The Taming of The Shrew Act Five

1.

Analyze Kate's final speech. Is she sincere or ironic? Should we take her at her word? Or should we imagine a gap between what she says and what she means? Does the context of her words change their meanings? What are different possibilities in performing this scene? To much disappointment Katherine is being sincere when she gives this speech. I feel like she has been broken, and is tired of being starved. So,  I feel like now this submissive side of her has come out as yet another defense mechanism. She is being submissive, so that she can survive. She tells them what she knows her husband wants her to say, and  I think that she is speaking sincerely, and means that she should do what they say. I think that she done this as a sign of her taming, so that way her husband would maybe treat her better. If I was her, I would be murdering him in his sleep, or counting down the days until he died.

2.

What happens to the power dynamics in this scene–between men and men, women and women, men and women? In the beginning Baptista has all of the power, but in the end Lucentio has the power. Bianca has the power in the beginning of the play. At the end of the play, Katherine has all of the power because she appears to be the better sister.

The Taming of The Shrew Act Four

Act 4 (due Tuesday)

1.

How is Petruchio's masculinity represented? Examine his treatment of servants, Kate, etc.

2.

He barks out orders. He constantly demands things, and orders his servants around. He beats on his servants as if they are no more than rag dolls.  Many critics mark the sun/moon scene in the road to Padua (scene 5) as the turning point in the play which indicates Kate's taming. What is different about this scene? If she is tamed, what is she submitting to? Is it really a "submission," or can it be interpreted in other ways? Petruchio is talking about the sun, but he calls it the moon. Katherine goes to correct him, and says that it is actually the sun and not the moon. Then, he calls her out and humiliates her by saying that if he wants to call it the moon, then it is the moon. She agrees to call it whatever he wishes, so that she does not upset him. This is odd because this is not Katherine. So, this is really signs of her being tamed. She I don't know if she is tamed or not. I almost think that she is agreeing just so she doesn't have to deal with her husband. I mean if she is submitting I don't know what she would be submitting to other than a life of slavery. That's how she is being treated. It's awful. I don't know if I think that it is submission. I think it is her picking her battles. It may be submission though so that she can avoid arguments.

The Taming of The Shrew Act Two and Act Three

Acts 2&3 (due Monday) 1. How does Petruchio "tame" Kate? Consider how he seems to define their roles.  In order to 'tame' Katherine, if you can really call it taming, is to simply talk to her. People are always putting her down, and being negative, so he walks in and talks to her nicely, and compliments her. He is feeling her with sweet nothings. She feels bad for being the older sister, and not being married, or having any suitors. So, she built up this wall of defense, and so people put her down. Her bitter attitude is really just a defense mechanism. Really though this makes Kate feel good because he is being so nice to her, despite knowing what others call her. When he talks about marrying her, and that they should be wed on Sunday, she doesn't argue. She is probably really happy because she feels that somebody actually loves her. He takes charge and defines the role that a male held in that time. He is authoritative. She for the first time actually does what she is expected to do, and agrees with the marriage, and goes along with it.  2. 3. 4. How does Katherine act in the scenes where she says little or nothing? For example, in Act 2, scene 1, how does Katherine behave when Petruchio reports on his success in wooing Kate and in their plans for marriage? Because the text provides little explanation, you must decide how she would act based on your interpretation of her character from previous scenes. She acts very much like she is expected to act. She keeps her mouth shut. It is out of character for her though, which takes me by surprise. The thing that really stood out, was when the announcement of the two to be wed on Sunday came out, and she didn't object. From the way she has acted, I would expect her to object without giving a second thought to it, if she really didn't want to get married. Imagine viewing this play in the Elizabethan era. Identify 4 moments of comedy. One moment of comedy would be when you see the page dressed up as a women. Another would be when the Lord wants to play a prank on the drunk man Sly. Petrucio dressing like a not so hot hot mess for his own wedding would be another moment of comedy. Pertuchio unveiling his master plan for winning Katherine would be a fourth moment of comedy. Disguise is a major theme in TotS. What famous Bible story involves deceit and disguise?  One major story of disguise in the Bible is the story of Esau and Jacob. Issac was blind and he was old. He knew that he was about to die, so he told his wife to send him his son Esau, who was the eldest of the two sons. He was going to bestow upon Esau his blessing, his natural birthright as the eldest, was to receive everything that was his fathers, or everything that his father saw fit for him to have. Their mother did not want Esau to receive the blessing, so she disguised Jacob, by putting hair on his arms. She prepared her husbands favorite foo. Then, she sent Jacob in. He talked like his brother, and acted like him, and tricked his father into giving him his brother's birthright. Thus deceiving his father and his brother.

The Taming of The Shrew: Induction and Act One

In particular, we will examine Taming of the Shrew and how it relates to gender, family, and class.

Notes

Induction:

This is the only Shakespeare play that has an induction. The main thing to note here is that The Taming of the Shrew is a play within a play. They are producing this play in front of Christopher Sly (who they convinced is a Lord).

