The Taming of the Shrew

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

A Feminist Lens

This play often features a male perspective; most of the character descriptions of Katherine and Bianca, for example, are relayed by the men in the story rather than shown by the women themselves. Audience members do not really hear from Katherine and Bianca first-hand regarding the emotions they experience. In this activity, group members will work together to write a scene that features the perspectives of Katherine and Bianca in which these characters explain their feelings and motives.

Part A: Select one scene from the play in which at least one of the male characters describes the feelings of either Katherine or Bianca. Consider the following questions:

• Who is this character, and what traits does he demonstrate?
• What does this male character say about Katherine and/or Bianca? What tone is projected through his word choice and connotation?

Part B: Write a 20-40—line scene between Katherine and Bianca in which both characters express how they feel and why. You may write either in the style of Shakespeare, or in contemporary prose; however, the scene you create must correlate with the actual scene from the male lens in Part A.