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    The Story of Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew
    The Story of Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew
    The Story of Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew
    Audiobook (abridged)12 minutes

    The Story of Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew

    Written by William Shakespeare, Mary Ellen Lamb and Charles Lamb

    Narrated by Ghizela Rowe

    3.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    The Taming of the Shrew is one of Shakespeare’s early comedies that has not provided much mirth for many women who find the portrayal of its leading lady being tamed, belittling and offensive. However, it is nonetheless a popular play set in Verona where Petruchio marries Katherina who is subdued into being an obedient wife. This narrative version was written by Mary & Charles Lamb.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherThe Copyright Group
    Release dateJan 1, 2014
    ISBN9781783940790
    The Story of Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew
    Author

    William Shakespeare

    William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, in 1564. The date of his birth is not known but is traditionally 23 April, St George's Day. Aged 18, he married a Stratford farmer's daughter, Anne Hathaway. They had three children. Around 1585 William joined an acting troupe on tour in Stratford from London, and thereafter spent much of his life in the capital. A member of the leading theatre group in London, the Chamberlain's Men, which built the Globe Theatre and frequently performed in front of Queen Elizabeth I, Shakespeare wrote 36 plays and much poetry besides. He died in 1616.

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    Reviews for The Story of Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew

    3.5/5

    1,807 ratings36 reviews

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    • 3/5
      I bet every older sister secretly likes this play.
    • 2/5
      I'm sure we could argue the feminist interpretation for ages, but though full of Shakespeare's usual wit I couldn't figure out what he was going for here and it ended up just being a frustrating read.
    • 3/5
      Lluchthartige komedie. Over hoe de hevige Katherine trouwt met Petruccio en daardoor haar plaats in de maatschappij vindt waardoor haar rebels karakter ?getemd? wordt; verschillende verhaallijnen, nogal rommelig, met typische rolomkeringen; thema van de ideale vrouw, nogal dubieus aangebracht. -brutaal optreden om Katherine te breken-vaders die hun dochters als koopwaar verhandelen-betekenis van de inleiding is duister-onverklaarbare wendingenUiteenlopende interpretaties over het optreden van Petruccio. Die gedraagt zich brutaal om Katherine uit evenwicht te brengen (?being mad herself, she is madly mated?), in act IV.1 licht hij zijn motieven toe. Bekende slotsc?ne: uitval Katherine tegen ongehoorzame vrouwen (niet duidelijk wat het doel is): ?Thy husband is thy lord, thy life, thy keeper/Thy head, thy sovereign?
    • 4/5
      Another school required read but this one is slightly different. This was my very first Shakespeare, and at twelve even! I have loved it ever since then. I haven't read it in almost ten years and felt it was due time to re-read. Being older now I was able to appreciate more of the humor, especially the witty bickering between Petruchio and Katherine (the shrew) in their first scene together. It's long been my favorite because of how clever and quick it is. I smiled the entire time at how ridiculous it is. I was very happy to get to read it again.
    • 4/5
      The author made an interesting choice to make the story of his own research the focus of this book. I think it worked really well in this case, given that there's so little known about the actual John Henry. Nelson is very up-front about the fact that much of his results are based on theory or conjecture, but overall the transparency of his research process gives a lot of weight to his conclusions. This is an interesting book both for what it tells us about the research process, but also for what we learn about John Henry's world.
    • 4/5
      As always, a great edition from the Arden publishers.
    • 5/5
      My Favourite book in the entire world.
    • 2/5
      I'm sure we could argue the feminist interpretation for ages, but though full of Shakespeare's usual wit I couldn't figure out what he was going for here and it ended up just being a frustrating read.
    • 3/5
      Part of Saddleback’s Illustrated Classics series. A simplified and condensed retelling of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew as a graphic novel. The illustrations are done primarily in jewel tones and depict clothing and scenery appropriate to the play’s context. Footnotes define words or concepts likely to be unfamiliar to readers. Act and scene breaks from the play are not included in the novel, so it is not easy to relate the story to the original text of Shakespeare’s play, which may be important to some educators. Blue boxes provide setting information while the characters’ words are in yellow boxes making it easy to distinguish between the two. Pictures and names of the main characters are included at the beginning of the novel, but even with this guidance and the visual clues provided in the illustrations it may be difficult for readers to keep track of the various characters and their motivations. A more complete list of characters including a description of their role in the story would have been helpful. In combination with instruction, this could still be an important tool for introducing The Taming of the Shrew to hi-lo readers, particularly in communicating the inherent comedy of the play. Recommended. Ages 11 & up.
    • 4/5
      Was Shakespeare a misogynist? He certainly agreed with the patriarchal hierarchy of his day, as is evidenced through the trials and travails of his female characters. One can argue that characters like Lady Macbeth, Ophelia, Juliet and Desdemona are punished for stepping outside of their roles prescribed by society. Some of their infractions are so minor as to be unnoticeable to a modern audience; what, after all, was Ophelia's crime? Her devotion to Hamlet? Her naivete? Do some of these characters resemble the ingenues in horror movies, whose only crime seems to be their virginal womanhood and budding sexuality?

