Does Honesty in the End Truly Matter>


Play: The Taming of the Shrew

Movie: Two Weeks Notice


In the play The Taming of the Shrew there is a lot of deception throughout all of the relationships. Lucentio lied to Bianca about his identity because he wanted her to fall in love with him and Petruchio lied to Katherine about an arranged marriage because he felt like that was the best decision. In the movie Two Weeks Notice George lies to Lucy about a community center he plans to tear down because he does not want to hurt Lucy. In the movie and in the play the characters lie to their ‘partners in the relationship’ because they believe it is the right decision. In the end every single relationship ended up together even though they lied to their partners.  The similarity in all their actions shows that audiences believe deception does not have a long standing effect on a couple in love.

In the play The Taming of the Shrew honesty and deception play a big role. Throughout the entire play every single relationship had a lie but in the end everyone had a happy ending. Petruchio, a man who wanted to marry for dowry and happiness, lied to his wife Katherine. He deceived her into marriage.


Quote 2: Act 2 Scene 1, pg 95, Petruchio is talking to Katherine, line 282 “Marry, so I mean, sweet Katherine, in thy bed. And therefore, setting all this chat aside, thu sin plain terms: your father hath consented that you shall be my wife, your dowry ’greed on, and, will you, nill you, I will marry you. Now Kate, I am a husband for your turn, for by this light, whereby I see beauty, thy beauty that doth make me like thee well, 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.”


In this quote this is what Petruchio is saying to Katherine about their “arranged marriage”. He lied to her about having to be married, he only wanted to marry her because he wanted dowry and a wife. He told her that he and father made an agreement and that they will be married. This causes Katherine to believe she must marry Petruchio so she does. She obeys her father and proceeds to try and have a functioning marriage.


In Two Weeks Notice, George, the face of a company, lies to Lucy, his ex-lawyer, about a community center.


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Here is when Lucy finds about the tearing down of the community center. The community center is where Lucy spent most of her childhood and George’s company plans on tearing it down. The community center was the deal between George and Lucy, if the community stayed unharmed then Lucy will be George’s lawyer. Because George was unable to keep his promise Lucy feels as though George just lied to her the entire time and that she got played. George did not want Lucy to find out about the community center because he did not want to hurt her. This compares to The Taming of the Shrew because in the play and in the movie the men felt that their lie was best for the relationship and their partner. In the Taming of the Shrew and Two Weeks Notice the men in the relationships told lies to protect the females in the relationship. Even though they were lied to the women stayed in the relationships.  


In The Taming of the Shrew, Lucentio, a man who fell madly in love with the beautiful girl Bianca, lied so that Bianca would fall in love with him.


Quote 3: Act 1 Scene 1, pg 47, Lucentio is talking to Tranio, line 243 “And not a jot of “Tranio” in your mouth. Tranio is changed into Lucentio.”


In this quote Lucentio is telling Tranio his plan about disguising themselves as one another.. He did this because Lucentio, dressed as Tranio, would be able to become Bianca’s school teacher. Lucentio needs to do this because of Bianca’s overprotective father. Bianca is not allowed to marry until her sister Katherine married and because Katherine was not married and had no suitors Lucentio decided to pretend to be a school teacher to get close to Bianca. Bianca and Lucentio end up falling in love but their entire relationship is a lie. Their entire relationship is a lie because Bianca does not know the true identity of Lucentio, she believe he is a school teacher when that is not the case. She does not know that the only reason he is her school teacher is to get close to her.


In this scene Lucy walks in on George and June, a woman who wants George. George and Lucy are currently undressed and under the influence of alcohol.

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Throughout the movie June seemed to be jealous of Lucy. June was the replacement for Lucy when resigned but June was very flirtatious with George knowing that Lucy and George were forming a relationship. When Lucy and George had a fight June decides to intervene and ‘comfort’ George. They end up kissing and participating in some sort of sexual activity. Lucy end up going to George’s house to resolve their issue when she sees June and George together. George lies to Lucy and tells her nothing is going on even though they are both clothesless. Once again the man in the relationship attempts to lie to protect the woman in the relationship.


In the play and in the movie every relationship has lies but it never truly mattered in the end. Society’s attitudes towards dating and relationship show that honesty and deception do not matter when the couple is in love. In The Taming of the Shrew both relationships end up happy and in Two Weeks Notice the relationship ends happy as well. The couples seem to be more in love if anything else therefore if the couples are in love it does not matter if someone lies in the relationship.




Work cited

  • The Taming of the Shrew : William shakespeare

  • Two Weeks Notice: Marc lawrence



English 3 Visual Essay


Tons of sexual fantasies at first sight

The taming of the shrew and Blue is the warmest color


“The taming of the shrew” follows the story of a group of men pursuing a women named Bianca in there own deceitful ways while another man named Petruchio tries to marry Bianca's sister. This is similar to  the movie “Blue is the Warmest color”. The movie is based around a teenage girl named Adele who struggles with her sexuality after having a lesbian encounter with a friend.


In “The taming of the shrew” One of the potential suitors name Lucentio stands out from the rest as the most devoted to getting her. The first time he see’s Bianca he is yet to have any interaction with her and claims that he will make her his wife. This is similar to a scene from the movie “Blue is the Warmest color”. A day after Adelle’s encounter with her friend she is walking down the street when she see’s Emma, a girl with blue hair who she finds very attractive. Although they have to actual interaction Adele starts having deeply sensual fantasies about Emma.  People don’t fall in love with each other but instead use love at first sight as an excuse for sexual desires people have when they first meet someone they find attractive.




”I pray sir, tell me, is it possible that love should of a sudden take such hold”

(Act 1, Scene, 1 Pg41)

This quote comes from Tranio speaking with Gremio after he first meets Bianca. He is describing to Gremio how much he believes he loves Bianca and is asking Gremio if it is possible for him to already love someone this much. Even though this is just Tranio's first time meeting her he is already convinced that he is in love. The interaction he had with Bianca herself was short and public so it isn't as if he was able to get to know her. He is basing this love on purely seeing her. Bianca is described as being beautiful and it isn't hard to imagine this love is coming from imagining himself with her sexually.


Much like Tranio's first encounter with kate Adele feels a similar feeling when she first lays eyes upon Emma

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This scene from “Blue is the warmest color” is from Adele and Emma’s first sight of each other. Emma is walking by with her current girlfriend while Adele is walking past after recently kissing one of her friends. There are no words during this scene but body language tells it all. The moment the two pass each other they lock eyes and continue to look at each other after walking passing by. They both give each other a double take after breaking eye contact as well. After seeing Emma, Adele’s mind runs rapid with extremely vivid thoughts of a potential love life with Emma. Her thoughts take a more sexual turn later in the day as her thoughts become more imaginative. This proves the point that at first sight the feelings you feel for someone are more sexual than love.

”Happily to wive and thrive, as best as I may. Crowns in my purse I have and goods at home, And so am come abroad to see the world”

(Act 1, Scene 2, Line 57-59)

This quote is from a scene where Petruchio is speaking with some of the potential suitors for Bianca. He is telling them that he is new in town and wishes to “wive and thrive” while he’s here. He asks the men if they know anyone who he could potentially attempt to wive, who also has a healthy amount of money. The men point him in the direction of katherine, Bianca's sister. Without ever even meeting katherine and being described her looks he decides that he will be the man to wive her and make her his own. This is based purely on her looks and money.


Petruchio isn't the only person who wants to marry based on looks, so does Emma in this bar scene from the movie.


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This scene is from later in the movie when Adele and Emma first actually interact with each other. They are in a lesbian bar that Emma often visits and Adele is brought there by a friend. Emma is here to look for a mate after her previous girlfriend left here. While sitting at bar Emma takes notice of Adele and begins to watch her. As time passes Adele is approached by people and put into a rough situation. Seeing this as her time to pounce Emma rushes in to save Adele after creepishly stalking her throughout the night. The stalking of adele and making a decision to bail her out of a sticky situation was based purely on Adele's looks.


Even though Adele and Emma seemed almost meant for each other in the movie and evened seemed as times to be interested in each other, their relationship still failed. Katherine and Petruchio on the other hand though end up happily married after being extremely dysfunctional for the first few days of their relationship. Both of these movies show us that at first sight there is never love no matter how much people may tell themselves it's there, but rather love develops over time.  

The Revolution Of Printmaking

Printmaking has been a form of art for centuries and it's not going to stop anytime soon. It allow us to create pictures, words, design anything you can scarve and print it as a picture on a paper or even for t-shirt designs. Printmaking was most  likely used by cavemen as a form to record their stories, even egyptians. I feel like printmaking goes a long time ago before Christ. Then it was used as portable for wars and helped science revolution. It was revolutionary and important because you didn't have to remake whatever master piece you had, it was like a copier you only need the ink to copy the same thing again. Less time wasted for artists, scientists, soldiers.  
By: Karen Fiorito
By: Karen Fiorito

This is a buddhist elephant and each hand is carrying something different that represents something. There’s a rat in the left bottom corners that can represent somebody stealing. The use of dark spaces is dignifying that it’s a 3 dimensional figure. The design is very detailed.

Whipped into Shape

In “Taming of the Shrew”, it's a perfect portrayal of the fact that control itself has been a part of relationships for centuries However, men are always the controller in shown relationships, making women inferior. If the roles were reversed that would portray a different type of control.

50 Shades of Grey is about a sexually controlling man named Christian Grey, who is also a wealthy and successful billionaire who has never had a “committed” relationship, only several ‘friends with benefits’. He then falls into a relationship with Anastasia Steele, where he manipulates and controls her into being in a relationship with him.

Katherine and Anastasia actually have a lot in common. Their friend, or in the case of Katherine; their sister, is looked upon as the favorable woman, and guys are lured more to their sister/friend rather than themselves. Anastasia’s Friend, Kate is straightforward similar to Christian, and they would be a good match, but Christian wants to be in a relationship where he can control his significant other, exactly in the type of relationship Petruchio wants to be in; where he has complete control over Katherine.

Throughout the movie, Anastasia makes several references to her mother’s relationships, love life, and past husbands, and se would fall into the “Love at first sight” category, but is never in true love with any of her past four husbands. Ana’s mother could be similar to Katherine; in the fact that she’s had many past suitors but none of them could “tame the shrew” that is Anastasia’s mother.


In the scene above, Christian is being interviewed by Ana, who is filling in for Kate because she had something else to do. Ana asks a question about whether Christian Grey is gay, because it’s never been public that he’s been in a steady relationship that didn’t end after a one night stand. He responds with a short answer; and in a quick reply she asks “So you’re a control freak?”; and he respond with “Oh, I exercise control in all things, Miss Steele.” Christian shows an amount of control in both his life and the relationship; and throughout the movie demonstrates this control onto Ana. He manipulates and controls Ana into being his “perfect girlfriend”, both sexually and emotionally.


PETRUCHIO

I say it’s the moon.



KATHERINE

I know it is the moon.



PETRUCHIO

Nay, then you lie. It is the blessèd sun.


