"The Taming of the Shrew" by William Shakespeare

Essay by hoellwarthJunior High, 9th grade June 2006

download word file, 6 pages 5.0

In his life, William Shakespeare has created many wonderful and unforgettable plays. One of them, which is mainly known for how the author uses different disguises so the characters achieve their goal, is known as The Taming of the Shrew. Three examples of disguises, which can be observed in the play, are physical, created by Lucentio, emotional, created by Katherina, and psychological, created by Petruchio. All of these characters use temporarily disguises as an aid to help them, but not as a solution. They either pretend to be someone else, or hide their true personality behind a false front.

Lucentio uses physical disguise to achieve Bianca's love. Due to the fact that Bianca wasn't allowed to see anyone except her teachers until her shrewish sister would find a husband, Lucentio had no other choice but to physically become a teacher himself. At that time, because rules of hierarchy were in control, Lucentio also had to switch roles with his servant, Tranio.

Of course, this whole plan of disguise came from the clever Tranio, when he says Act 1, Sc1, Line 201-204, followed by his master unconsciously agreeing. On the other hand, this was a very good plan to obtain Bianca's love because Lucentio had knowledge in poetry, and in those days, poetry was the number one key to get to any girl's heart. During their first lesson, Lucentio tells Bianca the truth about who he is and the purpose of his disguise. From that moment, when Bianca answers him with the words, "Fear not, Despair not", Lucentio is convinced that Bianca feels attracted by him. Apparently, we can see the revelation process - using Latin language so it could disguise it from Hortensio, in Act 3, Sc. 1, Line 35-40. As we can see, in...