How screens affect teens by Jamie Polson

I am interested in how screens affect teens because we are in the era of technology and it is so easy to lose yourself in them.  I have been subject to doing this and since I am a teen I was wondering what it can do to a teenager.  So far I have learned that if you watch tv before you go to bed it usually takes about an hour for you to get to sleep and people who spend to much time on their phones and such usually go to bed pretty late so they lose a lot of sleep because of that.  I also learned that texting or playing to many video games can lead to something which is called gamers thumb.  This happens when you use your thumbs to often for tasks like gaming or texting. http://fit.webmd.com/teen/recharge/article/teens-screen-time 

Another study showed that people who spend to much time on their phones or screens typically have more body fat and or have worse dites usually consisting of chips and that type of food.  The study also showed that people who play violent video games are often very violent themselves.  They also have very short tempers, and often get into fights.  
   








kids watching TV



Another study showed that kids who spend to much time watching tv are more depressed because they have a biast window on life.  For instance if you like news programs they often have depressing sad news and very selective stuff that they include and they leave a lot out.



bibliogragphy






Madea's Family Reunion and The Taming of the Shrew

The play, Taming of the Shrew shows how wealth dictates to the romantic experience one has. In the play a man named Baptista has two daughters, Katherine and Bianca who are ready to be married. The men who look to marry these women first have to prove their wealth and riches to Baptista. In the year 2006 Movie, “Madea’s Family Reunion” there are similar ideas from Taming of the Shrew.  In the movie the mother, Victoria, pressures her daughter Lisa into marrying a rich man who constantly abuses her. Though in many ways similar the two stories end differently. The two sisters from the movie, Lisa and Vanessa, gain the power to overcome adversities and explore what true love is to them. While Katherine and Bianca from the play seem to be defeated by the men who took their hand in marriage. Bianca, Katherine, and Lisa are pressured and forced into marriages by their parents, but the more modern text shows how things have changed for women, their marriages can end. This means that women have the right to chose who they love not based on money or parental opinions and true love can be found on its own time.


Many of the characters from the two text are similar. A strong character connection is between Katherine and Vanessa. Katherine was known as an evil and a malicious women while Bianca was seen a sweet and lovely. For example, in the text Katherine is called “Katherine the cursed” while Bianca is called “Minerva”. In the movie Vanessa experiences  similar things. Vanessa’s mom always treated her sister Lisa better than her. Vanessa felt neglected through her childhood because her mother used her just to satisfy the wants of her sick boyfriend at the time. Vanessa’s childhood has left her with many trust issues and scars. She is sometimes seen as an angry person and harsh especially to the man who finds interest in her.

Although these characters are similar they are very different. In the text Katherine seemed to have it out for her sister. She would beat her and call her a host of arrogant names. While Vanessa loved her sister and would encourage her to do what’s best for her.


Bianca

Is it for him you do envy me so?

Nay, then, you jest, and now I well perceive

You have but jested with me all this while.

I prithee, sister Kate, untie my hands.


                                       [KATHERINE] strikes her

(Act 2, Scene 1, Lines 18-22 )



In this scene Katherine is attacking her sister Bianca. This anger is coming from a deep place of jealousy. Katherine is envious because most of the men are attracted to Bianca. Katherine knows that if Bianca could get married she would have been married but, she can’t because Katherine is the oldest. Also, Katherine is angry because she feels like things are out of her control. She really has no say so when it comes to her engagement and marriage. Katherine doesn't truly love the man she is marrying and her dad said that love had to be a requirement. (Act 2 Sc 1. Page 83)  “Ay, when the special thing is well obtained, That is, her love, for that is all in all”. Baptista has not been true to that statement throughout the story line. On the day she gets married she expresses to her dad that she doesn't feel like this is the right move. Then, Petruchio comes to the wedding late and is dressed poorly. This is all apart of his plan to tame Katherine and show her that she has no control. His clothes also symbolize their relationship, which is deplorable. Katherine will never be satisfied with her marriage because there is no true love and her choices were made by her father and not herself.


Vanessa-“All men come for something.”


In this scene Vanessa is crying because she feels as though she is no longer able to trust. Unlike Katherine, Vanessa has already been through the taming process. Her mom gave her away to her boyfriend who physically abused and raped her. In this scene Vanessa’s tears may be a sign a sadness but letting her emotions out to someone is apart of the healing process. Vanessa grows into a beautiful person. Later on in the movie Vanessa falls in love and marries Frankie. Unlike the older text, the modern day text shows how one can overcome  issues and find what true love is for himself. Vanessa learns to be comfortable with herself and has come to terms that her mother may never accept the choices she made in her life or apologize for the wrongs she did against her.


“Thy Beauty that doth make me like thee well, Thou must be married to no man but me. For I am born to tame you,...”

(Act 2 Sc 1.)


In the play Petruchio wants to marry Katherine. He showers her with compliments which at times becomes annoying and overwhelming to her. They get into multiple fights and at the end of the text it seems like Katherine has given up. Petruchio feels a sense of accomplishment because he has tamed Katherine. This is an unhealthy relationship because there is so much mental abuse. All the fighting and arguing can be draining and frustrating. At the end of the play Katherine says a lengthy speech about how wives are supposed to submit to their husbands. Kate doesn't really believe what she’s saying but is simply just telling her husband what he wants to hear.






Lisa- “Hit me now so everyone can see what you’re really like”.


In this scene Lisa is dancing with her fiance Carlos. In the movie the character Carlos is similar to the Character Petruhcio from the older text. They both abuse their finances but in different ways. Carlos is more abusive towards Lisa. At multiple points in the movie Carlos is seen abusing Lisa. Lisa is a smart girl and knows she has family that she can depend on but a strong force is keeping her from getting out of this relationship. That force is her mother. Lisa feels obligated to stay with Carlos in order to financially take care of her mother through his income. Also because Victoria, Lisa’s mother protected her as a child and spoiled her unlike her sister Vanessa.  Victoria says in one scene “Stop that whining! Stop it! I took care of you and gave you the best of everything you little princess. Now it is your turn to take care of me!” This shows how parental opinions about marriages aren’t always good. This is not what true love is.



In the end of the Movie, “Madea’s Family Reunion” Vanessa ends up happily married to Frankie and Lisa objects to marrying her abusive fiance Carlos. Although Lisa isn’t getting married or has a man in her life she’s still content with where she is. Lisa learns not to let anyone dictate to who she wants to be in a relationship with with, while Vanessa learns not to let pass experiences dictate to her new relationships with others. On the other hand the two sisters from the Taming of the Shrew, Bianca and Katherine weren't so lucky. They both end up with men who picked them rather than men they picked themselves. These two stories show parental guidance isn’t always needed and how true love will happen on its own time. Even, if true love is found within oneself.


Bibliography


"MADEA'S FAMILY REUNION." N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2015.


"Full Cast & Crew." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 17 Apr. 2015.madea's family reunion

"Watch Madea's Family Reunion Online Free Putlocker | Putlocker - Watch Movies Online Free." Watch Madea's Family Reunion Online Free Putlocker | Putlocker - Watch Movies Online Free. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2015.


Taming of the Lover




Comparing “Taming of the Shrew” to “Falling in Love”


              I am going to be comparing both the characters Katherine and Petruchio from “Taming of the Shrew”, and Molly Gilmore and Frank Raftis from “Falling in Love”. The situation of the people I’m analyzing has to do with Petruchio, who is trying to pursue Katherine and does so very aggressively. Katherine doesn’t show that much interest in the whole thing, but she still plays along with it. On the other hand, there’s Frank Raftis who is trying to get Molly Gilmore after practically falling in love with her at a train despite them being both married. Molly at first drifts away from his affection, but then she eventually gives into it.


               Just like Petrucio, Frank Raftis is very ambitious and when he sees something he wants, he sets out to get it, even though there are circumstances that hold him from it. And Molly Gilmore, just like Katherine, is very willing to be wooed, but can play hard to get, and is even reluctant at times. Overall, the combination of these two strategies creates, in almost any romantic situation, a “cat & mouse” relationship between lovers.


“Petruchio:

Take this of me, Kate of my consolation:

Hearing thy mildness praised in every town, thy virtues spoke of, and thy beauty sounded (Yet not so deeply as to thee belongs), myself am moved to woo thee for my wife”(Act 2. Sc 1, 198-202).

              In this quote, Petruchio expresses his desire to attain Katherine as a wife, despite her great renown and beauty. Usually a woman of such caliber would be intimidating to many men, but to Petruchio it doesn’t matter, since he’s motivated, he stretches his boundaries to get Katherine. When dealing with women who are beyond a man’s boundaries, they won’t always be an easy catch.


              This is especially true with Molly Gilmore, who Frank Raftis is trying to get.

               In this scene, Frank starts conversing with Molly to get to know her. Before he even starts the conversation, he tries to sit with her at the back of the train, but she immediately puts down his offer. In the conversation, they find out that they’re both settled individuals. Molly considers these things and tries not to be too intimate with Frank. This makes getting Molly’s love a challenge for Frank. But despite all the circumstances, just like Petruchio with Katherine, Frank still pursues her romantically, insisting on when she is free to hang out with.


“Katherine: Go, fool, and whom thou keep’st command.


Petruchio: Did ever Dian so become a grove


as Kate this chamber with her princely gait?


O, be thou Dian and let her be Kate,


And then let Kate be chaste and Dian sportful.


Katherine: Where did you study all this goodly speech?


Petruchio: It is extempore, from my mother’s wit.


Katherine: A witty mother, witless else her son.


Petruchio: Am I not wise?


Katherine: Yes, keep you warm.”


(Act 2. Sc 1, 272-281)



              In this quote, Petruchio is making an extreme effort to woo Katherine. Katherine shuts down his preceding attempt to woo her by calling him a fool. However, this obviously doesn’t discourage Petruchio. This is because he wants her, and resorts to using poetic language, inspired from his mother, to express his “affection” for Katherine. Katherine finally lets go of her reluctant behavior and opens her heart to Petruchio and acknowledges his efforts and even compliments him on it. This shows how the right play and attitude can get a woman who plays hard to get, just like a mouse that is caught after having keen tactics used on them from a cat.



               In this case, the mouse is Molly Gilmore and the cat is Frank Raftis.





             Tamed! The rejoinder “Merry Christmas” and a bright smile is given from Molly after much struggle in wooing her. Before this happens, Frank is rejected and denied by her a few times when he tries to talk to her. His desire to talk to her is strong after they bump into the Christmas store, so when he sees her on the train he immediately wants to talk to her. When they get off the train, he keeps with her walking pace, although she looks pretty estranged by him. And even when he starts talking to her, trying to remind her that he is the stranger she bumped into at the Christmas store, she acts as if she didn’t know what he was talking about with the words “what?” and “sorry?” (She went into her mouse hole during this time). He disregards this and relentlessly continues to talk to her. She realizes his interest in her, stops playing hard to get and opens up to him: acting as if she just now remembers who he is. At the end of the chat, he greets her warmly, and she allows herself to be wooed, greeting him warmly back. (She essentially now comes out of the mouse hole and Frank, the cat tames her!).


              Here, in all of this strife that Petruchio and Frank go through wooing Katherine and Molly, they had to push or else they wouldn’t have gotten their women. Society gives them a good reason to do so too, because the trend in common courtships is that the male has to be the pursuer, or the cat and the women has to be the pursued, or the mouse. And if the women isn’t pursued well enough from the male, that means he isn’t very interested in her. This is why at first Katherine and Molly were playing hard to get, because they believed that their suitor had to show their interest in them first, by chasing after them, before they could return the favor. They also did this because if they were to initialize, they would feel desperate. This is because society views women who go after men, without knowing their true feelings for them as desperate. Luckily, at the end of the day, Molly avoided feeling like this and Frank successfully wooed in the girl.


Work Cited:

"Falling in Love Part 2/10." YouTube. YouTube, 30 Apr. 2010. Web. 21 Apr. 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEhJklxnuI0>.


"Falling in Love - Scene - Dialogue on Train." YouTube. YouTube, 8 Aug. 2007. Web. 21 Apr. 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oWy0-WlqS0>.

















Who Get's to Choose .. Me or You ?!

A compromise  between The Taming of The Shrew and Coming to America,

Similarities in finding love, obtaining wealth, and family can be found in the 1988 movie Coming to America and the 1590’s  book the Taming of the Shrew. It was normal in the Elizabethan era for women to “aspire” to get married. The woman had very little, to no say about who her husband would be. Marriages are normally arranged by the parent to bring “prestige” or wealth to the family. Marriage became a family decision as opposed to an individual decision due to the fact that marriage was no longer a choice. In the Taming of The Shrew, Katherine  set the tone for her and Petruchio. This shows that at this time period woman did not have say and married by force the family.Today, however, the situation is more complex, In modern time the man and woman have the ability to choose who they want to marry , and also have the option to not marry a lot without being shamed for it.

“ Call you me daughter? Now, I promise you

You have showed a tender fatherly regard

To wish me wed to one half lunatic,

A mad-cup ruffian and a swearing Jack,

That thinks with oaths to face the matter out.”

