Quotes (The Taming of the Shrew)

This section explains the key quotes in The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare. These quotes capture the major themes of The Taming of the Shrew, including gender roles, power, marriage, and social expectations. They also offer insight into the characters, particularly Katherina and Petruchio, and the dynamics of their relationship. The play’s complex treatment of submission, control, and resistance is reflected in these key moments, prompting on-going debates about its portrayal of gender and power.

 “I come to wive it wealthily in Padua; / If wealthily, then happily in Padua.” (Act 1, Scene 2)

Speaker: Petruchio

Context: Petruchio declares his intention to marry a wealthy woman.

Significance: This reveals Petruchio’s pragmatic attitude towards marriage. He is driven by financial gain rather than love, reflecting the economic motivations behind marriages in the play.

“I’ll see thee hanged on Sunday first!” (Act 2, Scene 1)

Speaker: Katherina

Context: Katherina defiantly refuses marriage, asserting her independence in response to a question about whether she will marry Petruchio.

Significance: This quote illustrates Katherina’s fierce resistance to the traditional roles expected of women. Her rebellious nature drives much of the play’s conflict.

“I am as peremptory as she proud-minded.” (Act 2, Scene 1)

Speaker: Petruchio

Context: Petruchio boasts about his ability to match Katherina’s stubbornness, preparing to tame her through force of will.

Significance: This line sets up the “battle of wills” between Petruchio and Katherina, with Petruchio presenting himself as someone who can control Katherina’s defiance.

 “Thus in plain terms: your father hath consented / That you shall be my wife, your dowry ‘greed on.” (Act 2, Scene 1)

Speaker: Petruchio

Context: Petruchio declares that he has already arranged to marry Katherina with her father’s consent.

Significance: This highlights the lack of agency Katherina has in her marriage, reflecting the societal norms of the time where marriages were often arranged for economic reasons.

 “If I be waspish, best beware my sting.” (Act 2, Scene 1)

Speaker: Katherina

Context: Katherina warns Petruchio that her sharp tongue is dangerous, likening herself to a wasp.

Significance: This metaphor showcases Katherina’s sharp wit and volatile nature, which Petruchio will later attempt to “tame.”

 “I am born to tame you, Kate, / And bring you from a wild Kate to a Kate / Conformable as other household Kates.” (Act 2, Scene 1)

Speaker: Petruchio

Context: Petruchio boldly states his intention to “tame” Katherina, framing her as wild and untameable.

Significance: This quote establishes the central “taming” metaphor, where Katherina is compared to an unruly animal that Petruchio must domesticate, raising questions about gender roles and power.

 “Thy husband is thy lord, thy life, thy keeper, / Thy head, thy sovereign.” (Act 5, Scene 2)

Speaker: Katherina

Context: Katherina delivers a speech on wifely obedience at the play’s end, explaining that a woman’s role is to serve her husband.

Significance: This speech is controversial and open to interpretation. Some see it as evidence of Katherina’s true submission, while others view it as ironic or part of a game she plays with Petruchio.

 “I’ll not budge an inch, boy.” (Induction, Scene 1)

Speaker: Christopher Sly

Context: In the induction, Sly, a drunken tinker, refuses to move, asserting his stubbornness.

Significance: This sets the tone for the main play, establishing themes of stubbornness and control that parallel the dynamics between Katherina and Petruchio.

 “I see a woman may be made a fool, / If she had not a spirit to resist.” (Act 3, Scene 2)

Speaker: Katherina

Context: Katherina realises that a woman can be easily manipulated and humiliated if she does not stand up for herself.

Significance: This quote underscores Katherina’s awareness of gender inequality and the social forces that pressure women to conform. It reveals her frustration with her situation.

“To me she’s married, not unto my clothes.” (Act 3, Scene 2)

Speaker: Petruchio

Context: Petruchio turns up to his wedding in ridiculous clothes, claiming that his appearance doesn’t matter.

Significance: This quote reflects Petruchio’s disdain for outward appearances and conventions, reinforcing his plan to disrupt and subvert expectations in his “taming” of Katherina.

“I’ll curb her mad and headstrong humour.” (Act 4, Scene 1)

Speaker: Petruchio

Context: Petruchio declares his plan to control Katherina’s wilfulness by subjecting her to harsh treatment.

Significance: This line encapsulates Petruchio’s approach to “taming” Katherina, which involves psychological manipulation and domination.

 “She is my goods, my chattels; she is my house, / My household stuff, my field, my barn.” (Act 3, Scene 2)

Speaker: Petruchio

Context: Petruchio claims ownership over Katherina, treating her as his property after their marriage.

Significance: This quote starkly reveals the patriarchal view of women as possessions in Elizabethan society. It challenges modern audiences to reflect on the play’s depiction of gender relations.

 “Place your hands below your husband’s foot: / In token of which duty, if he please, / My hand is ready, may it do him ease.” (Act 5, Scene 2)

Speaker: Katherina

Context: At the end of her speech on wifely obedience, Katherina offers to place her hands beneath her husband’s foot as a sign of submission.

Significance: This symbolic act of submission reinforces the patriarchal ideals of the time, though it can also be interpreted as part of Katherina’s strategic performance of submission.

 “Forward, I pray, since we have come so far, / And be it moon, or sun, or what you please.” (Act 4, Scene 5)

Speaker: Katherina

Context: After Petruchio insists that the sun is the moon, Katherina agrees with him, demonstrating her willingness to conform to his demands.

Significance: This moment marks a turning point in Katherina’s behaviour, raising questions about whether she has truly been tamed or if she is playing along to achieve her own ends.

 “And where two raging fires meet together, / They do consume the thing that feeds their fury.” (Act 2, Scene 1)

Speaker: Petruchio

Context: Petruchio likens his confrontations with Katherina to two fires consuming each other’s fuel.

Significance: This metaphor suggests that both Katherina and Petruchio’s strong wills will eventually cancel each other out, foreshadowing the complex power dynamics in their relationship.

 “Why, there’s a wench! Come on, and kiss me, Kate.” (Act 5, Scene 1)

Speaker: Petruchio

Context: Petruchio commands Katherina to kiss him in public as a final test of her obedience.

Significance: This moment can be seen as the culmination of Katherina’s taming, though the degree to which it represents true submission remains ambiguous.

 “My tongue will tell the anger of my heart, / Or else my heart, concealing it, will break.” (Act 4, Scene 3)

Speaker: Katherina

Context: Katherina expresses her frustration and inner turmoil as she is subjected to Petruchio’s treatment.

Significance: This quote reveals Katherina’s emotional struggle, highlighting her resistance to being tamed and her need to express her feelings.

“Why, how now, dame! Whence grows this insolence?” (Act 4, Scene 1)

Speaker: Petruchio

Context: Petruchio scolds a servant, demonstrating his domineering attitude towards those around him.

Significance: This line reflects Petruchio’s authoritarian approach to relationships, which he extends to both his servants and Katherina.

 “This is a way to kill a wife with kindness.” (Act 4, Scene 1)

Speaker: Petruchio

Context: Petruchio outlines his strategy to “tame” Katherina by denying her food and sleep, pretending it is for her own benefit.

Significance: This line illustrates Petruchio’s method of psychological manipulation, which he disguises as concern for Katherina’s wellbeing.

 “Why, sir, I trust I may have leave to speak, / And speak I will.” (Act 1, Scene 1)

Speaker: Katherina

Context: Katherina asserts her right to speak out, challenging the expectation that women should be silent.

Significance: This quote demonstrates Katherina’s independent spirit and resistance to the constraints placed on women in Elizabethan society.