      Kate is the titular Shrew in this comedy, and she meets her comeuppance through her marriage to the manipulative and psychologically abusive Petruchio. His one saving grace is that he does not physically abuse Kate (which would have been acceptable to Shakespeare's audience), but some of the methods he uses to break her will (starvation, sleep deprivation) would do our "enhanced interrogators" at Gitmo proud.

      While Kate eventually disavows her shrewishness (ie independence), her sister Bianca is shown to be disobedient to her new husband Lucentio. Through this tidy bit of irony, we get the impression that humans are not really "tameable" - and through the frame story involving the drunken and ingenuous Sly, we see that men are not necessarily deserving of their place at the top of the patriarchy.
    • 3/5
      I listened to this, and enjoyed it. I still can't quite get over the speed of the marriage or the way Kat seems to submit, but in this it was played with more humour and it felt a little like they were baiting each other than either actually believed what they were saying. Had entirely forgotten that the main event is supposed to be a play that is laid on. The fact that the first play is never resolved feels rather odd.
    • 3/5
      Amazing.....
    • 3/5
      Not bad, for a classic. Full of the usual Shakespearean enigmas, in terms of social commentary.
    • 4/5
      I love the story and of the many adaptions aside from this the original text, my favorite movie version is 10 Things I Hate About You. Every time I watch it I miss Heath Ledger, because I liked him better in this role then Richard Burton. My second favorite version was McLintock with John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara.
    • 2/5
      It's bawdy and crass; juvenile humor. I guess this explains why I enjoyed it in high school, but didn't enjoy it as much as an adult.
    • 2/5
      I had to read this one when I was in high school for an AP Lit course (man, I hated that course). Lit teachers have so many opportunities to choose some really amazing, relevant lit, and while I think Shakespeare is still relevant today, the way this book was taught was miserable. There were moments when the discussions in class were interesting, but it wasn't any thanks to the instructor or the play itself, I don't think. Of course, in high school fashion we watched the movie afterwards, and I found I enjoyed it better (and actually understood the play better, too). It was okay, but not one of my favorites among the Shakespeare pile of plays.
    • 3/5
      What can I say...I love Shakespeare's poetic language, wit and his insight into the human condition. But, I must be honest and tell you that I had to force myself to finish this book because I'm an independent, liberated, modern woman and I don't think there's anything funny about the way Pet. mentally abused Kate. Here we have a lying rouge who is cast as a hero as he uses psychological war-fare, humiliation and starvation to bend the will of a wealthy woman, just to get her money. This is the kind of thing we read about in the news; some wealthy woman being taken-in by a playboy that she met on an internet dating site. It wasn't funny back in the day and it isn't funny now.Good thing he didn't try that with Lorena Bobbitt...SMILE!!!
    • 3/5
      Well, Toto, we're a long way from Beatrice and Benedick here, that's for sure! This is among the plays that are Much better watched than read, if only because directors and actors can make subtle adaptations and add nuance to situations and characters who are, as written, fairly brutal and unattractive. Done “right,” this is a very entertaining play – I particularly enjoyed the BBC's “Shakespeare Retold” version, starring Shirley Henderson and Rufus Sewell. As with “Much Ado About Nothing,” though, “The Taming of the Shrew” features one interesting couple and one dull one. Bianca and her swain actually spend very little time together, but it's plenty. Katherine and Petruchio may or may not be suited to each other, but we'll never know because Petruchio has all the power and no qualms about using it. What “saves” the play is Katherine's own sheer nastiness, as evidenced by her unwarranted brutality to both her sister and her tutor. She's been bullying her family and servants, so we don't feel terribly sorry for her when she receives the same treatment from her new husband. The clowns in “Shrew” are irritating rather than witty, and the framing device adds little. Still, it's Shakespeare, and there are some clever wordplays, images, and amusing bits of dialog. And Katherine and Petruchio do seem to have arranged an amicable detente by the end, where we can feasibly imagine them going along for several years before one of them murders the other.
    • 3/5
      Really funny. Although, yes, it is technically sexist. When I heard that last speech performed live, there was no real mutual respect it seemed, and maybe it was a little dull. But when the mutual respect is clear, you realize it isn't just Kate who has changed, but her husband as well. Thus it becomes clear that they respect each other, and truly, while it appears that she is 'beneath him' and always agreeing with everything he says, there is an air that she is only learning to not be contrary and she thus becomes able to be in a relationship, in a partnership.
    • 2/5
      Read this twice, once for high school and once for college, and both times I despised it. I don't remember why, but I think it was some feminist outrage that I had...
    • 4/5
      I read this play when I was in the sixth grade and at that time I did not completely understand the meaning of "male ego" or "abusive relationships". As the message hidden in this play depicts that women of those times had to succumb dutifully to their "chauvinist" husbands, years later I came to realize how the society of that era looked down upon the uprising and independent women of all times.

