Katherina's Speech in Act V, Taming of the Shrew

             In Shakespeare's comedy Taming of the Shrew, the last scene of the play is a long speech by Katherina chastising Bianca and Hortensio's wife, the widow for "wounding their lords."(V,ii) The speech illustrates that Katherina is a dynamic character and changes her point of view throughout the book. In the beginning she is "Katherina Minola, Renown'd in Padua for her scolding tongue."(I,ii) In the end she has earned her husband money by being the most obedient wife. The fact that Petruchio never gave up on Katherina for the sake of being wealthy, actually turned into the true love in the end.
             Katherina first chastises Bianca and the widow for not obeying their husbands. Katherina tells them, "And dart not scornful glances from those eyes, To wound thy lord, thy king, thy governor: It blots thy beauty as frosts do bite the meads, Confounds thy fame as whirlwinds shake fair buds, and in no sense is meet or amiable."(V,ii) Katherina is telling the women they are ungrateful for the care of their lords, and she tells them they do not deserve the care of their king. She has learned that if she listens to her master, she will get what is best for her; and because Kate did not, Petruchio taught her that lesson the hard way.
             Second, Katherina chastises the women race in general. She explains that the man is the head of the household. "Thy husband is thy lord, thy life, thy keeper, Thy head, thy sovereign; one that cares for thee, And for thy maintenance commits his body To painful labour both by sea and land, To watch the night in storms, the day in cold, Whilst thou liest warm at home, secure and safe; And craves no other tribute at thy hands. But love, fair looks and true obedience; Too little payment for so great a debt. Such duty as the subject owes the prince. Even such a woman oweth to her husband; and when she is froward, peevish, sullen, sour, and not obedient to his honest ...

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Katherina's Speech in Act V, Taming of the Shrew. (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 19:43, March 28, 2024, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/93502.html