Taming Of The Shrew Humor

The “Taming of the Shrew”, written by William Shakespeare, was a controversial play when it was first performed and it is more so today. However, the intent for how the play was to be perceived as humorous. During the time period it was written, both the rich and poor saw plays. There had to be something that could relate to both classes and not cause offense to any group in order for a successful play. Shakespeare had to find a perfect balance, and he did so by creating the funny love story by verbal communication on stage, the characters’ actions, and the ironic turn of events.
The first two strategies, verbal communication and the characters’ actions, were the more crude types of humor for the audiences. They are types of humors that Shakespeare uses to communicate that he meant “Taming of the Shrew” to be funny. One example where he uses verbal communication to uplift his scenes is when Petruchio first meets Katherine.
Katherine: ...I had you figured for a piece of furniture.
Petruchio: What do you mean by “furniture”?
Katherine: A nice stool.
Petruchio: You're right actually. Come sit on me.
Katherine: Asses are made for bearing, and so are you.
Petruchio: Women are made for bearing, and so are you. (II.I 196-200)
An example where he uses a character’s actions to provide humor would be how whenever Gremio speaks the
The play could be seen in either a degrading way or a humorous way, due to the communication on stage, the actions of the characters, and the loads of irony in the play, it had to have been meant to be funny and light-hearted. Shakespeare’s brilliance in writing kept it humorous for both the rich and the poor class, which was something that could have been very hard to do in the time period it was written. Overall, this play was a humorous and fun read, and even better to