Act I Points of Interest:

• Dowry: The money, goods, estate that a wife brings to her husband upon marriage
• In this culture the eldest daughter must wed first, then the youngest. Women were not allowed to hold jobs and they depended on a man for survival. In order to guarantee that all children were secure and taken care of, a Father would refuse to marry younger daughters off until older ones were first married. This ensured that everyone in the family had a match.
• Katherine is a Shrew. Ill tempered and full of rage.
• Bianca is a mild mannered young lady who has Germio and Hortensio both competing for her affection. However, she cannot marry until Katherine is first married. 

Questions

Induction and Act 1

Describe each character:

• Katherine-Bold, freely spoken, determined, referred to as the shrew
• Bianca-younger sister of katherine, beautiful, modest
• Gremio-older man who seeks bianca's hand in marriage
• Hortensio-younger than gremio, seeks to marry Bianca
• Petruchio-foolish, wealthy, seeks Katherine's hand in marriage
• Lucentio-Noble, wealthy, seeking an adventure, he wants to marry Bianca
• Compare Katherine and Bianca to modern day people

Katherine and Bianca I don't know that they put me in mind of two sisters. They do put me in mind of people in general though. I know it sounds corny, but I think very much of my friend Chelsey, when I read of Bianca. She is gorgeous, modest, beautiful in every way possible. She is highly sought after, and could have any guy she wants, and so I relate the two. As for Katherine, I like to think I am like her. I am determined, and I am called bitter, and many other names. I speak what is on my mind, and I try to tell it like it is. I just think that I relate to this character.

1.

The Induction portrays role-playing. Who acts the part of whom? Why? How does such role-playing address issues of gender and class? What effects might these representations have on the play? Sly is playing the role of a lord. There are servants in the story and the page is used to pretend to be his wife. She is viewed as a sex object though. You can tell that the actual lord has money because he has servants, and is obviously of the upper class. Women are obviously not regarded with much respect. I think it sets the time of the play.

2.

From the outset, we learn from Bianca's suitors that Katherine is the less desirable of the two sisters. Examine and question this claim. How are Biance and Katherine different? What makes Katherine rather than Bianca the shrew? They view her as less desirable because she is older, and she is freely spoken. She speaks what is on her mind, and that is a trait that is not viewed positively in this time period. Because of these traits she is viewed as undesirable and as a shrew.

Othello Movie Review

Ugh Katie I am wracking my brain for ideas to write about. I thought about doing a high school rewrite, but I feel like that would be cliché because the movie "O" was high school based. So, now I am thinking of what to do. So, I am just going to keep talking to myself, and pretend like you are there. Maybe I will tweet you. I tweeted you. Now to wait for a response. I am just trying to think. I know the rewrite has to be based on Othello. It's like I said, I don't want to do a high school setting. Those are already popular as it is. I would like to do something different, if I could just think of something. I swear I feel like I could write a brilliant story. Let's think. I don't know. I swear you better not judge me because when you read this you will die. Like you may see an entirely new side of me. It's an ugly side. I mean it's evil. It is not pleasant. So, I am still brain storming a topic, and I am having no such luck. What to write about? Let's see. I was thinking about writing something to do with school, but not like high school. I was thinking college related, but I feel like there are enough rewrites with stuff like that. So, let's think. I wish I could come up with something that wouldn't change the ages too much. What if I wrote something army related? I would feel bad though if I wrote something about soldiers killing other soldiers, but it happens right? I mean their are t.v shows where soldiers kill other soldiers, so would it technically be so bad if I based it on the army? I just feel like if I done it that way it would be controversial, but let's face it Othello in general is going to be controversial.


Cast:
Othello- Owen
Iago- Ian
Roderigo- Roger
Emilia- Emily
Desdemona- Destiny
Michael Cassio- Mike
Bianca- Bianca
Minor Characters- which are of no concern to me quiet honestly



Setting: Fort Stewart, Georgia
             Afghanistan


I would change it so that the characters were in Afghanistan, and they were fighting. Owen is the general, and Iago, Roger, and Mike are all soldiers under his command. Owen is a Major General, and he is going to recommend who is to be the Lieutenant General, which is second in command. Ian saved Owen's life, yet when they get back home, and the award/ promotion is given, Mike is the recipient. This is what outrages Ian, and causes him to go on his downward spiral.

Roger obviously will love Destiny.
Owen will obviously be black.
I would try to keep the ages as close to the same as possible.

