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Title: The Taming of the Shrew (The Macmillan Shakespeare) by William Shakespeare, Robin Christopher Hood ISBN: 0-333-17652-9 Publisher: Nelson Thornes (Publishers) Ltd Pub. Date: 31 December, 1975 Format: Paperback

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Average Customer Rating: 3.98 (42 reviews)

Rating: 3
Summary: Taming of the Shrew
Comment: Taming of the Shrew is not my favorite Shakespearean work. Actually, it's not even my favorite of his comedies, but it's a pretty good read. I didn't like it as much as I liked reading Much Ado About Nothing, Romeo and Juliet, or Macbeth. It drags a little despite the humor in it. I was annoyed that Baptista Minola allowed men to buy Bianca's hand rather than letting his daughters choose their husbands, although I realise that was the way things were done in Shakespeare's day. I think Bianca is a pampered little fool. She is spoiled by all the male attention she gets and by her father's undivided adoration. I think it's natural that she becomes the less perfect wife in the end. She was never very nice in my opinion. She ought to have been angry at her father for not allowing her to marry until Katherine married, not be angry at Katherine for not marrying against her will. I'm not sure whether to admire Petruchio's eventual love for Kathrine or hate him for initially marrying for money alone. The one character I definitely feel for is Katherine. I blame her initial shrewishness on the inattention of her family and the men of Padua. In the end, she loves and tries to please Petruchio. I think she will get her way with him in private. I can picture her speaking her submission with a glint in her eye and a plan for the future once she has his trust.

Rating: 4
Summary: Clever and witty play
Comment: Of all of Shakespeare's plays that I have read, this is the most enjoyable. The characters are real and engaging - the sweetly stupid Bianca and her hoard of suitors, Baptista, who is more interested in selling his daughters to rich husbands than making them happy, the sly and masterful Petruchio, and most of all, Katherine, the Shrew. The play is full of action, comedy, and enough mistaken and hidden identities to keep the reader happily confused.

Katherine, who appears to be "tamed" by Petruchio's cruelties, learns the art of subtlety and diplomacy that will enable her to survive in a society ruled by men. Her speech in the last scene is not a humbling affirmation of the superiority of men, but a tounge-in-cheek ridicule of Petruchio, Lucentio, and Hortensio, who think that a woman can be tamed like a wild animal by a few days of bumbling controll.

The Folger Library of Shakespeare's plays are the most readable editions that I have seen. There are detailed side notes and definitions of unfamiliar words, which are perfect for the reader who is not familiar with Shakespearean English.

Rating: 5
Summary: Oxford World's Classics is the best choice for Shakespeare
Comment: There are many reviews of the play below,, so I am reviewing this particular edition of tthe play. As someone reading all of Shakespeare for the second time, I am always alble to learn something from the World's Classics introduction. They are scolarly and complete and the text always has footnotes on the same page. I have tried other editions but these are the best.
The Taming of the Shrew although it does contain episodes that are misogynistic to modern ears does portray a couple truly in love. As an early play Shakespeare is beginning to find his own voice.