how well Shakespeare resolves the issues raised within the play, in particular the issues of gender division and male dominance. Male dominance can be traced throughout the play, starting with Petruchios treatment of Katherina
“You lie, in faith, for you are called plain Kate,’ (Act 2, Scene 1, Line 185)
In their initial meeting, they have an argument over her name, where he insists that her name is Kate and she protests. Throughout the rest of the scene he continues to refer to her as ‘Kate’, mentioning it a total of 27 times. Shakespeare included these references to heighten the tension and to show Petruchio’s own stubbornness as he attempts to dominate Katherina.
“When you are gentle, you shall have one too” (Act 4, Scene 3, Line 71)
In Scene 4, Petruchio’s dominance over Katherina begins to emerge, more so as he puts his plan into action and denies her food and clothes. This trend continues throughout the play, when he contradicts her at every turn ‘it is the blessed sun’ and continues to deny her any comfort. To a modern audience this may be perceived as disturbing and uncomfortable, indeed Charles Spencer of the Daily Telegraph reports that the play holds ‘a disagreeable streak of cruelty’ yet to a Shakespearian audience these elements would have added to the humour of the comedy.
How well is this issue of male dominance resolved at the end? When Petruchio bids Katherina come to him the audience already know what to expect. In contrast to the beginning of the play, where Shakespeare built up anticipation of their meetings through the difference in their characters and the way they clashed when together, he now is building up anticipation in a different way and thus making the scene more successful. The audience has already seen that Katherina now conforms to Petruchio’s wishes ‘not, when you say it is not’ so the anticipation comes, not from whether she will obey, but how the other characters will react to her change and whether her final entrance will bring closure on the play.
Her final speech can be considered to show the ultimate in male dominance, and the final proof of this coming when she places her hand below Petruchio’s foot.
‘And place your hands below you husband’s foot’ (Act 5, Scene 2, Line 178)
This shows her complete submission to him, and is in stark contrast to the Katherina from the first few acts. Modern audiences may feel that this final action, while concluding the play and the theme of male dominance, takes Katherina’s submission a step too far hence directors may consider not including it in their version of the play. Shakespeare did not write the stage directions himself, thus they tend to vary from version to version, with each director interpreting the scenes differently. However, the action of Katherina placing her hand at his foot is actually present in the dialogue ‘My hand is ready’ showing Shakespeare’s definite resolve to include it in the play.
The modern audience may still question Katherina’s motives behind her speech, and wonder if she is genuinely tamed. She could be making the speech for a number of other reasons. The intent could be an ironic one;
‘Why are our bodies soft, and weak, and smooth,’ (Act 5, Scene 2, Line, 106)
This line could easily be perceived as Katherina’s exaggerating, and mocking Petruchio’s wishes, rather than truly believing it herself. Alternatively the exaggeration could be her ‘playing along’ with Petruchio’s act, much like when they met Vincentio ‘young budding virgin’ and she completely co-operated with the fantasy. Throughout the play there has been evidence of sibling rivalry between Katherina and Bianca ‘is it for him you do envy me so?’ therefore it is conceivable that the final speech is an ‘act’, put on to show off to Bianca.
Another issue to consider, is the theme of ‘gender division’ within the play. It could be believed that in the final scene Petruchio has emerged dominant and that he has triumphed over Katherina. The fact that Katherina seems now willing to obey him could be considered evidence for this viewpoint. However, although Katherina appears ‘tamed’ it does not necessarily follow that Petruchio has won their ‘battle’. It is clearly Katherina who is controlling the final scene, she controls the other women ‘unknit that threatening unkind brow’, and silences the ment with her words. The majority of the scene is focused around Katherina, even when she is not on stage the audience still holds anticipation for her entrance, all this showing her power over the scene.
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A picture just for Kat :) --- coz u have to hav teal'c as jonas is mine |
Random Fact:
The human eye is so sensitive that it can see a lit match from 10miles away (not if u hav a caturax, but at Bupa hospitals we can easily treat that so u wont miss the match - i got that from a advert)
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Trees
T
Tr
Tre
Tree
Trees
Trees a
Trees ar
Trees are
Trees are g
Trees are gr
Trees are gre
Trees are gree
Trees are green
Trees are green a
Trees are green an
Trees are green and
Trees are green and t
Trees are green and ta
Trees are green and tal
Trees are green and tall
Some
Are
Short
A poem about trees by Me
The LORD loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love.
-Psalm 33: 5
  
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World Peace ^^^^^
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