      While the reason for this play may or may not have been to contemplate women rights and gender equality, nothing makes it anything less than an excellent read, perhaps a minute literary classic in my say!

      First of all, notoriously famous for the dark comedy, this play in my opinion is the best Shakespearean Comedy. The play consisting of extremely comical, vivid and humorous energetic ploys never offered me a chance to put it down and stop reading.

      From the beginning of the play the readers get an entertaining idea of how terrifying a shrew, the leading character Kate is because of her amusingly foul mouth and vicious temper. Pair that with an equally determined and witty leading male character, Petruchio, who employs comical methods to shape Kate, and you get a splendid comedy. The play proceeds with an interesting insight into how Kate gradually evolves into his devoted wife and a polite woman.

      The characters and their dialogues fashion the utmost wit and brilliant excitement all through out the play. Every scene is composed of numerous hilarious and amusing acts that just grip the readers to continue being indulged in the entertaining story.

      The play also stands out because of its unique structure. Most Shakespearean plays comprise of romance, banishment, and disguise as a key theme to the plot.
      For instance, one never fails to identify the certain styles of Shakespeare; namely one method would be: Male characters in the beginning disguise themselves and they fall for the wrong women who were also disguised. However, everyone reconcile with their true one in the end after a series of farce incidents.
      Another signature style would be: Groups of high ranked men and their king are banished to the forsaken islands or forests by a nemesis. Then the noble men and their king would regain power and get invited back in the end by the strange love marriage between the children of the king and his nemesis!

