The Taming of the Shrew or the Woman’s Point of View

This play is done so often, I suggest you go see this play in an actual theatre. There is even a ballet done about the play. But the story is far better as a play.

Shakespeare wrote the play from the man’s point of view. By doing so he offended all the women from the time he wrote the play to the present century.

So I’m not going to go into the play a great deal. A similar story is the fairy tale, Cinderella. The publishing company, Harlequin, writes many Romance books that are similar to the story of “The Taming of the Shrew”

It is a very good story if you don’t mind being offended when you are a girl or a woman.

There is also a good musical about the play called: “Kiss me Kate”.

You should know a few good lines from any play. The best speech is one made by the heroine, Katherine, It’s a bit corny but it is a speech that should be remembered. She says that men should be honored and cherished because they are the breadwinners. Then she says that women should surrender to their men. I don’t say I agree with all of it but it is a very good speech.

I won’t write up the speech. I think you should read the play yourself.

And please go see the play.

The story I’m going to tell is the Woman’s Point of View of the Taming of the Shrew.

It is eight years after Petrocio, I’ll call him “Peter” for short, and Katherine, “Kate” for short, have been married. They live in a high rise in Toronto. Peter works for an insurance agency. Kate has decided to be a stay home as a housewife. Pete agrees.

Times have changed since Shakespeare’s time. When Elizabeth I was on the throne, almost nobody got a divorce. The Queen’s father, King Henry VIII divorced his first wife and that rocked England. King Henry VIII married six times. But that was the exception.

In the twenty-first century, many people got a divorce. There are all sorts of families. The queen is Queen Elizabeth II. She doesn’t want to talk about the situation. Neither does her husband, Prince Philip. But three of their four children got divorced from their first spouses. The Queen and her husband are still married. God bless the Queen.

Peter and Kate always fight on Sunday afternoons and on Monday mornings. It is like clockwork. But so far, they are still together. They have no children, only two cats.

They tape Maury Povich and watch it in the evenings. Compared to the guests on that show, Pete and Kate’s marriage is idyllic.

It is Wednesday morning. Kate is tired because she has been up since three o’clock this morning. A mountain of laundry sits in the bedroom waiting to be washed.

Kate has hinted strongly to Peter that he should wash the dishes. So far he hasn’t taken the hint.

Now reader. This is where you come in: finish the story. How is this story going to turn out? What is going to happen to Peter and Kate? Make this story, your story. Have fun.

Next time: Romeo and Juliet

O.K. That is long enough. The truth is Peter and Kate went to Dr. Phil.

Only they didn’t go to the right Dr. Phil. They ended up going to Prince Philip school of discipline. Kate found it in the yellow pages.

How did Kate manage to get Peter to go with her?

She said she was going shopping.

“Shopping where?” said Peter.

“Oh, just to get some lingerie”

Now Peter did not make love to Kate on their wedding night; for more than one reason.

Yes he was trying to teach Kate a lesson. But also, he had an aversion to making love to women.

“You don’t need anymore lingerie Kate.”

“Well then we will have to go to the Prince Phillip School of Discipline”

“What is that?”

“It will help your physique. It is an exercise program.”

“Like a gym?”

“Yes.”

“Well okay.”

Kate thought the school of discipline had something to do with Dr. Phil.

Peter thought the school of discipline has something to do with the Duke of Edinburgh.

The truth is the Prince Phillip School of Discipline had nothing to do with either.

But it was a counseling service.

I won’t tell you the gory details as that would be rather boring.

The school did solve the couple’s problem.

“Why don’t you reverse roles? Peter can do the housework while Kate goes out to work?

The technique the school was using is called “Reverse Psychology”. The people were hoping that Peter and Kate would realize that the other person had it just as hard.

But it didn’t turn out that way.

Peter discovered that he really enjoyed cooking. And he kept a cleaner house than his wife. He liked not having to get dressed for work.

Kate discovered that while she didn’t really like a job; it was better than being cooped up inside of a house.

In fact she wrote this poem

Work, work, I shall not shirk

But I think I’ll go berserk.

Up at seven, in by nine

What shall I do, What shall be mine

Lunch at noon,

Over too soon.

Sometimes I wonder

Can I have a slumber.

Then at five

I come alive.

Home to a mess

Home for a rest.

This is the typical working day

How I wish for a holiday.

