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Tag Archives: Lucentio
The Winter’s Tale – Act IV and Disguise
Act IV reminds me of previous plays we’ve read as it brings the heavy use of disguise and unknown identity. We see Perdita, whom nobody knows is actually a princess; Florizel, who hides the fact that he’s a prince and is going by “Doricles”; Autolycus in multiple disguises; and Polixenes, in disguise so no one see’s he’s the king.
Florizel as Doricles reminds me of The Taming of The Shrew, where Lucentio disguises himself as Cambio to gain access to Bianca. Also, Polixenes in disguise reminds me of Henry V, where Henry disguises himself in order to find out what people really think of him.
The use of disguise doesn’t seem to bring about much disaster here; it is the “Spring” (read: happier) part of the play after all. However, I wonder about whether it’s right for Florizel and Polixenes to be in disguises. There seems to be a recurring theme in Shakespeare of kings and noblemen disguising themselves as “lesser” men – and like we brought up in Henry V, is that really moral? And how do we judge its morality – if disguise is a means to a good end (as is what happens to Florizel), is it still moral, or is the very act of disguise – of leaders taking a peek on society without its knowing – immoral?
Posted in Henry V, The Taming of the Shrew, The Winter's Tale
Tagged autolycus, cambio, disguise, doricles, florizel, Henry V, Lucentio, morality, perdita, polixenes, The Taming of the Shrew
2 Comments
Early instances of “taming”
Hi everyone! After hearing what everyone had to say in class, here is my response post:
The title The Taming of the Shrew is meant to refer to Katherina, but there are subtle instances of taming even before we meet her. In the induction, when the Lord is talking about his multiple dogs, we inherently know that these animals have been trained to do his bidding. He even seems to prefer one dog over the others, most likely because this dog is the tamest of the bunch, and responds most obediently to the Lord’s orders.
It’s also interesting to see the Lord’s behavior towards Sly. He has just been talking about taming his dogs, and now will go on to tame this drunken bum. Sly falls for his game almost immediately, subtly putting himself on the same level as the dogs – obedient, but not very smart, and certainly not as sophisticated as the Lord.
Even when we meet Lucentio and Tranio, there are notes of taming going on. Lucentio is a teenager, being subtly pushed and influenced by not only his father, but his servant, who is supposed to be his inferior. Even though Tranio tells him to study what makes him happy, this is a slight push in one direction.
Posted in The Taming of the Shrew
Tagged dogs, induction, Lord, Lucentio, response, Sly, taming, Tranio
6 Comments
