SHAKESPEARE'S THE TAMING OF THE SHREW
 
Taming of the Shrew
Penguin Critical Studies
Penguin, London 1995
 
Fortunately for us, Stevie Davies makes no excuses for Shakespeare in this provocative, scholarly and challenging reading of The Taming of the Shrew. In refusing to view the play simply as a light-hearted romp, or as an ironic attack on the misogyny it merely appears to endorse, she engages brilliantly with the raw, reactionary sex war The Shrew embodies. She explores the moral and political history of the 'scold' and of the taming imagery of falconry in Elizabethan culture. She draws our attention to the enlightened portrayals of women elsewhere in Shakespeare's plays and makes illuminating reference to productions of The Shrew and to contemporary critical comment. In doing so, she provides an outstanding critique of one of Shakespeare's most difficult and discomforting comedies.

Out of Print


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