Peter, on the other hand, had discovered daytime TV. He learned that he could do the dishes and make the bed and do some tidying before the good TV came on. He still feigned ignorance about how to do the laundry.

The second incomplete story of Romeo and Juliet. In the Twenty First Century.

Romeo and Juliet is probably the most famous of love stories in the world. The play has been done so often, I’m not going to tell you anything about it. I’m going to tell you to go see the play somewhere. You will have a good time. There is even a lovely ballet about Romeo and Juliet. In this case the ballet is almost better than the play. Romeo and Juliet are two typical moonstruck teenagers who meet with a very, very sad ending.

Once you have seen the play, I want you to try a bit of role play with a few friends. Pretend that you are Romeo and Juliet in the 21st century. Only you don’t die. But that is the only difference. Try to create as many different endings to this story as possible.

There are two famous lines from Romeo and Juliet.

They are:

“Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo”

And

“A rose by any other name would smell as sweet”

And so would onions.

I mean onions would smell the same no matter what they were called.

After the fifth time of seeing this play, it gets tiresome. But the story is ageless. It is probably the best known of Shakespeare’s plays.

How often have teenagers fallen in love with someone whom their parents think is unsuitable for them?

How often have teenagers done really foolish things like run away or even worse, like Juliet, commit suicide?

It is interesting to note that teenagers back then seem to be similar to teenagers today.

I guess people haven’t really changed.

Maybe if you are a teenager studying this play, instead of writing a dull essay, you can convince your teacher that you can try role plays and discussion sessions as to what young people like Romeo and Juliet or teenagers today can do when they disagree with their parents.

Maybe you could go further and volunteer for a day at a homeless shelter for youth such as the covenant house.

Maybe you could even write your own play as to how Romeo and Juliet could have had a happily ever after ending instead of the tragedy that they did. That would be a real challenge.

Another writing assignment: Learn how to write a love letter the way Romeo would write a letter to Juliet.

The truth about Romeo and Juliet.

This is the love story in the twenty first century.

The truth is, they faked the whole thing.

Yes, yes, that is the truth. They faked the whole thing.

Romeo and Juliet belonged to St. John Ambulance. They stole some mannequins and made them to look like the couple.

Romeo and Juliet then ran away to Toronto. They hung out on Yonge street and slept under a bridge.

But they still had hard times.

.

Romeo was a don Juan and flirted with every young girl he came across.

Juliet ended up being pregnant.

Then Romeo denied that the baby was his. He went back to dating Rosalie.

They wanted to go on the Maury Povich show but they couldn’t afford it.

I would like to think that Romeo and Juliet made up. That they found a little apartment and got jobs.

But maybe that is fairy thinking.

Tomorrow: Hamlet, a good ghost story

Hamlet

This is a ghost story but it isn’t scary. It is a sad story. Everyone dies in the end.

In the beginning Hamlet’s father has died. His mother is about to marry someone else. Then all of a sudden Hamlet sees the ghost of his father. This ghost tells Hamlet to kill his mother’s new husband, who also happens to be Hamlet’s uncle, I believe.

Hamlet spends the rest of the play trying to decide whether to kill his mother’s new husband.

He kills several other people but that is beside the point. Hamlet doesn’t think anything of killing them. He just worries about killing his father-in-law.

Hamlet has a lovely girlfriend called Ophelia who has a sorry end. She goes mad and then kills herself.

Hamlet also has a very famous speech which starts as:

“To be or not to be, Whether to suffer the slings and arrows… and so on”

There are several films on Hamlet. I would recommend the short one instead of the one that is four hours long.

The play tend to go on so. In the end the audience thinks, just kill the villain and get it over with.

The play, Hamlet, is popular among teachers. There is a thing called “Coles” notes or “Cliff” notes. These are useful notes to study for essays but you still have to read the play anyways. And please don’t copy or plagiarize. You will get caught sooner or later. And that will be the end of your academic career.

One of the themes of this play, also in King Lear, is madness. One is never sure whether Hamlet really sees a ghost or whether it is just a figment of his imagination. One also doesn’t know if Hamlet’s stepfather is really the villain Hamlet thinks he is.

The two times I saw this play, I found it to be frustrating. Hamlet took forever deciding whether to kill his stepfather. I kept thinking just kill the bugger and get it over with.

