William Shakespeare (baptised 26 April 1564; died 23 April 1616)

was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in
the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often
called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon". His surviving works,
including some collaborations, consist of about 38 plays,154 sonnets, two long
narrative poems, and several other poems. His plays have been translated
into every major living language and are performed more often than
those of any other playwright.
Shakespeare was born and brought up in Stratford-upon-Avon. At the
age of 18, he married Anne Hathaway, with whom he had three children:
Susanna, and twins Hamnet and Judith. Between 1585 and 1592, he began a
successful career in London as an actor, writer, and part owner of a playing
company called the Lord Chamberlain's Men, later known as the King's Men. He
appears to have retired to Stratford around 1613 at age 49, where he
died three years later. Few records of Shakespeare's private life survive,
and there has been considerable speculation about such matters as his
physical appearance, sexuality, religious beliefs, and whether the works attributed to
him were written by others.
Shakespeare produced most of his known work between 1589 and
1613.His early plays were mainly comedies and histories, genres he raised to
the peak of sophistication and artistry by the end of the 16th century.
He then wrote mainly tragedies until about 1608, including Hamlet, King Lear,
Othello, and Macbeth, considered some of the finest works in the English
language. In his last phase, he wrote tragicomedies, also known as
romances, and collaborated with other playwrights.
Many of his plays were published in editions of varying quality and
accuracy during his lifetime. In 1623, two of his former theatrical
colleagues published the First Folio, a collected edition of his dramatic
works that included all but two of the plays now recognised as
Shakespeare's.
Shakespeare was a respected poet and playwright in his own day,
but his reputation did not rise to its present heights until the 19th
century. The Romantics, in particular, acclaimed Shakespeare's genius, and
the Victorians worshipped Shakespeare with a reverence that George Bernard
Shaw called "bardolatry".In the 20th century, his work was repeatedly
adopted and rediscovered by new movements in scholarship and
performance. His plays remain highly popular today and are constantly
studied, performed, and reinterpreted in diverse cultural and political
contexts throughout the world.
One of the most famous plays is the Taming of the Shrew by
William Shakespeare .The Taming of the Shrew is a comedy by William
Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1591.
The play begins with a framing device, often referred to as the Induction,
in which a mischievous nobleman tricks a drunken tinker named Sly into
believing he is actually a nobleman himself. The nobleman then has the
play performed for Sly's diversion.
The main plot depicts the courtship of Petruchio, a gentleman of Verona,
and Katherina, the headstrong, obdurate shrew. Initially, Katherina is an
unwilling participant in the relationship, but Petruchio tempers her with
various psychological tormentsthe "taming"until she becomes a
compliant and obedient bride. The subplot features a competition between
the suitors of Katherina's more desirable sister, Bianca.
The play's apparent misogynistic elements have become the subject of
considerable controversy, particularly among modern audiences and
readers. It has nevertheless been adapted numerous times for stage,
screen, opera, and musical theatre; perhaps the most famous
adaptations being Cole Porter's musical Kiss Me, Kate and the film 10 Things I Hate
About You.
The characters are:
Katherina (Kate) Minola the "shrew" of the title
Bianca sister of Katherina; the ingnue
Baptista Minola father of Katherina and Bianca
Petruchio suitor of Katherina
Gremio elderly suitor of Bianca
Lucentio suitor of Bianca (spends some of play disguised as
Cambio, a Latin tutor)
Hortensio suitor of Bianca and friend to Petruchio (spends some
of the play disguised as Litio, a music tutor)
Grumio servant of Petruchio
Tranio servant of Lucentio (spends some of the play disguised as
Lucentio)
Biondello servant of Lucentio
Vincentio father of Lucentio
A Widow wooed by Hortensio
A Pedant pretends to be Vincentio
A Haberdasher
A Tailor
 Curtis servant of Petruchio
Nathaniel servant of Petruchio
Joseph servant of Petruchio
Peter servant of Petruchio
Nicholas servant of Petruchio
Philip servant of Petruchio
An Officer
Servants
Characters appearing in the Induction:
Christopher Sly a drunken tinker
A Lord plays a prank on Sly
Bartholomew a page
Hostess of an alehouse
Huntsman of the Lord
Players
Servingmen

Messenger
Prior to the first act, an induction frames the play as a "kind of history"
played in front of a befuddled drunkard named Christopher Sly who is
tricked into believing that he is a lord. In the play performed for Sly, the
"Shrew" is Katherina Minola, the eldest daughter of Baptista Minola, a
Lord in Padua. Katherina's temper is notorious and it is thought no man
would ever wish to marry her. On the other hand, two men Hortensio
and Gremio are eager to marry her younger sister Bianca. However,
Baptista has sworn not to allow his younger daughter to marry before
Katherina is wed, much to the despair of her suitors, who agree that
they will work together to marry off Katherina so that they will be free
to compete for Bianca. The plot becomes more complex when Lucentio,
who has recently come to Padua to attend university, sees Bianca and
instantly falls in love with her. Lucentio overhears Baptista announce
that he is on the lookout for tutors for his daughters, so he has his
servant Tranio pretend to be him while he disguises himself as a Latin
tutor named Cambio, so that he can woo Bianca behind Baptista's back.