Act 4, Scene 5, Lines 18-20


Katherine is naturally snarky and repulsive to many men; but Petruchio has undergone the task to “tame” her. After starving her of food and sleep; he almost makes her comply to a false fact; that during the daytime it’s the moon and not the sun showing. Petruchio states that it was the moon, when it was really the sun shining. He used the fact that she was food deprived and sleep deprived; and he had the two things she really wanted, to control her. He uses his own advantages; not only because he is the male in the relationship but also because he has the two things she desperately needs, so she is forced to comply to his demand; so she is being controlled by him because of the things she needs.


Just like Anastasia in Fifty Shades of Grey, she’s being manipulated and controlled by the man in her life. Anastasia is being deprived of her own sexual needs, while Katherine is being deprived of her food and sleep. They are forced to comply to decisions they don’t want to be a part of; with Katherine it being whether it’s the sun or the moon; but with Anastasia it’s the fact that she was almost forced to experiment different forms of sex, such as BDSM.


In the scene above, Anastasia leaves Seattle, and Christian is being a clingy boyfriend, where he wants to be updated in what she’s doing and where she is 24/7, no matter the time. He’s also constantly updating himself about her life; and keeping her in check with her decisions with a constant presence in her life. A little later in the scene she tries to push away; but as to be expected Christain comes to her and reassures his dominance in the relationship, and forces his presence onto her; making him in control yet again through the movie.






PETRUCHIO

The fouler fortune mine, and there an end.



KATHERINE enters.



BAPTISTA

Now by my bolidam, here comes Katherina!



KATHERINE

What is your will,sir, that you send for me?

Act 5, Scene 2, Lines


In the scene above, Petruchio, Hortensio, and Lucentio are having a competition as to whom goes to their husband after being called upon. Both Bianca and the widow refused to come out to the husbands, but when Petruchio had called in Katherine; she came in. She had tried to disobey Petruchio’s orders earlier in the book, even in the example I had above where she had said he was wrong; but eventually she gave in.


Just like Katherine above, Anastasia had refused Christian's orders at first. However, after being constantly pressured just like Katherine was by Petruchio; Anastasia falls into Christian's orders and does what he pleases. Both Katherine and Anastasia were controlled, manipulated, and belittled by their husband figures in their life. They were abused by being deprived of the things they needed the most; in the case of Katherine it was food and sleep, and for Anastasia it was sex.


Both the movie 50 Shades of Grey, and also the book Taming of the Shrew; show portrayals on how control is a heavy influence on modern day relationships and past relationships, and still exhibits a heavy influence on how people act in life and in relationships. Both the movie and the play show that control is a huge factor in the dynamics of a romantic, or sexual; relationship.

Luis-Manuel Visual Essay

Bernardo and Baptista's Great Agenda Debacle.

Comparing themes of male ideals in courtship/dating from The Taming of The Shrew and West Side Story, by Luis-Manuel Morales


Oftentimes, parents or parental figures will use their authority to prioritize their agendas and overlook the wishes of their children. In Taming of the Shrew and West Side Story, Baptista and Bernardo are the parent figures of each play respectively. Baptista, the actual father of Katherine, and Bernardo, the older brother of Maria, have their priorities. Baptista remains loyal to his finances, and Bernardo remains loyal to the Sharks,his gang fellow Puerto Ricans. When Petruchio comes along, Baptista sees him as a financial gain, and arranges the marriage between him and his daughter, Katherine. Maria, on the other hand, falls in love with Tony, a white teen who is a member of the rival clique, the Jets, and Bernardo wants nothing of it. Bernardo tries to hook her up with a fellow Shark  Puerto Rican Chino. In both of these stories, the judgements of the male parental figures are blurred by bias and personal agendas, upholding reputations or the importance of gain, and they use their authority  to secure those desires.


“I know not what to say, but give me your hands. God send you joy, Petruchio. ‘Tis a match.” Baptista, Pg. 97, Act 2 Scene 1, Lines 337-339


In the Taming of the Shrew, Baptista offers his Daughter, Katherine, to Petrucio, due to the offer he strikes with him. They agree to terms on property shares if either men or Kate herself passes away. Petruchio then goes to woo Kate, however fails with her, but makes it appear as such and Baptista apoves. Throughout all of this, Baptista looks over his daughter's desires and hooks her up with a wealthy individual. Considering the deal, his previous wishes to have her mary first, and an opportunity to wed her given her reputation, he gladly ignores any obvious signs given by his daughter that she does not wish to marry him.


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“Get your hands off American! Stay away from my sister!” Bernardo


In West Side Story, 2 gangs in New York during the late 1950’s are constantly at a battle for their turf. The white Jets and Puerto Rican Sharks go to a dance in a neutral part of town. There, Maria, brother of the leader of the Sharks, locks eyes with Tony, an on and off member of the Jets. As the two fall for each other, Bernardo swoops in and snatches his sister away from Tony. He yells at her “Couldn't you see he’s one of them!” Still staring at the boy she just fell in love with, she replies, “No, I saw only him.” After a small altercation between both gangs, Bernardo instructs Chino to take Maria home, even though she wants to stay at the dance. In this case, Bernardo ignored his sister's wishes and desires and keeping loyal to his agenda, he sends her home with his original date, Chino, and arranges to meet with Riff, leader of the Jets, later on in the evening.


“Go, girl. I cannot blame you thee now to weep, For such an injury would vex a very saint, Much more than a shrew of [thy] impatient humor” Baptista, Pg, 117, Act 3 Scene 2, Lines 29-32


As Katherine and Baptista await Petruchio on wedding day, Kate flips out and storms off stage. Although it is an important day for both characters, Baptista dismisses her outburst as is if where nothing, almost saying ‘excuse my daughter and her shrew behavior’. Not really caring for his daughter but putting her feelings down to elevate his importance and show that this wedding is of bigger priority to him and not the bride.  


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“Forget that boy, and find another! One of your own kind! Stick to your own kind!” Anita

After Bernardo and Riff are killed in the rumble, Maria asks a beat up Chino if Tony is ok. Chino, in shock of the question, frustratingly informs her that Tony killed her brother. Her brothers actions earlier in the story at the dance not only made her and Tony closer, but erased her worry for Bernardo and Tony became her main priority. Bernardo’s agenda and his power trip messed up the family dynamic. However, even in death, his message lives on through his widowed girlfriend, Anita. After explaining to Maria what had happened and it was a big mistake, Anita arrives home and Tony leaves. Knowing that her brother's killer was just there, She screams at Maria to date her own kind and forget about him. Still not taking Maria's feelings and true desires into consideration, the Parental unit of Bernardo and Anita neglect Maria's feeling all the way through, and don't stop to take in exactly what happened at the rumble and Marias love for the boy.


In both The Taming of the Shrew and West Side Story, the judgements of the male parental figures are blurred by bias and personal agendas, upholding reputations or the importance of gain, and they use their authority  to secure those desires.  In each story, the parental units make choices which ultimately benefitted them but used their children or loved ones and left them with the negative side effects, not them. As a parent there is a certain level of trust and acceptance you must give up that allows to to make clear, wise choices that take in the beliefs and desires of all involved to do what's best for the family, yet often times, and in the cases of Bernardo and Baptista, they’re biased, selfish choices left a trail of disaster in their wake, and unfortunately didn’t impact them the most, but the children they are supposed to care for.


Works Cited:

  • Wise, R., & Robbins, J. (Directors), & Lehman, E. (Writer). (1961). West Side Story [Motion picture on Blu Ray Remastered]. United States: United Artist.

Shakespeare, W. (1992). The Taming of the Shrew (B. A. Mowat & P. Werstine, Eds.). New York, New York: Washington Square Press.

Taming of Love at First Sight

Taming of Love at First Sight

A Comparison Between “Taming of the Shrew” and “Love, Actually”


As the play “Taming of the Shrew” by William Shakespeare proves, the idea of romantic love at first sight has been around for centuries. Petruchio decides to pursue Katherine Minola, a woman who is undesirable to other men in the play. Petruchio wants Katherine despite the fact that they do not know each other. The 2003 movie, “Love, Actually”, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, David, instantly develops feelings after meeting his new assistant, Natalie. She is seen as unattractive to most people, but David is smitten by Natalie.

Although Petruchio and David share the same tactics in winning over their women, they differ in the their motives. The plot in “Taming of the Shrew”, is that Baptista Minola decides his youngest daughter, Bianca, cannot marry until his eldest daughter, Katherine, is married first. Petruchio decides to take this as a challenge to tame Katherine even though he does not know her. He also mentions he prefers wealthy women, which applies to Katherine. His reveals his tactic is to give Katherine endless affection despite her displeasure with him.  In “Love, Actually”, David meets his assistant, Natalie, on his first day and instantly develops feelings for her. His instinct is to treat Natalie with respect and kindness but with intent to know her better. These texts show audiences that romantic love at first sight is only decided by physical attraction or intent for another desire.


Petruchio:

Signor 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.

(Act 1. Scene 2. Lines 62–73.)


In this scene, Petruchio is describing to his friend, Hortensio, and servant, Grumio, his carelessness for the substance of the girl he will marry. Petruchio says “As curst and shrewd, As Socrates’ Xanthippe” and “Be she as foul as Florentius’ love”. Socrates had a wife, Xanthippe, that was abusive. Florent was a knight that was forced to marry an old woman. Petruchio uses two undesirable women to prove that he is negligent in finding a suitable wife that would fit most men's desires. Petruchio is only worried about finding a wealthy women, no other factors matter. Katherine, Petruchio’s soon to be love interest, belongs to a prosperous family. Petruchio does not need to know Katherine to know that he will pursue her. Her wealthy background draws him in already. Love is not the desire for money. This helps confirm that the idea of “love at first sight” is not actually love, just a desire for one’s attributes.


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This scene in “Love, Actually” is a conversation between David and his other assistant, Annie. He asks if she knows Natalie, and she replies as remembering her as the “chubby girl”. Struck by this observation, David asks if she really is chubby. She replies with a rude comment and he simply shrugs it off, but the audience can see from David’s facial reaction and response, that he disagrees with Annie’s statement. Like Petruchio, David wants the “undesirable” woman. Annie voices an offensive comment which can give the audience the feeling that in this movie’s world, Natalie would be the woman most men wouldn’t want because of her physical appearance. David doesn’t care about anyone else’s opinion; he believes Natalie is attractive. This infers that David immediately fell for Natalie’s appearances because he does not know much about her life. Attraction should not be mistaken for love.The audience can see here that love at first sight is can be based on one person’s longing for another’s physical appearance.


Petruchio:

And woo her with some spirit when she comes.

Say that she rail; why then I’ll 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 wash'd with dew.

Say she be mute and will not speak a word;

Then I’ll commend her volubility,

And say she uttereth piercing eloquence.

If she do bid me pack, I’ll give her thanks,

As though she bid me stay by her a week.

(Act 2. Scene 1. Lines 177-186.)