I think that was part of Hamlet’s character’s flaw: his indecisiveness.

I think that is why English teachers like this play so much. They like to teach that the essence of a “tragedy” is that the hero or protagonist has a character flaw.

If you have to write an essay, write an essay, But maybe you could also suggest that you could try your hand at writing a ghost story or a murder mystery. That would be fun. And part of learning how to write well is to have fun writing.

Tomorrow: King Lear: The case of ungrateful children.

King Lear
This play is all about how much parents need to be told by their children how much they love them. And how parents would be wise if they didn’t expect such a thing. The play shows how some children rebel against some parents. King Lear meets a sorry end when all three daughters disappoint him. There is another story in the play and in that one too, the parent meets a dreadful end. Something to do with his eyes.

This play is popular with teachers but it isn’t performed too often by theatre troupes. No matter what, it is worth reading.

You might want to have a discussion with friends about whether children today are any more loyal to their parents.

Another thing I think you should do is to take some time to write a letter to your parents to tell them how much you love them and to thank them for all they have done for you.

You might also wish to practice the art of writing a thank you note.

If you know how to write a sincere thank you note and actually send it, the act will open doors for you; far more than even education will.

Another lesson this play teaches is, if you are extremely upset, it doesn’t hurt to go out to the backyard and howl in the wind. Just be sure someone knows where you are.

Another story that hasn’t been told is what happened to the three daughters after their father died. Did they feel any remorse.

Tomorrow: King Richard the III – a Very Bad Uncle

King Richard the Third

You may have some relatives you really like and others who you aren’t so fond of.

Shakespeare, in this play, describes an uncle who was downright wicked. His name was Richard. He was a very bad man. But I won’t tell you what he did. You will have to read the play or go see the play or even put on the play yourself.

A very memorable line is when King Richard comes on stage and says:

“A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse.”

The way that the writer, William Shakespeare, ends this play is also excellent. It wouldn’t hurt for you to study the way he ends this play if you wish to be a playwright yourself.

The play ends in such a way that the person in the audience leaves the theatre thinking: “Yes that was a very good play”.

I think at this point it would be good for you to either put on a play of some sort or write a play of some sort. Even if it is just a puppet play.

You can’t really understand plays if you haven’t been involved in the production of one. And you will have a good time.

Are you stage fright? Don’t be. You don’t have to perform it to anyone besides family and friends if you don’t want to . You may want to if you get the theatre bug.

But the performance is really secondary. It is the process that is the main thing.

From my little experience, once I got in character, I was so involved in the play, I almost forgot about the audience. Although sometimes one does bond with the audience.

We need a new renaissance. And it is up to the new generation to begin it again.

Tomorrow: MacBeth, often called the “Scottish Play” or what I like to call it “Office Politics”

MACBETH

I think this is the play that is considered unlucky. I believe this is the play that few

Theatre troupes will perform. One director named Roman Polanski did a film of this play; it came across as a horror story. This version of MacBeth has some nudity. Lady Macbeth goes mad. She wanders around the castle in the nude while rubbing her hands.

I won’t tell you much about this fascinating story. I don’t want to give away the plot line. But the witches’ lines are a good way to introduce six year olds to reading and Shakespeare at the same time.

Also, even though the play is set in Scotland it is relevant to many offices throughout the world. Everyone experiences office politics no matter where they work.

But MacBeth is an excellent read or a show: however you wish to experience it.

Tomorrow: Julius Caesar – Beware of the Ides of March

Julius Caesar

There is a saying: When in Rome, do as the Romans do.

Rome, two thousand years ago, was once a vast Empire. One of the most famous Emperors of Rome was Julius Caesar.

This play is an example of politics in a country. All sorts of things go on.

Some very famous quotes are:

“Beware of the Ides of March”

The Ides of March were the Fifteenth of March. I guess March was as bad a month as it ever was.

A very famous speech started out as:

“Friends, Romans, Countrymen, Lend me your ears”

Julius Caesar only plays a small role in his play.

A character called Brutus plays a large role. .

You may wish, after you read the play, try to have a debate of your own in your class about a current issue. You might find it to be fun.

Being able to debate an issue is one of the cornerstones of modern democracy.

If you are very ambitious you might want to study the government of your country. Or you might want to study the Ancient Romans.

Next Time: King Henry V

Well, we reached to the magic page ten.