The Taming of the Shrew

Introduction

This comedy was likely written between 1590 and 1591. (See Stanley Wells and Gary Taylor in The Oxford Shakespeare: The Complete Works (2nd edition, 2005).)

The play follows the wooing of two rich, young, and beautiful sisters from Padua: the “shrewish” Katherine by the equally ornery Petruchio and the milder-tempered Bianca by a number of suitors. Eventually Petruchio marries and successfully “tames” Katherine, and Lucentio marries Bianca.

Video Gallery Clips

Video clips from productions with interesting dance and movement.

Duet of Bianca and Lucentio from Taming of the Shrew (Jerusalem Ballet, 2018)

Watch the full ballet

Excerpt from Taming of the Shrew (Bolshoi Ballet, 2016)

Interview with performers

Textual References to Dance

Text excerpts and their act, scene, and line numbers follow Folger Digital Texts unless otherwise noted.

In-text dance references are highlighted in red.

Act I, scene 2, 66-77

PETRUCHIO: Signior Hortensio, ’twixt such friends as we
Few words suffice. And therefore, if thou know
One rich enough to be Petruchio’s wife
(As wealth is burden of my wooing dance),
Be she as foul as was Florentius’ love,
As old as Sibyl, and as curst and shrewd
As Socrates’ Xanthippe, or a worse,
She moves me not, or not removes at least
Affection’s edge in me, were she as rough
As are the swelling Adriatic seas.
I come to wive it wealthily in Padua;
If wealthily, then happily in Padua.

Act II, scene 1, lines 34-39

KATHERINE: What, will you not suffer me? Nay, now I see
She is your treasure, she must have a husband,
I must dance barefoot on her wedding day
And, for your love to her, lead apes in hell.
Talk not to me. I will go sit and weep
Till I can find occasion of revenge.

Dance References in The Taming of the Shrew

While dance is not a central theme in this play, there are two speeches that reference it. In Act I, scene 2, Petruchio refers to the act of courtship as a dance. He also makes a musical pun on “burden,” and an additional reference to movement (“she moves me not”) in the same speech. Dancing was a common activity for courting couples in Shakespeare’s day, as well as a metaphor for love and/or sexual intimacy, so these references would have made sense to playgoers then as now.

In Act II, scene 1, Katherine, while accusing her father of favoritism towards her sister, declares that she “must dance barefoot” at her sister’s wedding and “lead apes in hell” (II.1.36-37). These passages respectively reference a supposed tradition of unmarried elder siblings dancing barefoot at a younger sibling’s wedding (Slights, p. 49), and an expression alluding to a supposed punishment for unmarried or celibate women (Needham). While “leading” in the latter example does not necessarily refer to dancing, it nonetheless builds on the prior reference to dance in the same speech. Both references invoke dancing to distort or subvert expectations, referring to examples where dancing is humiliating rather than celebratory.

– Emily Winerock (October 4, 2019, rev. January 14, 2022)

Citation:
Winerock, Emily. “Dance References in The Taming of the Shrew.” The Shakespeare and Dance Project, edited by Linda McJannet and Emily Winerock, January 14, 2022. shakespeareandance.com/plays/taming-of-the-shrew. Accessed [date].

Introduction

Video Gallery Clips

Textual References to Dance

Dance References in The Taming of the Shrew

Further Reading