Taming of the Shrew

( I had these done earlier but for some reason they were sent straight to drafts instead of being published. If anyone knows why this happened, leave a comment and let me know. thanks!) 

At the end of The Taming of the Shrew, Katharina gives the final speech. Many call this an act of total submission but that is not true.  With her tongue firmly in cheek, she delivers this speech in quite a satirical way. Shakespeare clearly went straight for the irony in this monologue; some may even go so far as to call Katharina’s closing monologue an elaborate joke.  The pomposity of her language does not match the subject matter.  This play continues its deeply ironic current as Katharina is given the last word even after Petruchio had subjected her to such a cruel series of taming techniques. If this was meant to be a legitimate speech, it would have been given by Petruchio. Not only is Katharina given the last word, but also the longest speech in the play. Her words are dripping with sarcasm as she looks at the men who spent most of the play in comic confusion. In her moment of female supremacy, she seemed to say, See how I play your game, now watch as I beat you at it.

In the last scene, it is clearly seen that Katharina is not “tamed”, she merely was waiting for the perfect time to put an end to the game. She may not be a shrew anymore but she will never be just a housewife.  Petruchio never really wanted to break or tame Katharina. In fact, she was the only woman who could outwit him. Clement eloquently states that, "If he dishes something out to her, she dishes it back to him twice as bad. He's constantly having to improvise" (Clement). Petruchio liked the challenge Katharina confronted him with since it forced him to stay sharp and quick. It may even be argued that he saved Katharina from losing her feminist views.  He gave her a place and a person who would listen and intrigue her while allowing her to be herself.  This idea is further proven in the tone of Katharina’s final speech.  The verse is not only disjointed, but there are also multiple ‘what(s)’ and ‘why(s)’ as if she was never listened to before. “Petruchio gives her the power of speech and language: he gives her freedom to speak” (Costa). Consequently, they saved each other from being social outcasts. Katharina would have gone from “shrew to witch and end[ed] her days as a madwoman”(Costa), whereas Petruchio would have never found the a woman his equal both emotionally and verbally.