Authors: William Shakespeare

The Taming of the Shrew (28 page)

⁴⁶breathèd
exercised, strong-winded
roe
small deer

⁴⁸Adonis
in classical mythology, a beautiful huntsman, pursued by
Cytherea
(Venus); when he was killed by a boar while hunting, she changed him into an anemone

⁴⁹Cytherea
more commonly known as Venus, the goddess of love
sedges
coarse grass growing by rivers

⁵⁰wanton
grow playful/flourishing/lustful

⁵²Io
in classical myth, a girl raped by Jove/ Jupiter, then turned into a heifer
maid
virgin

⁵³beguilèd
bewitched/deceived
surprised
attacked

⁵⁴lively
lifelike

⁵⁵Daphne
in classical mythology, a girl pursued by the god Apollo; she prayed for help and was turned into a laurel tree

⁵⁸workmanly
skillfully

⁶¹waning
degenerate/declining from the perfection of Eden

⁶³envious
cruel

⁶⁵yet
even now

⁷⁵wit
senses

⁷⁶knew but
only knew

⁷⁹fay
faith

⁸⁰of
in

⁸⁴rail upon
rant, complain about
hostess … house
landlady of the inn

⁸⁵present … leet
bring accusations against her at the manorial court (
leet
)

⁸⁶stone … quarts
unlike
sealed quarts
,
stone jugs
had no official mark upon them guaranteeing they contained the specified amount of ale

⁸⁸woman’s … house
landlady’s maid

⁹⁰reckoned up
listed

⁹¹Greece
possibly a corruption of “Greet,” a small village not far from Stratford

⁹⁵amends
recovery

⁹⁹Marry
by the Virgin Mary
fare
am getting along (plays on the sense of “food and drink”)
cheer
hospitality (plays on the sense of “food and drink”)

¹⁰²goodman
husband

¹⁰⁷Al’ce
Alice

¹¹²abandoned
banished

¹¹⁹In … malady
due to the risk of bringing on your old illness

¹²¹stands for
is valid as

¹²²it stands
my penis is erect
hardly
plays on the idea of erectile hardness

¹²⁴despite
spite

¹²⁶pleasant
merry

¹²⁷meet
fitting

¹³¹frame
adjust

¹³²bars
prevents

¹³³comonty … gambold
Sly’s mispronunciation of “comedy” and “gambol” (entertainment)

¹³⁴tumbling trick
acrobatic trick

¹³⁵stuff
matter (Sly responds to the literal sense of “furnishings”)

¹³⁷history
story

¹³⁹slip
slide by

Lucentio
name suggests “light,” making him a fitting partner for “Bianca” (the white/fair)

²Padua
city in northern Italy
nursery
training ground (the university of Padua was one of the oldest in Europe)

³for
in
Lombardy
Padua is not in Lombardy, which is probably, however, intended here to denote all of northern Italy

⁵leave
permission

⁷approved
tested, proved

⁸breathe
rest
haply
perhaps/fortunately
institute
begin

⁹ingenious
intellectual

¹⁰grave
learned

¹¹Gave … first
i.e. both I and my father were born there

¹²great traffic
extensive trade

¹³come of
descended from
Bentivolii
a powerful Italian family who were, in fact, from Bologna rather than Pisa

¹⁴Vincentio’s … deeds
it is appropriate that Vincentio’s son, who was brought up in Florence, should fulfill the expectations of him by adding to his fortune with acts of virtue

¹⁹treats of
concerns

²³plash
pool

²⁴satiety
excess

²⁵Mi perdonato
“pardon me” (Italian)

²⁶affected
disposed

³¹stoics
rigorous individuals practicing abstinence and endurance
stocks
stupid, senseless people

³²Aristotle
Greek philosopher
checks
recommendations of moral restraint

³³As
that
Ovid
Roman poet, author of
The Art of Love
abjured
rejected

³⁴Balk
argue, quibble over

³⁵common
everyday

³⁶quicken
enliven

³⁸Fall to
apply yourself/begin eating
stomach serves you
inclination/appetite requires

³⁹No … ta’en
a version of Horace’s famous statement that “he who has mixed usefulness with pleasure has gained every point”