(Act _:Scene_:Line__-__)


“ You're right! Get out, see the world.

Enjoy yourself.

Fulfill every erotic desire,

and in 40 days, you will marry Imani.

- But, Father...

- It is settled.

May I have your attention, please?

The wedding will proceed in 40 days.

You may go home now. Good night. “

Prince Akeem has met his “Queen to be” Imani. When in conversation Imani was trained to do his every command. He uses the excuse of  “ he’s never been any where else but Africa.” As a result upon his father’s consent he allowed him and Seemi to go to America. Little does his father know that the object of this plan is to find him a wife of his own choosing.


Fie, fie! Unknit that threat'ning unkind brow

And dart not scornful glances from those eyes

To wound thy lord, thy king, thy governor……

Then vail your stomachs, for it is no boot,

And place your hands below your husband’s foot:

In token of which duty, if he please,

My hand is ready, may it do him ease. “  

(Act 5: Scene 2: Lines 152-195)

For this quote you can see that Katherine is not happy in her marriage. She has come to the point where she has expected the fact that her father just gave her away. To marry Petruchio without knowing his true intentions. As a result of Katherine is under the impression that the only way to be happy with her husband is to train him to her pleasing.



Prince Akeem as found a wife that suits him for him. His father was understanding and approved of the marriage. Although he was not truthful of his reasoning for going to America, his outcome was positive.


In the book The Taming of the Shrew, Baptista willing gave Katherine away to marry Petruchio. Being unmindful of Katherine’s feeling about the marriage, as a result katherine is unhappy in her marriage. What these portrayals show us about society's attitudes towards courtship/dating is that regardless of the time period there will forever and always will be a parental consent. However courtship and dating are to different things. However the resulting action is to be married .




About Relationships

In the Taming of the Shrew, Petruchio forces Katherine into marriage with him. They basically skip the part where they’re supposed to get to know each other. This shows how relationships were different then vs. now. In About Last Night, Bernie and Joan meet and hit it off instantly, they rushed things and consequently, their relationship suffered temporarily. They go from have sex occasionally to arguing out of spite every time they see each other. The Taming of the Shrew and About Last night are similar in their message which is love has happy endings and that the road to happiness isn’t always easy. However in contrast, Katherine has no say in whether or not if she wants to be with Petruchio, and Bernie doesn’t take the time to get to really know Joan before he makes her his girlfriend, all he wanted was sex.


In Act 2, Scene 1, line number 202 says, “Myself am moved to woo thee for my wife.” At this point in the book, Petruchio has just met Katherine and is telling her his intentions. Katherine does not know the man at all but yet he plans a wedding on the next Sunday to come. This is how relationships were in the past. Similar to About Last Night, Joan and Bernie hardly know each other and hop right into having sex the very same night they meet.
Screen Shot 2015-04-26 at 8.00.09 PM
Screen Shot 2015-04-26 at 8.00.09 PM

In this scene, Bernie is explaining to his best friend Danny about last night. He tells him that he met Joan at a bar and the only reason they really wound up in the bed is because of the fact the he dated a woman Joan hated. This is the good part of their relationship but because they didn’t take the time to get to actually know each other, their relationship eventually wasn’t so great.

Both relationships reach a point where all they do is argue and someone eventually just gives in. In this particular part of the book, Petruchio is arguing with Katherine telling her to say that the sun is actually the moon. In Act 4, Scene 5, lines 21-22, Katherine submits to Petruchio by saying,“Then God be blest, it is the blessed sun. But sun it is not, when you say it is not.” Katherine is realizing that she just has to give in to Petruchio, and maybe in her mind things will get better.


Screen Shot 2015-04-28 at 7.41.21 PM
Screen Shot 2015-04-28 at 7.41.21 PM

In this scene, Bernie is explaining to Danny the complexity of him and Joan’s relationship. While they were constantly arguing with each other, they got to know more about each other. Bernie is thankful that they can put the bickering behind them and is so happy to have a genuine relationship with Joan. If he had never given in to Joan by telling her how much he missed and loved her, they wouldn’t be in this happy place.


The last stage of the relationships are the part where they basically start over. They forget the previous animosity that they had in their hearts for one another and move on to be happy with each other. In Act 5, Scene 2, lines 162-163, Katherine is talking about what a husband’s job is and accepting the love they provide. She says, “Thy husband is thy Lord, thy life, thy keeper, Thy head, thy sovereign, one that cares for thee.” At this point Katherine realizes that her and Petruchio may have gotten off on the wrong foot, Petruchio will truly care for her. At the end of her speech, she kisses him and you can imagine the smiles on their faces as the finally reached true happiness together.


Screen Shot 2015-04-28 at 8.05.27 PM
Screen Shot 2015-04-28 at 8.05.27 PM
This is the end of the movie. Bernie and Joan are so happy and it’s real happiness. They laugh, joke, and treat each other with nothing but the upmost respect. They’ve had their ups and downs in their relationship but they still loved each other through it all. Joan realized that Bernie truly cares for her the way she cares for him.

Comparing relationships back then to relationships now, there's a clear difference in how relationships come to be like if the woman has a say in it. There's one thing that hasn't changed however. People do not take the time to get to know a person before they become involved with them. If no one takes the time to learn what the other person hates or likes, then there will be unhappiness.

Shrews all stuck in a Daydream

The movie Daydream Nation and the Shakespearean play The Taming Of The Shrew are comparable in many ways. Ranging from the deception throughout different relationships, the casual narcissism, and pretending to be people your not. Although this play is over a hundred years old and the movie came out in 2007 there are many parallels. Caroline Wexler, the main character in Daydream Nation is a girl that has been uprooted from her life in the city and placed into a school where the students are higher than the grades, while attending this school and getting used to daily life in this new town she decides to pretend to be someone else, and this event is brought on by her idea to have an affair with her English teacher, but also to sleep with one of the many stoners in her classes. 

Petruchio, from The Taming of The Shrew is the suitor that decides to marry Baptista’s oldest daughter, Katherine. He does this not out of love but for her inheritance, and in order to make his marriage to her smooth and as painless as possible he must as the title suggests, tame her into a quiet and obedient wife that will do as he says without question. Although the motives for the romances are different these two sources of media show relationships started out of one specific goal are generally more trouble than they are worth.

Signior Hortensio, 'twixt such friends as we

Few words suffice; and therefore, if thou know

One rich enough to be Petruchio's wife,

As wealth is burden of my wooing dance,

Be she as foul as was Florentius' love,

As old as Sibyl and as curst and shrewd

As Socrates' Xanthippe, or a worse,

She moves me not, or not removes, at least,

Affection's edge in me, were she as rough

As are the swelling Adriatic seas:

I come to wive it wealthily in Padua;

If wealthily, then happily in Padua.

(Scene1.Act2.10)

This quote from The Taming of The Shrew is Petruchio’s monologue explaining his plan and reasoning behind his impending marriage to Katherine. That he plans on marrying her for her father’s money that she will inherit after he passes, and that her shrewdness is a non-issue for him, because no woman can make him as happy as the money he seeks. So, through this greed and narcissism he also states he will break Katherine of her rude and boisterous ways to make her quiet and obedient. This as is seen previously throughout the play, will be no easy task as many men have tried and failed to woo her, and she is a handful of trouble, although he states that the relationship (to him) will be worth it for the money. And that is his only motivation for calming the tempest that is Katherine. This is comparable to Daydream Nation because when Caroline decides to have an affair with Barry, her English teacher her main motivation is to kill the ever encroaching boredom of her new school and town. That going through with this taboo would make life more exciting and interesting, and that as a whole is her only real interest in being with him. Both characters starting out with their own motives for pursuing their relationships.

Screen Shot 2015-04-16 at 8.29.37 AM
Screen Shot 2015-04-16 at 8.29.37 AM
" I don't know why the idea came to me when it did, but I knew it would instantly make life more interesting. Don't we all wanna be somebody different sometimes? Someone smarter and sexier and bolder than we really are. Or maybe I just looked, and saw someone that was as lonely as me."

This is what Caroline is thinking to herself when making the decision to seduce Mr.A (Barry, her English teacher). She states that yes, there may be some underlying reason based off feelings of attraction, but her main motivation here is to occupy herself, to distract herself from her obviously dull life in this new place.

Thy husband is thy lord, thy life, thy keeper,

Thy head, thy sovereign; one that cares for thee

And for thy maintenance; commits his body

To painful labor both by sea and land,

To watch the night in storms, the day in cold,

Whilst thou li'st warm at home, secure and safe;

And craves no other tribute at thy hands

But love, fair looks, and true obedience--

Too little payment for so great a debt.

This quote is taken from the very end of the play, when Patricio tells Katherine to tell the other wives how to serve their husbands, this speech actually showing that she has been tamed, or at least pushed into acting like she is. She is going through the motions of saying exactly what her husband wants to hear and she is doing it publicly to effectively tame the other woman too, bleeding Patricio’s overzealous and greedy methods into the other couple’s relationships. Much like what happened in Daydream Nation.

Screen Shot 2015-04-19 at 2.40.28 PM
Screen Shot 2015-04-19 at 2.40.28 PM
“My mom once told me that if you ever want to make a man happy... flatter his vanity. Tell him he's handsome. She said not to bother calling him interesting or clever, because that's what their bosses and colleagues are for. But every man carries a secret dream of being handsome, and desperately yearns to be recognized as such.”

In the end the paths of the two stories deviate. The Taming of The Shrew ends in Katherine bowing to Patricio’s will and being tamed, while Daydream Nation ends with Caroline leaving Barry and falling for a guy that was in love with her from the moment he saw her. Katherine seems unhappy and more like a slave then a wife when Shrew ends, and during the affair Barry and Caroline seem to be on edge and uncomfortable with each other, showing the more single minded a relationship the more problems arise, and the less it seems worth it. Thankfully though, as is seen in the differences in the ending of Daydream Nation society has changed so there are more options for both men and woman in day to day life as well as relationships, so going into relationships with something to accomplish is less and less common, and people are generally happier.  


Sources:

(Daydream Nation full movie) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXmke2o4-qI

http://www.monologuearchive.com/s/shakespeare_020.html

My Fair Lady

Shakespeare’s Taming Of The Shrew, is about a man named Petruchio who is paid to “tame” a “wild” woman named Katherina. In the beginning of the story Katherina is portrayed as independent, and one that’s quick with words. Petruchio is portrayed as proud, and believes that he can “tame” Katherina with the right training, which he does so by starving her. “My Fair Lady” was created in 1964. A wealthy linguist’s friend challenges him, and states that he cannot make a poor woman (Audrey Hepburn) into an aristocrat. Much like Katherina, Eliza (Audrey Hepburn) is very quick with her words, as well as independent not only because she doesn’t have a home but because her father isn’t much of a father. Another parallel is Henry (Rex Harrison) is very similar to Petruchio. Henry’s goal throughout the movie is to try and “tame” Eliza, to make her into someone that society would respect. Though the storylines are similar, Petruchio and Katherina have different intentions than Henry and Eliza. Having to be tamed/worked to be acceptable in society shows that women are still being taken advantage of and are still seen as objects.


“I will be master of what is mine own: She is my goods, my chattels; she is my house, My household stuff, my field, my barn, My horse, my ox, my ass, my anything; And here she stands, touch her whoever dare.” This quote shows the beginning stages of Petruchio “taming” Katherina. Petruchio is showing dominance, by setting rules for Katherina. Petruchio in this scene has already started to take advantage of Katherina by implying that she has lost all her rights. By marrying Petruchio, Katherina has lost her right because she is his “property.”


In “My Fair Lady” Eliza finds herself in a situation similar to Katherina’s. Eliza has decided that she wants to be a part of the wealthy society, so she seeks help from Henry Higgins. Henry agrees to help her naturally since the bet has already been placed, but he doesn’t agree without making sure Eliza understands the rules:. “If you work hard and do as you're told, you shall sleep in a proper bedroom, have lots to eat, and money to buy chocolates and go for rides in taxis. But if you are naughty and idle, you shall sleep in the back kitchen amongst the black beetles, and be walloped by Mrs. Pearce with a broomstick. At the end of six months you will be taken to Buckingham Palace, in a carriage, beautifully dressed. If the king finds out you are not a lady, you will be taken to the Tower of London, where your head will be cut off as a warning to other presumptuous flower girls! But if you are not found out, you shall have a present... of, ah... seven and six to start life with as a lady in a shop. If you refuse this offer, you will be the most ungrateful, wicked girl, and the angels will weep for you.” Like Petruchio, Henry is beginning to “tame” Eliza.


“By George, she's got it! By George she's got it!” In both of these scenes we can see that Eliza has been molded into a beautiful aristocrat; she not only looks wealthy, she acts like it. The photo on right shows Eliza attending a horse race, in the scene on the left Eliza is attending a ball held by the queen. At the end of the scene on the right Henry says: “By George, she's got it! By George she's got it!” By saying “By George, she's got it!” Henry is implying that she has been tamed.