In the meantime, Petruchio arrives in Padua, accompanied by his witty
servant, Grumio. Petruchio tells his old friend Hortensio that he has set
out to seek his fortune "farther than at home/Where small experience
grows" (1.2.5051) and that his main business "happily to wive and
thrive as best I may"(1.2.55). Hearing this, Hortensio seizes the
opportunity to recruit Petruchio as a suitor for Katherina. He also has
Petruchio present to Baptista a music tutor named Litio (Hortensio
himself in disguise). Thus, Lucentio and Hortensio, pretending to be the
teachers Cambio and Litio, attempt to woo Bianca unbeknownst to her
father, and to one another.
Petruchio, to counter Katherina's shrewish nature, woos her with reverse
psychology, pretending that every harsh thing she says or does is kind and
gentle. Katherina allows herself to become engaged to Petruchio, and
they are married in a farcical ceremony during which (amongst other
things) he strikes the priest and drinks the communion wine, and then takes
her home against her will. Once they are gone, Gremio and Tranio
(disguised as Lucentio) formally bid for Bianca, with Tranio easily
promising Baptista that he can make Bianca richer. However, in his zeal
to win, he promises much more than the real Lucentio actually
possesses, and Baptista determines that once Lucentio's father confirms
the dowry Bianca is his. Tranio thus decides that they will need someone
to pretend to be Vincentio, Lucentio's father, at some point in the near
future. Elsewhere, as part of their scheme, Tranio persuades Hortensio
that Bianca is not worthy of his attentions, thus removing any problems
he may cause.
Meanwhile, in Petruchio's house, he begins the "taming" of his new wife,
using more reverse psychology. She is refused food and clothing
because nothing according to Petruchio is good enough for her; he
claims perfectly cooked meat is overcooked, a beautiful dress doesn't fit
right, and a stylish hat is not fashionable. Finally, Katherina comes to
understand Petruchio's methods of taming, and when they are on the
way back to Padua to attend Bianca's wedding, she willingly agrees with
Petruchio that the sun is the moon, and proclaims that "if you please to
call it a rush-candle,/Henceforth I vow it shall be so for me" (4.5.1415).
They also meet Vincentio who is also on his way to Padua, and Katherina
eagerly agrees with Petruchio when he declares that Vincentio is a
woman.
Meanwhile, back in Padua, Lucentio and Tranio convince a passing
pedant to pretend to be Vincentio and confirm the dowry for Bianca. The
man does so, and Baptista is happy for Bianca to wed Lucentio (actually
Tranio in disguise). Bianca then secretly elopes with the real Lucentio.
However, Vincentio then arrives in Padua, and encounters the Pedant,
who claims to be Lucentio's father. Tranio (disguised as Lucentio)
appears, and the Pedant acknowledges him to be his son Lucentio. There
is much confusion about identities, and the real Vincentio is about to be
arrested when the real Lucentio appears with his newly betrothed
Bianca, and reveals all to a bewildered Baptista and Vincentio. Lucentio
explains everything that has happened and all is forgiven by the two
fathers.
Meanwhile, Hortensio has married a rich widow, and so in the final scene
of the play there are three newly married couples at Baptista's banquet;
Bianca and Lucentio, the widow and Hortensio, and Katherina and
Petruchio. Because of the general opinion that Petruchio is married to a
shrew, a quarrel breaks out about whose wife is the most obedient.
Petruchio proposes a wager whereby each will send a servant to call for
their wives, and whichever comes most obediently will have won the
wager for her husband. Katherina is the only one of the three who
comes, winning the wager for Petruchio. At the end of the play, after the
other two wives have been hauled into the room by Katherina, she gives
a speech on the subject of why wives should always obey their
husbands, and tells them that their husbands ask only "love, fair looks
and true obedience" (5.2.153). The play ends with Baptista, Hortensio
and Lucentio marvelling at Petruchio's taming of the shrew.