Taming Things I Hate About Shrew

Yeah, so, I'm alternating reading the text of Taming and watching 10 Things. They have almost nothing in common besides basic plot...ish. Certainly the frame story is left out. I think I like the frame. It doesn't make much sense as a practical joke, but it does put up red flags about the meaning of the play. If it's framed as a trick, does that mean the story of the shrew is a trick?

I'm already appreciating how different the comedies are from the tragedies, in that they are funny. Hamlet has some funny bits, but Polonius is no Grumio. It's too bad Whitney's doing As You Like It--I'd love to hear what she has to say about the humor in Taming.

It's interesting how the characters use the words "shrewd" to mean "shrewish." Today, "shrewd" means "clever, cunning, mischievous, savvy." Indeed, according to the OED the word has had many meanings: it can be used as a simple intensifier or to mean "harsh," "unsatisfactory," "irksome," or "piercing." Lots of versatility there! Most of these meanings were around in Shakespeare's time--I wonder if he played around with the meaning at all. (Psh, of course he did. It's Shakey.)

Finally, I think I'll use the line "Tis a very excellent piece of work. Would 'twere done." in my everyday life now. Brilliance.

Taming of the Shrew

Just a quick post: I haven't started reading the play yet, but I did check out the Wikipedia page and look at the critical history. I'm worried about the misogyny in the play, because nothing cheeses me off like chauvinists, but I know that my roommate who loves the play (hi, Sarah!) wrote an essay last semester about how the play is actually not misogynistic at all, so I'll bug her until she lets me read it.

Beyond that, I'm not sure what I want to do with the play. I'll probably do more Thought posts because making lists of comments as I read is a good way to come up with questions and avoid dozing off. I may compare the play to 10 Things I Hate About You, because I've seen that movie several times and wouldn't mind seeing it again. I doubt I'll watch a more faithful adaptation unless someone else in the class really likes one.

I should also begin looking into academic criticism, because despite my disdain for academic conventions, there's a wealth of information to be found there. Perhaps I'll spend some time perusing the Shakespeare subject guide on the library website. I also need to look through my class notes again and see what suggestions of Dr. Burton's that I haven't looked into yet.

So much time and so little to blog! Wait, strike that, reverse it.