Gender and Power in The Taming of the Shrew

Lesson 10
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ELA

Unit 5

9th Grade

Lesson 10 of 29

Objective


Analyze what Petruchio's language reveals about his attitude towards marriage and a woman's desirability.

Readings and Materials


  • Play: The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare  — Act 1, Scene 2, Lines 1–140

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Target Task


Discussion & Writing Prompt

How does Petruchio's idea of a woman's desirability compare with the other suitors? Provide specific evidence from the text and carefully explain your thinking.

Sample Response

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Key Thinking


Close Read Questions

What do Petruchuio's actions and tone towards Grumio in lines 1–20 reveal about his character? Provide specific examples from the text and carefully explain your thinking.

What does Petruchio's language reveal about what he is looking for in a wife? Provide specific examples from the text and carefully explain your thinking.

Compare the language used by Hortensio and Grumio to describe Bianca and Katherine. How does it further the attitudes towards women established in the first scene? Provide specific examples from the text and carefully explain your thinking.

Vocabulary


Literary Terms

pun

a play on words where a word has more than one meaning

Text-based

quarrelsome

adj.

argumentative, confrontational (1. 2. 14)

intolerable

adj.

unable to be endured (1. 2. 89–93)

affable

adj.

friendly, good-natured, or easy to talk to (1. 2. 98–99)

beguile

v.

charm to enchant, sometimes in a deceptive way (1. 2. 139–140)

Homework


Read Act 1, Scene 2, lines 183–end.

While reading, answer the following questions.

  • What reasons does Petruchio give for proving he is not afraid of Katherine?

  • How do the suitors react to Lucentio joining them as rivals to Bianca?

  • At the end of Act I, why are Bianca's suitors friendly with one another and indebted to Petruchio?

  • What do all the suitors agree to do at the end of the scene?

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Standards


  • 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.
  • RL.9-10.4 — Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone (e.g., how the language evokes a sense of time and place; how it sets a formal or informal tone).

Supporting Standards

L.9-10.1
L.9-10.6
RL.9-10.1
SL.9-10.1
SL.9-10.6
W.9-10.9

Next

Analyze how Shakespeare uses language to portray the suitors and satirize social customs.

Lesson 11
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