Petruchio confidently suggests a test to see which of the three new husbands has the most obedient wife. Each of them will send for his wife, and the one whose wife obeys first will be the winner….Finally, Grumio goes back to get Kate, and she returns at once, to the great surprise of all but Petruchio.” Much like the scene from “My Fair Lady, the fact that Katherina was the only one to come shows she's obedient. This shows the level of power that Petruchio has over Katherina.

In the end of Taming of the Shrew Bianca speaks out in front of her husband. In the beginning of the book Katherina would have stood by what her sister said, but instead she turned to Bianca and said: “Thy husband is thy lord, thy life, thy keeper, Thy head, thy sovereign, one that cares for thee, And for thy maintenance commits his body To painful labour both by sea and land, To watch the night in storms, the day in cold, Whilst thou liest warm at home, secure and safe, And craves no other tribute at thy hands But love, fair looks, and true obedience, Too little payment for so great a debt. . . .My mind hath been as big as one of yours, My heart as great, my reason haply more, To bandy word for word and frown for frown; But now I see our lances are but straws, Our strength as weak, our weakness past compare, That seeming to be most which we indeed least are. Then vail your stomachs, for it is no boot, And place your hands below your husband’s foot, In token of which duty, if he please My hand is ready, may it do him ease.”  Katherina is saying that she’s  lucky to have Petruchio, she call him her lord, and that her role of the wife was to be obedient and loving. In this quote we learn that Katherina has been tamed. Petruchio managed to ruthlessly take advantage of Katherina and mold her into the “perfect” wife.


During the end of the movie, Eliza ends up coming back to Henry even though he treated her like an object, and like Katherina she became obedient. Eliza had become someone  that society would accept, she had become an aristocrat, just like Henry promised. In the last line of the movie Henry says without turning around: “ Eliza? Where the devil are my slippers?” This last line shows us that Henry’s mindset hasn’t changed.

The ending of both the book and the movie prove that women are still being taken advantage of and are still being tamed to be accepted in society. Although both women were quick with their words, they slowly gave in to ultimately please the people that were trying to “help” them.



Citations:

"Quotes." IMDb. IMDb.com. Web. 20 Apr. 2015. <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058385/quotes>.


Shmoop Editorial Team. "The Taming of the Shrew Education Quotes." Shmoop.com. Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 20 Apr. 2015. <http://www.shmoop.com/taming-of-the-shrew/education-quotes.html>.







closing-scene-my-fair-lady
closing-scene-my-fair-lady
my_fair_lady_2092860b
my_fair_lady_2092860b
Audrey-hepburn-ascot-race__39228_std
Audrey-hepburn-ascot-race__39228_std
closing-scene-my-fair-lady
closing-scene-my-fair-lady

Does Love Really Have Silver Linings?

In both “Taming of the Shrew” and “Silver Linings Playbook,” the text sends the message thatwe see that relationships aren’t something that can be forced. In Shakespeare’s play, Katherine is forced to be married off and Petruchio swears that she will be his wife, no matter what it takes. Her younger sister has several suitors after her, and her father will only let Bianca marry after someone takes Katherine. In Silver Linings Playbook, Pat is trying to repair a relationship he already had. After coming home to find his wife cheating on him, he ended up at an inpatient mental health facility where he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. He confesses to his court-ordered therapist he ended up in the hospital after he nearly beat his wife’s lover to death and his wife, Nikki, filed for a restraining order. Although he left the hospital against medical advice, and refuses to take medication he still holds on to the idea that there is hope in saving his relationship. In the end of Taming of the Shrew, Katherine ends up being a nice wife and they live happily ever after, whereas in Silver Lining's Playbook, at the end, we see that neither Tiffany nor Pat are still wearing their wedding rings.


When Pat returns to his home in Lansdale, PA, he meets up with his best friend, Ronnie. Ronnie introduces him to his sister-in-law, Tiffany. Tiffany and Pat develop a friendship quickly; they both share a history of mental health issues and their hatred of Trazadone. Pat quickly realizes that he can use Tiffany to communicate with Nikki and she offers to deliver his letter to Nikki if he agrees to be her partner for a dance competition. He agrees, and is using this dance competition to show Nikki he’s a changed man and worthy of her affection. Similarly to Petruchio's situation, he is being encouraged and helped by friends at his attempt to create a relationship where there isn’t one.



Dissimilarly to Petruchio, Pat isn’t able to talk to Nikki because of the restraining order against him. In order to talk to her, he gives a letter to Tiffany about how he’s a changed man. She responds with a typed letter saying that there is still hope and that she still loves him. His first attempt to reconcile things with him is by reading all of the books she teaches to her high school English class. He tells her in a letter that he finds the book rather depressing, while Nikki responds with ‘real life doesn't have happy endings, I’m teaching kids about the real world.’ He spends all night reading the works of Ernest Hemingway, both with Old Man and the Sea and The Sun Also Rises.


Although, more similarly to Petruchio and Katherine is the dynamic of Tiffany and Pat. Tiffany is recently widowed and unemployed. She eventually opens up about how her husband dies and how she lost her job. She confesses she wasn’t really into sex the few months before she lost her husband, and he died in a car crash on the way home from Victoria’s Secret, where he was buying her lingerie ‘hoping to get things going.’ After he died, she eased her depression by having sex with nearly everyone she worked with. This causes her to lose her job. Tiffany’s sister, Ronnie, is the nice one everyone wants. She has the perfect suburban life. Tiffany, however, does as she pleases. She’s the mean one until people get to know her. She wants Pat to love her, she even offers to let her “fuck her if she turns the lights off.” While Petruchio starves his wife and calls her Kate in an attempt to be more intimate with her, Tiffany offers sex shortly after they meet.


In this scene, Pertuchio is trying to convince Baptista that Katherine really loved him. One of the conditions that Baptista offered in order to marry Katherine is that she must also love him. He keeps calling her Kate, which is a nickname her father uses and is trying to flatter her. He's trying to win her love by complimenting her. Tiffany also does something similar to Pat. In order for Pat to talk to Nikki, he has play nice with Tiffany. Tiffany wants Pat to love her, and is using her upper hand to gain his affection.

"Come, Kate, we'll to bed.
Act V, Scene II

At the end of this all, Katherine is happy with what's going on. She's been tamed. At the end of Pat's story, there was no hope for him and Nikki. What happened before the hospital will never happen again. So he moved on with Tiffany. He finally quit wearing his wedding ring, and she stopped wearing his. Although in both Silver Linings and Shrew, they don't end up in the situation that they would have liked, everyone is happy.

Modern Relationships: Comparing Taming of the Shrew with Elf

“Taming of the Shrew” proves that the myth of romance  has been around for a long time. In the Shakespearean play, Petruchio wants to marry Katherine, and will not let anything stop him. In the 2003 holiday film “Elf,” the main character wants to go out with a woman he met in the city, but his naive, silly personality changes the outcome.

Petruchio and Buddy the Elf may have goals that are somewhat the same, but the tactics they use are quite different. Petruchio throws himself at Katherine and acts aggressive with the support of his friends. Buddy the Elf, however, is very silly, especially when he eventually asks his interest out on a date. These two situations show the different kinds of humor that love and romance have, but they also show the differences in which men treat women.  


“Thou must be married to no man but me. For I am he am born to tame you, Kate, And bring you from a wild Kate to a Kate conformable as other household Kates.”


(Act 2, Scene 1, Lines 290 - 293)


In this quote, Petruchio is confronting Katherine, demanding that he will marry her with nothing getting in his way. He is stating that he will eventually tame her, going from a “wild” Kate to a normal Kate. No other man will marry Katherine but Petruchio.


Another Petruchio, Buddy the Elf, finds himself in a somewhat similar situation, although the way he handles himself is very different.


vlcsnap-2013-12-29-13h12m20s117.png


In the middle of the movie “Elf,” Buddy meets a beautiful employee in a little christmas store while wandering in the mall, and instantly develops a crush on her. Unlike Petruchio, Buddy doesn’t have the desire to ask someone out on a date until he meets the girl. Also the girl, Jovie, is similar to Katherine in this scene because she tried to avoid talking to anyone, including Buddy. She does this because she is “just trying to get through the holidays.” This fuels the humor in the movie, especially showing how innocent Buddy is.


“Now must the world point at poor Katherine and say ‘Lo, there is mad Petruchio’s wife, if it would please him come and marry her.’ “


(Act 3, Scene 2, Lines 18 - 20)


In this quote, Katherine is complaining to Tranio (disguised as Lucentio) that she cannot do anything to stop the marriage. She feels ignored and that no one wants to help her, and instead congratulate Petruchio for marrying her. In the time when the play was written, women were not treated with the respect that they deserved and were given little say in major decisions Katherine is treated like that in this scene.


However in Elf, Jovie seems to have been tamed much faster than Katherine.


Screen Shot 2015-04-17 at 12.21.47 PM.png


When Buddy attempts to ask Jovie out on a date, she actually says yes to him. He takes her all around New York, looking at christmas trees and ice skating. It is somehow these little things that cause Jovie to like Buddy back. It makes Buddy so happy that he runs into his father’s workspace and shouts, “I’m in love and I don’t care who knows it!” Not only does this moment compare to most modern relationships, it also compares to the way Petruchio treats Katherine. He forces himself on Katherine, destined to marry her, while Buddy treats Jovie with respect and has fun on his date.


That Buddy ends up with the girl he likes reinforces the idea that women have more control, as well as the man’s tactics to get the girl. While both Buddy and Petruchio and up with the girl, Petruchio only has a wife, but Buddy has even taught Jovie to step out of her comfort zone. She used to be afraid of singing in public, but learns that “the best way to spread christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear.”

*inserts clever title related to Shrek 2 and Shrew*


Taming of the Shrew and Shrek 2


- Shrek 2 is the sequel to Shrek and it takes place in the kingdom of Far Far Away. There Fiona and Shrek meet Fiona’s parents and they do not approve of Shrek, their disapproval most visibly manifested in her father’s attitude towards Shrek. Her father, coerced by the Fairy God Mother, wishes for Fiona to marry the handsome Prince Charming, who, by all means, tries to gain Fiona’s love.  In the Taming of the Shrew which is set in Padua, Italy. The main character, Katherine is the daughter of the affluent Baptista, who wishes for her to marry a bachelor by the name of Petruchio. The submissive female has seemed to remain resilient in cinema despite all of significant progress made throughout the years. While these two texts differ in many ways, they both portray their female leads as submissive figures.


“If she and I be pleased, what's that to you?”

(Act 3, Scene 2, line 10-11)


The bachelor Petruchio was speaking to Baptista about his daugher,  Katherine’s, hand in marriage. While Baptista wanted Petruchio to marry Katherine, Baptista felt that Petruchio was coming across very strong in a short amount of time, hints the context of the quote. This quote objectifies Katherine because it does not acknowledge her whatsoever, this objectification is synonymous with submission in this case, as Katherine as an object is in a perpetual state of submission.


In this scene in Shrek 2, Shrek is arguing with Fiona’s father, after he comments on the living conditions Fiona is “subject to” living in a swamp. While doing this, Shrek and Fiona’s father are tearing their dinner to shreds (Not figuratively, but literally).


The situations are similar as both husbands (or future husbands) are the within the middle of a conflict with their wives’ fathers. However, Shrek is actually on the good side of Fiona, whereas Petruchio is not by any means on Katherine’s good side. In this scene specifically Shrek initially attempted to gain her father’s approval, as did Petruchio, but both ended up in some sort of conflict.


“My husband and my lord, my lord and husband; I am your wife in all obedience.”  - Katherine to dinner guests.


In the quote above, Katherine at a dinner party and has since married Petruchio and become ‘tamed’, now, Katherine is extremely submissive and telling the guests about her new found submission.


In the scene below, Shrek and Fiona are treading towards Fiona’s parents.


Shrek does not, by any means trying to meet Fiona’s, however, she becomes obedient and attempts to comfort him. As stated before, obedience is synonymous with submission.

The portrayals in both Shrek 2 and Shrew speak volumes to society’s views of women both past (in Shrew) and present. While we have many subversive depictions of female’s in cinema and pop culture, submissive depictions still exist, and this is due to the idea of patriarchy present in both Shrek and Shrew.


The Silver Linings Playbook of Taming of the Shrew

Felix d’Hermillon

Twofer

Taming of the Shrew vs. SIlver Linings Playbook

The Silver Linings Playbook, of Taming of the Shrew

In the essence of The silver linings playbook,anybody that watches it, sees it through the eyes of a modern love story that was written recently, but on the contrary, the movie is based off of many key points from the original play written by william shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew. Whilst there are many different aspects to this movie, the overall image given from this movie is based on the same grounds. Parental guidance is a very present view in both of these forms of medias. Both of the medias allow the parents in the scripts to allow a very clear influence on how they live their lives.