This scene in “The Taming of the Shrew” Petruchio reveals his tactic to win over Katherine. He says that he will give her endless affection no matter what her response. Katherine is known to be a woman with a “scolding tongue”, so Petruchio is declaring that he will counteract this in hopes to hopefully tame Katherine. He will “woo her with some spirit”, something Katherine lacks. Petruchio’s tactic to win Katherine is simply a front. He has never met Katherine before this moment, so he decides on marrying her for the intent of money. Only a wealthy woman will bring Petruchio joy, so he will do everything in his power to do so. Petruchio’s act will give Katherine the impression that Petruchio is truly interested in her despite the fact that they are strangers. Petruchio’s love at first sight isn’t love, only the desire for her money. The reader is able to observe here that love at first sight is the initial need for one’s attributes.


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This “Love, Actually” scene depicts David’s instincts in caring for Natalie. He leaves the President of the United States in his office for a moment as Natalie walks in. He returns to find the President on Natalie, who is uncomfortable. The next scene is a press conference with the President and David. David uses the press conference as a subliminal warning to President and a message to Natalie to show her he cares for her. Natalie and the audience are given the impression that David has strong feelings for Natalie, even though they have only recently met and David is Natalie’s boss. Like Petruchio, David is showing he cares. Before this scene, David and Natalie were still only associates in the workplace. This public warning and unknown display of affection caused controversy over a girl he barely knows. The audience can conclude that David’s feelings for Natalie have only been decided on because of her looks, which is not love at first sight.

“Love at first sight” has been branded in Hollywood to romanticize relationships that are brought on by physical attraction. In the real world, most relationships thrive on a deep knowledge of each other. Audiences are given “love at first sight” moments to draw them deeper into the plot. In the end, David reveals his love for Natalie and finds that her feelings are mutual. Petruchio’s tactic works, and Katherine no longer possesses a “scolding tongue”. She has been tamed, which means Petruchio will wed her. Each of the men in these texts decide to pursue women they barely know. Romantic love is affection shared between people. Sexual attraction is attraction towards someone who is visually appealing. Love and attraction should not be confused as it happens in these two texts.


Works Cited

“Love, Actually” (2003)

“The Taming of the Shrew” by William Shakespeare (1594)

The "Power" Of Love

The “Power” Of Love

Comparing The Taming of the Shrew Play to the movie “Pretty Woman”


In the movie “Pretty Woman” the two main characters are Edward Lewis and Vivian Ward. Vivian was a really attractive young lady, however she wasn’t able to pursue her big dreams and goals because of many bad decisions she had made, with the addition of falling in love with the wrong type of boy. She worked as a prostitute with her roommate and best friend, Kit, on Hollywood Boulevard. While doing her job, she ran into a wealthy businessman named Edward. Edward is a second generation business tycoon and has became really successful because of it. He also happens to look at relationships as a headache. His previous relationships hadn’t lasted too long and his former partners benefited more from the relationship than he did because of the fact he is wealthy. Edward’s former wife currently lives in one of in his big “ex-condos” as he calls it and a former girlfriend is living, and supposedly moving out of, one of his apartments. Edward and Vivian obviously live two different lifestyles, however connect because of many similarities as individuals throughout such two separate styles of living.


Essentially, the modern film, Pretty Woman, and Shakespearean play, The Taming of the Shrew, both present the idea that ultimately men always have a more powerful “say” in a relationship compared to a woman and the only way for the woman to have some sort of equality is to obtain her own weight in the relationship, meaning having her own money, good career, and such.  


"I come to wive it wealthily in Padua, If wealthily, then happily in Padua."


(Act 1, Scene 2, Line 76-77)



Petruchio has an interest in marrying Katherine, who’s father Baptista, is working hard to find a man for his daughter to marry. Katherine is described as quick tempered, prone to violence, and really against anyone who has a desire to marry her. However, Baptista wants Katherine as the older daughter to get married before her younger, more desired sister Bianca. Petruchio is quick witted, eccentric, and really boisterous. He has a desire to marry Katherine as she meets his expectations of a wife, she is really wealthy because of her father. On the other hand, Baptista treats his daughter marriages as business as he presents his daughter’s “love” for the highest bid. Basically the man who can promise his daughters the most money and best lifestyle.

In a relationship, society has made it seem as though it’s only about love. And the honest truth is that they are often not, and many failed relationships reflects this enduring belief. The effect of everyday life comes into play in a relationship and if there are big differences or disagreements it can definitely impact the love and happiness in a relationship. In the quote above, Petruchio made it clear the happiness with a woman was established for him by her having money. As a man, it’s embedded in Petruchio mind to rule with an iron fist and fulfill his duties as a husband, by taking care of his “wealthy wife” even though because she has money and everything should be available for her to not need assistance from anyone. Money in marriage brings Petruchio happiness, this is obviously the case for every man but this is a great, yet realistic example of how categories of life can impact two individuals who fall in “love” with each other and want to share a life together.


When it comes to money and love in a relationship with the man having a powerful status because of it, Pretty Woman shows this as well in a few scenes. Here is one of them below.


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In this scene, Edward pays for Vivian to stay with him for the rest of the week, basically acting as a lady friend for important business meetings and such. However, because of how she acts and dresses which is the total opposite of the people Edward hangs around(people of more money and class) he gives her money to basically be someone she isn’t or that’s really in her but she doesn’t know how to bring it out by buying more presentable clothes like a new dress instead of the short skirt she wears at work. Vivian can’t deny her appreciation for this man giving her all this attention, time, and money as she is used to men approaching her only wanting one thing. Because of this her standards are low when it comes to relationships. Comparing this to Taming of the Shrew, both show how good or bad money can really be in a relationship. Of course it’s not all about the money in both cases, more so not with Pretty Woman however the promises of one giving a lot hard-earned money to someone else expecting nothing in return besides possibly sex is something that down the road can be the rise or fall of that relationship. It raises the question of what would happen if money were to run out or, usually since the man is the breadwinner, (especially during these times 1590s for Taming of the Shrew and late 1900s for Pretty Woman) the question of the woman being a golddigger comes about. Both relationships between Petruchio and Katherine and Edward and Vivian are surrounded by the greed of money for at least one of the partners, it creates an imbalance and sometimes a relationship isn’t strong enough to work through the disparity.


“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”

(Act 3, Scene 2, Line 235-239)

Throughout The Taming of the Shrew, the play heavily gives the perception of how men are obligated to play a big role in their relationship. The expectations of a boyfriend’s role is showed more as the breadwinner, dominant partner, and influenced the direction of the relationship more compared to the woman involved. In this scene of the play, Petruchio explains when he becomes the husband of Katherine, his dominance in the marriage will be shown. He has the belief that women have little to no legal rights of their own and everything will go through the dominant partner(being himself) in the relationship. This scenario compares with society in the recent years and how mankind has made it acceptable for relationships to be like this. The attitude of a man has to have as a boyfriend or husband is a protector and a person who is going to take care of his woman. If the man doesn’t have this mentality and pride to pursue the expectation of being the “man” in the house, he is looked at as feeble. In a male’s perspective, for a female to look at him in a respectful way it’s mandatory for the man to understand how powerful he is without being controlling.


“A woman doesn’t want a weak guy, she wants a prince charming to save her like she’s a princess” These are words that Vivian told Edward when they were talking about dream relationships.    


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Previous to this scene in Pretty Woman taking place both Edward and Vivian admitted to each other they had deeper feelings even though that wasn’t included in the plan. The plan was Edward paid Vivian three thousand dollars to be his beautiful woman friend to bring to business meetings and such. For Vivian, this wasn’t anything new as she have been paid by men on multiple occasions to perform acts as that was her job as a prostitute. However, the job of a prostitute is to never fall for one guy since her job consists of her being with plenty men. When Edward and Vivian both expressed their feelings, Vivian told him the prince charming quote meaning she wanted a guy that could be there for her, not only just put her financially in a better position as she was as a worker on Hollywood Boulevard. Because of consistent work, Edward didn’t think he could make the time on a daily to play the family man which resulted into the Vivian thinking her happiness in the future of the couple would never truly be met. Vivian knew because of Edward’s desire to work all the time he could never be her prince charming and the dream guy she always wanted. On the other hand Edward just wanted to get Vivian off the streets to pursue a relationship with her. That was enough for him but Vivian needed more. Comparing this to the Shrew play and society, this brings the point that the male’s role and decisions can impact a relationship more than a females because of the man having more power and expectations in the relationship.


When it comes to courtship/dating Pretty Woman and The Taming of the Shrew presented the idea that the status of a man in a relationship has a bit of a high ranking compared to his lady’s status. Both pieces gives off the perception that the male is the dominant partner as he is the protector, provider, and most importantly the decision maker who will take responsibility of the outcome because he is the strength of the partnership. Even in this day and age, this is the case with many relationships where if the man isn’t the breadwinner(most case scenarios money is power) it makes him look weak, but on the other hand is acceptable if the woman isn’t the breadwinner. The power a man possesses as the dominant partner holds great responsibility that women are capable of but shouldn’t be in control of when there’s a man involved, and in many cases giving men a higher position in the relationship.



Amélie’s Fabulous Shrew

Amélie’s Fabulous Shrew

Comparing “Amélie” and “Taming of the Shrew”


In “Taming of the Shrew”, deception in a relationship is used to woo a love interest when Lucentio disguises himself as a teacher to have access to the love of his life - Bianca. In Amélie (2001), the main character uses stratagems to hide her identity while moving her crush around like a chess piece.

Although Lucentio and Amélie both trick their love interests to win them over, Lucentio reveals his identity to Bianca right away while Amélie keeps her identity hidden from Nino. In the end, Lucentio and Amélie’s deceit pay off for the partners since Bianca and Nino are gifted with their heart’s desire. These pieces of media show that deception in relationships continue to provide the opportunity for one person to have power over the other in any relationship. The deception can seem wrong at first, but as long as the power is being used for working towards the betterment of the relationship, all turns out well.


“… this young scholar Гpresenting Lucentio, disguised as Cambioㄱ that hath been long studying at Rheims, as cunning in Greek, Latin, and other languages as the other in music and mathematics. His name is Cambio. Pray accept his service.”

(Act 2, Scene 1, 83-88)


Lucentio disguises himself as Cambio, a teacher, to be able to get close to Bianca, since her father, Baptista, is not allowing her to get married until her older sister, Katherine, does. Gremio, another of Bianca’s suitors, introduces him to Bianca and her family. This deception sets Lucentio up to interact with Bianca without her knowing his true identity. Lucentio has control over Bianca’s interpretation of him, giving him power. Instead of harming Bianca, Lucentio reveals his true identity to her, strengthening their blooming relationship.

Amélie is reluctant to reveal her true identity since she is not as confident as Lucentio.


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In “Amélie”, Nino is positive that he has found the mysterious woman that led him to this cafe. Amélie denies her identity and retreats, leaving Nino disappointed but still intrigued. In this scene, Amélie has lost her mystery and her power, leaving her face to face to the man that she wants to impress. Unlike Lucentio, Amélie is shy and not confident that she will be able to win Nino’s affection right away. In an attempt to regain power, Amélie continues her deception to keep herself hidden away from the possibility of a rejection. Nino could have forced Amélie to reveal herself, making her uncomfortable, but he allowed her to stay in the dark. While Amélie’s denial is disappointing to Nino, it pushes him to become more passionate in his search for her, keeping their relationship playful.

Enter Katherine and Bianca Гwith her hands tied.

