The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare
The Taming of the Shrew is the only drama we will read in class. I realize that Shakespeare is a little overwhelming, so I'm going to try and give you several resources to make reading the play go much smoother.
First of all, a summary of the play. The Taming of the Shrew tells the story of Katherine, a woman who is very abrasive. Her younger sister Bianca has many suitors waiting to marry her, but their father tells them Bianca can't marry until Kate does. This is where Petruchio comes in: he decides that he will "tame" Kate and marry her.
You can find more helpful material over The Taming of the Shrew on Gradesaver, Sparknotes, or Cliffnotes. I encourage you to use these websites to SUPPLEMENT your understanding of the text, NOT cheat. They all have summaries of each act, character analyses, background information, and major themes. In addition, Gradesaver allows you to test yourself over what you have read, and Sparknotes has a present-day translation alongside Shakespeare's original text.
First of all, a summary of the play. The Taming of the Shrew tells the story of Katherine, a woman who is very abrasive. Her younger sister Bianca has many suitors waiting to marry her, but their father tells them Bianca can't marry until Kate does. This is where Petruchio comes in: he decides that he will "tame" Kate and marry her.
You can find more helpful material over The Taming of the Shrew on Gradesaver, Sparknotes, or Cliffnotes. I encourage you to use these websites to SUPPLEMENT your understanding of the text, NOT cheat. They all have summaries of each act, character analyses, background information, and major themes. In addition, Gradesaver allows you to test yourself over what you have read, and Sparknotes has a present-day translation alongside Shakespeare's original text.
Ten Things I Hate About You
Some of you may be familiar with the movie "Ten Things I Hate About You," which is based on The Taming of the Shrew. The link will take you to the IMDb website so you can get more information about the movie. This could be a good way for you to get the gist of the story before you read the actual play. It's also fun and interesting to see Shakespeare's plays preformed in different adaptations.