Opus 6: The Taming of the Shrew

Literary critics have long discussed Shakespeare’s so-called “problem plays,” meaning the ones that fail to slot comfortably into one of the established genres of comedy, tragedy, and history. (The last of these genres being, of course, another invention of Shakespeare himself.) The Taming of the Shrew is not a problem play by this definition. It is, however, problematic in a whole different way for the 21st-century reader or viewer, what with its plot that revolves around an alpha-male putting an uppity woman in her place. In addition to the blatant misogyny, there’s a nasty edge in general to this play that’s rare for Shakespeare, as there is to the one he wrote next. It’s enough to make you wonder what was up with him circa 1593 to 1594. Was he going through a bad breakup? (Maybe from a certain Dark Lady?) At least Titus Andronicus, the notoriously bloody-minded play that followed this one, can be turned into high camp with a degree of success. But The Taming of the Shrew is just……