Reviews

The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare

Only show reviews with written explanations

timelord10's review against another edition

challenging funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I remember reading this play for my Shakespeare class in college, and at the time, it was one of my favorites. I don’t remember if it was a favorite because of our class discussions, but upon reread, I didn’t like it as much as I remembered. I do enjoy the movie adaptations of The Taming of the Shrew the most out of the Shakespeare movie adaptations I have seen.

garrettolsen's review against another edition

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1.0

finished 4/9/24 ; 1.5/5 ; book 19/66

***Insert obligatory preamble about how a bad Shakespeare play is still an objectively good piece of work writing wise and still deserves its spot in the literary canon; Shakespeare is essentially rated more critically by me for this reason.***

Yeah, what new commentary can I add here- this play does not hold up whatsoever. This is with the caveat that there are elements of every Shakespeare play that don’t hold up, be it throwaway derogatory garbage, but it’s an entirely different beast when the entire play hinges upon the antiquated axiom that women are subservient to men.

The identity swapping stuff with Lucentio, Tranio, and Hortensio was pretty funny though. I wish Shakespeare had utilized this trope more often; assuming alternate identities for comedic personal gain.

In my SHAKESPEARE REREAD PROJECT, Taming ranks
LAST out of the two I’ve reread so far.

Current standings:
1. Two Gents
2. Taming

Up next, Henry VI Part 1!

whats_a_bibble's review against another edition

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lighthearted medium-paced

3.0

rebeccasreadingrambles's review against another edition

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4.0

This is a play in which Shakespeare really shows off his talent for word play and smack talk. There is a lot of high-brow arguing between men and women (and men and men). Halfway through I completely forgot that this story was a play within a play. I think this would work better as a play and the audio was harder to follow, because there were so many men pretending to be other men (and men with very similar names). It would be easy if I could visualize each person and then keep them straight as they pretend to be others. But I really enjoyed this play a lot and will look to see an adaptation of this play.