Taming Of The Shrew Humor

The “Taming of the Shrew”, written by William Shakespeare, was a controversial play when it was first performed and it is more so today. However, the intent for how the play was to be perceived as humorous. During the time period it was written, both the rich and poor saw plays. There had to be something that could relate to both classes and not cause offense to any group in order for a successful play. Shakespeare had to find a perfect balance, and he did so by creating the funny love story by verbal communication on stage, the characters’ actions, and the ironic turn of events.
The first two strategies, verbal communication and the characters’ actions, were the more crude types of humor for the audiences. They are types of humors that Shakespeare uses to communicate that he meant “Taming of the Shrew” to be funny. One example where he uses verbal communication to uplift his scenes is when Petruchio first meets Katherine.
Katherine: ...I had you figured for a piece of furniture.
Petruchio: What do you mean by “furniture”?
Katherine: A nice stool.
Petruchio: You're right actually. Come sit on me.
Katherine: Asses are made for bearing, and so are you.
Petruchio: Women are made for bearing, and so are you. (II.I 196-200)
An example where he uses a character’s actions to provide humor would be how whenever Gremio speaks the
other character’s recoil from his bad breath.
Plays at the time were often done on a leveled plane rather than the stages that we see today. Not only did the plays attempt to appeal to both classes, but the way the stage had been designed showed that everyone was the same in the theater. Coming to Padua in search of money, Petruchio instead falls in love with the shrew of the story, Kate. Throughout the whole play it deals with many characters who come from riches which appeals to the upper class, yet it deals with things such as love whom the lower class can relate to as well. Kate, honry and argumentative, submits to the will of Petruchio, but it is seen as humorous in the sense that she does it in a mocking nature. Adding to the humor Kate brings out her inner shrew towards her sister and Hortensio’s wife by order of Petruchio, who tried to rid her of this nature.
Shakespeare plays, controversial and historic, are a topic of many English classes.“Taming of the Shrew” is no different than any of his other plays in this sense.
The play could be seen in either a degrading way or a humorous way, due to the communication on stage, the actions of the characters, and the loads of irony in the play, it had to have been meant to be funny and light-hearted. Shakespeare’s brilliance in writing kept it humorous for both the rich and the poor class, which was something that could have been very hard to do in the time period it was written. Overall, this play was a humorous and fun read, and even better to
watch.