The Taming of the Shrew: Parralell Contrast

Throughout Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew, parallel themes shoot out at the reader. The themes develop in two separate plotlines, in which Shakespeare expresses his conflicting views on the subjects. Even though Lucentio and Bianca’s relationship is quite different from Kate and Petruchio’s, they share similar issues. The three themes common to these two affairs are love, marriage, and change. Love is a theme interpreted quite differently by each couple. To …

…show the reader his different views on each issue. Love is used differently in both cases, in one relationship to represent respect, and in another for physical attraction. Marriage always happens in strange circumstances, and doesn’t have the same result. Finally, change causes a role reversal in the two sisters, and gives Petruchio the prize, and Lucentio the shrew. Contrast of the parallel plotlines shows the many possibilities of similar situations with different endings.