To What Extent Is Petruchios Taming of Kate Comic Essay Example

makes, suggests this. We also know that Petruchio outperforms Kate on verbal acuity and wit.

When Kate strikes Petrucio, he resorts to replying “I swear I’ll cuff you if you strike again! ” This seems to put both Petruchio and Kate on equal footing. They seem well matched for eachother, therefore the audience would want them to reconcile their differences. This makes the manner in which this happens more acceptable because the audience knows it will be alright in the end, making it easier for a modern audience to view this scene as a comic scene, rather than a violent one. Overall, Petruchio’s way of “wooing” Kate couldn’t be less romantic and that is what makes the scene so funny.

The “taming” of Kate could then be seen, from the mentioned evidence as a high comedy because of the characterisation of Petruchio through verbal wit, it could also be seen as a type of low comedy as Petruchio makes sexual puns in order to aggravate Kate. It could further be seen as a farce because of the ridiculous events and childish characters. Critics such as Heilman “categorises The Taming of the Shrew as a farce comedy”. I agree with Heilman to some extent. The play does include silly events such as the transformation of Kate.

Kate is managed to be “tamed” and transformed into an obedient wife very quickly and it is as though the process happens like magic. On the other hand, Petrucio genuinely does have feelings for Kate and this lowers the amusement of the play for modern audiences, especially when Petrucio only “wooed” Kate because she was rich in

the first place. The “taming” of Kate could also be seen as a type of slapstick and dark humour. This is because audiences find Petruchio’s “taming” techniques comical even though they are abusive and involve torture.

For example, in Act 4, when Petrucio’s servants bring out the “burnt” meat, Petruchio turns it away, consequently depriving Kate of a meal and causing her to starve. Kate argues that the meat was perfectly well cooked and was fine, which it was. We know this because depriving Kae of meals is part of Petruchio's plan to "tame" her, proven by his words: "Thus have I politicly begun my reign, and tis my hope to end successfully". Modern audiences may argue that this tactic of "taming" Kate is cruel and uncalled for.

On the other hand, the play within a play structure to The Taming of The Shrew distance the audience from the reality of the abuse and torture involved. This allows the modern audience to suspend their horror and see the humour because "it's just a play". However, the “taming” of Kate could be interpreted differently, and not as a comedy. For example, at the start of the play Kate is a strong, independent woman and by her end speech it is though Petruchio has crushed her and made her seem small and unworthy.

In this case, a contemporary audience would not have been shocked by the happenings as it would have been the norm in Victorian society to behave in such a way, and they may find Kate submitting amusing, this is also a fitting comic ending because reasserts accepted social norms in Victorian

society. On the other hand, if we see Kate’s last speech as sarcastic it could be humorous to modern audiences as in 20th Century Britain women are encouraged to be independent and to not rely on men to support them.

In this view, Kate is still being the independent woman she once was, but in a way that Petruchio does not notice. This could be seen as comical to a modern audience. A further argument is that The Taming of the Shrew is in fact, not a romantic comedy. Romantic comedies have happy endings and it could be argued that Katerina and Petruchio are not happy when it comes to the end of the play. Katerina has to change to be able to conform to Petruchio’s standards of a wife. Petruchio has forced Kate to become someone else in order for him to love her.

Using this, it could be argued that the play is not a romantic comedy. To conclude, Petruchio's "taming" of Kate is comic. Contemporary audiences find KAtes "taming" amusing because she is a "Shrew" and goes against everything a woman should be in the Victorian era and the modern audiences find it amusing because of the play within a play structure takes the reality of the torture away from the viewers, and therefore the "cruel and demeaning" side to Kates "taming" can be justified.