The Taming of the Shrew and Anger

Abstract

Frances Dolan has demonstrated that few Shakespeare comedies stage both the occurrence and intensity of physical violence to the degree that The Taming of the Shrew does. Analysis of this violence has usually focused on its effects rather than its source. Almost exclusively, anger is the cause. Admittedly it is sometimes feigned, as in Petruccio's case. But often it is not pretended but radical, as in the cases of not just Petruccio but Katherina and Grumio as well. The extremity and violence of their anger is remarkable, begging explanation. Anger is a complex phenomenon in The Shrew. In fact, Shakespeare, drawing upon Aristotle, Galen, Seneca, Bacon, and others, offers in this early comedy a veritable taxonomy of the affect. In particular, the English translation of Aristotle's Greek word for anger's mean adopted by several editors of the Nicomachean Ethics is also Shakespeare's word for anger's tempering in The Shrew. Nevertheless, the playwright ultimately begs the question of whether Katherina's and Petruccio's irascible behavior is finally or only temporarily resolved. Providing an answer proves important for whether the theater audience this couple can attain relative peace in their marriage.