The Taming of the Shrew Texts and Contexts

by Shakespeare, William; Dolan, Frances E.

• ISBN13: 9780312108366
• ISBN10: 0312108362
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1996-03-15
• Publisher: Bedford/St. Martin's

Summary

This teaching edition of Shakespeare'sThe Taming of the Shrewresponds to the needs of instructors using a variety of approaches to Shakespeare, including feminist, historical, and cultural studies approaches. The play is accompanied by four sets of primary documents and illustrations thematically arranged to offer a richly textured understanding of early modern culture and Shakespeare's work within that culture. The texts include facsimiles of period documents, excerpts of conduct literature on marriage and on wife and servant beating, sermons, popular ballads, literary works offering alternative endings to Shakespeare's play, and documents on women's legal status. The primary documents contextualize the play's treatment of assertive women, marital conflict, and domestic disorder and violence. Editorial features designed to help students read the play in light of the historical documents include an intelligent and engaging general introduction, and introduction to each thematic group of documents, thorough headnotes and glosses for the primary documents (presented in modern spelling), and an extensive bibliography.

Table of Contents

Preface
Introduction
William Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew	p. 39
Early Modern Debates	p. 141
Alternative Endings	p. 143
From The Taming of a Shrew	p. 144
David Garrick, From Catharine and Petruchio	p. 154
Marriage	p. 160
A Homily of the State of Matrimony	p. 169
Robert Snawsel, From A Looking Glass for Married Folks	p. 184
T.E., From The Law's Resolutions of Women's Rights	p. 195
The Household: Authority and Violence	p. 200
John Dod and Robert Cleaver, From A Godly Form of Household Government	p. 201
"A Woman's Work Is Never Done"	p. 209
"The Woman to the Plow, And the Man to the Hen-Roost"	p. 213
William Whately, From A Bride-Bush	p. 222
William Gouge, From Of Domestical Duties: Eight Treatises	p. 225
Thomas Becon, From A New Catechism Set Forth Dialogue-Wise in Familiar Talk Between the Father and the Son	p. 232
William Gouge, From Of Domestical Duties: Eight Treatises	p. 235
Of Masters' Maintaining Their Authority	p. 235
Of Masters' Making Their authority to Be Despised	p. 236
Of Masters' Too Great Rigor	p. 237
Of Masters' Commanding Power, Restrained to Things Lawful	p. 238
Of the Power of Masters to Correct Their Servants	p. 239
Of the Restraint of Masters' Power: That It Reacheth Not to Their Servants' Life	p. 240
Of the Masters' Excess in Correcting Servants	p. 241
Of Masters' Ordering That Correction They Give to Their Servants	p. 242
Shrews, Taming, and Untamed Shrews	p. 244
"The Cruel Shrew"	p. 244
A Merry Jest of a Shrewd and Curst Wife Lapped in Morel's Skin, for Her Good Behavior	p. 254
"The Cucking of a Scold"	p. 288
From The Tragical Comedy, or Comical Tragedy, of Punch and Judy	p. 296
George Turberville, From The Book of Falconry or Hawking	p. 309
Simon Latham, From Latham's Falconry	p. 310
Matthew Hopkins, From The Discovery of Witches	p. 314
John Sterne, From A Confirmation and Discovery of Witchcraft	p. 315
Thomas Ady, From A Candle in the Dark	p. 316
Thomas Harman, From A Caveat for Common Cursitors, Vulgarly Called Vagabonds	p. 317
Thomas Heywood, From A Curtain Lecture	p. 324
Bibliography	p. 327
Index	p. 337
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