Essay on Taming of the Shrew Stand by Your Man - 1402 Words

The Taming of the Shrew: Stand by Your Man - The Psychotherapist Perspective The universal nature of the themes in The Taming of the Shrew, beg analysis and social critique. This comedic farce, by William Shakespeare, creates an elegant depiction of a modern life and romantic love with all of its masks and pretensions. It is easy to assume the perspective of a psychotherapist while witnessing the drama of Katherine and Petruchio’s love affair unfolding. Concepts like â€Å"emotional repression† and â€Å"therapeutic catharsis† neatly fit the â€Å"taming† scenario. In fact, this play offers many new insights into what it takes to create an enduring, viable marriage—if one understands it from a very contemporary, psychotherapeutic or†¦show more content†¦Hadn’t she arrived at a splendid state transcendent of societal concepts like â€Å"patriarchy† and â€Å"matriarchy?† In Act IV, scene 3, there is evidence that Kate knew her â€Å"shrewishness† as a kind of disease: My tongue will tell the anger of my heart, Or else my heart concealing it will break, And rather than it shall I will be free Even to the uttermost as I please in words. (lines, 77-80) She is a â€Å"shrew† because a snarl of anger and perhaps jealousy had twisted itself deep inside her and sought occasional release. We gradually learn that her father had favored his younger and perhaps more attractive daughter, Bianca. Kate had continually been placed second in her father’s affections and perhaps had felt forced to take on this â€Å"shrewish† persona in order to shield her hurt and neglect. So, is â€Å"shrewishness† her character or is it a protective, strategy of survival? If it’s indeed a defense mechanism, we can feel sympathy for her extreme behavior which we sense is only superficial and transitory—masking a truer, more substantial nature in need of healing. In the above lines, Kate is explaining why she has such a shrewish disposition. This scene takes place toward the culmination of her â€Å"taming†Ã¢â‚¬â€after the wild, tempestuous courtship when a headstrong Petruchio pursued Kate’sShow MoreRelatedWilliam Shakespeare s The Taming Of The Shrew And Of Clytemnestra1550 Words   |  7 Pagessociety. This essay seeks to create an understanding of the symbolic characters of Katherina in Shakespeare’s ‘The Taming of The Shrew’ and of Clytemnestra in Aeschylus’s ‘Agamemnon’. By exploring both texts in conjunction, it comes to attention that both female characters play masculine roles to be able to achieve their dominance stance. Both women not only revel the real life female, but also depicts to the audience the double bind due to the patriarchal world they live in. This essay will show howRead MoreBenedick’s Change of Heart by the End of Act 2 Scene 3 of William Shakespea res Much Ado About Nothing2295 Words   |  10 Pagesplay would have been acted out by men and it was not until the 19th century that women had a role in theatre. Women were property to be bought by men or used as prostitutes. Women did not speak up; any that did were branded a shrew and needed taming. Virginity was a virtue, therefore it was demanded a bride should be a virgin and once a wife, should be faithful. Shakespeare explores these men’s attitudes to the place of women in society and incorporates his own opinionsRead MoreLiterature and Language10588 Words   |  43 Pagesdaughter the last mistresses Of that black block condemmed to stand, not crash. The sentence in line 2 of this verse that starts with But in the fifth is unusual in that the predicate of the sentence is made up of a sequence of embedded elements, as we can see if we write them out in a full form: â€Å"A chipped sill buttresses mother and daughter who are the last mistresses of that black block which is condemned to stand, not crash.† Furthermore, the main verb in this sentence is buttressRead Morewisdom,humor and faith19596 Words   |  79 PagesFour Believers Who Stressed Humor: Kierkegaard, Chesterton, Niebuhr, and Auden 27 Conclusion 34 Copyright  © 2011 by Walter G. Moss WISDOM, HUMOR, AND FAITH: A HISTORICAL VIEW â€Å"And frame your mind to mirth and merriment, / Which bars a thousand harms and lengthens life.† Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew, Induction, Scene 2. â€Å"Laughter without a tinge of philosophy is but a sneeze of humor. Genuine humor is replete with wisdom.† Mark Twain, quoted in Opie Percival Read, Mark Twain and I (1940)