Place and Time Setting of "Taming of the Shrew” by William Shakespeare (Essay Sample)

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“Taming of the Shrew” by William Shakespeare
The play “Taming of the Shrew” is a comedy that centers on deception carried out by a nobleman on a drunken tinker named Sly (Murray 2). The play depicts a relationship between Petruchio and Katherina who are opposites of each other in terms of personality. In the play, Petruchio is portrayed as a gentleman, while Katherina is exposed as a stubborn shrew. Though the two are in a relationship, Katherina is reluctant to taking part in the relationship and taking to her roles as a wife. As the name of the play suggests, the play is about how Petruchio managed to tame Katherina into willfully playing a part in the relationship.
This paper investigates Shakespeare’s use of setting in relation to the play “Taming the Shrew”. The paper also explains why Shakespeare chose to set the play in Padua Italy. The paper will also give details on the time settings, during the Italian renaissance, in relation to this.
Place Setting
In true Shakespeare technique, the play contrasts an urban Italian setting with a rural one. Though it may not be as obvious as other plays that he wrote; the play shares the theme of state versus conurbation division (Murray 6). The play is set during the Italian renaissance period in Padua, Italy. Shakespeare presents Padua in the setting of a city and terms it a nursery of art (Shakespeare 1.1: 2). In the play, Padua is brought forth as a city of wealth and sophistication characterized by rich culture and learning. We see this in the character Lucentio who pursues Katherina’s younger sister Bianca behind the mask of romance novels and Latin translations (Murray 2). Lucentio’s character also brings out the essence of Padua in education where he poses as a schoolteacher as he pursues Bianca. This is symbolic of the education culture that Padua is known for; showing how a student can easily become a teacher based on the knowledge that he or she gets in school. Shakespeare uses Padua as his setting of choice to bring out the Italian culture as practiced at the time. It can be observed that all plays centered on Italy, bring out the themes of education, culture and learning. Shakespeare also contrastingly brings out Padua a place of rank hills, and it is in this setting that Petruchio tames his wife as though she was an animal (Shakespeare 4.2: 56-59).
He brings out Padua as a taming school for Katherina which symbolizes what Padua is best known for, Education (Murray 8). During the time, the University of Padua boasted of being the best medical school with notable scholars having been graduates of the school. Shakespeare used this to bring out the taming process of Katherina showing how she was transformed into a great woman through proper education. In the last act, Shakespeare continues to show how Padua benefitted Katherina as she was shaped into a good wife by her husband Petruchio. Petruchio proposes a wager to identify who was the most obedient wife, and when all three wives are summoned, it was only Katherina who responded to the husband (Shakespeare 5.2: 67). This goes to show how, the “taming school”, Padua was advantageous as compared to other places. In the play, Padua is also portrayed as a playground for the upper-class individuals of the Italian society. This is clearly brought out in the induction where the tinker Sly becomes a lord, servant Tranio becomes a boss, and the affluent Lucentio becomes Cambio (Shakespeare 1.1: 206). However, Shakespeare brings out a form of irony in relation to Padua where he illustrates Petruchio and his wife on the boulevard to Padua. When the couple reunites at the banquet, it is not very clear who precisely has the upper hand in the relationship. In the last act, we see Katherina alludes to royalty when talking about her husband calling him a lord, a keeper and a sovereign being (Shakespeare 5.2: 142-167). This brings out irony concerning the outcome of the taming process aimed at making her a better woman. This shows the uncertainty of education in Padua, though it is claimed that education is beneficial to all, it is somewhat unclear who it benefits.
Time Setting
From the costumes, to the stage set up and decorations, it is obvious that the play was set in the Italian renaissance period. This was a period that saw the birth of modernity and avant-garde social practices especially in relation to marriage and family (Murray 16). On closer examination, we see that the main characters are all descendants of families in the import and export business. This is also one of the characteristics in the Italian renaissance period as most of the people at the time took to exploration and trade. Another notable aspect of the time setting in the play is brought out in the way the characters in the play treat marriage like any other business transaction. When negotiating the bride price for Katherina, Petru