"The Taming of the Shrew" by William Shakespeare: The son of a wealthy Pisan merchant, Lucentio has come to Padua, Italy, to continue his studies at the university, hoping to experience the richness of life along the way. His servant, Tranio, advises him not to focus too much on his studies; after all, there's more to life than books. No sooner are the words spoken than Lucentio catches a glimpse of Bianca. In one glorious instant, Lucentio's future becomes entwined with her beauty. Yes, love is grand. I can still remember the first time I saw my love. Her sensual shape. Her intoxicating scent. Her twist-off cap.
Lucentio isn't the only one smitten with Bianca. When he first sees her, she's in the company of her father, Baptista, her older sister, Katherine, and two lovesick suitors, Hortensio and Gremio, who are fiercely competing for her fair hand in marriage. While Bianca doesn't seem to care for either man, her father proclaims that he will gladly give her to the man who can provide best for her... on one condition. Katherine must get married before her younger sister. Until Katherine finds a husband, no one will marry Bianca. Aw, there's always a catch.
And finding Katherine a husband won't be easy. Sure, she's attractive enough, but she has no intentions of ever being in love or getting married, and her surly disposition and hard-headed ways have even earned her the nickname "Kate the Curst." Oh, and keep in mind that "curst" is just a variant of "cursed." The first time I read it, I was like, "Kate the Crust? Hmm, well, at least she likes to bake." No, this is like totally different.
As daunting as the task seems, where there's a will, there's a way. Lucentio plans to circumvent Baptista's edict by pretending to be a schoolmaster, allowing him to secretly woo Bianca while her father thinks she's getting a proper education. While Lucentio is doing the undercover work, Tranio pretends to be his master, keeping up appearances and attempting to court Bianca through the proper channels.
Hortensio and Gremio approach things from a different angle. Hortensio has a friend named Petruccio who is newly arrived in Padua and looking for a wife, or at least a woman with a healthy bank account. Upon learning of his friend's predicament, Petruccio happily volunteers to marry Katherine, thereby paving the way to Bianca. Hortensio tries to warn Petruccio of Katherine's abrasive personality, but Petruccio could care less. He's not marrying for love, unless you count his love for Katherine's affluent father.
Petruccio marches straight to Baptista's house and proclaims his love for Katherine. His brash, bold style quickly wins over the old man, who is desperate to unload his elder daughter, and the marriage is arranged. Katherine is considerably less enthusiastic. Her first meeting with Petruccio results in some memorable verbal sparring, with the blushing bride-to-be often getting the better of her hopeful husband, but Petruccio is confident he'll be the man to tame the shrew.
His plan is a simple one. First, he acts like a buffoon at the wedding, you know, just to convince Katherine that he might be all oatmeal north of the eyebrows. Then he hurriedly moves her into his own house, removing her from her traditional way of life, and proceeds to initiate a program of starvation and sleep depravation, citing all the while that he's doing it out of love, since the food and accommodations provided simply aren't worthy of such a wonderful woman. I hear the same sort of thing is going on at Guantanamo Bay.
Meanwhile, Lucentio's plans to marry Bianca take an unexpected turn for the worst when his father pays a surprise visit, throwing a monkeywrench into the whole pretending-to-be-other people scheme. Comedy ensues. Or at least whatever passed for comedy in Shakespearian times. In truth, it really wouldn't make much of a "Three's Company" episode. Although, Don Knotts would make an excellent Petruccio.
I was actually kind of disappointed in "The Taming of the Shrew." Whenever you see modern takes on the tale, such as the famous "Moonlighting" parody, in which an ax-toting Bruce Willis channeled Jack Nicholson in "The Shining" with the classic line, "Heeeeeeere's Petrucchio," usually the Petruccio and Katherine characters fall in love through the course of the domestic disturbances, with Katherine proving the match of her supposed master. But in the actual play, aside from their contentious initial encounter, there really is no conflict between Petruccio and Katherine. The so-called shrew simply accepts her treatment without the slightest complaint. It's all rather pathetic, really. I expected Katherine to cleverly turn the tables on Petruccio, with the two learning to love and respect each other in the process. Never happened.
Clearly, Shakespeare is presenting marriage as simply an economic partnership in which the man should have complete power. So I really didn't find the play all that enjoyable since, well, I respect women.
However, I am still going to bestow the honor of three shots, due solely to the unusual presence of a two-scene introduction that precedes the main play. The "Induction," the only of its kind in the entire Shakespeare canon, features a wealthy nobleman playing a prank on a poor, unsuspecting drunkard. Finding the man passed out in a tavern, the lord instructs his servants to install the drunk into his own lavish home, dressing him in the finest robes and waiting on his every need as if he were, indeed, of noble birth. When the man awakens from his slumber, he finds his surroundings shocking, but is soon convinced that he is a nobleman, and not a drunken commoner. "The Taming of the Shrew" is then performed for his entertainment. Oddly enough, I once got drunk and woke up in a rich man's bed. And had his wife not heard him coming home, I may have died there, too.
Shakespeare is apparently saying that a man is defined by his environment and how others see him. Have I mentioned that I live in a cardboard box and people hate me? Regardless, the Induction is extraordinary. It kind of ties in with the main play in that Katherine changes when she's removed from her usual surroundings and becomes the object of Petruccio's peculiar brand of love. Without doubt, the Induction saves the shrew.
RATING: 
If you'd like to learn more about Edward de Vere and the truth about Shakespeare, here are a few links to get you started...
Shakespeare Oxford Society Home Page
The Shakespeare Authorship Studies Conference: Who Was Edward de Vere?