Act 4 scene 1 Flashcards
(38 cards)
curtis
‘‘away you 3 inch fool! I am no beast.’
GRUMIO: “Am I but ______ inches? Why, thy horn is a foot…”
GRUMIO: “Am I but three inches? Why, thy horn is a foot…”
Context: Grumio exaggerates his own physical stature and mocks Curtis’s cuckoldry (“horn” implies he’s been cheated on).
Meaning: A servant undermines another servant by mocking him — also implies sexual rivalry.
Comic Significance: Verbal cheekiness and bawdy humour show how servants openly mock each other — and even their betters — flipping the social order temporarily.
GRUMIO: “Here, sir; as ______ as I was before.”
“Here, sir; as foolish as I was before.”
Context: Petruchio yells for the servant who was meant to prepare for his arrival.
Meaning: Grumio snarkily admits to being foolish — and still foolish, undermining Petruchio’s authority.
CURTIS: “By this ______ he is more ______ than she.”
CURTIS: “By this reckoning he is more shrew than she.”
Context: After hearing how Petruchio raged during the journey.
Meaning: Curtis observes that Petruchio, not Katherina, is the one displaying outrageous behaviour.
Comic Significance: Inverts expectations — the “shrew” is now the husband. Audiences enjoy this ironic twist in gender dynamics.
curtis: “This ’tis to feel a ______, not to hear a ______.”
“This ’tis to feel a tale, not to hear a tale.”
Grumio hits Curtis while saying “lend thine ear.”
Meaning: He puns on “feeling” and “hearing” a tale — comedy through twisting language.
Comic Significance: Classic Shakespearean punning — wordplay becomes a physical joke (slapstick meets wit).
Petruchio lashes out while a servant removes his boots.: “Out, you ______! you ______ my foot awry: Take that…”
PETRUCHIO: “Out, you rogue! you pluck my foot awry: Take that…” [Strikes servant]
Context: Petruchio lashes out while a servant removes his boots.
Meaning: He’s using unnecessary violence.
Comic Significance: Absurd overreaction for small mistakes becomes comedic exaggeration — audiences laugh at the ridiculous aggression.
PETRUCHIO: “[______ the meat, etc., at them.]”
PETRUCHIO: “[Throws the meat, etc., at them.]”
Context: He claims the food is burnt and throws it at servants.
Meaning: Again, over-the-top reaction to something trivial.
Comic Significance: Pure slapstick and excess — mocking how easily he becomes enraged.
GRUMIO: “How she ______ through the ______… how he beat me… how the ______ ran away…”
GRUMIO: “How she waded through the dirt… how he beat me… how the horses ran away…”
Context: Grumio tells Curtis a ridiculously dramatic story.
Meaning: He stretches the truth for comic effect.
Comic Significance: Parody of epic tales; the servant becomes a mock-hero — satire of storytelling tropes.
peter: “He ______ her in her own ______.”
NATHANIEL: “Peter, didst ever see the like?” / PETER: “He kills her in her own humour.” Context: The servants reflect on Petruchio’s “training” of Katherina.
Comic Significance: The audience knows this is a performance — the humour comes from seeing through the manipulation.
GRUMIO: “My master and mistress ______ out… out of their ______into the dirt…”
GRUMIO: “My master and mistress fallen out… out of their saddles into the dirt…” Context: Describes them literally being thrown into the mud.
Meaning: Symbol of their chaotic relationship.
Comic Significance: Upper-class people reduced to slapstick — visual inversion of order.
PETRUCHIO: “She ______ no ______ today, nor none shall eat… she shall watch all night…”
PETRUCHIO: “She eat no meat today, nor none shall eat… she shall watch all night…” Context: He outlines his method to “tame” Kate.
Meaning: Controlling her every need.
Comic Significance: Parody of training animals; gender roles reversed — man becomes master over wild “falcon.”
PETRUCHIO: “______, I will bring thee to thy ______ chamber.”
PETRUCHIO: “Come, I will bring thee to thy bridal chamber.” Context: End of the chaotic meal.
Meaning: Despite madness, they go to consummate the marriage.
Comic Significance: Ends with a union — classic comedic closure. Chaos is ritual before resolution
PETRUCHIO: “This is a way to ____ a wife with ______…”
PETRUCHIO: “This is a way to kill a wife with kindness…”
Context: His strategy is to overload her with “care.”
Meaning: Ironic — withholding comfort as a weapon.
Comic Significance: Paradoxical phrasing is both darkly funny and playfully absurd.
PETRUCHIO: “Will you give ______, sweet Kate, or else shall I?”
PETRUCHIO: “Will you give thanks, sweet Kate, or else shall I?” Context: Asserting dominance even over who says grace.
Comic Significance: Shows obsessive control in trivial moments — humour in his extremity.
PETRUCHIO: “Another way I have to man my ______…”
PETRUCHIO: “Another way I have to man my haggard…”
Context: Compares Kate to a wild falcon.
Meaning: Uses falconry imagery to explain how he’ll “tame” her.
Comic Significance: Ridiculous metaphor for marriage — high comedy through elaborate analogy.
PETRUCHIO: “You ______ malt-horse drudge!”
“You whoreson malt-horse drudge!”
Stereotype: Raging master berating servants.
Comic Significance: Familiar Shakespearean trope — abusive but ridiculous patriarch.
“Was ever man so ____? Was ever man so ______?” (Grumio): comedic exaggeration.
“Was ever man so ray’d? Was ever man so weary?” (Grumio): comedic exaggeration.
’’ is she as fiery a shrew as they say?’
“She was… before this ______; but thou knowest winter ______ man, woman and ______” (Grumio): irony and foreshadowing.
“She was… before this frost; but thou knowest winter tames man, woman and beast” (Grumio): irony and foreshadowing.
p throws food Throws food: “There, take it to you, ______, cups, and all”.
Throws food: “There, take it to you, trenchers, cups, and all”.
“Thus have I ______ begun my ______…” (Petruchio): he’s playing a role.
“Thus have I politicly begun my reign…” (Petruchio): he’s playing a role.
“She shall ______ all night… if she nod I’ll ______ and ______.”
“She shall watch all night… if she nod I’ll rail and brawl.”
“______, I pray you”: first submissive moment.
“The meat was well, if you were so _______”: rational voice.
“Patience, I pray you”: first submissive moment.
“The meat was well, if you were so contented”: rational voice.
“My ______ now is sharp and passing empty…”: dehumanises her; uses falconry metaphor
“My falcon now is sharp and passing empty…”: dehumanises her; uses falconry metaphor
GRUMIO.
______ thine ear.
CURTIS.
Here.
GRUMIO.
[______ him.] There.
CURTIS.
This ’tis to feel a tale, not to hear a ______.
Lend
Strikes
Tale
grumio on kate saving him: ‘‘how she ______ through the dirt to ______ him off me’’
grumio on kate saving him: ‘‘how she waded through the dirt to pluck him off me’’