⁴⁰affect
like

⁴¹Gramercies
many thanks

⁴²wert
were to

⁴⁵beget
create
Bianca
Italian for “white”
pantaloon
in Italian comedy, the foolish old man

⁴⁸importune
urge

⁵⁰bestow
give in marriage

⁵⁵cart her
drive her around in a cart (usual punishment for a prostitute)
rough
violent/uncontrollable

⁵⁶will you
do you want

⁵⁸stale
bait/laughing-stock/prostitute (puns on the chess term “stalemate”)
mates
fellows (plays on the sense of “husbands”)

⁶²Iwis
indeed
not … heart
i.e. marriage is not something I even consider

⁶³her care
my chief desire

⁶⁴noddle
head

⁶⁵paint
i.e. redden with scratching
use
treat

⁶⁸toward
about to begin

⁶⁹wonderful froward
remarkably obstinate

⁷³Mum
hush

⁷⁸peat
pet

⁷⁹Put … why
make herself cry if she could think of an excuse

⁸⁰content you
be satisfied

⁸¹pleasure
will
subscribe
submit

⁸⁴Minerva
goddess of wisdom

⁸⁵strange
distant, unfriendly

⁸⁶effects
causes

⁸⁸mew her up
confine her

⁸⁹for
on account of

⁹⁰her
i.e. Bianca
her
i.e. Kate’s (sharp)

⁹³for
because

⁹⁸Prefer
recommend
cunning
skillful

¹⁰²commune
discuss

¹⁰⁴appointed hours
given a timetable
belike
perhaps

¹⁰⁶dam
mother
gifts
qualities (ironic)

¹⁰⁷here’s … you
no one here will detain you
Their love
i.e. women’s love

¹⁰⁸blow our nails
wait patiently/waste time
fast … out
manage to survive/endure it as cordially as we can

¹⁰⁹Our … sides
i.e. we have both failed

¹¹⁰light on
come across

¹¹²wish
recommend

¹¹⁴brooked parle
tolerated conversation/negotiation

¹¹⁵advice
consideration
toucheth
concerns

¹¹⁷labour and effect
work for and bring about

¹²⁵pass
surpass

¹²⁶alarums
noise (literally, a military call to arms)

¹²⁷an
if

¹²⁹had as lief
would as willingly

¹³⁰high cross
cross set on a pedestal in the town center

¹³³bar in law
legal impediment (i.e. Baptista’s refusal to let Bianca marry until Kate is married)
it … maintained
it shall progress in a friendly manner

¹³⁶have to’t afresh
renew our combat once again

¹³⁷Happy … dole!
Happiness to the winner! (proverbial)
ring
alludes to the jousting game in which competitors tried to lift a ring with their lances (puns on senses of “wedding ring” and “vagina”)

¹⁴⁸love in idleness
puns on “love-in-idleness,” a pansy thought to have power to stimulate love

¹⁵⁰secret
trusted

¹⁵¹Anna … Carthage
Dido, Queen of Carthage, confided in her sister Anna that she was in love with Aeneas

¹⁵⁷rated
driven out through rebuke

¹⁵⁹Redime … minimo
“free yourself from bondage for as little ransom as you can” (Latin, inaccurately quoted, as in the standard Elizabethan grammar textbook, from Terence’s play
Eunuchus
)

¹⁶⁰Go forward
carry on
This
i.e. what you have said so far

¹⁶²so longly
for such a long time/so longingly

¹⁶³marked not
did not notice
pith
essence

¹⁶⁵daughter of Agenor
Europa, daughter of the King of Tyre; she was loved by
Jove
, who turned himself into a bull in order to abduct her

¹⁶⁶him
himself

¹⁶⁷kissed
i.e. knelt on
Cretan strand
shore of Crete (in fact, Europa was taken to, rather than from, Crete)

¹⁷⁶Bend
apply, direct

¹⁷⁷curst
bad-tempered
shrewd
shrewish, disagreeable

¹⁷⁹maid
unmarried virgin

¹⁸⁰closely
securely

¹⁸¹annoyed
vexed/distracted

¹⁸³advised
aware