“Good sister, wrong me not, nor wrong yourself, to make a bondmaid and a slave of me…. Unbind my hands…”

(Act 2, Scene 1, 1-4)

This quote shows that Katherine and Bianca are struggling to stay civil with each other since Bianca cannot be married until her sister does. This tension between siblings most likely results in her not enjoying being forced to stay at home. Her haste to get married supports the idea that she wishes to be freed and move on with her life before she is considered to be an “unmarriageable age”. Lucentio uses his disguise as an opportunity to win Bianca’s love and therefore, provide her with a way to get married.

While Amélie’s identity is still a secret to Nino, they play a game of cat-and-mouse, with her leading Nino to specific locations. The first location is to binoculars (shown in the first image below) and the second location is a photo booth (the second image below).

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Amélie uses arrows to guide Nino through the city to return his prized album back to him. He is guided to binoculars so that when he looks in them, he can see Amélie returning the album to his bike… and then running away. Amélie also shows Nino the secret of the photo booth repairman that causes him to be dumbstruck, since he believed the man to be a ghost. Amélie still does not reveal herself, which is different from “Taming of the Shrew”. If Amélie revealed herself after returning the album or amazing Nino with the repairman, the moment would have been equivalent to Lucentio revealing himself and gifting Bianca with the chance for her freedom. All of these gifts were given to the love interests through deception, but that dishonesty did not stop the amazement that Nino felt and Bianca’s amusement at Lucentio revealing his true identity.

In “Amélie” and “Taming of the Shrew”, both suitors use deception to gain power. Lucentio and Amélie’s dishonesty with their partners is glossed over because in the end, their relationships have improved. This proves that society places focus on the result of the relationship, not the developing process. Lucentio went around Bianca’s back to arrange their marriage, but they make a fine couple in the end. Amélie manipulated Nino but in the end, they are riding on a bicycle and smiling.


Works Cited

Amélie. Dir. Jean-Pierre Jeunet. Perf. Audrey Tautou and Mathieu Kassovitz. Twentieth

Century Fox Home Entertainment, 2001. DVD.

Shakespeare, William. The taming of the shrew. Ed. G. R. Hibbard and Margaret Jane

Kidnie. UK: Penguin , 2015. Print.

Charles's Visual Essay

The Purpose of Marriage

The play, “The Taming of the Shrew” displays marriage as a priority for the men that it  follows. As two suitors Petruchio and Lucentio beat out other suitors in order to marry Baptista’s daughters Bianca and Katherine. Even though they have differing reasons; Petruchio, in order to obtain the wealth Katherine has and for Lucentio, to obtain the one he loves. It depicts the role marriage has in the Elizabethan era. In “Crazy, Stupid, Love”, the main character Cal after learning that his wife (Emily) wants a divorce, meets a guy named Jacob who is bachelor. Jacob teached Cal how to pick up women in order to get over his wife. With that said, as the movie goes on he realizes that his wife is the only girl he wants and wounds up fighting to get his wife back. Jacob as the movie goes on met a woman named Hannah who he started instead of just having a mindless one night stand. The play and movie both has to do with marriage/courtship but shows as time went on woman obtained more ownership in who they want to marry.


“Content you, gentleman. I will compound this strife. ‘Tis deeds must win the prize, and he of both That can assure my daughter greatest dower Shall have my Bianca’s love. Say, signior gremio, what can you assure her.”(Act 2, Scene 1, line numbers 365-)


In this scene Lord Baptista is talking to two potential suitors; Gremio and Tranio, for his daughter Bianca. Tranio is dressed as Lucentio, the man who actually wants to marry Bianca. Baptista wants to see what these men has to offer his daughter and him, promising Bianca’s hand in marriage to the richest man. This scene shows how marriage was arranged and the daughter has no choice in the matter. Marriage is seen as a business transaction by Baptista instead of a badge of love. In order to marry Bianca, Lucentio goes as far as becoming Bianca’s tutor to get closer to her and have tranio play as him. Showing that this marriage is really important to him and that he truly does like Bianca. In order to get her though he has to convince Baptista that the marriage will benefit him as well.

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    In this scene Cal and Emily are about to go into a parent teacher conference for their child Robbie. Cal confesses that he hates himself for not fighting for her even after finding out Emily cheated in him. He states,” I should’ve fought for you. You fight for your soulmate. At least that's what our thirteen-year-old tells me.” This scene shows the emotion connection that Cal and Emily has. Unlike the Taming of the Shrew suitors, Cal is already married but the way he confesses to her can be compared. Cal married Emily because he loved her while Lucentio had to prove himself to the father before he was able to marry Bianca. The movie reflects that in the modern age women have way more control of choosing who they want to marry than what is reflected William Shakespeare’s play.
        

"Marry, so I mean, sweet Katherine, in they bed And

therefore, setting all this chat aside, Thus in plain term: your father hath consented That you shall be my wife."

(Act 2, Scene 1, line numbers)


    This part of the play has to do with Katherine and the suitor her dad has allowed to marry her, Petruchio. Petruchio is trying to train Katherine into becoming the perfect wife for him by complimenting her when she does something he likes and punishing her when she does something he deems wrong. Katherine does not want to marry Petruchio, but since Petruchio has Baptista’s blessing what she wants doesn’t really matter. Since Petruchio is very manipulative as well, he is able to talk his way out of situations that may have stop the marriage. This scene in the play reflects the way marriage was perceived in William Shakespeare’s era (1558-1603). Where marriage was seen as a business opportunity in which both families involved would benefit. It also shows that the father has majority of the say in who the daughter is going to marry.  

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In this scene, the movie reached its climax as Cal plans of winning Emily back was interrupted by Jessica’s Dad and Jacob. He found out that Jacob is dating his daughter Hannah and Cal does not like that at all. Calling Jacob a womanizer, while Jessica’s Dad thought that Cal was having a relationship with his 17 year old daughter. Jessica babysat for Cal and Emily, she had a crush on Cal throughout the movie but nothing ever happened. This scene reflects how a women has way more power in who she chooses to be in a relationship/marry because Hannah was introducing Jacob to the family. Even though Cal does not want her dating Jacob, it is socially acceptable for Hannah to not listen to her father. Katherine does not have this luxury as she has to marry whoever her Dad sees fit. This shows that the modern era of marriage is about love and compatibility than just furthering a family’s power.

Overall, “The Taming of the Shrew” and “Crazy, Stupid, Love” even though they are fictional works, shows society views on marriage in the Elizabethan and modern era. From the play’s perspective, marriage was seen as a tool to gain more power and prestige. From the movie’s perspective, marriage is more complicated and has to do with the emotional connections between two people. Showing that the purpose of marriage has changed over the years and is always subject to change.

Work Cited:

Shakespeare, William, G. R. Hibbard, and Margaret Jane Kidnie. The taming of the shrew. UK: Penguin , 2015. Print.

Crazy, stupid, love. Dir. Glenn Ficarra. Perf. Steve Carell. Https://gomovies.to/film/crazy-stupid-love-4635/watching.html?ep=503677. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2017.

"Elizabethan Wedding Customs." Elizabethan Wedding Customs. N.p., Feb. 2017. Web. 23 Apr. 2017. <http://www.william-shakespeare.info/elizabethan-wedding-customs.htm>.

I Got You Fam

In both The Parent Trap and Taming of the Shrew, two relationships are formed through heavy influence by family members. In the Parent Trap, twin sisters Annie and Hallie used a series of tactics such as deception and trickery to reunite their long separated parents. While in Taming of the Shrew, Baptista used his being the lead male figure of the family as means to decide when and who his daughters, Bianca and Katherine would marry. Both situations see family members Annie, Hallie, and Baptista taking matters into their own hands to effect the relationship of others with varying success. The children in the Parent Trap, and the father in Taming of the Shrew. These reflect that the idea of familial influence and impact on relationships has transcended time, but time has equalized the power of women and men allowing for certain tactics that were once acceptable to be ended.

“Gentlemen, importune me no farther, For how I firmly am resolved you know: That is, not to bestow my youngest daughter Before I have a husband for the elder.”

(Act 1. Scene 1, 48-51)

In this quote, Baptista informs the male characters about the marital status and plans for his two daughters Katherine and Bianca. All of the male characters up to this point have shown great interest in marrying the beautiful and desirable Bianca, the youngest daughter. However, Baptista explains that Bianca is not allowed to court or contact any males excluding teachers until oldest sister Katherine, who has developed the reputation as a shrew or mean spirited is married off. Furthermore it is Baptista who has final say in both who and when his daughters are married to. Bianca and Katherine are at complete submission to their father who dictates their interaction and relationships with men Baptista displays a firm grasp and influence on the future of his daughters. His ability to do this also reflects the time period of the late 1500s where women had little to no choice in who they would be married of too. Instead this right given to parents, particularly fathers.

Annie and Hallie develop a similar mindset and plan however in this case it’s to get their long lost parents back together.


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( The Parent Trap, 28:48)

In The Parent Trap, after Annie and Hallie discover that they’re twins, Hallie suggest switching places so they can experience the parent they never had. They soon realize that even with this plan, they’d eventually have to go back to their original parent and once again be separated. Because of this, Annie goes on to explain that this will also force their parents to come together after 11 years apart, and they’ll fall in love with one another. They spend the remainder of the film with their primary goal of getting their parents, Nick and Liz, to fall back in love and get remarried. The girls are faced with the obstacle of Meredith Blake, Nick’s fiancee, similarly as Baptista has the obstacle of Katherine’s raging temper which makes her undesirable. Baptista does have more power, wealth, and ability to attract someone to Katherine despite her bad reputation. Annie and Hallie go an unconventional route. There are equal in that both Annie, Hallie, and Baptista create an exact plan to get others to marry without receiving input for those they are trying to wed.

“ Then tell me, if I get your daughter’s love, What dowry shall I have with her to wife. (Baptista) After my death, the one half of my lands, And, in possession, twenty thousand crowns. (Petruchio) Let specialties be therefore drawn between us, That covenants may be kept on either hand.”

(Act 2. Scene 1, 126-134)

In this quote, Baptista is arranging for Katherine to marry Petruchio. The two men discuss the dowry that shall be given if the marriage does go forth. They go on to agree that if one dies before the other, they inherit whatever Katherine has inherited. Instead of giving his eldest daughter to someone who she has developed an actual relationship with, Baptista has done what resembles a business transaction in order to have Katherine married off. After figuring out the logistics and inheritance, Baptista is willing to let Katherine go, despite Katherine having no knowledge of their conversation or Petruchio to be her soon to be husband. Further in the book, Petruchio marries Katherine by force as she initially crys at the idea of being his wife. However at this time, Katherine could not do much about her circumstances, as dealings such as marriage were left to the father to decide.

