Read The Taming of the Shrew Online
Authors: William Shakespeare
To all the Women
My mind hath been as
big
182
as one of yours,
My heart as great, my reason
haply
183
more,
To
bandy
184
word for word and frown for frown;
But now I see our lances are but straws,
Our strength as weak, our weakness past compare,
That seeming to be
187
most which we indeed least are.
Then
vail your stomachs
188
, for it is no boot,
And 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
191
.
PETRUCHIO
Why, there’s a wench! Come on, and kiss me, Kate.
They kiss
LUCENTIO
Well,
go thy ways
193
, old lad, for thou shalt ha’t.
VINCENTIO
’Tis a good hearing when children are toward
194
.
LUCENTIO
But a harsh hearing when women are froward.
PETRUCHIO
Come, Kate, we’ll to bed.
We
three
197
are married, but you two are sped.
’Twas I won the wager, though you hit the
white
198
.
To Lucentio
And being a winner, God give you goodnight!
Exeunt Petruchio
[
and Katherina
]
HORTENSIO
Now, go thy ways. Thou hast tamed a curst
shrew
200
.
LUCENTIO
’Tis a wonder, by your leave, she will be tamed so.
[
Exeunt
]
Q = First Quarto text of
The Taming of a Shrew
(1594)
F = First Folio text of 1623
F2 = a correction introduced in the Second Folio text of 1632
F3 = a correction introduced in the Third Folio text of 1664
Ed = a correction introduced by a later editor
SD = stage direction
SH = speech heading (i.e. speaker’s name)
List of parts
= Ed
Ind.1.0
SD
Christopher
= Ed. F =
Christophero
1
SH SLY
= Ed. F =
Begger
9
thirdborough
= Ed. F = Headborough
18
SH FIRST HUNTSMAN
= Ed. F =
Hunts.
85
SH FIRST PLAYER
= Ed. F =
Sincklo
97
SH FIRST PLAYER
= Ed. F =
Plai.
Ind.2.2
lordship
= Q. F = Lord
21
fourteen pence
= Ed. F = xiiii d.
97
SH PAGE
= Ed. F =
Lady. or La. (throughout)
133
play it. Is
= Ed. F = play, it is
137
a
= F2. F = a a
1.1.0
SD
Tranio
= F2. F =
Triano
13
Vincentio
= Ed. F =
Vincentio’s
14
brought
= Q. F = brough
25
Mi
= Ed. F =
Me
47
SD
Katherina
= F2. F =
Katerina
SD
suitor
= F2
(spelled
shuiter
)
. F =
sister
159
captum
= F2. F =
captam
207
coloured
= F2. F = Conlord
244
your
= F2. F = you
1.2.23
Con tutto il cuore, ben trovato
= Ed. F =
contutti le core bene trobatto
24
molto honorata
= Ed. F =
multo honorato
31
pip
= Ed. F = peepe
70
she as
= F2. F = she is as
115
me and other
= Ed. F = me. Other
166
me to
= Ed. F = one to
184
Antonio’s
= Ed. F =
Butonios
264
feat
= Ed. F = seeke
2.1.8
thee tell
= F2. F = tel
76
Neighbour
= Ed. F = neighbors
78
unto you
= Ed. F = vnto
199
joint
= Ed. F = ioyn’d
250
askance
= Ed. F = a sconce
333
in
= Ed. F = me
379
Marseillis
= Ed. F = Marcellus
3.1.28
Sigeia
= F2. F =
sigeria
46–48
assigned to Lucentio in
F
49
SH BIANCA
= Ed.
Not in
F
50
SH LUCENTIO
= Ed. F =
Bian.
52
SH BIANCA
= Ed. F =
Hort.
65
gamut
= Ed. F = gamoth
or
gamouth
(throughout scene)
79
change
= F2. F = charge
80
SH MESSENGER
= Ed. F =
Nicke.
3.2.16
Make feasts, invite friends
= Ed. F = Make friends, inuite
29
of thy
= F2. F = of
30
Old news
= Ed. F = newes
33
hear
= Q. F = heard
51
swayed
= Ed. F = Waid
123
before I
= F2. F = before
146
grumbling
= F2. F = grumlling
193
SH GREMIO
= F2
(Gre.)
. F =
Gra.
3.3.21
SH CURTIS
= Q. F =
Gru.
3.4.4
SH HORTENSIO
= F2. F =
Luc.
6
SH LUCENTIO
= F2. F =
Hor.
7
you? First
= Ed. F = you first,
8
SH LUCENTIO
= F2. F =
Hor.
13
none
= Ed. F = me
31
her
= F3. F = them
74
Take
= F2. F =
Par.
Take
in
= Ed.
Not in
F
4.1.65
SH HABERDASHER
= Ed. F =
Fel.
84
is a
= Q. F = is
91
like a
= Q. F = like
179
account’st
= Ed. F = accountedst
4.2.0
SD
Enter Tranio … bareheaded
= Ed. F = Enter Tranio, and the Pedant dressed (drest) like Vincentio
1
Sir
= Ed. F = Sirs
5
Where
= Ed. F =
Tra.
