Illusion Vs Reality Essay Research Paper Illusion

Illusion Vs. Reality Essay, Research Paper

Illusion vs. Reality

Generally, people have the tendency to judge individuals by their appearance, exactly the way they judge a book by it s cover. However, appearance doesn t always help reveal a person s true colors. In the play, The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare, Shakespeare portrays this perception of illusions vs. reality through three major plots, which are the Induction with Christopher Sly, the Petruchio/Katharina debacle, as well the Katharina/Bianca situation dealing with shrewishness.

One can see that Shakespeare uses illusions from the beginning of play in the Induction with Christopher Sly. Christopher Sly is introduced to the audience as a beggar at the beginning of the Induction, fighting with a hostess at an alehouse. Soon afterwards, he passes out in front of the alehouse, when a lord finds him sleeping. The lord tells his servants to take Sly in and trick him into believing that he is a lord himself. The lord s servants place Sly into the lord s bed and dress him with exceptional clothes and jewelry. When Sly awakens, he thinks he is dreaming because the servants offer Sly wine and food. Sly protests that he remembers himself as being a poor beggar. The lord tells Sly that this explanation is the result of a madness that he has been in for 15 years, but Sly is still skeptical. However, when his wife comes in, who is a page to the lord dressed up as a lady, Sly is convinced that he is a lord by exclaiming Am I a lord? And have I such a lady? Or do I dream? Or have I dreamed till now? I do not sleep: I see, I hear, I speak, Upon my life, I am a lord indeed, and not a tinker nor Christopher Sly . Well, bring our lady hither to our sight, and once again a pot o the smallest ale. (Page 10) When he hears that he has a wife , he thinks that nothing else can be more astonishing than that. The hint that he is extremely blissful is shown when he pronounces, Tis much. Servants, leave me and her alone. Madam, undress you and come now to bed (Page 12) in the Induction in lines 113-114. It is obvious that Sly will believe anything to get what he wants, which is sex with his own wife . Sly would rather be a lord and have shelter and food then be a poor tinker. When reading the Induction, the reader probably thought that Sly was just a beggar through his appearance, but at the end of the Induction, one can obviously see that Sly was misleading when he assumed that he was a lord just to suit his needs.

Another important plot that Shakespeare uses illusions to demonstrate what an actor did to accomplish their goals in this play was through Petruchio and Kate. When Petruchio first comes to Padua, he is portrayed as a man who brings joy to all those around him. In Act I, Scene II, it is clear that Petruchio comes out to be a nice-hearted person, who is joking around with Hortensio, his good friend when he says Signor Hortensio, come you to part the fray? Con tutto il cuore, ben trovato, may I say in lines 23-24. Petruchio tells Hortensio that he has come to Padua to woo a woman with a heavy dowry. Hortensio tells him that he has someone in mind, which is Katharina, but he warns Petruchio about her shrewish attitude. Petruchio doesn t mind and agrees to woo Katharina. Before Petruchio meets Katharina, he meets Baptista, Katharina s father. Baptista warns him that Katharina is very stubborn and shrewish, but Petruchio claims that he can handle her. When Petruchio is alone in Act II, Scene I, he says And woo her with some spirit when she comes. Say that she rail, why then I ll tell her plain she sings sweetly as a nightingale in lines 169-171. It is apparent that Petruchio seems like a charming, sweet guy at first. Even when Petruchio first meets Katharina, he seems like the perfect match for her. He matches her wit for wit and cleverly reacts to every move she makes. For instance, when Katharina says, If I be waspish, best beware my sting in lines 210, Petruchio says, My remedy is then to pluck it out. One can tell that Petruchio is evidently charismatic. However, as time passes, the reader can see that Petruchio has another side to his personality. Determined to tame Katharina and make her an obedient woman, Petruchio reveals his cruel and tormenting ways. For example, when they are on their way to Padua from the country house, Katharina says, I know it is the sun that shines so bright, in line 3 during Act IV, Scene V, opposing what Petruchio says, which is that the moon shines so bright. Petruchio threatens Kate by making her admit that the moon is the sun, which is really not, or she won t be allowed to attend Bianca s wedding to Lucentio. Instead of being good-humored, he manipulates Kate into speaking bold-faced lies, using scheming devices to make her tamed. Rather than being the loving husband, Petruchio acts like a heartless man.

Furthermore, Shakespeare has created an illusion between Katharina and Bianca as well. The reader presumably envisions Katharina to be the shrew in the beginning because of her behavior towards others, and Bianca as the sweet angel of her father, Baptista, but in reality, this is the complete reverse. In the beginning of the play, one can tell that Katharina seems like a sadistic animal, who is continuously angry at the whole world, but she has the personality she has because no one has ever taken the time to listen to what she actually feels. For example, wit