This first example is in the taming of the shrew. In this scene, hortensio is communicating with baptista. He is basically saying that bianca is his treasure and that he needs to get his treasure back from baptista, even though he never had her. “Tarry, Petruchio, I must go with thee, For in Baptista's keep my treasure is: He hath the jewel of my life in hold, His youngest daughter, beautiful Bianca, And her withholds from me and other more.” - Act 1 Scene 2.7 This scene connects well with the filter of the fact that parents control many aspects of their childrens lives because it is literally him saying that the father of the girl that he “loves” owns his daughter and he has to get her from him. This relates to the silver linings playbook because a very similar situation happens in that movie. The one thing that is different is that instead of Pat saying that he loves tiffany and talking to a friend, he is talking to her parents and there is another man that is saying that he “loves” her and he wants to date her. Pat and her parents are the ones that are standing up for her and keeping the creep away from her. This is on the same grounds of the taming of the shrew but it is not exactly the same.


“Quote 1: Silver Linings Playbook

Jordie: Hi, guys. How's it going? Hey. Is Tiffany home?

Tiffany's Mother: Go away.

Jordie: I know her. I know her, we've dated. We still date.

Pat: What are you doing here?

Jordie: I've called her, I've texted her.

Pat: [to Tiffany's parents] Do you know this guy?

Jordie: I still haven't heard back. We used to work together...

Tiffany's Father: Just get the hell out of here...

Jordie: I just wanted to give you my card to give to her.

Tiffany's Father: Another rude creep.

Pat: Listen to what he's saying. Listen to what he's saying.

Jordie: What's he saying?

Pat: He's saying you're being rude.”


This next quote relates to the idea of parents controlling relationships and just simply their childrens lives all together. This next scene, from the taming of the shrew, is of tranio. He has to find somebody to be Lucientio’s fake father so that way he will be able to seal the deal with his wedding. He has to have his parents approval in the process.

“I see no reason but supposed Lucentio, Must get a father, call'd 'supposed Vincentio;', And that's a wonder: fathers commonly, Do get their children; but in this case of wooing, A child shall get a sire, if I fail not of my cunning.”Act 2 Scene 1.12

This is another clear example of the fact that parents back then used to be involved in relationships and this next quote proves that it still goes on today. In this example, Pat senior is freaking out because he just lost a ton of money on a bet and then he starts blaming it on Pat junior because he was “messing up the Juju”. SHortly after, Tiffany walks in yelling at Pat Junior because he was supposed to be with her for the day but instead he blew it off so he could be with his dad and go to the eagles game to fix the juju. Instead he got arrested for fighting there. Pat senior starts yelling at  Tiffany for messing up the Juju and she snaps back at him completely proving him wrong. She turns everybody who wasn’t on her team, onto her side. Right after her smooth ending, you her Pat senior say that he likes her and that he approves of her.

“Tiffany: You think I fucked up the Eagles' juju, don't you?

Pat Sr.: Ever since, ever since he was with you, ever since...

Tiffany: You think that I'm why today's happened?

Pat Sr.: That's right, you are why today happened.

Tiffany: I'm the reason why today happened?

Pat Sr.: I think so.

Tiffany: Let's talk about that.

Pat Sr.: Be my guest.

Tiffany: The first night that Pat and I met at my sister's, the Eagles beat the Forty Niners handily, forty to twenty-six. The second time we got together we went for a run and the Phillies beat the Dodgers seven to five in the NLCS.

Jake: She's right, Dad.

Tiffany: The next time we went for a run, the Eagles beat the Falcons, twenty-seven to fourteen.

Pat: Wow.

Tiffany: The third time we got together we had Raisin Bran in the diner and the Phillies dominated Tampa Bay in the fourth game of the World Series, ten to two.

Pat: Oh, wow.

Pat Sr.: Let me think about that. Wait a minute.

Tiffany: Well, why don't you think about when the Eagles beat the Seahawks, fourteen to seven.

Pat Sr.: He was with you?

Tiffany: He was with me. We went for a run.

Ronnie: Really?

Pat: That's crazy.

Tiffany: There have been no games since Pat and I have been rehearsing every day and if Pat had been with me like he was supposed to, he wouldn't have gotten in a fight, he wouldn't be in trouble, maybe the Eagles beat the New York Giants.

Jake: She's making a lot of sense, Pop. That's all right on all counts.

Pat sr. : I gotta say i’m impressed. I gotta rethink this whole thing. I didnt trust her before but i gotta say now i do.

Pat: Oh now you like her dad?

Pat Sr.: I have to say I do. Yup”

This scene and with the way it ends is a clear example of how the image of parental approval in all relationships (romantic or not) always relies on the parents approval. This entire movie is about people with drama who are being approved by not only parents but society.

It can be determined that parents aren’t the only people who have to approve for a relationship to work out. Society has to as well. The silver Linings Playbook is a clear example of how this plays out and the Taming of the Shrew is the basis that this is based off of. This not only happens in movies but also real life. No matter how hard people try to deny it, the success of a relationship requires the approval of all of society.


When Love Doesn’t Come Now ~ Comparing The Taming of the Shrew to Forrest Gump

Shakespeare's “The Taming of the Shrew” is a testament that romance is possible but a relationship or even marriage might take some time. Often, difficult situations are what propels a relationship or the acceptance of a marriage proposal. In the play, Petruchio seeks to ‘thrive and have a wife’, but  Katherine resists his hand in marriage. Her fear of becoming an old maid finally compels her to accept his proposal. Similarly, in the 1994 movie “Forrest Gump”, the main character loved his best friend since a young child and seeks to date and marry her, however she refuses for several years because she doesn’t want to settle but to be independent. Her diagnosis of HIV/AIDS and the future of her son made her wise up and walk down the aisle with Forrest.


Despite the fact that Katherine and Jenny both refused to their suitors hand in a relationship and marriage in the beginning, their reasons were totally different. Katherine’s refusal is a facade or illusion that she used to mask her fear of never marrying and becoming an old maiden. Jenny’s resistance arises from her hedonistic desires to satisfy herself through freedom, expressionism, and drug abuse. These two circumstances create different reasons for having second thoughts and they also show that society’s thoughts on relationships and marriage has developed over the years. These works both show that women have more control over when to get enter into a relationship and marriage than they once did, however the harsh reality of being an “independent woman” often compels them to walk down the aisle.


“No shame but mine. I must, forsooth, be forced to give my hand, opposed against my heart.”

(Act III, Scene ii, 8-12)


In this quote, Katherine is complaining to Traino about Petruchio. Katherine claims that she is humiliated about being forced into marriage. She claims that he is a con artist that is in a hurry to get engaged. Petruchio wants to get married to Katherine because she comes from a wealthy family and she is available because no one wants to put up with her temper. He wasn’t marrying her based off of love.


In the movie Forrest Gump, Jenny finds herself in a similar situation. However, it is before the question of marriage is put in the air.


Screen Shot 2015-04-20 at 1.51.08 PM
Screen Shot 2015-04-20 at 1.51.08 PM

In this early scene from the movie, Jenny is scolding Forrest for trying to ‘save’ her from her a guy that she was having intimate relations with. She says, “Forrest you don’t have to do this for me. I am grown now.” Jenny goes on to say that she would not be in a relationship with him. Here Jenny wants to be free and express herself on her own. She is not ready to settle down and be with Forrest; she just wants to hook up with guys and not have any strings attached. Similar to Katherine, she refuses to be in a relationship. However, Jenny actually has the option to not be in a relationship. Katherine had to marry Petruchio not matter how she felt. This shows that a woman’s control over whether or not they entered in to a relationship has changed over throughout the centuries.


“She is your treasure, she must have a husband. I must dance barefoot on her wedding day; and, for your love to her, lead apes in hell.”

(Act II, Scene I, 32-34)



In this quote, Katherine is having an argument with her father about her younger sister, Bianca. She said that Bianca his her father’s treasure, and while her daughter gets married, she will dance barefoot on her wedding day. It is an old wives tale that if the younger of two sister’s get married first, than the older sister must dance barefoot at the sister’s wedding or risk never getting married. Here Katherine is implying that Bianca is the prized daughter who is destined to be married, while she will die an old maid. This is the incident compels Katherine to get married. She doesn’t want to die alone, so she will soon have to give into marrying Petruchio. Even though Katherine had little control over marriage, she did have control over her feelings concerning Petruchio. He would be her only hope of saving her from being an old maid, by marrying him.


Screen Shot 2015-04-20 at 1.51.25 PM
Screen Shot 2015-04-20 at 1.51.25 PM

In this, Jenny is sitting in a park with Forrest looking after the child that they share. This is the moment when Jenny reveals that she has HIV/AIDS and won’t have much time left to live. Then she finally asks him to marry her. This is the incident that pushes Jenny to marry Forrest. Because she only has little time left with Forrest and her son needs someone to take care of him, she has to marry Forrest. Similar to Katherine, she finally decides to marry the man that sought her hand in marriage. This shows that a woman’s control over marriage has changed because Jenny had more control than Katherine on whether she wanted to marry. It took her many years to marry Forrest and she switched the gender roles by asking Forrest to marry her, instead of him asking her to marry him.


The fact that Jenny finally asks Forrest to marry her in the end of the movie fortifies that theory that women have more power to chose whether or not they want to be in a relationship or marriage. The “Taming of the Shrew” ends with Katherine wed to Petruchio and ‘tamed’. She no longer is a wild-tongued woman she used to be, but is a ‘faithful servant’ to her husband. “Forrest Gump” ends with Jenny and Forrest happily married after many years of lost love. Although she ultimately dies, Jenny made the decision to spend her last days to married to Forrest.



WORKED CITED:

  • "Taming of the Shrew: Entire Play." Taming of the Shrew: Entire Play. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2015. 
  • "MOVIE ONLINE." Forrest Gump. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2015. 

"To love her just the way she isn't"

“To love someone just the way they aren’t”

The taming of the shrew and Bridget Jones' Diary



Taming of the shrew analyzing Bridget Jones’ movie from her point of view marc darcies and daniel cleaver ‘Bridget Jones’ diary focuses’ on Bridget a working woman who is struggling to find a man. She meets  Mark Darcy and finds him to be incredibly rude to her, and later becomes the girlfriend of Daniel Cleaver who cheats on her with another woman but it constantly reminds Bridget of her inadequacies. While “Bridget Jones’ Diary” Shows supposedly shows the story of a “modern woman,” these customs of marriage especially for a woman is the only way she will be deemed successful.




“ Kate of my consolation Hearing thy mildness praised in every town,Thy virtues spoke of, and thy beauty sounded,

Yet not so deeply as to thee belongs,”



Petruchio is talking to Katherine about how he will woo her, this is also the point where he is starving her and telling her it’s because she deserves better. This is exactly similar to what Daniel Cleaver does towards the end of his relationship with Bridget where he, allows himself to cheat on her and tells her it’s simply because she is far too good for him.  This is exactly similar to what Daniel Cleaver does towards the end of his relationship with Bridget where he, allows himself to cheat on her and tells her it’s simply because she is far too good for him.  However his torture of her allows for him to control her. At which point she eventually rebels from his tactics and kicks him to the curb after he fights with Mark Darcy.





In this scene Bridget's mom has introduced Bridget and Mark, and leaves them to have a conversation. Mark is obviously not interested in Bridget as she tries to make the situation less awkward by talking about how awkward the situation they both are in is, and in turn makes it that much more awkward. She leaves and Mark insults her loud enough for her to hear it. In this scene in particular mark is most similar to Katherine, he is unmoved by this ‘suitor’ that his mom has placed upon him trying in trying to pressure him into getting married or have a girlfriend. Katherine is the same way, where she acts awful and nasty towards every man that has tried to woo her in order for her to marry before her sister even though she has no desire too. This shows that the custom of marriage for Bridget is much more embarrassing that she is single than it is for Mark Darcy. Although we compare Mark’s attitude to that of Katherines’ it is Bridget who ultimately ends up the victim to the cruel harsh words of Darcy, while Katherine appeared ridiculous and rude to not want such a suitor.


“Sir, understand you this of me in sooth The youngest daughter whom you hearken for Her father keeps from all access of suitors,

And will not promise her to any man”



This is the scene where petruchio has already been asked to win over Katherine in order to free Bianca’s eligibility and he is talking to Baptista who is the father of both girls. This plays on the traditional customs of Women who are unable to chose their own husbands. While Baptista does eventually tell Petruchio that Katherine must love him, it remains unclear if she ever does, or merely accepted her fate. This custom has not been completely diminished the approval of the father within relationships from a father figure or “Man of the house” is often something that society looks for within a stable home. A man is not good if dad doesn’t approve. This is the difference that we find with Bridget in her movie.




In this scene, Mark darcy and Daniel Cleaver are both fighting over Bridget, Daniel has just come from his home showing up randomly to announce how he feels about Bridget and to apologize to her for the awful ordeal he caused her. Prior to Bridget and Mark, and Daniel meeting Daniel Cleaver were already friends with Mark and lost touch after Daniel had an affair with Mark’s Fiance but told Bridget that the opposite happened. In this particular situation Bridget is both Bianca and Baptista and Katherine, She has been warped and pressured into making a decision to date someone throughout the film, and now has to make the decision of whom she wants to marry at the same time while being the most wanted girl. This is supposed to show the example of good guy V.S. bad guy within this scene however their is no concern for the choice of Bridget, and while she is the protagonist her entire life revolves around having a man in it. This shows how, even though we change the times and the rolls and allude to the idea that the decision is all Bridgets. What we actually see is that it is much prettier to see who is more deserving of her and judge her for the selection that she makes. Much like in Shrew how it was never Biancas decision to be married or not, it was simply to whom. Bridgets worth is completely diminished if she does not chose a man. But it is not her choice where her worth comes from.


