While reading The Taming of the Shrew, the Induction is interesting. The lord notices that Christopher Sly is extremely drunk, to say the least, and attempts to make a mockery of the beggar. He orders his servants to take him inside and treat him as a lord by putting him in a bed, putting rings on his fingers, and even setting a banquet for him. The lord even has his pageboy, Bartholomew, dress up to play the part as Sly’s wife.
Once Sly arises from his deep slumber, he is confused. After the men convince him of his hierarchy, he is focused on spending a night with his wife. The lord’s cruelty and deception for pure entertainment is astonishing.
This is another excellent point. How cruel are the actions taken not only in the Induction but in the play itself as well? A recent production of the Propeller Group (an all-male company) had Petruchio totally brutalize Kate. How far would you go in this direction if you were directing the play?
I was also struck by the cruelty in the play. It seems that our modern problem of bullying is not so new after all. The targets in this piece are significant. Sly, the self-proclaimed “bearherd,” is not just comically ridiculous, he is tragically so as well. In contrast to the Homeric heroes that Prof. Berggren mentioned today, Sly sums up his world-standing in a few underwhelming lines (Ind.2 17-25). In connection to himself and his family, several professions are mentioned. His father was a peddler while Sly himself was trained as a cardmaker, has performed as a bearherd and currently holds the foggy title of tinker. For a reference, he would send you to the alehouse to see fat Marian. Sly’s lack of human capital puts him into a position akin to slavery where it is not his body which he lacks agency over but rather his mind.
Katherine falls into similar bondage essentially for the same reason. She too lacks human capital. Both her gender and her father’s disfavor preclude the kind of power necessary for Katherine to escape her Stepford end.
http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/16570?redirectedFrom=bearherd#eid
“Bearherd” is both performer and manipulator.
Shakespeare is no stranger to cruelty, surely it is surprising. I like Rikki’s parallel between modern problem of bullying to cruelty back then. But slavery in ancient times, the way women are treated are two of many examples of cruelty in old times. I think that Shakespeare takes cruelty to a new level. Shakespeare incorporates psychological warfare into his cruelty. Specifically the way that Sly was treated in nobleman’s clothing and being psychologically assaulted. I often wonder about Shakespeare’s childhood. I hope that he isn’t using personal experience as a starting point for his documented cruelty in his plays.