The Taming of the Shrew
Q1. Who was Baptista? Why did he not want to get Bianca married first?
A1. Baptista Minola was a well-respected and rich man who lived in Padua with his
two beautiful daughters, Katherina and Bianca.
Katherina, his elder daughter was a sharp tongued, ill-mannered girl. Bianca,
on the other hand was a mild, well-mannered young girl. She was kind hearted
and had many suitors.
Since Katherina was very rude, no one was willing to marry her. Baptista would
not let Bianca marry first as he felt that Katherina would be left a spinster and
that would reflect his reputation.
Q2. Who was Lucentio? What plan did he make with his servant?
A2. Lucentio was a young man from Pisa. He had come to Padua to learn poetry
and music.
Lucentio had overheard Baptista talking to Hortensio and Gremio. On seeing
Bianca’s obedience and gentle behaviour with her father, he immediately fell in
love with Bianca and wished to marry her.
Baptista wanted a schoolmaster to teach music and poetry to Bianca in order
to keep her occupied. Lucentio made a plan and disguised himself as a school
master and asked his servant ‘Tranio’ to take his place.
Q3. What wish did Petruchio express to Hortensio? What did Hortensio advise him?
A3. Petruchio, a gentleman from Verona, had come to Padua to meet his friend
Hortensio. He told Hortensio that he wished to marry a very rich lady and travel
around the world.
Hortensio told Petruchio that he knew of a very rich lady but unfortunately, she
was a shrew. When Petruchio told his friend that he was willing to marry any
kind of a rich lady, Hortensio told him about Katherina, Baptista’s eldest
daughter.
Q4. Describe Petruchio’s meeting with Katherina. What was the result of this
meeting?
A4. Petruchio introduced himself to Baptista and expressed his strong desire to
marry Katherina. When he met Katherina for the first time, he behaved in a
friendly manner. He told her that he was in love with her and wanted to marry
her because of her soft spoken nature.
On hearing all the praises and Petruchio’s desire to marry her, Katherina
became very angry. She even shouted at her father for agreeing to get her
married to a mad man.
Q5. How was Petruchio dressed for the wedding feast? What was the reaction of
the people present there?
A5. Petruchio came weirdly dressed for his wedding. He wore a new hat and an old
jerkin with a pair of old trousers. He also wore two different boots. He carried
sword with a broken handle and rode a horse which looked very ill and could
hardly walk.
All the people present at the wedding were shocked to see Petruchio dressed
so weirdly. Baptista was very annoyed and told him to change his clothes before
he met Kate.
Q6. Explain Petruchio’s behaviour at the wedding ceremony.
A6. Petruchio came very late and weirdly dressed on the day of his wedding. During
the wedding ceremony, he continued to behave in a loud manner. He spoke so
loudly that the shocked priest dropped his book on the ground. When the priest
bent down to pick up the book, Petruchio knocked him down. After the
ceremony, Petruchio drank some wine and threw the rest on the priest’s face.
He even refused to stay back for the feast and forced Katherina to leave with
him for Verona.
Q7. Describe Katherina’s journey from Padua to Verona.
A7. After the wedding, Petruchio and Katherina set out on their journey to Verona.
Petruchio chose the worst road to travel. Katherina was made to ride a horse
which was not strong enough and so the horse stumbled and fell down in the
mud with Katherina under it.
Instead of helping her, Petruchio began to scold his servants. Katherina had to
get up herself and had to pull her husband away from the servant. In all this
confusion, the two horses ran away and Katherina and Petruchio had to run
behind them to catch them. Tired and dirty, Katherina finally reached Verona.
Character Sketch:
1) Baptista Minola:
Baptista Minola was a rich man of Padua who had two daughters, Katherina and
Bianca. As Katherina was a sharp-tongued, ill-mannered girl, Baptista was
determined to get her married before Bianca. He told Hortensio and Gremio he
would only allow them to court Katherina. He was an extremely concerned father
and wanted to appoint a master in fine arts for Bianca in order to keep her occupied.
He honestly admitted Katherina’s faults to Petruchio and also felt sorry for him as
he married a shrewish wife.
2) Katherina:
She was the elder daughter of Baptista. She was well-known throughout Padua as
a sharp-tongued, ill-mannered girl. While Bianca ad many suitors, no one wanted
to marry Katherina because of her wild behaviour. She did not like being addressed
as Kate and proved to be a shrew by talking rudely to Petruchio. She had to go
without food and proper sleep and all her protests were unheard. After the taming
she became a sweet, delightful and obedient wife.
3) Bianca:
Bianca was the younger daughter of Baptista. She was a well-mannered, modest
and beautiful young girl. She had many suitors because of her kind nature. She
was an obedient girl and followed her father’s instructions. Lucentio fell in love with
her and finally married her. She was a sensible girl and questioned Katherina’s
complete submission to her husband’s wises.
4) Petruchio:
He was the son of a well-known merchant Antonio of Verona. He was a confident
person and enjoyed good company. He was witty, side and had a deep
understanding of human nature. His boisterous behaviour at the wedding
ceremony made Katherina angry and also tremble with fear. This was exactly what
he intended to do in order to tame his shrewish wife. After he succeeded in taming
Katherina, he was full of pride and love for his wife.
