William Shakespeare’s ‘The Taming of the Shrew’ remains a significant text in a post-modern world, where the prosecutions of Harvey Weinstein and Jeffrey Epstein have shed fresh light on to gender inequality and sexual abuse. I have taught this text many times and have used this specific resource to lead my teaching in the classroom, as a distance learning/homework assignment and even as a tool of revision – all have worked well for the students. This dynamically illustrated PowerPoint lesson (23 slides) provides a step-by-step guide to essay writing, focusing on the question:
‘The play is essentially a comedy, and yet more serious questions about social issues often overshadow its comic features. How does humour function in The Taming of the Shrew? Note especially the two wooing scenes, by Petruchio (Act II, scene i) and Lucentio (Act III, scene i). Why does Shakespeare include so many of the play’s best comic devices in these scenes?’
This is a complete resource, with no further work required from the teacher. Enjoy!