Play description

ACT I

Induction 1. Christopher Sly, a beggar, is found asleep drunk outside an alehouse by a Lord returning from hunting with his men. The Lord amuses himself by taking Sly back to his house andhaving him dressed in sumptuous clothes. Induction 2. When Sly awakes, the Lord and his servants convince him that he is a nobleman returning to sanity after years of lunacy. A group of players arrives to entertain him, and what follows is the play they perform.

Scene 1. Lucentio, son of Vincentio, a rich Pisan merchant, has come to Padua eager to study. His servant Tranio cautions him that "No profit grows where is no pleasure ta'en." They overhear the wealthy Baptista announcing that he will not give his daughter Bianca in marriage until he has married off her older sister, Kate, whose bad temper and scolding tongue are famous. Rival suitors Gremio and Hortensio agree that they will try to find a husband for Kate, thus clearing their way to Bianca. Meanwhile, Lucentio has fallen in love with Bianca himself. Tranio suggests that Lucentio disguise himself as a schoolmaster in order to gain access to her. To avoid raising suspicions in the town, they exchange roles: Tranio becoming the master, Lucentio, his servant. Scene 2. When Petruchio and his servant Grumio arrive in Padua, Petruchio tells Hortensio that he wants a rich wife. Hearing of Kate, he resolves to win her, despite her reputation as a shrew. Hortensio also decides to enter Baptista's house disguised as a schoolmaster so as to gain access to Bianca. Gremio and Hortensio agree to share the cost of Petruchio's courtship. Tranio, posing as Lucentio, arrives and announces that he, too, intends to woo Bianca.