Both the taming of the shrew and Bridget Jones diary emphasize the idea that a woman's worth is in her man. Society likes the to have the idea of a happy ending being with a man period. Noth the realisation that a women could be beautiful without one, or have worth on her own. However that is not the case. These portrayals show us that the institutions of marriage are the only way for anyone to achieve security in their lives. At the end of the movie Mark Darcy tells Bridget that he is in love with her just the way she is, after she has changed completely.


She's The Man (but she used to be the women)

She’s The Man (but she used to be the woman)

Taming of The Shrew and She’s The Man

The Shakespeare classic, "The Taming of the Shrew", shows the relationship between romance and obedience has been around for centuries. In the play, the crazy- neurotic and dominant Petruchio seeks to win Katherine’s love through obedience, despite her persistence independence. In the 2006 movie, “She’s The Man”, the main character Viola has an ex-boyfriend Justin with the same mindset as Petruchio--and she’s just as stubborn as Katherine, and also just as sneaky.


Though Katherine and Viola share some emotions and personality traits, their situations- and end goals- are very different. Katherine never wanted marriage, never wanted to allow a man to have control over her, and while Viola want’s the same, she has a guy in mind she believes is her happily ever after. Katherine is forced into marriage to Petruchio  as he lied about her father immediately promising her over, and as he begins to train her, she also tricks him. Viola has to overcome the fact that her ex-boyfriend Justin is actually a controlling jerk, and her new love Duke likes Oliva, the good debutant that obeys. The snapping with both characters possess in their disobedience provide similar humor despite different generations, showing the similarities between our past and present societies. These text reflect that in today’s world, women are able to make their own choices, fighting and disobeying man’s demands more than they once did, but society still deems it acceptable for the man to try and control the women. Both generation of men believe the women should accept the man’s request to obey, but women have other ideas.


Petruchio- “Sirrah Grumio, go to your mistress, Say I command her to come to me.” [Enter Katherine]

Baptista- “Now by my holidan, here comes Katherina!”

Petruchio-“Go fetch them hither...Away, I say, and bring them hither straight... Nay, I will win my wager better yet, and show more sign of her obedience, Her new-built virtue and obedience [Enter Katherine, Bianca and Widow] Katherine, that cap of yours becomes you not. Off with that bauble, throw it underfoot [she obeys].”

(Act x, Scene x, line numbers)


In this quote, taken from the ending scene of the play, Petruchio and his father and brother in law make a wager of whose wife will be obedient and run to them when they call. Everyone bet against Katherine, because of how “mean” and disobedient she appeared to be because she did not want to marry. It turned out she was the only wife to come right away when her husband called for her. She then gives a long speech to the other wives about obeying their husband, begging the question- did she actually submit her obedience or does she hold more power over the man then they realize? Viola finds herself with the same choice as Katherine- listen to her man or do as she pleases?


In this early scene from "She’s The Man," we see that Viola has a love for soccer- something she shares with her boyfriend Justin. Her school cut the girls soccer team, yet allowed the boys soccer team to stay. When the sexist coach refuses to turn the team coed, Justin makes a cruel mistake and misjudgement about his girlfriend-he assumed she would obey. “Justin-“Viola! End of discussion!” Teammate-“Yeah, tell her, man.” Viola-“Fine. End of relationship.” Justin- “Come on, let's go. - Baby, don't be like that. I...I just don't want to see you get hurt.” “You are so full of...” After the sexist comments from both the coach and Justin, Viola breaks up with Justin and doesn’t fall for his excuses, giving the audience the first glance of the fire in her character. Upset that nobody seen anything wrong with the coaches logic or words, she slumps home to her awaiting mother.


Gremio-“She’s too rough for me.- There, there, Hortensio, will you any wife?

Katherine [to Baptista]- “I pray you, sir, is it your will To make a stale of me amongst these mates?

Hortensio- ““Mates”, maid? How mean you that? No mates for you, Unless you were of gentler, milder mold.”

(Act x, Scene x, line numbers)


In this quote, Gremio and Hortensio, two suitors of Bianca, Katherine’s little sister, they explain that Katherine is too mean and rough for them- or any man. They believe her to be ungentle because she does not aspire to marriage, and is opinionated in her life and choices. As these men talk about her, unkindly, she turns to her father, upset that she has to endure the pressure of marriage and submitting to a man. She had already made it clear to her father she had no desire to marry, but until she does, he is not allowing her much admired little sister too be bethroved. The doppelganger spirit of Katherine, Viola, finds herself in similar uncomfortable situations throughout the movie, despite her efforts to avoid the other’s persistence.



As viola arrived home, her mother was waiting for her with several dramatic dresses. Her mother, a well known debutant, wants Viola to follow in her footsteps and embrace the debutant life. Viola had already told her mother she enjoyed sports and ball shorts more than dresses and tea party’s, but her mother ignored her request and continues to manipulate her into debutant duties. Her mother is so invested in the debutants because of Viola’s father, believing debutants get more attention from men and make for better wives. Viola’s mother continues to compare Viola to Olivia, a obedient debutant who has won the attention of Duke, the new boy Viola has a crush on.


By enforcing the “female” stereotype that to get a man’s attention you must be obedient, pretty and well put together, the audience can see how society hasn’t changed much. But by allowing Viola to show her character, as Katherine did, and fight back, the audience is also able to realize that obedience to the man is oppressing to women even if they “submit” their will. Even when the women fought back, those around them did not view the man’s actions as wrong, leaving us wondering if it is an accurate depiction of present day society. Viola ends the movie with both the man and soccer- begging the question, why did she have to fight the man so hard? But she won, and she becomes the man.



Gonna Wife My Baby, Gonna Tame Her Right

Analyzing “Afternoon Delight” in light of “The Taming of the Shrew”

In “The Taming of the Shrew”, quieting a sharp-tongued Katherine becomes the dire task for her resolute and relentless suitor, Petruchio. Her father, Baptista, is a man of great wealth, and Petruchio shows that his true endgame is not Katherine, but her dowry. The entire play is one that pinpoints the expectations of men and women in relationships, and further, a woman’s place in society.

A few modern comparisons can be made in “Afternoon Delight,” a romantic comedy-drama that released in 2013. In the film, Rachel and Jeff are a married couple who take the advice of their wayward friends to go to a strip club to inject new passion into their marriage. They take a trip to Sam’s Hofbrau, where Rachel gets a lap dance from a very young McKenna. When McKenna mentions that she’s 19, Rachel feels immediately sympathetic and decides to take it upon herself to bring her out of the lifestyle she leads. When Rachel brings McKenna home, various incidents create shifts between Rachel, her husband and her acquaintances. During the movie, she often questions whether or not she wants to be married because of McKenna’s presence in the house.  

The play  illustrates a woman who speaks her mind despite the stigma placed on her gender to do so, and  “Afternoon Delight” explores a woman’s battle with the expectations men place on women in marriage. While the idea of romance and marriage has changed throughout time, both “The Taming of the Shrew” and Afternoon Delight prove that a woman is still expected to play specific roles in a marriage and within society, despite the progress from patriarchy that has been made.


“For I am he am born to tame you, Kate, and bring you from a wild Kate to a Kate conformable as other household Kates.”
- Petruchio, Act 2. Sc 1. Line 291-293


In this particular scene, Petruchio is first meeting Kate. All that he knew about her were rumors from others of her sharp speech and copious dowry; upon meeting her, they exchanged a fast-paced competition of words, which Petruchio gained the upper hand of. Just before Katherine’s father walks in to see that his daughter and future son-in-law were properly courted, Petruchio says the statement above. Comparatively,


This can be compared to a major plot point in Afternoon Delight, where Rachel mentions that she needs to “save McKenna from her life of sex-work.  In the scene pictured above, McKenna is telling Rachel and her best friend Stephanie (who advocated for Rachel to go to the strip club in the first place) about her escapades with various men- young and old, she calls them her clients. She mentions the money she is paid for the work that she does through playing into men’s desires and wooing them in her way. Rachel and Stephanie both look at McKenna sideways; being middle-class mothers from sunny California, a woman’s work is quiet and respectable- not that of a prostitute, which Stephanie condescendingly calls McKenna.  In this situation, McKenna can be seen as the wild and unruly Katherine, content with her life, proudly working in a field controlled by men. Although she doesn’t speak as harshly as Katherine, McKenna’s backlash isn’t a verbal one- her backlash is largely against societal standards and how a woman should act. Throughout the movie, McKenna is side-eyed, her presence is laced with Petruchio’s distaste of Katherine lies within her outspokenness and pushback against the status quo and standards of society at the time. Throughout the play, he wishes to make Kate a respectable woman- one of both stature and restless obedience toward her husband.

At a later time during the play Katherine shows a completely new side of herself:

“I am ashamed that women are so simple to offer war where they should kneel for peace or seek for rule, when they are bound to serve, love and obey. Why are our bodies soft and weak and smooth, unapt to toil and trouble in the world, but that our soft conditions and our hearts should well agree with our external parts?”
- Katherine, Act 5. Scene 2, Lines 176-184


One of the most heart-wrenching quotes for any headstrong woman to read, this quote is a clear sign of Petruchio’s brainwashing in full swing. Earlier in Act 5, Katherine was only tipping into submission, more or less so that she didn’t have to deal with Petruchio’s obscene wishes and desires. However, in this scene, Petruchio- having the love and gratitude of Katherine’s father in full- tells Katherine to show the other women in the scene how things are really done in a marriage. She lashes out against the women, telling them that their true place is obedience and submission. This is an example of Katherine advocating for the wishes of a man and his expectations within a marriage. In the same light,


in the scene pictured above, Rachel is drunkenly lamenting to her “friends” about how she only has one child immediately after Stephanie tries to bring up the fact that she’s having another baby. The most interesting part of her maudlin confession is that Rachel says and does all of the right things around the other moms, but this drunken stuper seems to eject all of the words she’s been holding on her tongue.

“You will all have three children, and I have one. Just one,” she almost yells angrily, seeking empathy in a place where it simply won’t be offered. The assumption that can be made during this scene is that the drudges of her marriage and amount of sexual tension is manifesting negatively with each thing she says while drunk. She says what she truly feels- and those feelings are those expectations of a good, healthy marriage weighing on her shoulders. She makes each woman in the room feel bad for their bounty, unleashing a cornucopia of unkempt thoughts. Just as Katherine lashed out against the women in the scene from “Shrew,” Rachel lashes out against the women in “Afternoon Delight”- and they’re both doing it because of those weighty preconceptions of how women are supposed to be in relationships.


“The Taming of the Shrew” was written over 400 years ago, but still connects to “Afternoon Delight” with comedic moments both light and dark. Both works are laced with drama, but the greater comparison can be made when there is a realization that both of these romantic “dramedies” touch on one elephant in the room: for centuries, men have, and still do, dictate the way women choose to present themselves- not only in relationships, but as a woman in general. Petruchio aims to woo and tame Katherine, trying to shove her on the “right” path to a “perfect” relationship. In the first scene, Rachel and her friend can be compared to Petruchio, trying to push an untamed McKenna into the light. In the second scene, Rachel can be compared to Katherine, with a ruthless Petruchio yelling through her subconscious. At the end of the movie, despite a breakup with her husband, a falling out with most of her friends, and an end to her relationship with McKenna, Rachel ends up happy and comfortable with married life- void of those expectations that were holding her back.


The Taming of That Awkward Moment by Sergei Mass




The Taming of That Awkward Moment



The play is Taming of the Shrew and the movie is That Awkward Moment. It features Jason and Daniel, both single players living in Manhattan when their best friend Mickey is splitting up from his wife. Mickey got married young and never experience the young and fun life of meeting new people like Jason and Daniel have. The three men go out to have fun and help Mickey get over his splitting up with his wife. Jason and Daniels plan was to stay single till then...


These two texts are similar because in the end, everybody wants to get married to each other. In the movie, however, the men hide their desire to get married because they are being seen as players. The men in the movie like to hide their desire because they want to make it seem to the audience and each other that they fulfill the stereotype that men do not have feelings.





"PETRUCHIO

Tell me her father's name and 'tis enough;

For I will board her, though she chide as loud

As thunder when the clouds in autumn crack."




In the play, Petruchio was keen on impressing Katherines father. He wanted him to know that he would take care of his daughter. Unlike in the movie where Daniel is not the type to impress his lady friend’s parents. In a way he embarrassed himself.



In this scene, Daniel is at Thanksgiving dinner at his undercover girlfriend Chelseas parent’s house. He is talking with Chelsea’s mother about what he does for a living. He then said a joke about his job that he works at Google. Then at that point Chelsea’s father walks up and says “You got a job at Google?” and Daniel responds with “No, no, no it’s just not..” and her dad interrupts with “Possible”. Here it reveals that Daniel is not the type to impress his girl’s dad. He does not prove a great deal that he is the one and has a promising future. It might be that Daniel does not want to be very open about his relationship or that he does not see it lasting too long.




