Interpreting Katherinas Speech in William Shakespeares...

Interpreting Katherinas Speech in William Shakespeares The Taming of the Shrew Kate’s changes in Shakespeare’s play, ‘The Taming of the Shrew’ are going to be examined here. I will look at Elizabethan attitudes towards women and see if Kate resolves to conform to these views or to retain her shrewish persona. Additionally I will examine Shakespeare’s use of devices in her final speech (to see whether she is tamed) and how she is portrayed in Zeffirelli’s film. Women in Shakespeare’s time were not held in as high regard as men due to the hierarchical nature of society. At the head of this triangle of power in the Elizabethan society was God himself. This was because in Elizabethan times religion†¦show more content†¦Women held such a low position in society mainly due to the fact that there was a total lack of effective birth control which consequently made it impractical for married women to work outside of their homes. So this led to the widely held, popular perception of women being able only to remain at home to work in the domestic sphere of the household. Women, strangely enough, generally conformed to these views and even took a great deal of pride in bearing a child for their husbands. So to all Elizabethans the roles of women were seen as completely different from those of men and not even as significant as what a man was required to do. While the women stayed at home and looked after the family as well as undert aking general household chores, the men went out to work and earn a living for the family. Though both these jobs were just as important as each other women still occupied a lesser status in society compared to men, and there were many limitations on what a woman could do. Girls could be educated by tutors at home but schools and universities were restricted to them. This was because women were not seen as to require the need for an education as all they should know, according to society at the time, was how to cook clean and raise a family. Women also didn’t have as much power or control in their own marriage as a woman was considered to be