Despite their plan seemed foolproof, Annie and Hallie were met with the obstacle of Nick’s fiancee who could make it so that Nick and Liz never have a chance to fall in love again.

mb.jpg

( The Parent Trap, 1:52:31)

When Annie pretending to be Hallie returns from camp, she quickly discovers that her father is engaged to the young, beautiful, and manipulative Meredith Blake. Annie realizing the danger that Meredith poses to their plan and to Hallie when she returns from London, launches a plan to get Meredith and Nick to separate. In a later scene after all of the characters have gathered in California Annie, Hallie, Nick, and Meredith go on a camping trip where the girls pranks Meredith several times with the intent on breaking her. It proves successful when Meredith tells Nick, “The day we get married is the day I ship those brats off to Switzerland, get the picture? It’s me or them. Take your pick.” Nick ultimately chooses them therefore ending his engagement to Meredith which gives him the opportunity to get back with Liz which does happen at the end of the movie. Similarly to Baptista, Annie and Hallie develop a method of getting their family member to marry a specific person, and while Nick and Liz weren’t obligated to marriage like Katherine, they were still susceptible to the girls influence which caused them to get back together.

The Parent Trap and Taming of the Shrew are two fictional tales from different time periods with varying plots, but one theme that can be taken from both sources is that the idea family influence in relationship is a standard or accepted action. This may not be relevant for every single family, but it does reflect a common idea that many people have come to accept. One could only give the explanation that people trust their family the most, hence valuing their input on relationship most. Whether the idea of parental influence from a wealthy father marrying off his mean spirited daughter, or young twins scheming to get their long separated parents to once again fall in love. It is up to viewers if this idea is successful, beneficial, or an actual thing in the real. In the end, both the movie and play ended with successful relationships.

Works Cited:

Shakespeare, William, G. R. Hibbard, and Margaret Jane Kidnie. The Taming of the Shrew. UK: Penguin , 2015. Print.

The Parent Trap. Dir. Nancy Meyers. Perf. Lindsay Lohan. Walt Disney, 1998.ProjectFreeTv.com. Web. 19 Apr. 2017.


Love's Like A Movie

Love’s Like A Movie

The Taming of the Shrew / Across The Universe


The Taming of the Shrew features two characters, Lucentio and Bianca. Lucentio came to Padua to attend school, but ended up falling in love with Bianca at first sight. He abandoned his duties with school to pursue Bianca, and hope to court her in marriage. Bianca is the second daughter of Baptista, sister to Katherine. She’s many, many suitors available to her, but she’s unable to marry until Katherine is married off first. Across The Universe, a Beatles musical set during the Vietnam War, is focused around the romance of Lucy (Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds) and Jude. (Hey Jude) Jude came to America, from London, in search of his father and work opportunities. He meets Max, Lucy’s brother, at Princeton, and befriends him. He later meets Lucy and, upon falling in love with her at first sight, abandons his original plans in America to pursue her. Lucy is a student whose boyfriend, Daniel, went to war in Vietnam. She meets Jude just before Daniel dies in the war.  Despite Lucy and Jude being in a very different romantic situation than Lucentio and Bianca, both situations stem from love at first sight and the abandonment of the males original goals. The behaviors of people who experience love at first sight are essentially the same, and often come as a distraction.

In the I’ve Just Seen A Face scene of Across The Universe, Jude is at a bowling alley with Max and Lucy after spending thanksgiving with their family goes terribly. Jude realises in this moment that he is ‘in love’ with Lucy.  

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He’s had exactly one conversation with Lucy before this scene, and yet has decided he’s in love with her. The song’s lyrics, as well as the way the camera follows Jude as he watches Lucy, tells the audience he truly believes he’s in love with her after such a short time. Love at first sight is a very strong factor in this movie’s plot; the events that follow this realization are entirely driven by Jude’s ‘love’ for Lucy.

In The Taming of The Shrew, Tranio openly questions the possibility of love at first sight when Lucentio falls for Bianca after only seeing how she acts with her father and sister in public.

“I pray, sir, tell me, is it possible

That love should of a sudden take such hold.”

(Lines 148-150, A1S1, Tranio)

This quote seems to be countering all ideals the audience may have about love at first sight. He doesn’t believe it’s truly possible for someone to fall in love so suddenly and have it be a true, real love, like Lucentio, or Jude, swears it is. The reaction to love at first sight is very different for either party, though. Lucentio is questioned, while Jude’s situation goes nearly unnoticed until later on, when it’s only commented on very slightly. While love at first sight itself might’ve not changed, the reactions to it certainly have.

Towards the end of the song, Jude questions staying in the town to be around Lucy. (the location of Lucy and Max’s family is never determined)

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He originally came to the city to look for his father, who he found, and look for a new life and work, which he didn’t ever accomplish. When he meets Lucy, he gives up the rest of his mission for his love for her.

Lucentio experiences something nearly identical to Jude; he came to a city to attend school, but abandoned it after falling in love with Bianca. In this scene, he decides he’s going to solely pursue Bianca, and ignores attending school entirely for it.

“Tranio, I burn, I pine! I perish, Tranio

If I achieve not this young modest girl.”

(Lines 157-158, A1S1, Lucentio)

Love at first sight often comes with the abandonment of conflicting goals, as seen in Across The Universe, and The Taming of The Shrew. The love at first sight comes as a distraction from their original mission, or goals, that the love interrupts. Had Lucentio not seen Bianca, he would’ve gone to school like his father wished. Had Jude not met Max or Lucy, he would’ve either returned home to his mother or found work in America. However, both parties ended up generally well off in the end. (sans Jude and Lucy’s fallout around midway point for drama.) Love at first sight, despite being a distraction, can work out in the end.

Directly after the bowling alley scene, Max warns Jude of the existence of Daniel, Lucy’s boyfriend in the war. Jude is practically unfazed by this, and jokes about the fact he technically has a girlfriend, too.  Screenshot 2017-04-21 at 00.18.43.png

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Love at first sight also tends to come with obstacles, and the way they’re approached seems to have an impact on the turnout of the love in the end.

The Taming of The Shrew offers the obstacle of Baptista’s rule on how his daughters shall be wed;

“That is, not to bestow my youngest daughter

Before I have a husband for the elder.”

(Lines 50-51, A1S1, Baptista)

Lucentio goes into this challenge with a mindset extremely similar to that of Jude’s about Daniel. That’s okay. He acknowledges the barrier, and vows to find ways around it. He ends up enacting a huge, elaborate plan to get to Bianca, and succeeds. Jude chooses to ignore Daniel’s existence, and Daniel ends up dying in the war not long after. The audience expects the relationships to work out in the end because of how determined and unbothered the males were upon finding out about obstacles related to their love.

In a real life situation, Bianca, upon finding out Lucentio was lying to her, wouldn’t have wed Lucentio. Just the same, Lucy, after the fallout with Jude being too controlling and nearly abusive at times, would not have done anything she could to find him again. It’s the expectation of happily ever after in love at first sight situations that drive movies to make conclusions in this way. It’s the audience’s idea that a male being unfazed by obstacles in love, like another boyfriend or a controlling father, will make the love stronger. The reactions to love at first sight have changed over the last century in the way that people have stopped questioning it’s authenticity, especially in plays or movies. Love at first sight is, and has always been, seen as an ideal, happily ever after situation.

Shakespeare in Korea (Heirs & Taming of the Shrew)

In Shakespeare’s “Taming of the Shrew”, there are many instances of courtship initiated by the males of the play. Almost 420 years later, there are many movies, shows and plays that shows males trying to court the love interest(s). This is especially true in the Korean movie “Heirs”. In “Heirs”, there are two male leads, Young Do and Kim Tan, who are both trying to court the love interest: Eun Sang. The two suitors use completely different methods that would seem illogical to most but had results different than what was to be expected. So although “Heirs” and “Taming of the Shrew” are from completely different time periods, they both use illogical means to woo love interest. This shows that the viewers of this movie believes that today’s society is more inclined to watch and believe that love is a game that is won by the most creative player.








In this scene, Kim Tan and Eun Sang get to school early and are by themselves. By this point in the relationship, Eun Sang and Kim Tan have* moved back to Korea and are now, coincidentally, are living together. Trying to pretend that she is from new money while still remaining as a normal student, Eun Sang has to distance herself from Kim Tan. Kim Tan is not pleased and tries to stay as close to Eun Sang as possible. Here, Eun Sang is walking a couple of steps in front of Kim Tan, allowing him to have a view of her neck.Kim Tan catches up to Eun Sang and takes her ponytail out. He ruffles her hair and most of it covers her face before saying,“ Keep your hair down. You look prettier with more of you face covered.” This quote is significant because just as Lucentio in Taming of the Shrew, Kim Tan does the most indirect way of giving the love interest a compliment. This can be shown in the play when Lucentio accepted the proposal that Tranio made to switch clothes with him to talk to Bianca instead of talking to her directly. “ Your fellow Tranio here, to save my life, Puts my apparel and my countenance on,And I for my escape have put on his;This relates back to the thesis because this is the set up that shows how creative both men are getting. Kim Tan will be hiding his true feelings by covering them up with rude remarks while Lucentio will be pretending to be a school teacher.






In this scene Eun Sang and Young Do are at a convenience store near Kim Tan’s house. Eun Sang, who had left the house early to get to school early, goes to the store to wake up but ends up half asleep on a table that Young Do inhabits. By this time, Young Do bullies Eun Sang at school but Eun Sang still stands strong which only makes Young Do like her even more and therefore bullies her more. Young Do attempts to wake Eun Sang up by shaking the table. After about thirty seconds of just staring at her and only receiving a groan as an answer, he proceeds to admit his true feelings to her stating “Why do you always sleep here? It makes we want to protect you.” This quote is significant because just as Petruchio, Young Do hides his true intentions under crude actions and words. This can be shown in the play when Petruchio states, “She ate no meat today nor none shall eat. Last night she slept not, nor tonight she shall not.” This is Petruchio hiding his true intentions, which is just to get the dowry, behind crude words and actions. This relates back to the thesis because it shows the other two suitors being creative to get the love interest.


In the end, the most creative man in ‘Heirs’ was Kim Tan, which won him the girl. Meanwhile, in ‘Taming of the Shrew’ both Lucentio and Petruchio won Bianca and Katherine respectively. These men were more creative and therefore won the girl. Congratulations Player, GAME OVER.

Baptista & Chasen: The Taming of a Child

Baptista & Chasen: The Taming of a Child

The Taming of the Shrew, Harold & Maude


“The Taming of the Shrew” presents a vision of romance in 16th century aristocracy, complete with the copious parental power afforded in these situations. Baptista is the widowed father of two daughters, the oldest of which is unruly or “shrewd” and the play’s plot centers around his plan to marry her off. “Harold & Maude” is a movie from almost four hundred years later, 1971. In it Harold’s widowed mother Mrs. Chasen tries to marry him off to a young cast of suitors she has selected, who are all in one way or another scared off by his eccentric behaviour.

While Baptista’s issue is his curst daughter Katherine, Mrs. Chasen’s issue is a quiet emotionally disturbed son. Baptista’s problem with Katherine is that she will be difficult to marry off given her personality. He hopes to find someone to marry her before she is too old, her personality could ruin her and his family's reputation with it. Mrs. Chasen seeks to use a marriage to fix Harold’s behavioural issues, which include staging elaborate fake suicides in an attempt to elicit a reaction from his mother. She sees this as a way to have Harold grow up. Both parents seek to find their child a partner who will solve what they see as issues with them. While these two texts present situations 400 years apart, with swapped gender roles, and different issues for the respective parents they both show that parents are given a role in society to find the “best match” for their children. Society dictates to parents that this “best match” is the one that gives them control over their children, and solves “behavioural issues”.