"PETRUCHIO

Why, there's a wench! Come on, and kiss me, Kate.

LUCENTIO

Well, go thy ways, old lad; for thou shalt ha't.

VINCENTIO

'Tis a good hearing when children are toward.

LUCENTIO

But a harsh hearing when women are froward.

PETRUCHIO

Come, Kate, we'll to bed.

We three are married, but you two are sped.”




In this scene Petruchio is being open about his love for Katherine with his friends. He is talking about kissing her and talking about going to bed with her. They are newlyweds and are crazy in love. Unlike in the book, the characters in the movie are not open with their love.  




In this scene in the movie, Daniel and Chelsea are laying in bed at Chelsea’s house. They are cuddling and talking about their live and Chelsea brings up Daniel’s friends. She then asks “What have you told them?” and he says “Oh… everything.” The audience knows that Daniel is not being honest with Chelsea. In the book Petruchio is very open about his love life with his friends and he feels that showing his feelings does not affect how “manly” he is and he does not really care what others think. He only cares about his feelings for Katherine.


That Awkward Moment and The Taming of the Shrew help perpetuate the stereotypes and societies views on the love life of men. Unlike the play Taming of the Shrew, Daniel and Jason are not very open about their relationships. They like to be seen as players and not seen a the type to settle down and have feelings. Where in the play, Petruchio is very open to his friends about his live life. In fact he plotted to get his wife with his friends.


Relationships Can Be Changed But Not Tamed


(Comparing "Taming of the Shrew" to "Date Night")


The book “The Taming of The Shrew” follows the story of three men, Hortensio, Lutencio and Petruchio, and two women, Bianca and Katherine, who struggle to find a romance in the city of Padua. More in particular, the character named Petruchio is determined to marry the daughter of Baptista; Katherine. Petruchio, desperately going to any lengths to make Katherine his wife, will also attempt to change her in the process. Both the movie Date Night and Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew demonstrate the idea that starting a relationship and changing a pre-existing one cannot simply be forced upon.

“Forward, I pray, since we have come so far,

And be it moon, or sun, or what you please;

And if you please to call it a rush-candle,

Henceforth I vow it shall be so for me.”


(Act 4, Sc. 5, 14)


To tame Kate, Petruchio uses psychological methods, rather than aggressive or barbaric ones. Using highly sophisticated, psychological methods to tame Katherine allow her to keep her witty personality while remaining happy with Petruchio. In this scene, Petruchio makes a comment about the moon being so bright while Katherine attempts to assure him its not nighttime yet. Petruchio argues with Kate and Hortensio insists to Katherine that she simply agrees with him or else they arguement will not end.  Petruchio controls Katherine in order to have the marriage he wants. As for Phil and Claire Foster, they want to continue to have a healthy marriage and will do anything to do so.Screen Shot 2015-04-17 at 10.28.24 AM.png

In this scene of Date Night, Phil Foster and Claire Foster are on their way to a restaurant for their night out. Forcing themselves to feel better about the situation, they both try to make each other feel comfortable in the situation.


“Then, God be bless'd, it is the blessed sun;

But sun it is not, when you say it is not;

And the moon changes even as your mind.

What you will have it nam'd, even that it is,

And so it shall be so for Katherine. “


(Act 4, Sc. 5, 21)


After being in the argument about the moon and sun, Petruchio successfully gets Katherine to agree to his opinion. This scene symbolizes the two characters and their relationship throughout the entire play. Petruchio wants to maintain the marriage he wants and is not afraid to change Katherine in order to do so. In result, it forms an unhealthy relationship.


In this scene of Date Night, Phil and Claire arrive late to a fancy restaurant and are not able to get a table. While waiting in line for a table, Phil takes somebody else’s reservations so that him and his wife are able to enjoy their date night. Phil wants to rekindle the relationship between him and his wife and is willing to do anything to make sure its secure. This scene not only presents the plot to the story line, but a comedic backdrop to remind the audience of it’s genre.


While both Petruchio and Phil Foster wanted to perfect the relationship they both strived for, neither relationship was mended with the actions the characters took.

In conclusion, both the movie Date Night and Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew demonstrate the idea that starting a relationship and changing a pre-existing one cannot simply be forced upon.





Lucentio in Manhattan


Lucentio in Manhattan

The Taming of the Shrew; Maid in Manhattan

Pilar Carroll

Air Stream


     In english class we read the play The Taming of the Shrew, one of the main characters is Bianca, a beautiful girl that all the men are fond of. By contrast  the play also includes bianca’s sister, Katherine, a mean sour women who men tend to stay away from. Then there are the men of the play, Baptista, the father, Patricio, Katherine's husband, and Bianca's three suitors, Luciano, Grumio, and Hortensio. In the Maid in Manhattan, the main characters name is Marissa, she is a maid at The Beresford Hotel. She has a son named Ty. There is a man at the Hotel named Christopher Marshall, he is running for senator, and helping him is Jerry. Lasty, there is a women also staying at the hotel named Caroline, she is extremely rich.  


     In both this play and the movie, money is a factor. Though almost everyone in The Taming of the Shrew has the same social class, Marissa in Maid in Manhattan, was of a lower class than the rest of the characters in that movie. This could be seen as making the movies have no connection, but that fact that Marissa lied about her social class, is just like Lucentio lying about his identity and profession. These scenarios are very similar. Through out both the movie and the play, The characters act deceitfully when put in strange situations of love.


LUCENTIO

Ah, Tranio, what a cruel father’s he!

But art thou not advised, he took some care

To get her cunning schoolmasters to instruct her?

TRANIO

Ay, marry, am I, sir; and now ’tis plotted!

LUCENTIO

I have it, Tranio!

TRANIO

   You will be schoolmaster

And undertake the teaching of the maid:

That’s your device.

(Act 1, Scene 1, 158-169)


     In this scene of The Taming of the Shrew, Lucentio, a young, handsome man who was sent to Pisa to go to university, sees a young women, named Bianca, accompanied by her undesirable sister, Katherine, and her father, Baptista. Bianca has two suitors following her Grumio, and Hortensio.There is a short spute between Katherine and the suitors, but eventually it is finished and they all go inside. After they leave, Lucentio discussed with his servant, Tranio about love he fell in love with her, at first sight. He knows that he could not court her they way his is now simply because her father with not approve. So he decided that he will disguise himself, to deceive Baptista, and Bianca, eventually to woo her. He dresses up as something Bianca is very familiar with, and fond of, a school teacher.


     This scene of Maid in Manhattan. Marissa is cleaning up the Park suite for a wealth guest. Another maid, Stephanie is helping Marissa clean the suite. While they are cleaning, Stephanie goes into the guests closet, and pulls out a Dolce & Gabbana outfit, begging Marissa to try them on. As she is putting on the clothes. Marissa's nine year old son, Ty, meets Christopher Marshall, a politician, his dog, and his right hand man, Jerry, on the elevator. Ty asks Christopher if he could walk his go with him. He goes upstairs to the park suite to ask Marissa, accompanied by Christopher. As Ty knocks on the door, Stephanie opens it. Stephanie see’s Christopher with Ty, and introduces Marissa as Ms.Carolyn, the name of the women renting the suite. Marissa and Christopher lock eyes, and have an intense moment. Her over ruled by his looks, plays along as being Carolyn.

     In both these scenes, Lucentio, and Marissa found the ones they loved, from love at first sight. They both decided to be in disguise to woo the ones they loved, and admired.


“LUCENTIO

Here’s Lucentio, right son to the right Vincentio,

That have by marriage made thy daughter mine

While counterfeit supposes bleared thine eyne.”

(Act 5, Scene 1, 97-99)


     In this scene of The Taming of the Shrew, the real Lucentio reveals himself to Bianca’s family. Before he reveals himself, everyone thinks that he is a latin teacher. After he shares that he is Lucentio, he explains how he is going to marry Bianca. He has shown that they loved each other, and have disregarded the fact that he lied about who he was in order for her to fall for him.



       This is the last scene in Maid in Manhattan. Previously, Christopher found out that Marissa was the maid. She was fired from her job. Christopher and Marissa parted ways, but were clearly devastated by their split. One day, Christopher was in town making a speech, and Ty, Marissa's son, knew he was going to be at her hotel. During Christophers speech, he asked for any questions, Ty asked about giving people second chances. Ty the convinced Christopher to go and find Marissa, and confess his love to her. When marissa saw Christopher she expressed how sorry she was, and how she was scared regarding her social class. But he exclaimed that he didn’t care. They confessed their love to each other, and lived “happily ever after”.

     Even though the scenarios were not completely the same in The Taming of the Shrew, and in Maid in Manhattan; both stories have extremely similar introductions into deceitfulness, and outcomes of deceitfulness. Both Lucentio and Marissa saw opportunities to get to the ones they love, and they took their chances. Thankfully, Bianca, and Christopher loved them so much that they did not care about the lies, because love is all that matters.  


Work Cited:
  • Shakespeare, William. The Taming Of The Shrew. New York: Washington Square, 1992. Print.
  • Maid in Manhattan. Perf. Jennifer Lopez and Ralph Fiennes. Columbia Pictures, 2003. Netflix.

The Proposal Of The Shrew



The Proposal of The Shrew


I chose to focus on a romantic comedy, this movie stars Sandra Bullock as Margaret Tate, and Ryan Reynolds as Andrew Paxton. Margaret Tate is a canadian woman who finds out that she is facing deportation because of her expired visa. Since she is very committed to her job she convinces her assistant Andrew Paxton to pretend as her fiance until she can fix visa issues. The Taming of the Shrew shows the journey of how two polar opposites began a relationship and eventually through the up’s and down’s fell in love, this comedy revolves around Petruchio’s journey to marry the older sister but ill-tempered Katherine in order for the younger sister Bianca to marry. Both The Proposal and The Taming of the Shrew have similar issues that characters in The Proposal and The Taming of the Shrew, Margaret Tate and Andrew Paxton  


The Proposal and The Taming of the Shrew both contains two strong female characters that are filled with hardship and are considered to be heartless, but both women fall romantically in love once both males in each story show them how to love.


"Quote from Play"


Pertruchio: “ A herald Kate? O, put me in thy books.”


Katherine: “ What is you crest? A coxcomb?


Pertruchio: “A combless cock, so Kate will be my hen.”


Katherine: “No cock of mine. You crow too like a craven.”


Pertruchio: “Nay, come, Kate, come. You must not look so sour.”


Katherine: “It is my fashion when I see a crab.”


In this conversation Petruchio and Katherine fight back and forth, in their heated exchange of words many sexual references were used as clever comebacks. This relates to my thesis statement because it gives an example of how negative Katherine can be as a result to how Petruchio tries to tame her.



Act 2, Scene 1, 210


(Act x, Scene x, line numbers)





Andrew and Margaret are put under pressure as they are demanded to tell the story of who they got engaged. But it takes a turn for the worse as Margaret and Andrew secretly insult each other as they tell the tale of their engagement.

Screen Shot 2015-04-20 at 6.49.37 PM.png


In this scene of “The Proposal” Andrew and Margaret go to Sitka, Alaska where Andrew’s family lives so Margaret could meet them. Margaret wasn’t adjusting to well to Andrew’s hometown and was already on a rocky start with his family. Later in the scene Andrew and his dad have a heated discussion about his relationship with his boss, at that moment asked for the attention of everyone in the room and announced that he and Margaret will be getting married. When asked if they would have children in the near future Margaret and Andrew go back and forth insulting each other about what they lack and their weaknesses.



Katherine: “ Husband, let’s follow to see the end of this ado.”


Petruchio: “ First Kiss me, Kate, and we will.


Katherine: “ What, in the midst of the street?”


Petruchio: “ What, art thou ashamed of me?”

Katherine: “ No, sir God Forbid, but ashamed to kiss.”


Petruchio: “ Why then, let’s home again. Come, sirrah, let’s away.”


Katherine: “ Nay, I will give thee a kiss. Now pray thee, love, stay.”


Petruchio: “ Is not this well? Come, my sweet Kate. Better once than never, for never too late.”


Act 5, Scene 5, Page 205




Analysis: 

In this scene of "The Taming of The Shrew" Katherine falls in love with Petruchio despite their recent fights in the early scenes. Before they do anything Petruchio wants Katherine to kiss him in the middle of the street, almost as if it proves her love to him. She doesn't know how she feels about kissing him in the street at first, but then kisses him as they are about to leave. The quotes relate to my thesis statement because it shows how their transition from hating each other to loving each other at the end. 







Margaret holds back on expressing her true feelings for Andrew, Andrew demands that she commit to what she feels and that he is in love with her and wants to get married. She eventually gives in and kisses him.

