The Taming of the Shrew Art and Culture Quotes

The Lord's motivation for playing an elaborate and cruel joke is somewhat fuzzy. Does he do it to teach Sly a lesson? What will Sly learn? Or, is it simply to humiliate him and have some fun at the expense of a powerless, lower-class figure? The fact that the joke will be a "pastime passing excellent" is a bit of an inside joke – Elizabethan theater was one of the most popular forms of "pastime."

Useful history snack: Bear baiting (tying up a bear and then releasing a pack of dogs on it while people watched from the bleachers) was another fun Elizabethan "pastime." In fact, Christopher Sly reveals that one of his many lame jobs was "bear keeper," the guy who fed and cleaned up after bears used in baiting contests.

The Lord's decision to "cast" his page (a young servant boy) in the role of Sly's trophy wife calls our attention to Elizabethan stage, where all characters (male and female) were played by men or boy actors. Bartholomew was likely played by an attractive young boy, one pretty enough to convince Sly that he is a woman. We're supposed to laugh at Sly for being fooled but Shakespeare also points to the slipperiness of gender on stage.

Bartholomew is very convincing as an obedient wife and Sly has no doubt that he's the dominant one in the relationship. It's funny, that's for sure, but it also raises the question of whether or not the role of "obedient wife" is just that, a role to be played. Think about this in relationship to Kate's final speech. How can we know if she's being sincere?