I've recently read
The Taming of the Shrew, a brilliant comedy by William Shakespeare believed to be written around 1590. The main plot depicts the relationship between Petruchio, a gentleman of Verona, and Katharina, the headstrong, obstinate girl, notorious for her bad temper.
As soon as they are married, Petruchio begins the "taming" of his new wife. 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, etc. He also sets about
disagreeing with everything she says (the so called "reverse psychology" often used on children), and forcing her to agree with
everything he says, no matter how absurd:
Forward, I pray, since we have come so far,
And be it moon, or sun, or what you please:
An if you please to call it a rush-candle,
Henceforth I vow it shall be so for me.
At the end of the play, Katharina, a compliant and obedient wife, gives a speech on the subject of why wives
should always obey their husbands.
Thy husband is thy lord, thy life, thy keeper,
Thy head, thy sovereign; one that cares for thee,
And for thy maintenance commits his body
To painful labour both by sea and land,
To watch the night in storms, the day in cold,
Whilst thou liest warm at home, secure and safe;
And craves no other tribute at thy hands
But love, fair looks and true obedience;
Too little payment for so great a debt.
I enjoyed reading the play immensely. Reading in Russian, unfortunately. Though I studied English at a high level, wrote theses, analyzed words and structures and prefer to read the works of British and American literature in the original, I find it impossible to understand and enjoy Shakespeare.
Joseph Smigelski gives a few tips to understand and enjoy the great poet.
In his opinion the problem is not with William Shakespeare but with us. The first thing to do when confronting Shakespeare is break
down the wall of resistance that has been constructed between us and
him by cultural misunderstanding.
Shakespeare wrote in Modern English, the same language that we speak today. Of course, his language is poetic and most of our everyday
discourse has become so pedestrian that our ears have become unable to
tune in to language that aspires to greater heights.
The English language, like everything else on the planet, has evolved, so Mr Smigelski advises to use editions with explanatory notes designed to help make Shakespeare's language clearer to a modern reader (e.g Folger Shakespeare Library and NO "Shakespeare Made Easy" or "No Fear Shakespeare" series which he calls "The Reader Made Stupid" series).
Another problem with Shakespeare's works is the word order. He often put the verb before the subject of a sentence for poetic rhythm.
All this said, reading Shakespeare is a lot of hard work but the enjoyment will follow as soon as we start to get it and as the author truly remarks:
Nothing worth having comes easily.
