Thank you to Robin Hizme for offering a video introduction for The Taming of the Shrew.
Robin Hizme teaches English and Humanities at Queens College, CUNY, where she also directs the collaboration between Queens College and Townsend Harris High School. When stressed, she recites Shakespearean insults to an imaginary audience; when serene, she composes poetry with her magnetic Shakespeare’s Love Kit.
Many thanks to my friend Joey Bianco of Whim Wham for the animated video elements.
Thank you for a very interesting analysis of the play. I found the parallels drawn between the Induction and the play useful, showing links which had not previously occurred to me. I wonder about the total rejection of the comic element in the conclusion, while admitting that the physical and mental torture to which Kate is subjected during and after the wedding is too close to the bone to be accepted quietly. It seems to me that so much depends on the live performance; words can be given different tones and implications according to the manner in which they are spoken; but of course the actors could then be condemned for making light of serious matters. It is certainly a “problem” play!