The Taming of the Shrew (Vol. 77) | Velvet D. Pearson (essay date 1990)
Velvet D. Pearson (essay date 1990)
SOURCE: Pearson, Velvet D. “In Search of a Liberated Kate in The Taming of the Shrew.” Rocky Mountain Review of Language and Literature 44, no. 4 (1990): 229-42.
[In the following essay, Pearson considers stage representations of The Taming of the Shrew as they reflect the changing social perceptions of women.]
From its first performance in about 1594 to the present day, productions of The Taming of the Shrew challenge actors and directors to provide the audience with a play that supplies entertainment rather than sketches a harsh portrait of Elizabethan patriarchal society. When faced with a “problem play” such as this one, theater companies often avoid the difficulties involved by ignoring the play entirely or substituting an altered version. David Garrick's shortened three-act play, Catherine and Petruchio replaced The Taming of the Shrew for almost one...
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