Where
18
SD
Enter … Lucentio
F
mistakenly repeats an entrance direction for the Pedant—Pedant booted and bareheaded—
moved to SD 4.2.0
54
haply
= Ed. F = happilie
88
except
= F2. F = expect
4.3.19
is
= Q. F = in
39
where
= F2. F = whether
79
she be
= F2. F = she
4.4.5
master’s
= Ed. F = mistris
43
master’s
= F2. F = Mistris
68
Tranio
= F2. F =
Tronio
125
No
= Q. F = Mo
5.1.2
done
= Ed. F = come
39
thee
= Q. F = the
64
two
= Ed. F = too
67
for
= F2. F = sir
Following a scene for which there is no equivalent in Shakespeare, roughly corresponding in the structure to the end of 2.1 (the “fool” is Sander, who plays a role similar to that of Grumio):
Then Sly speaks
SLY
Sim, when will the fool come again?
LORD
He’ll come again, my lord, anon.
SLY
Giz some more drink here. Zounds, where’s the tapster? Here, Sim, eat some of these things.
LORD
So I do, my lord.
SLY
Here, Sim, I drink to thee.
LORD
My lord, here comes the players again.
SLY
O brave, here’s two fine gentlewomen.
Enter Valeria with a Lute and Kate with him.
In the equivalent position to between 4.2 and 4.3:
Exeunt All.
SLY
Sim, must they be married now?
LORD
Ay, my lord.
Enter Ferando and Kate and Sander.
SLY
Look, Sim, the fool is come again now.
Interrupting the action at the equivalent point to the exit at 4.4.101:
Phylotus and Valeria runs away. Then Sly speaks.
SLY
I say we’ll have no sending to prison.
LORD
My lord, this is but the play, they’re but in jest.
SLY
I tell thee, Sim, we’ll have no sending to prison, that’s flat: why, Sim, am not I Don Christo Vary? Therefore I say they shall not go to prison.
LORD
No more they shall not, my lord, they be run away.
SLY
Are they run away, Sim? That’s well, then giz some more drink, and let them play again.
LORD
Here, my lord.
Sly drinks and then falls asleep.
In the equivalent position to between 4.4 and 5.1:
Exeunt All.
Sly sleeps.
LORD
Who’s within there? Come hither, sirs, my lord’s
Asleep again: go take him easily up,
And put him in his own apparel again,
And lay him in the place where we did find him,
Just underneath the ale-house side below.
But see you wake him not in any case.
BOY
It shall be done, my lord. Come help to bear him hence.
Exit.
At the end of the play:
Exit Polidor and Emelia.
Then enter two bearing of Sly in his own apparel again, and
leaves him where they found him, and then goes out.
Then enter the Tapster.
TAPSTER
Now that the darksome night is overpast,
And dawning day appears in crystal sky,
Now must I haste abroad: but soft, who’s this?
What, Sly! O wondrous, hath he lain here all night?
I’ll wake him. I think he’s starved by this,
But that his belly was so stuffed with ale.
What ho, Sly, awake, for shame!
SLY
Sim, giz some more wine: what, ’s all the players gone? Am not I a lord?
TAPSTER
A lord with a murrain! Come, art thou drunken still?
SLY
Who’s this? Tapster, O lord, sirrah, I have had
The bravest dream tonight that ever thou
Heardest in all thy life.
TAPSTER
Ay, marry, but you had best get you home,
For your wife will course you for dreaming here tonight.
SLY
Will she? I know now how to tame a shrew,
I dreamt upon it all this night till now,
And thou hast waked me out of the best dream
That ever I had in my life. But I’ll to my
Wife presently and tame her too
An if she anger me.
TAPSTER
Nay, tarry, Sly, for I’ll go home with thee,
And hear the rest that thou hast dreamt to night.
Exeunt All.
FINIS.
Kate’s submission speech near the end of the play:
FERANDO
Now, lovely Kate before their husbands here,
I prithee tell unto these headstrong women
What duty wives do owe unto their husbands.
KATE
Then you that live thus by your pampered wills,
Now list to me and mark what I shall say:
Th’eternal power that with his only breath,
Shall cause this end and this beginning frame,
Not in time nor before time, but with time, confused,
For all the course of years, of ages, months,
Of seasons temperate, of days and hours,
Are tuned and stopped by measure of his hand,
The first world was a form without a form,
A heap confused, a mixture all deformed,
A gulf of gulfs, a body bodiless,
Where all the elements were orderless,
Before the great commander of the world,
The King of Kings, the glorious God of heaven
Who in six days did frame his heavenly work,
And made all things to stand in perfect course,
Then to his image he did make a man,
Old Adam, and from his side asleep,
A rib was taken, of which the Lord did make
The woe of man, so termed by Adam then,
Woman, for that by her came sin to us,
And for her sin was Adam doomed to die,
As Sara to her husband, so should we
Obey them, love them, keep and nourish them,
If they by any means do want our helps,
Laying our hands under their feet to tread,
If that by that we might procure their ease,
And for a precedent I’ll first begin
And lay my hand under my husband’s feet.
She lays her hand under her husband’s feet.