“Testing, testing, one, two three!” the man in the elaborate suit and tie announced, tapping the microphone. Bianca, still in a daze, looked around in her surroundings, finding that she was in a large space with blinding white stage lights in every direction. She glanced at the man, and was staggered to see her father Baptista, with a joker-like smile towards the audience, walking around the stage like a show host.

“Welcome all who are present, especially those who are eager to take this prize off the stage. I am your host Baptista, and we will be giving our audience the chance for the most optimal and successful contestant to take my daughter and the cash prize of $50,000 home,” Baptista says eagerly. “Whoever does the best job of impressing me, or prove that they have the income to take care of my daughter, will have the chance to become her husband.”

Bianca stared at her father with a horrified expression, and tried to move off the stage. However, even though she desperately wanted to move her body, she realized that she was in a fixed position, having no mobility of any of her limbs. Her hands were stuck to her waist, and her feet seemed to be glued to the stage; she was a mannequin without the plastic. She was even encased in a clear glass box, displayed like fancy jewelry.

Baptista began to pick random men from the audience, motioning them towards Bianca. Bianca stood there with no hope of escape. The expression on her face was a still picture, displaying a bright, blinding smile, but her insides churned at the thought of being wed to any of these men in the audience. Suddenly, a man that could have been considered her grandfather approached her, sliding his hand down the glass container. She could slowly feel the bile crawl up her throat as this man stared at her from head to toe.

“I will take her! I have more than enough money to care for her myself,” Gremio exclaimed gallantly to Baptista.

“No, she will not take an old man like you. She will love me!” Hortensio exclaimed angrily, waving his finger in Gremio’s face.

You cannot buy love! Bianca screamed in her mind, distraught by the men in front of her. Love is not an object for you to give away without my consent!

“Well, in order for you to take my daughter and have her love, you both must show me what you possess. Say, Signior Gremio, what can you assure her?” (Shakespeare Act II ll. 365).

“Testing, testing, one, two three!” the man in the elaborate suit and tie announced, tapping the microphone. Bianca, still in a daze, looked around in her surroundings, finding that she was in a large space with blinding white stage lights in every direction. She glanced at the man, and was staggered to see her father Baptista, with a joker-like smile towards the audience, walking around the stage like a show host.

“Welcome all who are present, especially those who are eager to take this prize off the stage. I am your host Baptista, and we will be giving our audience the chance for the most optimal and successful contestant to take my daughter and the cash prize of $50,000 home,” Baptista says eagerly. “Whoever does the best job of impressing me, or prove that they have the income to take care of my daughter, will have the chance to become her husband.”

Bianca stared at her father with a horrified expression, and tried to move off the stage. However, even though she desperately wanted to move her body, she realized that she was in a fixed position, having no mobility for any of her limbs. Her hands were stuck to her waist, and her feet seemed to be glued to the stage; she was a mannequin without the plastic. She was even encased in a clear glass box, displayed like fancy jewelry.

Baptista began to pick random men from the audience, motioning them towards Bianca. Bianca stood there with no hope of escape. The expression on her face was a still picture, displaying a bright, blinding smile, but her insides churned at the thought of being wed to any of these men in the audience. Suddenly, a man that could have been considered her grandfather approached her, sliding his hand down the glass container. She could slowly feel the bile crawl up her throat as this man stared at her from head to toe.

“I will take her! I have more than enough money to care for her myself,” Gremio exclaimed gallantly to Baptista.

“She will love me!” Hortensio exclaimed angrily, waving his finger in Gremio’s face.

You cannot buy love! Bianca screamed in her mind, distraught by the men in front of her. Love is not an object for you to give away without my consent!

“Well, in order for you to take my daughter and have her love, you both must show me what you have. Say, Signior Gremio, what can you assure her?” (Shakespeare Act II ll. 365).

Of the thirty-seven plays written by William Shakespeare, the comedic play, The Taming of the Shrew, focuses on the theme of domination over women. Towards the end of Act II, Petruchio and Katherine have a long verbal duel, engaging in topics that either insults the other, or are twisted into a sexual innuendo. From the moment Petruchio encounters Katherine’s persistence to rebel, he makes a goal to dominate her and gain her hand in marriage through any means necessary. In these two lines, when Petruchio calls Katherine a “slow-winged turtle,” he is sarcastically insinuating the fact that Katherine is like a turtle dove, a symbol of love. He continues to state that he, the “buzzard” insect, will take her to marry. Though, Katherine retorted back that only a “buzzard,” an idiot, would refer himself as a insect and her as a turtle dove. Petruchio and Katherine, throughout their debate, use the same words with different meanings against each other to demonstrate their own dominance over the other. Through their word choices, they show their opinion of the others worth. Katherine, a young woman who always speaks her mind, is stubborn and determined not to marry a man who wants her for her father’s dowry. The men in the play did not even want to approach Katherine; however, Petruchio desires to dominate her. He wants to show that as he is the man, he is the one who is always be in control. This scene demonstrates the power dynamics and sexism that is tested throughout the play.

Of the thirty-seven plays written by William Shakespeare, the comedic play, The Taming of the Shrew, focuses on the theme of domination over women. Towards the end of Act II, Petruchio and Katherine have a long verbal duel, engaging in topics that either insults the other, or are twisted into a sexual innuendo. From the moment Petruchio encounters Katherine’s persistence to rebel, he makes a goal to dominate her and gain her hand in marriage through any means necessary. In these two lines, when Petruchio calls Katherine a “slow-winged turtle,” he is sarcastically insinuating the fact that Katherine is like a turtle dove, a symbol of love. He continues to state that he, the “buzzard” insect, will take her to marry. Though, Katherine retorted back that only a “buzzard,” an idiot, would refer himself as a insect and her as a turtle dove. Petruchio and Katherine, throughout their debate, use the same words with different meanings against each other to demonstrate their own dominance over the other. Through their word choices, they show their opinion of the others worth. Katherine, a young woman who always speaks her mind, is stubborn and determined not to marry a man who wants her for her father’s dowry. The men in the play did not even want to approach Katherine; however, Petruchio desires to dominate her. He wants to show that as he is the man, he is the one who is always be in control. This scene demonstrates the power dynamics and sexism that is tested throughout the play.