Act 2 Scene 1
Petruccio: “I'll attend her here,
And woo her with some spirit when she comes.
Say that she rail; why, then I'll tell her plain
She sings as sweetly as a nightingale.
Say that she frown; I'll say she looks as clear
As morning roses newly washed with dew.
Say she be mute, and will not speak a word;
Then I'll commend her volubility,
And say she uttereth piercing eloquence.
If she do bid me pack, I'll give her thanks,
As though she bid me stay by her a week;
If she deny to wed, I'll crave the day
When I shall ask the banns, and when be married.”
And woo her with some spirit when she comes.
Say that she rail; why, then I'll tell her plain
She sings as sweetly as a nightingale.
Say that she frown; I'll say she looks as clear
As morning roses newly washed with dew.
Say she be mute, and will not speak a word;
Then I'll commend her volubility,
And say she uttereth piercing eloquence.
If she do bid me pack, I'll give her thanks,
As though she bid me stay by her a week;
If she deny to wed, I'll crave the day
When I shall ask the banns, and when be married.”
In this quote, Petruccio is speaking to Katherine’s father
about his want in wooing his daughter. The difference between this excerpt and
my last is worthwhile due to the differences in language. “She sings as sweetly
as a nightingale” is much different than comparing her to an animal. When
Petruccio is speaking with Baptista, he is trying to come off as if he is a
kind man, and not just someone “taking one for the team” and marrying Katherine
due to everyone’s want for Bianca. He is describing Katherine in more passive
terminology here; “morning roses”, “piercing eloquence”, “sweetly as a
nightingale”. This is to simply convince someone of his story, when the reader
knows from how he has spoken of her before that he in no way believes Katherine
to have “piercing eloquence”. Since Petruccio is now not only insulting, but a
liar/manipulator alike; if Katherine is a shrew, what does this make him?
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