The Taming of the Shrew

The Taming of the Shrew is one of William Shakespeares early plays, written between 1590 and 1594. The play concerns the courtship and marriage between the adventurous Petruchio and Katherine, the bad tempered eldest daughter of a Baptista Minola, a wealthy gentleman. A sub-plot concerns the courtship between the younger daughter, Bianca, and her many suitors. The whole is presented a play-within-a-play, as a wealthy nobleman convinces a drunken, penniless, tinker that he is in fact a nobleman, recently come to his senses after years of madness. The story of Kate and Petruchio is thus presented as an entertainment for the supposed nobleman.