What techniques does Petruchio use to tame a falcon and Kate in The Taming of the Shrew, Act 4, scene 1?

In Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew, in Act IV, scene one, we witness as Petruchio dresses down all of his servants, finding fault with all they do. Even Kate believes that perhaps he is too harsh. He sends the mutton back to the kitchen, saying it is unfit to eat, and unhealthy for them, and so, without dinner, they move to the bridal chamber. As the servants comment on Petruchio's behavior, he returns and outlines his plan for taming Kate, as he would a falcon: the techniques are exactly the same.

First, he says that she will have no food at all—not today or tomorrow. Secondly, he says she will have no sleep. When it comes time to sleep, he will rip the covers and pillows, etc., from the bed, insisting they are not suitable, and since she did not sleep the night before, she will be exhausted. He promises that it will seem as if he is sheltering her with kindness ("killing her with kindness"), when he is really plotting to make her an obedient wife. These ploys work with falcons to break their spirit when they will not obey; he expects the same of Kate. He ends the speech asking if anyone has a better idea; if so, he should share it. Petruchio says:

Thus have I politicly begun my reign,

And 'tis my hope to end successfully.

My falcon now is sharp and passing empty;

And till she stoop she must not be full-gorged,(175)

For then she never looks upon her lure.

Another way I have to man my haggard,

To make her come and know her keeper's call,

That is, to watch her, as we watch these kites

That bate and beat and will not be obedient. (180)

She eat no meat to-day, nor none shall eat;

Last night she slept not, nor to-night she shall not;

As with the meat, some undeserved fault

I'll find about the making of the bed;

And here I'll fling the pillow, there the bolster, (185)

This way the coverlet, another way the sheets:

Ay, and amid this hurly I intend

That all is done in reverend care of her;

And in conclusion she shall watch all night:

And if she chance to nod I'll rail and brawl (190)

And with the clamour keep her still awake.

This is a way to kill a wife with kindness;

And thus I'll curb her mad and headstrong humour.

He that knows better how to tame a shrew,

Now let him speak: 'tis charity to show. (195)

How does Petruchio tame Kate in The Taming of the Shrew?

Petruchio tames Kate through flattery by comparing her to a goddess. When she is finally pressured into marriage, at their wedding ceremony he humiliates her with his inappropriate clothing and offensive behavior.

When Petruchio and Kate meet (act II, scene 1), he compares her to the Roman goddess Diana (here shortened to Dian), implying that Kate is as beautiful and pure as the goddess. He matches her insults with further compliments.

Much of the information about his use of physical force occurs offstage, during their post-wedding journey to Petruchio’s home (act IV, scene 1). According to the servants’ conversation, amidst the couple’s incessant arguments, Kate’s horse dumped her into the mud.

In the third act, psychological games are on display at their wedding. Petruchio goes out of his way to be offensive even while professing his love and desire for her. He shows up late, wearing a wild assortment of old garments that bear no resemblance to proper wedding attire. During the ceremony, he is obnoxious, such as by making a show of kissing her with a loud smack.

Once they arrive at his home, he uses reverse psychology by insisting that nothing is good enough for her, thus denying her food until she is ravenous. This is combined with physical force as he snatches things away from her.

How does Shakespeare portray Katharina's taming by Petruchio?

It is always difficult to determine authorial intent. We are not able to ask Shakespeare what he wants us to feel; even then, audiences might react very differently to what the author intended. Also, The Taming of the Shrew is a particularly controversial play due to this very question. Whether Petruchio’s taming of Katharina is meant to be funny, disturbing, ironic, or earnest is a widely debated topic, and directors and scholars come down on different sides of the discussion.

Some say that there is actually a great deal of respect between Petruchio and Katharina. They are both wayward individuals whom society rejects. Petruchio is the only one to stand up to Katharina, and the two of them have a fierce battle for control. When they first meet, they make suggestive jokes and seem equally matched in terms of wit:

PETRUCHIO: Come, come, you wasp; i' faith, you are too angry.

KATHARINA: If I be waspish, best beware my sting.