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Early into Harold & Maude Mrs. Chasen instructs Harold that he must grow up. That he has lived an idyllic, soft childhood and it is time he became an adult. Mrs. Chasen’s solution to Harold’s behaviour is simple, she tells him that it is high time that he get married in order for him to mature, to straighten him out. In The Taming of the Shrew Baptista never expressly states that he wants to fix her personality with marriage, but this is an expression of the times in a way. Baptista’s primary and only concern with his daughter is getting her married, but once he has married her off to Petruchio and she comes back to him obedient he is overjoyed. It was his hope that marriage would make Katherine obedient, and we see this in his happiness at having this hope fulfilled. This quote comes from Act 5, Scene 2, Lines 124-128, right after has Petruchio won a wager involving who has the most obedient wife.

“The wager thou hast won, and I will add

Unto their losses twenty thousand crowns,

Another dowry to another daughter,

For she is changed as she had never been.”

Baptista is thrilled over this newfound submissiveness in his previously disagreeable daughter. Petruchio has successfully turned Katherine around, and made her into the daughter Baptista wanted to have. Just as Mrs. Chasen hoped to do with Harold, take his bad behaviour and fix it with a good marriage. Both of these parental figures used marriage as a sort of boot camp or training to mold their children into the people they wanted them to be, that would be easier to deal with. In fact, when Mrs. Chasen is struggling to find someone who will take Harold and his numerous eccentricities she orders him to join the military instead. Literally a boot camp meant to teach obedience, stamp out strange eccentricities, and make someone into a “man”. This is an equivalence of two things that should be very different, a union between two people and training for war. In both situations though the parents hope to use these institutions to “straighten out” their children.

After Mrs. Chasen orders Harold to begin searching for a marriage, she decides to take matters into her own hands. She brings Harold a survey that will create his profile for a primitive version of an online dating website. Through the whole scene Harold doesn’t say one word, but his mother still successfully fills out the survey. Filling in her own opinion or life situation for many questions, often judgmentally.

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This is nothing compared to the amount of power Baptista has, where he can actually choose both his daughters’ future husbands. This means that he treats the entire marriage process as if he was a merchant, his primary concern not being someone to make his daughters “grow up” but whoever can offer the most amount of wealth. Illustrated here in Act 2, Scene 1, Lines 362-364

“Tis deeds must win the prize, and he of both

That can assure my daughter greatest dower

Shall have my Bianca’s love”

Mrs. Chasen and Baptista both hold power over their children, as most all parents do. They both use this power in attempts to control their child’s potential future spouse, Baptista being far more successful in his attempt. This attempt at control drives to the heart of what parental interference in relationships is trying to attempt. They seek obedience from their children as they had always had it before, and both look for what they want from their children’s suitors. They don’t look for what they think their children will like, but what they have decided they find desirable in a suitor. Baptista looks for money and Mrs. Chasen fills out the survey to her own liking, nowhere do their children’s desires enter into this equation. They see marriage as a path to compliance from their children, but for it to have the desired effect they must be certain the medicine is right. They set about searching for a suitor the same way one would locate the right boarding school for their unruly child.

These two pieces have completely different underlying themes and morals, but behind their main plots lies a commonality in the role of the parent in young love. Mrs. Chasen and Baptista are both in a situation where they have less control over their children as they grow up. So they both gravitate to find their child the “best match”, in a last bid to keep control and solve worrying issues of disobedience or perceived immaturity in their children. Over time though parents have lost power in choosing the next stage in their child’s life, as evidenced by Harold & Maude. No longer can they pick the suitor they most like regardless of their child’s wishes, the most they can do is attempt to influence their child’s choice. Demand their child get married, so they can find possible options that match their hopes for their child’s future. Mrs. Chasen’s failure shows that parents have lost so much of the power they used to hold, but that doesn’t stop them from still trying to control the future in a journey to find “the best match” and someone who will “straighten” their child out.


Sources:

1. Shakespeare, William. The Taming of The Shrew. UK: Simon & Schuster, 2004. Print.

2. Harold & Maude. Dir. Hal Ashby. Perf. Ruth Gordon and Bud Cort. Paramount Pictures, 1971. DVD. Web. 12 Apr. 2017.

Expecting the Expected


Comparing the book “Taming of the Shrew” to the film “Bridesmaids”

Romance has been around for decades, and similar patterns seem to be clear by comparing the book, “Taming of the Shrew” from the 1500’s, to a fairly recent romantic comedy, “Bridesmaids” from 2011. Both examples have similar relationships, were in Taming of the Shrew Petruchio a bold and masculine character pursues to marry the infamously difficult Katherine, likewise, where the main character Annie is seen as difficult and complicated, where she can’t manage to handle a relationship with genuine and kind officer Rhodes. In a relationship, in both the book and the movie demonstrate how clashing expectations often cause another partner to change accordingly or to be changed so that a relationship might work. Although, in the movie and the book, Petruchio and Rhodes take on different tactics to effectively fix their significant other to have the ideal relationship.


“What, will you not suffer me? Nay, now I see

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.

Talk not to me. I will go sit and weep

Will I can find occasion of revenge.”

(Act 2, Scene 1, 34-77)


At the beginning of his scene of this scene, Katherine and her sister Bianca bickering about marriage. Katherine, being the older sister is frustrated by the fact that no man expresses interest in marriage unless it is with her younger sister. She is also often being overlooked by her father, where he only has his best interest for Bianca. Many suitors only are drawn to Bianca because of her endearing personality that many of them find very attractive opposed to Katherine who is very unpleasant at the beginning of the play. Katherine quickly becomes frustrated and expresses her feelings. She makes it clear that she is well aware that Bianca is the prefered daughter and that she is upset that she has not found someone to marry unlike her sister. With that said, this shows the audience the character Katherine , unwanted because of her unlikely character, yet she is annoyed by the fact she has no one to marry. This sets the stage for the initial change of Katherine, how she starts off as a bitter unwanted person, but because of the expectation she has to marry someone, and the expectation Petruchio has for her, it alters who she is as a person.



Similarly, Annie, the main character from the movie “Bridesmaids”, is also a conflicting character.





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(2:30)


Likewise to Katherine, she has her various problems which seems to make an impact in her relationships. In the first scene of the movie, Annie is introduced by having sex with a go-to hookup Ted, in which he has no interest in pursuing  a real relationship with her. Ted and Annie are lying in bed where Annie starts to bring up the conversation of what their status is, making it clear to the audience she has different motives than he does, where he quickly says, “I don’t want to make promises I can’t keep.”, which refers to a relationship. After that Annie quickly agrees, lying about the fact that she does indeed want a relationship. Annie has an expectation for a relationship that Ted clearly can’t make, so she simply changes herself and what she wants to accomodate the relationship for Ted so that it will continue.


“And woo her with some spirit when she comes!

Say that she rail, why then I’ll tell her plain

She sings sweetly as a nightingale.

Say that she frown, I’ll say she looks as clear As morning roses newly washed with dew.

Say she be mute and will not speak a word,

Then I’ll commend her volubility

And say she uttereth piercing eloquence.

If she do bid me pack, I’ll give her thanks

As though she bid me stay by her a week.

If she deny to wed, I’ll crave the day

When I shall ask the banns, and when be married.

But here she comes - and now, Petruchio, speak.”

(Act 2, Scene 1 , 177-180)


Here in this part of the scene, Petruchio reveals that he plans on marrying Katherine, and in order to do so, uses various tactics to pursue her. Petruchio explains that he will try to change her bad habits by complementing or flaws or choices of action that she uses to push people away. With these tactics he uses, they are manipulating and almost aggressive to forcefully change Katharine into the wife he expects her to be.


Unlike Petruchio, Rhodes uses more nurturing tactics on Annie to more so change her rather than force her to be someone else.

Instead of playing mind games with Annie, he forces her to face her past where he believes is the root problem, where in this scene he lays out baking materials to help her connect with something that was once important to her. Rhodes hopes that by having Annie work through her problems, she will be able to fulfil the ideal girlfriend that he has in mind. Both Rhodes and Petruchio seek a relationship, but in order for that to work they have expectations that need to be met.

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(1:08:45)



“I am ashamed that women are so simple

To offer was where they should kneel for peace,

Or seek for rule, supremacy, and sway

When they are bound to serve, love, and obey.”

(Act 5, Scene 2 , 177-180)


In the final scene of the play, Katherine gives her infamous speech of how women should not resist, but simply obey their husbands and give them nothing but respect. By this point in the play, Katherine has transformed into a new person after the countless mind games and tactics Petruchio used to change her into a more ladylike wife. As Katherine says in the quote, she explains how she is ashamed of women who would seek rule or supremacy, which was almost the type of person she was before. This shows how Petruchio changed Katherine to accommodate the expectation he has for a wife, while Katherine changes herself, practically criticizing the type of person she was before. In the end, Petruchio successfully chnages his significant other to have an ideal relationship for himself.


Lucky for Rhodes, he ends up with Annie like Petruchio does with Katherine.

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(1:55:18)


In the last scene of the movie “Bridesmaids”, Rhodes surprises Annie at a wedding she was attending, after she had worked through her problems like he thought he would. Unlike Petruchio, Rhodes had hoped that by giving Annie the space she needed, and allowing her to figure out the issues she had on her own after he tried to help her, he ends up being able to have the relationship he initially wanted. Annie knew Rhodes expected her to change for the better so that she could be with him, in the right circumstances, and that’s exactly what she does.


In all relationships, from hundreds of years ago to know, still seem to have the same sort so expectation. In both the book, “Taming of the Shrew” and “Bridesmaids” they reveal that expectations in relationships need to be fulfilled in order for them to work. Both Petruchio and Rhodes pursued difficult characters to begin with, and in order for them to have the relationship they desered, they both had tactics on changing their partner to make it work. In respect to the time period, Petruchio used a much more abusive way to change Katherine, in which he plays mind games with her, and almost brainwashes her into hating who she once was. On the other hand though, this highlights how modern times have changed the types of expectations and respect there are in relationships. Rhodes, like Petruchio, needed Annie to change, but instead of using abusive tactics, he nurtures her to face her past and fix her problems on her own. In the end both of these relationship portrays that in relationships, in order for them to work, someone will have to change for the other person, traditionally a woman for a man.  


Work Cited

Shakespeare, William, G. R. Hibbard, and Margaret Jane Kidnie. The Taming of the Shrew. UK: Penguin, 2015. Print.

Bridesmaids. Perf. Paul Feig. YouTube. N.p., n.d. Web.



Love is a Trainwreck

Love is a Trainwreck

The taming of the shrew, Trainwreck.