Screen Shot 2015-04-27 at 9.52.30 PM.png















In this scene of “ The Proposal” Margaret packs up all her things from her office as she prepares to be deported back to Canada where she was born. Andrew follows her back to New York from Alaska to finally make her realize that she doesn’t need to be cold hearted and that she is wanted. As the scene continues Margaret continues to push Andrew away and makes excuses as to why she prefers to be alone, but Andrew stands his ground and eventually leans in to kiss her in front of all of her employees. This scene relates to my thesis statement because it shows how Andrew forces Margaret to face reality and realize that she doesn’t always have to be tough throughs others, he even stands his ground when she tries to push him away and point out all of his flaws and why they shouldn’t be together. This scene relates to the "The Taming of The Shrew" because in the beginning of the movie Andrew hated her because she was heartless and a cruel boss, but at the end they fall in love and declare their love just as Petruchio and Katherine did in the book.


Every man and woman is expected to always be in a relationship, and if that relationship were to end the hunt for a new partner becomes a notion that clouds what really matters. But when the untamed lose their instinct to hunt for a new partner, their hunger can become very bitter. The Taming of the Shrew” and “The Proposal” show how two strong, cold hearted female characters fall for the men they would have never thought they would be with. Society uses this status quo to advertise that you have to act like a damsel in distress to be in a relationship. Both the movie and the book give a clear example of how the damsel in distress act isn’t always the solution.


Work Cited:

1). "The Proposal: Why Are You Panting?" YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 17 Apr. 2015.

2). SparkNotes. SparkNotes, n.d. Web. 16 Apr. 2015.



Le fabuleux destin de Lucentio

Le fabuleux destin de Lucentio

Comparing Amélie and Taming of the Shrew

There has always been a debate whether love at first sight is real or not. Some see it as logically impossible and completely ridiculous, while others say they’ve even felt it themselves. However, there’s no objective way to know if it’s real or not. Because of that, fiction has always been a base for talking about love at first sight, and both Amélie and Taming of the Shrew show that.

Amélie Poulain, a woman living in France, has lived alone her whole life, and is looking for love. She falls in love with a man named Nino who spends his free time collecting discarded photo booth photos. Amélie later finds his briefcase, which he has left behind, and goes on a journey to find him and return the briefcase. It’s very different,  but there are parallels with Taming of the Shrew. Amélie is a lot like Lucentio. She falls in love at first sight, much like Lucentio falls in love with Bianca, and they both spend the majority of their respective works trying to find who they love and win their heart. In addition, in the end, they both end up together with who they love. However, in Taming of the Shrew, this is shown as a bad thing- Lucentio is unable to summon Bianca during a bet, while Petruchio, who manipulates Kate, is able to. Therefore, while Amélie enthusiastically supports love at first sight, Taming of the Shrew refutes it as worthless and meaningless.

“Happily I have arrivèd at the last, unto the wishèd haven of my bliss.”

(Act V, Scene vii, 108-109)

“Sir, my mistress sends you word, that she is busy, and she cannot come.”

(Act V, Scene ii, 86-87)


At the end of Taming of the Shrew, the characters Petruchio, Hortensio, and Lucentio place a bet on whose wife is more obedient. They each call their wives and wait to see who will come. Lucentio, whose love was “at first sight”, cannot make his wife, Bianca, come, as she is busy. Petruchio, who “trained” his wife with cruelty, gets his wife, Kate, to come. It makes a point- Petruchio’s marriage, which is based on training Kate to be a good wife, is worthwhile, while Lucentio’s, which is more organic, is not.

This is the opposite of what Amélie shows.

amelie_04.jpg

In Amélie, the main character, Amélie, falls in love at first sight with Nino. She’s shy, and he’s shy, so they don’t really talk much. However, she finds his lost photo album, and she eventually works up the courage to look for him and find him. This is similar to Lucentio, who also falls for someone and goes on a journey to find them.

“If you let this opportunity slip away, then, as time goes by, it's your heart that will become as dry and fragile as my bones.”

Amelie_and_Nino.jpg

Amélie is shy, but her friend, the old painter M. Dufayel, tells her to find Nino. Dufayel is portrayed as the “wise old man”, which is meant to make the viewer believe and trust him. This, combined with the end of the film, where Amélie finds Nino, returns his briefcase, finds out he also loves her, and they live “happily ever after”, contribute to the air of “love at first sight is worthwhile” around the film. This is in contrast to Taming of the Shrew.

In the end of Taming of the Shrew, Lucentio and Bianca are married and in love, but the play makes a point by having Bianca disobey Lucentio when he summons her during the bet. This is, to our best knowledge, meant to show that love at first sight can lead to a bad marriage. While they are not shown to be unhappy together, it shows that love at first sight does not magically tame wives, and is therefore worthless. Which is right? That’s your decision to make.


Works Cited

Amélie. Dir. Jean-Pierre Jeunet. Perf. Audrey Tautou. UGC-Fox Distribution, 2001. Digital.

Shakespeare, William. Folger Shakespeare Library: The Taming of the Shrew. Ed. Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine. New York: Washington Square, 1992. Print.


Shakespeare In Stepford


Shakespeare in Stepford

Comparing The Taming of the Shrew to The Stepford Wives


The Taming of the Shrew is, as most Shakespearean works have proven themselves to be, a play with many themes that are still applicable to modern stories. In Shrew, the prideful and slightly insane Petruchio insists upon marrying the eldest daughter of Baptista, Katherine. She is known by everyone as the incorrigible woman that nobody wants to marry. She is in stark contrast with her younger sister Bianca, who is pure and sweet and desirable. Petruchio, though taunted by his fellow suitors, is undaunted and aggressively starts his ploy to “tame” Katherine and make her his wife. In the 2004 movie, The Stepford Wives, we are introduced to Joanna Eberhart and her loving husband Walter. She is the epitome of the career woman as the CEO of a television network in Manhattan. But after being fired she suffers a nervous breakdown, and the family decides to move to the wealthy and pleasant town Stepford, Connecticut. Though the situations are very different in that no one is actively trying to court anyone else (all the couples in The Stepford Wives are married), there is still the objective of taming one’s partner. The same traits sought after in the women of Shrew are the ones sought after in Stepford Wives. The texts illustrate that though women have more opportunity than they once did, there is still an archetype that society wants them to fill, and to be outside of it means very negative criticisms. The act of taming has taken a different form but it is still as ingrained into relationships as it was in the days of Shrew.  


"I shall be seven ere I go to horse.

Look what I speak, or do, or think to do,

You are still crossing it. Sirs, let’t alone.

I will not go today, and, ere I do,

It shall be what clock I say it is. "

(Act 4, Scene 4, 198-202)


At this point in Shrew Petruchio has succeeded in making Katherine his wife. However, he has not yet been able to tame her to his satisfaction. In order to do so he tries a new tactic. He states things that are clearly false and if Katherine does not agree then he punishes her by not allowing the journey to see her father continue. He is doing this because Katherine is not yet compliant as women are supposed to be. Even though he is doing something viciously manipulative, she is the one who is criticized by the other people in the play. In Stepford Wives, the men take a more radical approach to taming their women.




The men in the movie have created a machine that the husbands can coerce their wives into. The machine then, “We take a gloomy dissatisfied...Finally, we enhance her to fit the ideal Stepford Wife specifications.” The Female Improvement System allows for the men to dictate exactly what they want their wives to be like. It is again a harsh approach to completely change their partner, and yet they are not the ones being criticized. It is instead the faults of the women for not being (their twisted idea of) perfect. In the movie the women that end up as Stepford Wives are former CEO’s, judges, and other high ranking officials. But instead of praising them about their jobs or intelligence, the husbands call it “domineering,” or as Walter calls Joanna, a “Manhattan, castrating career b****.” It is just like in Shrew when Katherine is repulsive to everyone else because she’s outspoken and doesn’t want to be forced into things she doesn’t like. Though the women in Shrew and Stepford Wives are different in their social status, they still are not appreciated and others go to great lengths to change them.


"Why, sir, I trust I may have leave to speak,

And speak I will. I am no child, no babe.

Your betters have endured me say my mind,

And if you cannot, best you stop your ears.

My tongue will tell the anger of my heart,

Or else my heart, concealing it, will break,

And, rather than it shall, I will be free

Even to the uttermost, as I please, in words. "

(Act 4, Scene 3, 78-85)


This is one of the many arguments that Katherine and Petruchio have as husband and wife. While she is dressing she chooses to wear a cap that he doesn’t like. He then demands that she take it off without hesitation. This, of course does not go over well with Katherine. She is telling him that she will not be treated as a child and will speak her mind whenever she thinks it necessary. In that time period is was not considered a virtue to assert yourself as an independent thinker. This is Katherine’s core personality and everyone, her father, her sister, and her husband included want to completely change her. In Stepford Wives, the woman who most resembles Katherine, especially in the beginning is, Bette Midler’s character Bobbi Markowitz.




Bobbi is a writer and she is completely outspoken. In the movie she makes all the Stepford women uncomfortable and makes her husband frequently embarrassed. However, it’s what makes her unique and interesting and human. When Bobbi is turned into a Stepford wife all of that is gone. She becomes another perfect cardboard cutout just like the other women.  She is unnaturally jovial, docile, sexualized, and most of all quiet, unless spoken to. Shrew and Stepford Wives are centuries apart but they have one the same theme: women who need to be “fixed.”


"Thy husband is thy lord, thy life, thy keeper,

Thy head, thy sovereign, one that cares for thee,

And for thy maintenance commits his body

To painful labor both by sea and land,

To watch night in storms, the day in cold,

Whilst thou liest warm at home, secure and safe,

And craves no other tribute at thy hand

But love, fair looks, and true obedience--"

(Act 5, Scene 2, 162-169)


This is the very end of the play, where Katherine has been tamed for all intents and purposes. She goes into this long speech about the importance of being the right type of woman and honoring your husband because he is your sole protector and asks nothing more than to be the right type of woman. The interesting part of the speech is that it is coming from Katherine. Though she has been the driving force for female independence throughout the play, she has changed. It is also the first time of the play that we hear a woman advocating for all of the traits that previously only the men have voiced. In Stepford Wives, Claire Danes has a complete breakdown at the end and admits that she is the one who created Stepford and the program for the robotic wives.




At the end of the movie it is revealed that Mike, who was thought to be the leader of Stepford and the one to make all the women robots, is actually a robot himself. (His head is knocked off by a candlestick) Claire, his wife goes into a long speech about how all she wanted was to create a perfect world. She was a premier brain surgeon and used her intelligence to make Stepford and the Female Improvement System. But she needed someone the men could rally behind and the women could admire, so she made Mike. Stepford was a haven to her, a place where men could be men (aggressive and dominating) and women could return to former perfection, before there were stressful jobs, and the pressures of being more than a homemaker. In both societies, as much as it is very run by men, it is also the women who contribute to the taming of women. These scenes just prove that society hasn’t changed. There are still expectations of women and in relationships that are paralyzing.


These texts prove that although women have gained independence in other facets of society, relationship expectations are more or less the same as they’ve always been. This, of course, is not limited to women. In the movie Walter is expected to control Joanna, while she is expected to be easily controlled. There are expectations both ways. In Shrew, Petruchio is never challenged by anyone (except Katherine) because he is fulfilling his role as alpha male. Only Katherine is rebuked for not doing what is expected of her. Taming is so accepted in society, that it will continue to live on unless a massive relationship overhaul happens.


Works Cited

Shakespeare, William. Taming of the Shrew. N.p.: Folger Shakespeare Library, n.d. Print.

 "The Stepford Wives." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2015. <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0327162/>.

Shrews in disguise




Shrews in Disguise

Comparing the play "The Taming of the Shrew" with the movie "Hitch"


There are many thin lines that can easily be crosses in the pursuit of love. In the movie “Hitch” a guy named Albert hires someone to help gain the attention of his beloved, Allegra. This of course was done in secrecy and many would view this as not politically correct. On the other hand in the play “The Taming of the Shrew” a man named Lucentio falls in love with the most sought after girl in the city, Bianca. To win her favor he disguises himself as an instructor for her. By doing this he will be closer to her and gain her favor. In both cases deception is prevalent. Ultimately both spouses found out about their husbands deceit, yet in the end both couples stayed together. Both these stories show that for love the ends justifies the means.




"Tranio, I burn, I pine, I perish, Tranio,

If I achieve not this young modest girl.

(Act 1, Scene 1,5)


This quote early on in the play sets up the mindset the Lucentio will do something out of the ordinary for Bianca. For example him impersonating an instructor. Lucentio made this statement when he first set his eyes upon Bianca. Him and his servant Tranio were walking into town. It is soon after that the plan for Lucentio to be in disguise was formed. To a normal person this would be ludicrous, but for Lucentio who is so smitten with love that he would rather die than be without Bianca it is only a means to an end.


Similarly albert is having the same idea when he decides to hire Alex “Hitch” Hitchens to help get him and Allegra together.





In this scene you see Albert collaborating with his hired date man, Hitch. Unlike in The Shrew, Albert will not be in disguise. Rather, Hitch will fabricate a scenario which seems real to Allegra. In the scenario she will meet Albert and the chance of her falling for him will increase due to Hitch’s coaching. In this instance the deceit is lesser yet very unconventional to the established view of dating. This is can be seen as similar to asking a friend for help with a girl. On the other hand it takes this normal human action and pushes it to an extreme. Albert has no care for the means of how he gets with Allegra just as long as he he is with her.




