Tuesday, May 3, 2011

The Taming of the Shrew Intro Info

247.

excited to start a new play today! AND it's opening night of Writes of Spring! two awesome things in one day. oh yeah, AND i get to go to Chili's after the show. doesn't get much better than this.


here's some stuff i learned about our play today from the ever-informative David Bevington
-this play explores the battle of the sexes through 2 juxtaposed plots and an induction which frames the plot. this frame takes shape as a play within a play, an old motif known as "The Sleeper Awakened". through this device, Shakespeare is also able to shed light on the artifice of the theater.
-there is a strong theme of illusion in this play, in the plots as well as the induction. as Bevington puts it, "the dwellera of Padua have grown so accustomed to the mad and improbable fictions of their life that they are not easily awakened to reality."
- both plotlines involve conventional character types and situations. the plot involving the young lovers explores the attempt to foil parents, and the plot involving Kate and Petruchio explores the attempt to foil each other.
-get ready for some sexism. taming the shrew is probably going to be just as sexist as it sounds. but as i recall, it goes a lot deeper than that. let's see if my high school self was right about that when i read it back then.
-also get ready for more parallels with Beatrice and Benedick from Much Ado!

what a great excuse to rent the Elizabeth Taylor version of this movie! and even better, what a stellar excuse to watch 10 Things I Hate About You!


for tomorrow: Induction 1 and Induction 2

-rebecca may

2 comments:

  1. My introduction to this play came through an episode of "Moonlighting" in which Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd played the main roles and the usual cast of the TV show played the other parts. I doubt I've seen it since the mid-80's, but, as a teen, I thought it was riotously funny.

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  2. Just found out that episode is "Atomic Shakespeare" from Season Three.

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