Petruchio mistreats his servants and Katharina, showing her how unfair it is to constantly disrespect others. All the while, he swears he loves her. When Petruchio insists on calling the sun the moon, Katharina finally gives in:

And be it moon, or sun, or what you please:
An if you please to call it a rush-candle,
Henceforth I vow it shall be so for me.

Those who believe we are supposed to feel joy or humor at Katharina’s behavior tend to argue that the two of them finally become partners. Both remain mischievous, but now they team up together against others. Petruchio makes a bet that Katharina is a most obedient wife. She comes when he calls and chastises the other wives for being disobedient. Perhaps this is simply part of a scheme the two have devised in order to win money.

Others say Katharina needs to learn her lesson, whether she is a woman or man. The play is not as much about a man dominating a woman as it is about teaching a rude person to behave politely. Therefore Katharina’s long speech at the end about how women should be docile is more about how people in general should appreciate their partners.

Alternately, the taming of Katharina can be portrayed as disturbing. Petruchio, as a man who holds the power, breaks her will and basically brainwashes her into submission. Whatever the intention of Katharina’s “taming,” her final speech is a long one. It stops the play in its tracks. I would argue that Shakespeare wanted us to feel something, whether the speech is meant to be humorous, wise, or sad.

How did Kate "tame" Petruchio in The Taming of the Shrew?

The question "Who tamed whom in Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew?" has been the source of lively debate since the play was first performed at the Newington Butts Theatre just outside London in 1594.

Assuming for the purposes of the question at hand that Kate "tames" Petruchio, the first evidence that Kate is on the road to "taming" Petruchio occurs at the end of the wedding scene in act 3, scene 2. Petruchio first declares that Kate is in all ways his property, as was the Elizabethan view of marriage at the time the play was written.

PETRUCHIO. I will be master of what is mine own.
She is my goods, my chattels; she is my house,
My household stuff, my field, my barn,
My horse, my ox, my ass, my any thing... (3.2.235–239)

Petruchio then envisions Kate and himself "beset with thieves" (3.2.242), but he reassures Kate that he'll protect her.

PETRUCHIO. Fear not, sweet wench, they shall not touch thee,
Kate. I’ll buckler thee against a million (3.2.244–245).

This is the first time that Petruchio has been even remotely chivalrous to Kate, and despite what Petruchio said earlier in the same speech, he treats her as a person, not his "chattel," and vows to protect her as his wife. From this point in the play, Kate becomes less combative with Petruchio, and instead beings to gradually change the way that he relates to her.

A short exchange among Kate's sister, Bianca, her future husband, Lucentio, and Gremio, another of Bianca's suitors, offers a subtle clue as to Petruchio and Kate's future relationship.

LUCENTIO. Mistress, what’s your opinion of your sister?

BIANCA. That being mad herself, she’s madly mated.

GREMIO. I warrant him, Petruchio is Kated. (3.2.250–252)

"Petruchio is Kated." Gremio is saying that Petruchio has met his match, and it's only a matter of time before Petruchio himself is "tamed."

Kate learns to ignore Petruchio's bombast and bullying and rely not on what he says, or shouts, but on what he does. When Petruchio begins to "tame" Kate in earnest, Kate sees that Petruchio voluntarily suffers the same deprivations that she does—of food, of sleep—and falls in the mud with her, even though Petruchio suffers these things from the perspective of the would-be "tamer" rather than the "tamed."

Nevertheless, Kate realizes that Petruchio is relating to her on equal terms—person to person, and husband to wife—even if he isn't treating her as if they're equals (at least not yet).

In Kate's final speech, in which she appears to have been absolutely "tamed" by Petruchio, Kate isn't talking to the other women in the scene, or the women in Shakespeare's audience—which is a little odd in itself, since the women characters were played by men during Shakespeare's time. Kate is talking only to Petruchio, and she's expressing to him how much she loves him and what she would do for him.

Kate knows that Petruchio loves her just as much as she loves him and that he would do no less for her than she would do for him.

She "tamed" him well.