       The film "Trainwreck" centers around two complete opposites who come together. Aaron is a successful doctor, pursuing a not-so-successful, small time writer, Amy. Amy is a non-monogamous woman; embracing her sexual freedom. Aaron has yet to venture into his sexuality. Aaron’s sexual encounter with Amy means the world to him, yet all Amy expects is a one night stand. Amy, who has never gone on a second date with a man, sets low expectations of all her relationships. Even so, she secretly wishes she could find love but does not want to be tamed. On the other hand, Aaron expects her to buckle down and become wife material. In the play, ‘The Taming of The Shrew,” Katherine is a hot-headed, independent woman, who is searching for love but has no suitors. Petruchio, a rich suitor, takes Katherine's hand in marriage. Petruchio expects his wife Katherine to become wife material also, but by employing much more extreme tactics. Aaron is persistent and sweet, yet Petruchio is harsh and essentially tortures her. Although expectations in relationships have changed, these two sources show: If the pursuer is persistent, then their tactics of achieving love do not matter.

    Petruchio is a wealthy suitor looking to win Katherine’s hand in marriage. Katherine is a strong woman with a tongue like a wasp, which does not take kindly to many people. In anticipation of this, Petruchio enlists tactics to help win her love.

¨Say that she rail, why then I’ll tell her plain she sings as sweetly as a nightingale. Say that she frown I’ll say she look as clear as morning roses newly washed with dew. Say she be mute and will not speak a word, then I’ll commend her volubility and say she uttereth piercing eloquence. If she do bid me pack, I’ll give her thanks as though she bid me stay by her for a week.If she deny to wed, I’ll crave the day.”

(ACT 2 SC 1 lines lines 178-186)

In this quote, Petruchio has yet to meet Katherine: the woman he wishes to pursue, but he already holds expectations of their relationship and plans to counter this with his tactics. He describes his tactics to win the love of Katherine. The key to this tactic is persistence. Persistence will overcome the sharp tongue of Katherine.

Much like Petruchio, Aaron is faced with a woman who does not want his affections and has entirely different expectations of the relationship.Screenshot 2017-04-19 at 3.21.33 PM.png

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The main character, much like Katherine, is hard headed and blunt. Here we can see Aaron and her after having sex, she is clearly expressing discomfort. However, Amy stays the night, breaking her very own biggest rule: never sleeping over.The next day, Aaron calls to say that he had an amazing time and wants to see her again. This surpassess all of the initial expectations Amy had, a one night stand, and the persistence of Aaron bewilders Amy. Confused and flattered, she agrees to see him again. Although Aaron knows Amy was uncomfortable and did not

“Marry, so I mean, sweet Katherine, in thy bed. And therefore, setting all this chat aside, Thus in plain terms: your father has consented that you shall be my wife, your dowry’ greed on, and, will you, nill you. I will marry you.  

(Act 2, Scene 1, 282-286)

     At this point in “The Taming of the Shrew” Petruchio and Katherine find themselves in a heated argument. Katherine is not taking kindly to a man walking into her life and demanding that he will marry her. Katherine does not want this in her relationship, she expects a loving husband. “Will you, nill you” translates to “whether you like it or not.”

Aaron takes this same approach, by once again ignoring the clear rejection from Amy.


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    Much like the Taming of the Shrew, we have the pursuer ignoring all obvious signs of being rejected. Amy explicitly says no she would not like to start dating him, but Aaron is not deterred in the slightest. Trainwreck is in a much less severe setting, as Amy is not being told she will marry Aaron, like Katherine is to Petruchio.

     In both “The Taming of The Shrew” and “Trainwreck,” men meet their match with the woman they are trying to pursue. Petruchio of Shrew has a very harsh demeanor of winning over Katherine, yet his persistence causes Katherine to defy her expectations of their relationship and find love with Petruchio. Similarly, Aaron insists on seeing Amy after she makes a strong impression, and wins over the woman who has never had a commitment in her life. This proves to show that love is unpredictable, and will shatter the expectations of any party.


Works Cited:


Shakespeare, William . Folger Shakespeare Library. Ed. Barbara Mowat and Paul Werstine. N.p.: Washington Square Press Drama, n.d. Print.


Trainwreck . Prod. Judd Apatow and Joshua Church. By Amy Schumer. Perf. Amy Schumer Bill Hader. Cinemax, 2015. Xfinity. Xfinity, 17 July 2015. Web. 20 Apr. 2017.


Money Hungry

Money Hungry
Comparing “Taming of the Shrew” to “Monster in Law”

"The Taming of the Shrew" demonstrates that parental influence on relationships has existed over centuries. In "Shrew" the father of Katherine, Baptista, enforces the importance of wealth in marriage. In the 2005 movie "Monster in Law", the parent of the son to be wed values the same thing. Though in this situation, the parent fails in having this tactic affect the couple.

Though Baptista and Violla share a lot in common, such as their status and economic situations, the outcome they end up receiving regarding this specific scenario is different. They both enforce the importance of wealth when dealing with their children being wed, but in one scenario. Baptista is able to get what he wants, which is getting his daughter to marry a man who is wealthy. In the other situation, Violla is not successful in making her son marry a wealthy daughter. Even though this is the case, the parent in this second situation, Violla, still manages to drive the fiance crazy in lowering her self esteem. All in all, these stories reflect that parents definitely have an influence on marriage, though it has become less powerful in today’s society because wealth is not a huge value anymore; it is more of an addition. True love is valued more.


“Signior Baptista, my business asketh haste, and every day I cannot come to woo. You knew my father well, and in him me, left solely heir to all his lands and goods. Which I have bettered rather than decreas'd. Then tell me, if I get your daughter's love, what dowry shall I have with her to wife?” says Petruchio. “After my death, the one half of my lands and, in possession, twenty thousand crowns.” says Baptista. “And for that dowry, I'll assure her of her widowhood, be it that she survive me, in all my lands and leases whatsoever…” says Petruchio.

(Act 2 Scene 1, 120-132)

In this part of the play, Petruchio assures to Baptista, the parent of the woman to be wed, that he will bring to the table his wealthiness in exchange for some wealth on her part. Baptista then reassures that wealth will be granted. This shows money is an important factor to having a “successful” marriage.


The parent in the movie finds herself overwhelmed with frustration after meeting the bride and finding out she is not wealthy, which contrasts with the situation from the play.


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In this early scene from “Monster in Law”, Viola is angrily fisting the air because she is upset about who her son has chosen to marry. Viola is upset for many reasons, but the one that seems to matter the most to her is that the bride has no money, which would be an addition to the family. Viola then makes this awful plan to split them up so she can have her way. Viola is in dire need of control of this situation, which compares to Baptista actually having full control of his situation when finding a suitable man to marry his daughter Katherine.


“Because I know you well and love you well, leave shall you have to court her at your pleasure.” says Baptista.


(Act 1, Scene 1, 53-54)


In this part of the scene, Baptista explains that he knows exactly what his daughter likes and wants. Therefore he has the right to choose who she weds, and when that happens thereof. Parents have a clear influence on how their children wed and this is reflected through the movie too.


In this scene, the parent in the movie is complaining about the wife and plotting all the awful things she plans to do to split the couple up, which compares with the situation from the play.

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In this moment Viola says that she intends to find out all about the bride’s past, to find something that will make her son not love her anymore. She mentions again that the soon to be bride has no money and will not be a good match for her son. Which implies that she knows what her son wants best. She lives in a grand home, and has lost her job recently, so it makes sense why money will be of huge value to her. Viola feels that as a parent it is her responsibility to have a strong say in her son’s marriage.

The fact that in the end of “Monster in Law”, the parent’s intentions of having her son not marry this woman fails, shows what the modern audience wants to see. Of course everyone likes when the bad guys lose, and that is what happens in this movie. Throughout the film parent’s effect on the couple got weaker as the love got stronger, but still proves that parents can influence a marriage. Whereas in the play, the parent’s effect remained instilled in the marriage, allowing Petruchio to gain more wealth in the end.


Works Cited

“The Taming of the Shrew” by William Shakespeare

“Monster in Law”


Love, Lies, and Coincidentally, Italy

Love, Lies, and Coincidentally, Italy

The Taming of the Shrew and Roman Holiday


From Padua to Rome, love always lies. That much, William Shakespeare and Dalton Trumbo are certain to agree on. Shakespeare’s play, “The Taming of the Shrew” and Trumbo’s 1953 film, “Roman Holiday” are evidence enough of that. The Taming of the Shrew, a victorian drama following the strange romantic mishaps between a love-polygon of unknown sides and the unlikely marriage of an overly-confident, moderately misogynist man to the titled "Shrew" of a woman, lends us its message through a number of characters. The first are Bianca and her many suitors, although most importantly the rich Lucentio who disguises himself as a teacher to reach his object of affection. The others, of course, are the aforementioned unlikely couple, Petruchio and Katherine, the former of whom decides to pursue marriage with the ladder because he really just wants a wife with money.


Roman Holiday, on the other hand, follows a mid-twentieth century princess from an undisclosed country, Ann, as she flees her overwhelming responsibilities for a day to fraternize with an American journalist in Rome. She lies to him about who she is, which he already knows, and he lies about who he is. Outside of the coincidental fact that both tales take place in Italy, the two stories share a striking similarity when it comes to how honesty, and more importantly, deception, play into romantic relationships built to last. As long as in the end, according to these narratives, the two parties fall in love, then the end justifies the means. Although one takes place 400 years in the past, and the other in the nearly modern day, the two pieces make it evident that lying and deceiving can be an acceptable course of action in a romantic relationship.


“I am Lucentio- 'hic est' son unto Vincentio of Pisa- 'Sigeia tellus' disguised thus to get your love- 'Hic steterat' and that Lucentio that comes a-wooing- 'Priami' is my man Tranio- 'regia' bearing my port- 'celsa senis' that we might beguile the old pantaloon.”

(Act III, Scene I, 33-38)


Lucentio, in his bid for Bianca’s love, disguises himself as a philosophy teacher, and sneaks his way into her daily life. In the quote above, Lucentio explains this ploy to Bianca, and how Tranio was disguised as himself in order to deceive Gremio, one of her other suitors. Though he readily admits the truth to Bianca, he still initially lies to her, and, as shown in the quote, he wants no one else to find out. For this reason, he is pretending to construe a Latin phrase, so that no one may hear them.

The leads of Roman Holiday find themselves in a somewhat different type of situation, with a different kind of lying, yet one that is no less deceitful.

(Roman Holiday, 1:03:50)

Midway through the film, the two star roles run into each other in the city after having gone their separate ways. In their conversation, both Princess Ann and Joe Bradley lie to one another about their current lives. Princess Ann claims to have run away from school, rather than her royal duties, and Bradley claims to be in the selling game. Bradley, of course, knows she’s the princess, but Ann (or Anya, as she tells him to call her), does not. Not only that, but their “accidental” encounter wasn’t nearly as accidental as Ann believed, considering how the American Reporter had followed her in secret. This is the interaction that truly sets their relationship into motion, and it’s one that’s founded entirely on lies.


“For patience she will  prove a second Grissel, and Roman Lucrece for her chastity. And to conclude, we have ‘greed so well together that upon Sunday is the wedding day.”