      To a great relief this play consisted of none of those techniques which therefore was a remarkably fresh way of journeying through a wonderful Shakespeare comedy.
    • 2/5
      I had to give it a second star because some of the jokes were funny but really, this is just horrible. I'm not saying it should never be performed because it's a part of our cultural heritage and significant for influencing a lot of later works but I really think it's unsuitable for casual performance, for entertainment of general audiences. I saw it performed at a summer park show and Petruccio's player kept stopping to apologize out of character because the audience was booing him so loudly.
    • 5/5
      This is honestly mu favorite work by Shakespeare. I love the humor within it. I have read this for classes I have performed Katherine's final Monologue. I know people find that this plays has become a past idea of thinking of how women should behave since we are in a modern day world that that works for men and women to be equal without bowing down. However, at the time this play was written, that was not yet the thinking. No matter what, this is and always will be a favorite of mine.
    • 3/5
      A better play to see than read. There's room for a lot of physical comedy here, and I think it shows that WS was better at tragedy than broad farce. Still, it's noted as having been read four times. "Kiss Me, Kate!" is more fun.
    • 4/5
      The introductory scenes with Sly were a surprise to me! I was also somewhat surprised by how much of the musical Kiss Me Kate is directly from the play.
    • 2/5
      What an odd, misogynistic play. Most interesting was the induction with Christopher Sly, a drunkard who is tricked into believing he is a rich lord. This plot line, included to set up the whole identity switch storyline, is never resolved in my text. I know Shakespeare is considered a master playwright of the English language and I do truly appreciate his work, but isn't he a bit unoriginal at times? There's the whole "borrowing" stories from other authors and then the fact that many of his stories feature the same motifs--funny servants, identity mixups, instalove followed by marriages, rich Italians in search of dowries and hot wives, mean fathers. I guess the Elizabethan theatre-going crowd had a specific niche, and Shakespeare knew how to work within it. Which, if you think about it, isn't that different from our generation being obsessed with vampires and paranormal romances. In 5 centuries, will our descendants look back at our reading tastes and wonder why it all seems the same?
    • 5/5
      An adventurous take on Shakespeare's usual headstrong woman, in this case subdued, at least until the play's end — though the last scene suggests that her fire is not put out by any means. A marriage made in hell, perhaps.
    • 4/5
      It sounds like an extreme and ludicrous statement, but I don't actually know that Shakespeare has a more interpretable play. It all comes down to that moment at the end: Katherine's gonna come out and deliver her closing speech (and for those who still somehow see this as straight-up misogyny, consider all the past versions that haven't done so, and that the ultimate power of meaningmaking is here in Kate's hands--okay, and those of her director--which is easy enough to see as a definitive repudiation of Petruchio's efforts to take away her reality and signifying power with all the no-no-the-sun-is-the-moon stuff earlier). And I mean, relations between the sexes? A friend of mine says about class relations (which are also, naturally, at play here, and what is Kate from one perspective but another tinker, an overturner of the social order? A hero?), he says, "of course it's complicated, it's a gas, baby, you dig?" You can play the speech totally straight--but even then, like, what does Shakespeare think about it? Has Kate found strong manlove or been broken by a sadist?--and you can play it ironically, in about a billion permutations.So well done, Shakespeare. (You're suuuuuch a good writer. I'm sooooo impressed.) But here's what came to me watching this guy the other day at Bard on the Beach, not about that director's interpretation--which was basically "two stong-willed eccentrics find each other, embrace, and turn their rapier tongues on the rest of the world"--not about any interpretation at all, but about what the last scene says about real life. Because you can have your single simple reading of a play if you wanna and walk away and not have any problems come of it, but when you do that with real life there's that certain excess that'll always trip you up and mug you and leave you unsure where it all went wrong.So what came out at me was the way both things are true. Petruchio can king-of-the-castle Katherine around all he wants and it will always be repulsive, to our sensibilities as well as (it has been convincingly argued) those of the Elizabethans. That doesn't mean it's the whole story here. In that final scene, when Kate is the only obedient wife, what we see is a dark shadow over the future of these marriages--and leaving aside for the moment whether that includes Kate and Petruchio's and what the implications of that are, think about the others. Lucentio's marriage to Bianca and Hortensio's to the Widow may be under threat because the wives are not obedient--or maybe they're just gonna make their husbands into buffoons and that's in the normal way of things--but what is it that makes either of those eventualities a problem? It's that they're weaklings. And calling them out on that doesn't make Petruchio any less of a bully. But forget the bully thing for a second: he's also a man who knows what he wants and won't settle for any less. And in this milieu, Katherine doesn't have the same privilege--she has to be a shrew or a possession. But are the other wives much happier with their carping men? Not at all. The men still have all the power on paper, but their sense of manhood depends on a submission they're not going to be able to secure.And I hope we've left all the submission stuff behind. What we need in our relationships is to be responsible for ourselves. Kate's paradox is that in submitting completely to her husband she has total freedom to move--he kisses her hand rather than step on it. It's repulsive. But they're strong people who (perhaps? depending on your interpretation?) respect each other. And I think there's something to be said for a partner who just rides out your storms, who has themself enough in hand to make their expectations clear (thankfully, today this is a mutual process). And I have spent a lot of time trying to please people I was with and needing to protect them to feel okay myself, and that that's emotional brinksmanship and will never actually help them feel better, and then I'll feel distress too. The great thing about The Taming of the Shrew is to see a marriage without any tally of needs and catalogue of fears and litany of resentments and haunting cloud of failures--where whatever anyone does it'll be laughed off in the end. The question it leaves me with is whether the only way to have that is for marriage to be something even worse--a chattel relationship instead of one between messy, needy, hypersensitive equals.
    • 5/5
      Enjoyable, funny and entertaining Bacon was a gifted writer.
    • 5/5
      My second review (check out my review of The Count of Monte Cristo) and this book is an amazing play. I had to read this for school and I thought this was going to be boring and non-entertaining but, to my surprise, It is hilarious! This book is a clever comedy in which Shakespeare shows two very different sisters and a plot so complex and difficult It is interesting. Some people may think Shakespeare is dull and I can see why but, this is a book i recommend from middle school to the rest of your life. You see Bianca (the innocent, boy fanatic girl who is very vain) and Kate (a feminist who is more reserved to herself and never wants to marry). Kate is very strong and has her dignity. This play is a page turner for sure. I have also seen the movie and the TV series (now gone) and none of them compare to the humorous English vernacular of Shakespeare. (Even though Elizabeth Taylor plays one hell of a Kate!)- Paulina