Comedy, Taming, and Desirability in The Taming of the Shrew

Lesson 11
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ELA

Unit 17

9th Grade

Lesson 11 of 20

Objective


Analyze how Shakespeare uses literary devices to portray characters and their relationships in the opening scene of TToTS.

Readings and Materials


  • Play: The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare  — act 1, scene 1, lines 1–55

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Target Task


Multiple Choice

It can be inferred from the passage beginning with "to cart her. She’s too rough for me" and ending with "unless you were of gentler, milder mold" that Katherine is:

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Sample Response

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Shakespeare predominantly uses the following techniques in the lines above to convey Katherine’s character in lines:

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Sample Response

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Writing Prompt

Based on your assigned group during close reading, write one of the following 
claims: 

  • Group A: A claim about Bianca and Katherine’s character and their complex relationship as sisters 
  • Group B: A claim about Bianca and Katherine’s characters and their complex relationship with the suitors
  • Group C:  A claim about Bianca and Katherine’s characters and their complex relationship with their father
  • Group D: A claim about Tranio and Luciento and their complex relationship

Sample Response

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Key Thinking


Annotation Focus

What lines, words, and phrases reveal Bianca’s character, Katherine’s character, and Bianca and Katherine’s complex relationship as sisters?

What lines, words, and phrases reveal Bianca’s character, Katherine’s character, and their complex relationship with the suitors?

What lines, words, and phrases reveal Bianca’s character, Katherine’s character, and their complex relationship with their father?

What lines, words, and phrases reveal Lucentio’s character, Tranio’s character, and their complex relationship?

Scaffolding Questions

What do you learn about Lucentio’s background? Use two pieces of evidence from the text to support your response. 

  • What does this suggest about his character?
  • How "eligible" a young man does he seem to be? (ll. 1–45)
  • How does Lucentio interact with Tranio? What does this suggest about his character and their relationship?

How does Shakespeare use details and dialogue to characterize Katherine and Bianca? 

  • According to lines 55–66, what’s the difference between what OTHERS say about Kate and what Kate actually acts like?
  • According to lines 76–106, how is Kate treated?  Do we blame her for her actions?

How has Katherine’s bad temper harmed not only herself but her sister as well?  What does Katherine’s bad temper suggest about her character?

Discourse Questions

What do the suitors' perceptions of Katherine and Bianca reveal about standards of desirability in Elizabethan times?

Homework


Finish reading and annotating Act 1.1 using the following annotation focus.

  • Annotation focus: What additional impressions do you have of Katherine, Bianca, their father, and the suitors?

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Standards


  • LO 1.3B — Analyze how the writer's use of stylistic elements contributes to a work of literature's effects and meaning.
  • RL.9-10.3 — Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme.

Supporting Standards

LO 1.3A
LO 2.3A
LO 2.3B
LO 2.3C
LO 5.1A
LO 5.1B
RL.9-10.1
RL.9-10.4
SL.9-10.1
W.9-10.2

Next

Analyze how Katherine is perceived by other characters and what this reveals about the values, attitudes, and traditions of the time period.

Lesson 12
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