(Act II, Scene I, Lines 312-315)


Upon his first meeting of the titled “Shrew” of the play, Katharine, Petruchio starts his plan to “tame” the woman into marriage, and into becoming what he believes to be a proper wife. After his first private conversation with her, in which he makes little headway towards his plan and invokes nothing more than hatred from the young woman, her father, Baptista, along with several other men, enter the room. Petruchio, in what is likely the most bold faced lie one could possibly make under the circumstances, tells them that Katharine has fallen for him madly, and the two are to be wed on Sunday. Baptista, trusting this strange man’s words above his own objecting daughter’s, agrees to let the marriage happen. In this scene, Petruchio makes it clear to the audience that he is willing to weave the most dauntlessly false tales to anyone in order to marry his beloved Kate. He may not have been lying to Katharine herself, but he was forging the entirety of their coming relationship on a foundation of lies, and because she ends up loving him in the finale, it passes without issue. Of course, because the ends justify the means.


On the other side of the same coin, the main pair of Roman Holiday find themselves not only forming their relationship upon a fountain of deceit, but also ending it bathing in that same fountain.


“I have to leave you now. I'm going to that corner there and turn. You must stay in the car and drive away. Promise not to watch me go beyond the corner. Just drive away and leave me as I leave you.”

(Ann, 1:37:28)


(Roman Holiday, 1:37:28)

Before the very end of the film, the two lead characters find themselves at the end of their time together. Princess Ann must return to her royal duties, and so she asks Mr. Bradley to drive her and drop her off. Before their last loving embrace, in which they kiss for the very first time, she tells him the quote listed above. She knows that she has to leave, and yet she still can’t bring her to tell him the truth of the matter. They both know she’s lying, and yet still the two come together for a kiss and a show of love before their final goodbye. Even right until the very end, the lies still flow through the veins of their relationship. But still, they are in love. And if they are so in love, any lies they told to one another no longer matter. The deceit can be excused. While they may not have entered with the intentions of falling for one another, they found themselves tumbling regardless. Once again, the ends justify the means, and the intentions aren’t even needed.


If one thing can be learned from these two pieces, it’s that love and deceit are almost always intertwined. Italy may be a coincidence, but those two features most certainly aren’t. And, according to these creators, love makes the deceit worth it. It’s a common sentiment, in these days, that love wins above all. So why would simple lies be made the exception? Whether it be a princess and a reporter, or a brash man and a wealthy shrew, lies may come about, and as long as the love survives it, there is reason enough to ignore it. At the very least, William Shakespeare and Dalton Trumbo would say so.


Work Cited

  • Shakespeare, William. The Taming of the Shrew. Ed. Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine. Washington, D.C.: Folger Shakespeare Library, n.d. Print.

  • Roman Holiday. By Dalton Trumbo. Dir. William Wyler. Prod. Paramount Pictures. Perf. Audrey Hepburn, Gregory Peck. N.p., n.d. Web.

The Making of Printmaking

Printmaking3
Printmaking3
   - Made By Annie B. on November 9, 2006 -

Printmaking takes places with different process of many pictures or designs from special prepared tools or blocks. The first technique of duplicating images goes back several years to the sumerians caves in 3000 BCE. Printmaking is important because the process goes back many years before and it is was one of what developed modern creative art today.

Print did influence every aspect of European culture. Some suggest that print was used in bringing about all the major shifts in science, religion, politics and things that are commonly associated with modern Western culture. The printing press quickly became central to political and religious expression in Europe as well. Writers and printers like Benjamin Franklin were heroes of the time. Print was a leading tool that helped spread visionary ideas that shaped the American Revolution. Printmaking also helped develop scrolls, during the early 1 AD, for things like maps and blueprint.

In the picture above you can really see a release of negative and positive space. The artist also depicts words that flow with the picture. The artist creates color value and varies them in the shading of the darker images. In the picture you can also see some of the designs giving you dimension into the picture.

I can interpret that this picture is symbolizing a act of greed and your conscious telling you it's okay. The words that you can see are: "You need it all all", "All yours", "You want more", "Stock" and "Money". All of these words have something in common and that is want/need. The guy portrayed in this printmaking art seems to be very focused on the money and happy. But this happiness could come from the rewards of greed.

Lastly, I think this is a great picture to express emotions and a situation through positive and negative space. It struck out to me personally as a picture to reflect on and unfold. The detail in stroked lines really brings out the person in the pictures face and how he's feeling about the money and almost his story as well as what looks like his conscious around him.

I noticed that in the picture the guys conscious looks like almost devilish. I wonder if the guy in the picture always listen to these "bad" conscious, maybe that's the reason why they have come to look the way they are. What if this printmaking is showing what greed can do to a person's mind to make them believe that it is okay.

The Idea of Printmaking

Printmaking is the process of making any art printed of regular paper. This technique is important because it has a individual creativity to it instead of using photography for painting. Printmaking was originally created in China around AD 105. Towards the 15th century Relief printing came around. For 500 years printmaking has evolved in many ways. These different techniques with printmaking has been used by plenty of well-known artist such as Janet Fish and Walton Ford.This is the “Sharecropper” which was sculpted by Elizabeth Catlett who known from this type of work. This relief print drawing caught my eye because I have seen it before. Yet I admire how Catlett put plenty of detail of the bone structure of the the woman.

Printmaking, Rasa

Printmaking is an art form that transfers images carved out onto a medium of your choice. It originated in china around 105 BC. as printmaking traveled around the world, it became used for different prints and branched off into different versions of printmaking. Printmaking created a way for people to replicate the same image on paper fabric or any medium they pleased. It became a form of art used for printing on fabric, and used as a way to create a way to duplicate a writing like a newspaper. This is an easy form of art that is accessible by many people. That can be simple or extravagant.




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I found this piece particularly interesting because of the contrast between positive and negative space. The contrast between the white and black creates helps you establish the texture of the trees. The brightness of the positive space helps to create what looks to be a reflection of the tree. I have noticed that everyone had a different take to print making. I wonder what the world would be like without printmaking, because it is used not only for art but for everyday things like creating a graphic t-shirt. What if people knew more about printmaking? Would it be something that everyone would do?


Donald Moses Printmaking Blog

Printmaking is when you carve a image in a piece of wood then cover the wood in ink to make the carving on the wood a picture on paper. Printmaking goes way back to the egyptian time as egyptians used relief printing to and design to their fabrics. Printmaking also was used to make the first books. The invention of printmaking was revolutionary as it made comebacks with a new technique after being replaced until digital printing was made. Printmaking was all around the world when it was popular. Printmaking was also used to make famous paintings like the “Bison Couché”. Some ethnic groups had to use stone for printmaking. Chinese also used stone but to only print their names on their work.


You have to think, what would the world be without the invention of printmaking? Here is how the invention of printmaking is important and revolutionary. Without printmaking education might of been different as we couldn’t get a lot of educational books. A library would be pretty expensive to get books from as the books would of been rare to get. Teachers couldn’t print out many copies of worksheets or instructions for a experiment or project. There's more things that couldn’t be possible without the invention of printmaking but i'm not going to write them all down.

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I found this image from google leading me to a wikipedia site: url to page


I think the painting is about an old man waking up to a rooster on the wall and sees his son and grandson in the distance. I noticed the maker made it look like it’s sunrise instead of the blue sky and yellow sun high in the sky. What if the rooster is the old man’s wife as the old man as his cheeks are red. I noticed there's a cliff side to the right with a tree on the edge. What if the  two people in the background are going to that cliff and passes by the old man’s house everyday


Printmaking a revolutionary art form

Hello and welcome to my blog about the art of printmaking. What is printmaking you ask? Relief printing is a process where protruding surface faces of the printing plate or block are inked; recessed areas are ink free. This art form is one of the best because it is mobile and pretty easy to complete.

There are 9 different ways to perform relief printing. The relief family of techniques includes woodcut, metalcut, wood engraving, relief etching, linocut, rubber stamp, foam printing, potato printing, and some types of collagraph. The most common way to do a relief print is wood cuts. This style of printing was established in the 15 century. Johannes Gutenberg started work on his printing press around 1436, in partnership with Andreas Dritzehn.

Now this form of art can take a place on almost any canvas. It’s most common place is paper. There are a lot of different things you can use to print it aswell. It uses ink the most. The ink is what you see on the paper that makes up the image.

This art form is revolutionary because of its features. It has a feature that makes it movable. Another thing about it is that you can make more than one painting by using the same template multiple times. This form of art is really cool. Another cool thing about it is that it doesn’t just make art. It can make money and newspapers.

"Gopher Tortoise" - Mary Wolfe

Image result for relief printmaking The image above is Turtle eating a branch of leaves. The artist use positive and negative space to create the turtles shape. The white lines on the turtle create a pattern that we normally see on a turtle’s back. I think this was a picture of the artist pet or something. They probably caught it in action of eating. I think this is a good painting because the artist uses the space well darkens the spaces perfectly. I wonder how hard it was to make this artwork. I notice the lines in the background that give a sense ground so the turtle doesn’t look like it was floating. I can’t help but think what if there was more picture, it might have deeper context.


Week 2 - Day 2 - Printmaking - Little

Printmaking is the art of of making pictures and images and printing them from blocks or plates with some type of design or decoration. Printmaking originated in China, and shown up in Europe mainly on decorating cloths. It was also used to spread religions.  The invention of printmaking is very important. Printmaking basically made life a whole lot easier when it came down to some type of art or design, printmaking allowed the production of printed books.

A type of printmaking that really fascinates me is monoprinting. Monoprinting based on water color, water based inks, and can only be made one time.


I notice: that there is a lot of detail and emotion within this painting. Every little line of the sky and every dark shade of the trees were painted with feeling and real interest.

I wonder: what the painter was feeling when he/she painted this?

What if: the picture had some other type of color to it? It just wouldn’t be the same.




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Screenshot 2017-04-21 at 8.27.24 PM

Printmaking-Carlos De Jesus

Printmaking is something that has been around for a long time and will probably stay around for a while. It was first used around 500 BC-100 AD and it was used by Egyptians to print fabric. Now Printmaking is mostly a hobby taken by artist, or anyone really, to create pictures by printing them which is why it’s called printmaking. I really feel that printmaking is important because it’s a different type of art and people should be able to express their feeling thru different ways. Printmaking is just so amazing with it also being high quality and low price which is one good reason to which it became so revolutionary. This picture down below it’s a demonstration of printmaking. I noticed on this picture as well how well detailed it is and how they put effort into the little things on the hat. I wonder if the artist of this art drew the whole body would he keep that detail by like adding the skeletons shadow and all of that. Overall it’s amazing art made in an amazing way and I hope that printmaking continues to live on

What is Printmaking?

Printmaking is an art that is designed by printing a picture to a paper, block, or plates. Printmaking is important because it attract creativity and corporate arts to other people. The invention of printmaking was revolutionary because it first started from the Chinese and then was inspired by the Europeans. This is so important because many people was inspired by it and they want to go try it as well. It was past from generation to generation and from countries to countries and soon it was world wide.

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I found this printmaking interesting because it shows the different contrast of the work and that because of the space that is around it. In this printmakig, I noticed that in the background, half of it is black and the other half is white. I also noticed that there are multiple lines on the picture. I wonder how the artist make the contrast of the colors for half of the picture. What if there is only a white background?