"Love wrought these miracles. Bianca's love

Made me exchange my state with Tranio"


(Act 5, Scene 1, 128)



This statement was uttered after Lucentio’s disguise was discovered. also it is revealed that Lucentio's servant Tranio changed his identity to that his masters. This is explaining why he had done all this deceit. He claims love drove him to this extreme measure. Ultimately he got the girl because when she found out she did not care, and as long as the bride was happy no one else did.


In the movie Albert was exposed as getting help to woo Allegra.







During this part of the movie Hitch is trying to steer Allegra back into liking Albert. He claims that he just give guys the confidence to talk to the girls that they want. Also, that the true self of the guy is what gets the girl. Unlike in the play the deceitfulness is different because in the play Bianca falls in love with a a different characters but in the movie Allegra falls in the with a confident version of Albert. The end up reuniting and being happy. This shows that those the means was faulty the couple could still be together.

All in all in both the play and the movie both show males going to an extreme to woo the loves of their lives. In both the mens deceits are exposed but ultimately the women stay with them. Both play and movie portray a theme of the ends justifying the mean because at the end of the day when all was said and done both couples were happy.


Works Cited

Hitch. Columbia Pictures :, 2005. Film.
Shakespeare, William, and Barbara A. Mowat. The Taming of the Shrew. Washington Square Press New Folger ed. New York: Washington Square, 2002. Print.

Movie Visual Essay - A Love We Didn’t Think We’d Get

A Love We Didn’t Think We’d Get

The William and Kate Story; Taming of the Shrew


     Taming of the Shrew and The William and Kate Story may seem like two very different stories but when analyzed deeper the audience can see that their characters have many things in common. In Taming of the Shrew Baptista is the father of two girls who are both of marrying age, the problem is that one of them, the older, has to get married first and she isn’t exactly turning all the guy’s heads. She is a tougher girl that doesn’t want to be defined by a man. The William and Kate Story is a lifetime movie about Prince William and Duchess Kate Middleton. It follows them from the first time they met until they got married. Both stories follow children in royal families and them on their way to getting married. In both stories there are conflicts with how the children are to be married. Being royal children is hard because all they have is family but now a day it is easier than it ever has been.


“Gentlemen, importune me no father, For how I firmly am resolved you know: That is, not to bestow my youngest daughter Before I have a husband for the elder.” - Baptista (Act 1. Sc1. Line 45 - 51)


  At this moment in the play, Baptista, the father of Katherine and Bianca, is talking to his daughter suitors. He is telling them that no matter how many suitors come for his younger and kinder daughter Bianca that she is not getting married before his eldest Katherine. In The William and Kate Story William’s father, Prince Charles, is meeting his son’s friends for the first time, most of them commoners. Among the friends is his girlfriend Kate who is also a commoner. It is hard for the Prince to be okay with his son, a part of the royal family, dating a commoner.   


    At this point in the movie Kate is getting to know her boyfriends father. She tried very hard to fit into the role of a suitor for her royal boyfriend. William invites his friends for lunch at the palace and his friends do their very best but the viewer can feel the awkwardness that is felt at the table. The Prince tries his best to make conversation but they have so little in common. It is hard for all the characters in both situations. In The Taming of the Shrew everyone wants to marry the youngest daughter but are unable to until the eldest is married. In The William and Kate Story William has fallen in love with someone who his family won’t approve of because of her social status.



“Why, and I trust I may go too, may I not? What, shall I be appointed hours as though, belike, I knew not what to take and what to leave? Ha!” - Katherine (Act 1, Sc 1, Line 104 - 106)


    At this point in the play Katherine is ranting on why she doesn’t need a man. She feels as though if she was to get married the man would simply take over her life and control her. At the time the play was written that was a very legitimate fear. In Katherine Middleton’s case, 400 years from when Shakespeare was writing about it, has a legitimate reason to think her life is going to be taken over and controlled by the royal family.




    In the movie when these two screenshots takes place Kate is invited to William’s birthday party, where she believes she is going to be officially introduced as his girlfriend. Instead, she looks like a fool as he asks another girl to help him blow out the candles. Later, when Kate confronts William about it, he tells her that it was just for show and was something he had to do. He also stated he didn’t want to do it but because he is part of the royal family he has obligations that he had to conform to.

    Though the play and the movie were written so far apart it is clear to see that there are still clear similarities between how royal families treat their children being married off. In the play Baptista was very strict on the order in which his daughters could be married. In the movie Prince Charles is stuck in a situation where his son wants to marry someone outside of the royal family, that though is more common now a day is still not the normal way things are done. The viewer of both of these can see that though times have changed in terms of courtship and marriage has changed outside of the royal families, inside it is still very traditional.


​ How Men Control Love

How Men Control Love

A comparison of “Taming of the Shrew” and “50 First Dates”


Taming of the Shrew is a play about two sisters and their road to marriage.  Katherine (the shrew) marries a man named Petruchio who tries to “tame” her and her awful attitude.  “50 First Dates” is about a man named Henry Roth who meets a girl named Lucy,  He thinks he’s finally found the perfect girl.  The only problem is she has short term memory loss and once she goes to sleep she forgets what happened the day prior.  Henry tries to get her to fall in love with him a different way, everyday.  These movies are very different but both depict a man who thinks he can control their respected women’s feelings.


Petruchio and Henry are both trying to get a girl to fall in love with them just in two very different ways.  Henry is doing it the sweeter way though nothing like his situation has ever happened in reality.  It is touching to see he cares enough about a girl to think of new ways to get her to fall in love with him every single day.  Petruchio on the other hand is very cruel to his wife Katherine.  He wants her to stop being so mean.  The decision he makes is very dehumanizing to Katherine.  He decides to stop letting her eat and sleep as a hunter would do to a Falcon in order to tame it.  No matter which way anyone looks at it, they’d prefer to be with Henry.  Petruchio didn’t even really love Katherine.  He just married her so her younger sister Bianca could get married.  Today it is widely believed by many people that you are supposed to marry someone that you absolutely adore and they are supposed to absolutely adore you back, as well.

Screen Shot 2015-04-19 at 10.32.31 PM.png

In this scene Henry(on the ground) has his friend act like he’s beating him up so Lucy (far left) comes and saves him.  For a comedic aspect Lucy pulls out a baseball bat and starts to beat the friend with it until he runs off.  Henry does things like this for many days until he gets caught by Lucy’s father who forbids him to speak to her.  Henry is under the impression that if he does this Lucy will start to remember him and ultimately fall in love with him.  At this point in the movie it is too early to tell if it works out for him but as it goes one we see how his plans pan out.


“And if she chance to nod, I’ll rail and brawl, and with the clamor keep her still awake.  This is a way to kill a wife with kindness…  He that knows better how to tame a shrew, Now let him speak; ‘tis charity to shrew”

Act 4 scene 1 line 206

This quote is from the point in the play when Petruchio has a plan to “tame” Katherine.  Like the scene from the movie, this scene is too early to tell whether or not the plan will work but you can see the difference between Petruchio and Henry’s approaches to getting their girls to fall in love.  Most in not all people would most likely want Henry to be their significant other.  This is evident towards the end of both the Play and the Movie.



“Thy husband is thy lord, thy life, thy keeper, thy head, thy sovereign, one that cares for thee… Too little payment for such debt.”

Act 5 scene 2 lines 162-170

This is the last line from “Taming of the Shrew” and Katherine is the one saying it.  It’s a very lengthy last line but basically Katherine tells the other wives to obey their husbands.  This could be either taken one of two ways.  The first way is that she believes every word she says and Petruchio has totally changed her.  The other way is that she is being sarcastic, she is only saying and doing what her husband wants to hear and see for her own good.  So she can eat and sleep.  Katherine was very stubborn but no one is mean their entire lives and when she’s going to live with someone for the rest of her life she might as well be nice to him because he is her provider and at this point in her life without him she is on her own.  


Screen Shot 2015-04-19 at 11.06.16 PM.png


This scene from “50 First Dates” shows Henry and Lucy hanging out with Lucy’s friends for the first time since she lost her memory.  She calls Henry her boyfriend and her friends ask Henry how he does it every day and one of them asks her husband “Why can’t you do that for me?”  Henry has gotten Lucy to fall in love with him everyday even though she doesn’t remember him once she goes to sleep.  Henry was able to change Lucy’s feelings towards him but not with force like Petruchio.  He was a gentleman to Lucy everyday and came up with a plan to remind her who he is and what’s going on at the current time.


These stories are both forms of entertainment so they are definitely far from the truth.  “Taming of the Shrew” is also very old so it is outdated as well.  These stories both depict a man getting a woman he has interest in.  Henry does it the nice way and in the end it works out for him.  Petruchio does it the harsh way and based on what Katherine said she most likely is in it for her own good.  


Love Actually...or Not

Comparing “Taming of the Shrew” to “Love Actually”


    “Taming of the Shrew” is a play about romance and the idea of looking for it. Two sisters, Katherine-the shrew- and Bianca-the “nice and gentle” one- have to get married. Bianca can’t get married until Katherine does. Petruchio, a suitor, says that he doesn’t care what kind of attitude Katherine has, he will still marry her so he must impress her father first. “Love Actually”, a romantic comedy that came out in 2003, showed a couple different story plots about love involving different people. One of the plots was about a little boy named Sam who had a huge crush on a girl he knew. He tries to win her over. Of course the techniques of trying to win over a girl are different from Petruchio in “The Taming of the Shrew” and Sam from “Love Actually” but they still had the same idea of trying to impress a girl. When looking at the two different stories,can see that they are very similar but also very different. In the modern love story, women have a lot more say in what they do, but with saying that, relationships- romantically or not- always have to do with winning somebody over. This type of love story has been romanticized and hailed by society forever, from the cheesy movies from the 50s to songs like “We Belong Together” by Mariah Carey. We as people crave someone to root for, an underdog, the geek that gets the girl.

    




“...And therefore, if thou know one rich enough to be Petruchio’s wife (as wealth is burden of my wooing dance), be she as foul as was Florentius’ love, as old as sibyl, and as curst and shrewd as Socrates’ Xanthippe, or a worse,…”

(Act I, Scene ii, Lines 67-72)


Petruchio has just arrived in Padua and is looking for a lady for marriage. He is speaking to another character from the play. He is saying that he basically just needs a girl with wealth. He doesn’t care about anything else about her. None of her other qualities matter as long as she has money.


In the movie, Sam is in a similar situation when he is explaining to his step father the crush he has on a classmate.



Screen Shot 2015-04-16 at 8.58.00 PM
Screen Shot 2015-04-16 at 8.58.00 PM

In this scene from the movie, Sam’s step father asks him what has been going on. He says, “Is it school? Are you being bullied? Or is it something worse?” Sam is admitting that he has a crush on a girl named Joanna, and that he is in love with her. He replies, “The truth is, actually, I’m in love...” He says that there is nothing he can do about it. We can see that he, similar to Petruchio, is explaining the relationship he is wanting to get involved with. They are both trying to court a girl. The difference between Sam and Petruchio is that Sam really does love this girl or at least thinks he does. Petruchio wants money. They both continue on this quest to getting their respective girls. This scene shows how Sam wants to be in a relationship with the girl and it shows his status with her.




“...I’ll attend her here- And woo her with some spirit when she comes! Say that she rail, why then ill tell her plain she sings as sweetly as a nightingale. Say that she frown, I’ll say she looks as clear As morning roses newly washed with dew...”

(Act II, Scene i, Lines 176-181)


In this scene, Petruchio is explaining what he will do to please Katherine. He wants to make her like him so he thinks that complimenting her and everything will make her like him a little more. Any time she says something bad he will kind of contradict it and make it into a compliment.


Likewise, in the movie, Sam is talking to his stepfather because he wants to impress the girl that he likes.


Screen Shot 2015-04-19 at 11.35.16 AM
Screen Shot 2015-04-19 at 11.35.16 AM

He says, “Girls love musicians, even the really weird ones get girlfriends.”  He later says that there is a big concert that Joanna is in, and he wants to join so that she will see him play and maybe start to like him. Both Sam and Petruchio are willing to do something or say something that they don’t exactly believe in so that they can get the girl they want. Sam wants a girlfriend and Petruchio wants a wife. Both are unsure if this will work, but they are both willing to try and see what happens.


In the end of the movie, Joanna moves back to America where she is from. She does come back for a visit eventually, but we have to remember that they are only 12 and while they may have crushes on each other; this doesn’t build into a relationship, at least from what we can see. Petruchio, gets the wife that he always wanted and the dowry that came along with her. Sam may not get the girl he had been crushing on, but he is still excited that he got to show her how he truly felt.



Works Cited:

1. Shakespeare, William, and W. J. Rolfe. Shakespeare's Comedy of the Taming of the Shrew. New York: Harper & Bros., 1881. Print.

2. Love Actually. Dir. Richard Curtis. Perf. Hugh Grant, Thomas Brodie Sangster, Olivia Olsen. 2003. Website.