Bloom’s taxonomy
William Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew
Olster, Fredi and Rick Hamilton. Discovering Shakespeare, A Workbook for Students and
Teachers: The Taming of the Shrew. New York: A Smith and Kraus Book, 1996.
POSSIBLE ANSWERS
Knowledge: What suitor is able to please Baptista by offering the greatest dower for Bianca? What does
this man offer? With Tranio’s help, Lucentio offers the largest dower for Bianca including three or
four houses and land that yields two thousand ducats a year. (p.50)
Comprehension: In this scene, Shakespeare carefully uses humor to create tension between Kate and
Petruchio. Paraphrase an example of humor in this scene and explain why the situation is funny. Kate
and Petruchio are both incredibly witty and use their dialogue to mock each other. One of the
funniest dialogues between the two occurs when the two meet and proceed to call each other
everything from furniture to asses to wasps. The scene is humorous because every word that they use
has a double meaning. (p. 40)
Application: In the play, nearly all of the characters use deception and dishonesty to achieve their marital
goals. Illustrate how the play rewards or punishes characters for moral misjudgments. (Or show how
the play fails to reward and punish.) Lucentio is the best example of this. He pretends to be a
teacher to win Bianca over. His dishonesty affects his marriage because Bianca does not even know
who he really is. In the end, he realizes that he married Bianca before he even knew her. When he
calls her in the last scene, she refuses to come to him. (p. 120)
Analysis: Compare Bianca’s attitude to Kate’s attitude. How do the two woman act differently? How do
they act the same? Examine their relationship as sisters. How does their relationship affect the way
they each pursue men or marriage? Kate is the shrew, a shrill and stressful woman who despises all
men as well as her sister. Bianca is attractive and pursued by all of the men throughout the city.
Obviously, the biggest factor in their relationship is jealousy, a feeling which has a very powerful
effect on the sisters. Kate is jealous of Bianca and therefore taunts her and throws tantrums in front
of all the men to scare them away. This affects her relationships because it causes the men to not
want her. (p. 2)
Synthesis: Consider how Kate defies the traditional roles of a woman in society. Discuss her attitude in
comparison with women from her time period as well as with women today. Is her example
exemplary or inappropriate? Propose changes to her behavior that would better represent the socially
accepted woman’s role both then and now. Kate acts very different from the typical woman in
Shakespeare’s age. At that time, women were usually easily smitten and often lovesick. They were
taught to obey their husbands. Kate acts inappropriately at times, but she also shows that she is a
progressive woman. At the end of the play, she reforms herself to the role of subservient wife. (p.126)
Evaluation: Consider the attitudes of each character relating to marriage. Who acts more appropriately
in your opinion in the pursuit of love? Should social norms always be followed in engagements?
Which relationship of all do you believe will eventually yield the best marriage? Ironically enough,
(considering that she is the shrew), I think that Kate acts most appropriately. She does not obsess
over marriage or men. Obviously, she is far from perfect in the beginning but she does change in the
end. All of the other characters pursue marriage too much. Instead of waiting to find the right
person, they marry just for the sake of marrying. Lucentio, on the other hand, marries Bianca before
he even knows her.
Leite – BYU – 2005