The Taming of the Shrew and Dose it Relies on Comedic Devices
In the Taming of the Shrew, men from far-off lands arrive in the town she lives in and search for her hand in marriage. The catch is that she is not allowed to marry until her older sister (named the Shrew)is married off. Some men search for someone who has a wealthy family and others for love. Some servants use trickery to get at the younger sisters' heart, while one man has his eyes only on the Shrew for her riches.
The play itself is filled with many comedic driving plot points involving love, passion, and disputes between to characters. Like much of Shakespeare's works there are lot to take in and understand to fully the complex relationships of the characters and their developments. From the start to finish of the Taming of the Shrew uses comedic devices to further push the story along both in plot and character development A major tool used in the plotline is the tool of mistaken identity. This is used to change the flow of the story. For example; the servant Tranio disguises himself as the identity of his master Lucentio for the purpose to reach the heart of Bianca named as the younger sister of the Sherw. This smart thinking plan was nearly soiled by Baptista’s growing suspicion of the disguised Tranio’s rechecks and asks for him to prove this question.
As for the type of this play, it is placed under the category of Romantic comedy. The whole story itself runs on the comedic-driven plot points that bring each mail character to wild ends to marry to one of the sisters. One example is in Act 3, scene 3 where Bianca (the younger sister) laughs at older sister named Katherine who is the Shrew, for marrying a man named Petruchio. The quote reads: “That, being mad at herself, she’s madly mated.” Later in scene 4 in Act 4, the man Lucentio is speaking with Bianca of rushed she is about marrying someone so fast without thorough thinking through about marriage and its commitments. The quote: “I cannot tarry. I knew a wench married in an afternoon as she went to the garden for parsley to stuff a rabbit, and so may you sir.” This shows the stereotype of Romantic comedies, by relying on the interest of the tension between the characters and the comedy of the conflicting personalities. The last major tool of William Shakespeare's play is the way the characters communicate with each other. Mainly the wording is the most overemphasized of their communications. The manner and phrasing express the character fully even are such short lines like in the first scene in the second act, where the man Petruchio openly portrays Katherine as the town“ buzz”, in an attempt to flatter her. This ends with the retort from Katherine which reads for him to“ Buzz Off !”. The quote reads: first Petruchio “Should be!” Should-buzz!' Katherine: 'Well ta'en, and like a buzzard.' In the end, any show or play or story falls back on the relationships between the characters and their conflicting personalities.
However old the play and its ideas are the people of today can easily relate to the situations these young lovers get themselves into especially with the amount of technology and its ability to be anonymous. The comedic time timing and situations give this play a fresh story where the uh-oh moments change and shape the growing characters and their personalities. Using the element of love, hiding identity and comedy, the play has landed itself as a historic chapter in romantic comedies with ease.
