taming of the shrew analysis

             The Taming of the Shrew is a performance that raises a number of issues concerning appearance versus reality. The assumption that many characters in the play are persuaded to be what they are not ignores the evident fact that each character chooses the role that they are to play. The culturally constructed hierarchy of power causes the actors to perform certain roles to avoid the constricting norms in society and retain their identities. Despite the ease with which they mask their true selves, the characters exist as others to oppose the patriarchy. Shakespeare uses Sly, Katherine, Bianca, and Petruchio to reveal the power of the hierarchy as a farce that can be manipulated.
             Shakespeare uses the Induction to give the reader a notion as to what to expect, and introduce a number of crucial themes evident throughout the play. The Induction serves as a mirror to the rest of the play, emphasizes the theme of mistaken identities, and constitutes the Taming of the Shrew as a play within a play. This aspect of the Induction gives rise to the importance of performance, which has a drastic effect on one's interpretation of the play. The play is portrayed as the dream of a drunken tinker, and therefore is, in effect, a farce performed for Sly. Shakespeare also raises the issue of the hierarchy and its subsequent power in this scene. He uses Sly as an other, allowing him to enter the realm of aristocracy, and define it by contrast. The hierarchy is mocked when the drunken tinker is disguised as a lord, and even more so when Sly attempts to exercise his patriarchal power.
             Although Sly is eventually persuaded to change his outward appearance to that of a lord, he retains his identity. Sly asserts his position and identity with certainty and pride, refusing to accept the evidence of the servants that he is a lord that has been suffering from amnesia, "I am Christophero Sly, call not me 'honour' nor 'lordship&...

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