After they get back from the war, and they begin their leave, Mike, Ian, and Owen decide to go out one night. While they were out, they encounter Destiny and her friend Emily. They are out at the movies, and this is where Destiny first meets Owen. He asks if he can take her out sometime. She agrees. The two continue to see each other for the three months that Owen and his soldiers are on leave. Owen decides to propose to Destiny, but this is a bad idea seeing as it is the first time he is set to meet Destiny's dad. When he gets there, her dad doesn't know that Owen is black, and he is clearly unhappy about it. He doesn't hold his tongue about how he feels either. So, then while they are eating, Owen decides to reveal his feelings of love for Destiny, and ask her father for permission to marry his daughter. He then gets down on one knee, and proposes. Well, this sets Destiny's father over the edge, and he has a heart attack. Destiny says yes anyway, and on the day that the two get married, her father dies of heart failure. As a sign of his love on the day that Owen leaves to return to Afghanistan, he gives to destiny his medal that he received for good conduct. It is a red and white ribbon with a medal on the end of the ribbon.

So, while they are gone on leave yet again, Mike gets into trouble with some of the other soldiers while he is drunk, courtesy of Ian. So, he is forced to return home. While he is preparing to leave, Ian tells Mike to speak to Destiny, and to have her tell him to speak on behalf of Mike, and give him his title back. He says that Owen will not refrain from listening to her. This entire time Roger is killing Ian by aggravating him with questions demanding to know when he is going to get to be with Destiny. So, while Mike is back home Ian decides to take advantage of this, and to turn Owen against Mike and Destiny. So he begins to tell him one night of his suspicions while they are on guard duty, and it is just the two of them. While they are watching for god only knows what, Ian says that he is curious about how Destiny is doing. Owen replies that she is good, and that every time he talks to her she brings up Mike. He then says that he is considering reinstating Mike. That's when Ian seems to sound disappointed and like he is holding something back. So, finally he says that he just isn't sure about Destiny being by herself with Mike back home, and he has heard from Mike, and he talks about this girl, and the things that they do. He calls her a sex maniac, etc. This begins to start the downward spiral of Owen.

Finally they get to go back home for leave. When they get back, Owen demands to see the medal that he gave to Destiny. She shows it to him, and it is while she shows it to him, that she drops it, and Emily takes it, and gives it to Ian. Ian then gives it to Mike, and tells him to give it to Bianca, who is actually the whore that he is involved with. So, he does. Ian continues to plan his psycho plan of bringing Owen down. That night Owen and Destiny consecrate their marriage for the first time. Note that Owen is going to be older like Othello is from the play, and Destiny will be young like Desdemona. The next day, Ian decides that it is time for him to really kick things into gear. Owen is visiting Ian, and telling him about how things with Destiny went, and how he can't bear the thoughts of her cheating on him. Then Mike comes to see Ian, and that is when Owen hides, and Ian convinces Mike to tell him about his dinner plans with Bianca, and how had given her the medal earlier, and now he was hoping to see some action tonight from her. He never refers to her as Bianca though, but rather as a whore. So, then this outrages Owen, and he decides that tonight will be the night that he kills Mike and Destiny. He cannot bear anymore. So, Ian convinces him to let him take care of Mike.

Later that night, when Mike is coming back from dinner with Bianca, Roger is hiding waiting to attack Mike. So as Mike walks by, Roger attacks him from behind, and the Mike overcomes him. Seeing as he can't identify his attacker because he is wearing a mask the two struggle for what would seem to be forever, but was really just a few seconds. By this time, Ian realizes that if you want to get the job done, you must do it yourself, so he takes his gun, and shoots Mike in the leg. By this time though, Mike had already taken his gun, and shot Roger in the chest. It would prove to be fatal if given the time. By this time though people are showing up because they heard the gunshots, and so Ian removes Roger's mask,  so that they could see who the attacker was. Mike is unconscious from blood loss. Ian hurries and hides, and then comes running, claiming that he came running the moment he heard the shots. Then when he realizes that it is Roger who "attacked" Mike, he shoots him in front of everybody. He calls him a traitor and says that he would have been charged with treason, and he would have got the exact same thing either way. Then he calls for help for Mike. He really shot Roger so that way he couldn't talk, and tell on him.

Meanwhile, Owen is visiting Destiny who is by this time in her room, alone. She is sleeping when Owen comes in. It is already late, and with the way he had been acting she didn't know if he would be  coming to join her or not, so she went on to sleep without him. He comes in, and while he is in there, he becomes outraged, and he begins to choke her. She of course wakes up, and while he is choking her, Emily comes to the door. Then after Owen thought that she was dead, he opens the door to see what Emily needs. She sees her friends, and asked what happened. Owen says he has no idea that he just got there. Then Destiny wakes up and says that she was attached by a white man wearing a mask. Emily says this is awful we must do something. Owen confesses Then Emily goes psycho, and at this point in time, Ian shows up, to bring the news about Mike. This is when Emily reveals her stealing the medal for Ian. Ian who still has the gun from earlier kills her. Then he is arrested, and due to be charged with as many crimes as possible. Owen is about to be arrested when all of a sudden, he lurches for the gun that has been seized from Ian. When he gets it, he points it at everybody, makes his speech about being fooled by a white man, and then shoots himself.


The End.