Table of content - The Taming of the Shrew: A Level

Join the debate, Happily ever after?, Varieties of comedy, Men and women, A new playwright for a new theatre, The text, Study focus: Key issues to explore

Induction: Watching the play, Act I: Two sisters and their suitors, Act II: The marriage market, Act III: Lovers in disguise, and a chaotic wedding, Act IV: Life with Petruccio, Act V: Wives and ‘shrews’

Induction 1

Summary, Analysis, Extract analysis: Induction 1, lines 1–43

Induction 2

Summary, Analysis

Act I Scene 1

Summary, Analysis

Act I Scene 2

Summary, Analysis

Act II Scene 1

Summary, Analysis

Act III Scene 1

Summary, Analysis

Act III Scene 2

Summary, Analysis, Extract Analysis: III.2.190–234, Key quotation: Petruccio on marriage

Act IV Scene 1

Summary, Analysis

Act IV Scene 2

Summary, Analysis

Act IV Scene 3

Summary, Analysis

Act IV Scene 4

Summary, Analysis

Act IV Scene 5

Summary, Analysis

Act V Scene 1

Summary, Analysis

Act V Scene 2

Summary, Analysis, Extract analysis: V.2.142–185

Progress check

Section One: Check your understanding, Section Two: Working towards the exam, Section Three: Check your progress

Characters & Themes

Characters

The Characters, Petruccio, Katherina, Bianca, Baptista, Christopher Sly, The Suitors, The Servants

Themes

Romance and marriage, Money and society, Deception, Madness, Education

Progress check

Section One: Check your understanding, Section Two: Working towards the exam, Section Three: Check your progress

Genre, Structure & Language

Genre

Comedy, Heading for happiness?, Classical comedy – a moral lesson, Shakespeare’s comic models:commedia, farce and festive comedies

Structure

A complex mixture, Study focus: The shape of the story, Petruccio dominates the structure, Revision task: Two weddings, Progress booster: Commenting on structure, The Induction framework

Language

Blank verse, Sharing verse, Verse, prose and social codes, Study focus: Competitions and quarrels, Petruccio as master of language, Key quotation: Petruccio and comic exaggeration, Further key quotations, Katherina’s language, Revision task: Playing yourself, Imagery,

Progress check

Section One: Check your understanding, Section Two: Working towards the exam, Section Three: Check your progress

Contexts & Interpretations

Contexts

Historical context, Settings, Literary context

Critical interpretations

Critical history, Contemporary approaches

Progress check

Section One: Check your understanding, Section Two: Working towards the exam, Section Three: Check your progress

Progress Booster

Assessment Focus

How will you be assessed?, What do the AOs actually mean?, What does this mean for your revision?

How to write high-quality responses

Five key areas, 1. The structure of your answer/essay, Aiming high: Effective opening paragraphs, 2. Use of titles, names, etc., 3. Effective quotations, Aiming high: Effective use of quotations, 4. Techniques and terminology, 5. General writing skills

Questions about a specific extract

Approaching the question, Writing your response, Aiming high: Summarising events

General questions about the whole text

Approaching the question, Structuring your response, Writing about context, Aiming high: Making context relevant

Questions with statements, quotations or viewpoints

Approaching the question, Key skills required, Responding to a ‘viewpoint’ question

Using critical interpretations and perspectives

What is a critical interpretation?, 1. Notions of ‘character’, 2. Ideas and issues, 3. Links and contexts, 4. Genre and dramatic structure, 5. Audience and critical reaction, Writing about critical perspectives

Practice task

Introduction, Decode the question, Plan and write

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