Honors Essay

For how I firmly am resolved you know; That is, not bestow my youngest daughter Before I have a husband for the elder: If either of you both love Katharina, Because I know you well and love you well, Leave shall you have to court her at your pleasure. † In these lines, we are introduced to Baptista, a father who wants to find a husband for his oldest daughter, Katharina. The conflict of the play is also introduced as Baptista has decided that his youngest daughter cannot marry until Katharina does. These lines provide readers with some background information on Baptista and his daughters, as well as their familial relationship. They also reveal that while Baptista loves both of his daughter’s, he is at a loss for how to manage his oldest daughter, Katharina. Exposition Act 1, Scene 1 Lucentio: â€Å"Tranio, since for the great desire I had To see fair Padua, nursery of arts, I am arrived for fruitful Lombardy, The pleasant garden of great Italy;† In these lines, we get the first glimpse of where the setting is. The readers get a chance to see the descriptive environment of Italy with the â€Å"pleasant garden†. We are also introduced to Lucentio and Tranio in this part of the play where they are visiting this part of Italy because they had that desire to go there. Rising Action Act 2, Scene 1 KATHARINA: â€Å"Of all thy suitors, here I charge thee, tell Whom thou lovest best: see thou dissemble not. † BIANCA: â€Å"Believe me, sister, of all the men alive I never yet beheld that special face Which I could fancy more than any other. † KATHARINA: â€Å"Minion, thou liest. Is’t not Hortensio? † BIANCA: â€Å"If you affect him, sister, here I swear I’ll plead for you myself, but you shall have Him. † KATHARINA: â€Å"O then, belike, you fancy riches more:You will have Gremio to keep you fair. † BIANCA: â€Å"Is it for him you do envy me so? Nay then you jest, and now I well perceive You have but jested with me all this while: I prithee, sister Kate, untie my hands. † KATHARINA: â€Å"If that be jest, then all the rest was so. † In these lines, Katharina begins attacking Bianca for no reason at all. Katharina begins questions Bianca out of the blue about which of the suitors does she want the most while Bianca has no clue where this question is coming from, but Bianca assumes that Katharina wants one of the suitors for her and has been acting around her to get what she wanted. Climax Act 3, Scene 2 KATHARINA: â€Å"No shame but mine. I must, forsooth, be forced To give my hand, opposed against my heart, Unto a mad-brain rudesby, full of spleen, Who wooed in haste and means to wed at leisure. I told you, I, he was a frantic fool, Hiding his bitter jests in blunt behavior, And, to be noted for a merry man, He’ll woo a thousand, ‘point the day of marriage, Make friends, invite, and proclaim the banns, Yet never means to wed where he hath wooed. Now must the world point at poor Katherine And say, â€Å"Lo, there is mad Petruchio’s wife, If it would please him come and marry her! † In these lines, Katharina is upset that the groom has not arrived to their wedding yet. And she begins blaming Lucentio for her being forced to marry this guy when she knew what the groom’s plans were. Katharina says that all the groom did it for was the friends and fame of proposing to women then not showing up to the date of the wedding and this made her even more mad, like she wanted to kill somebody. Falling Action Act 4, Scene 1 KATHARINA: â€Å"I pray you, husband, be not so disquiet:The meat was well, if you were so contented. † PETRUCHIO: â€Å"I tell thee, Kate, ’twas burnt and dried away; And I expressly am forbid to touch it, For it engenders choler, planteth anger;And better ’twere that both of us did fast,Since, of ourselves, ourselves are choleric, Than feed it with such over-roasted flesh. Be patient; to-morrow ‘t shall be mended,And, for this night, we’ll fast for company: Come, I will bring thee to thy bridal chamber. † In these lines, Katharina and Petruchio have already married and now they are at Petruchio’s house where he will boss around all of his servants. And Katharina is trying to calm Petruchio down because one of the servants brought out burnt meat and he wanted everything to be perfect for his wife. Resolution Act 4, Scene 5 PETRUCHIO: Why, how now, Kate! I hope thou art not mad: This is a man, old, wrinkled, faded, wither’d, And not a maiden, as thou say’st he is. KATHARINA: Pardon, old father, my mistaking eyes, That have been so bedazzled with the sun That everything I look on seemeth green: Now I perceive thou art a reverend father; Pardon, I pray thee, for my mad mistaking. In these lines, Petruchio seeks an elderly man in the direction they are heading. But Katharina eyes are blinded by looking at the sun for too long and she mistakes the old man for a little girl. But altogether this is after all the arguing that were going on and now they are spending time together on their way to Katharina’s father’s house.