Act 4, Scene 1 — The Taming of the Shrew

The argument Petruchio arrives at his country house with Katherine and begins his 'taming' in earnest: abusing servants, rejecting food and clothing, and then explaining his method to the audience in a soliloquy comparing himself to a falcon trainer.

Enter Grumio.

GRUMIO Katherina is exhausted and disoriented, beginning to doubt her own perceptions.

Fie, fie on all tired jades, on all mad masters, and all foul ways! Was

ever man so beaten? Was ever man so ray’d? Was ever man so weary? I am

sent before to make a fire, and they are coming after to warm them.

Now, were not I a little pot and soon hot, my very lips might freeze to

my teeth, my tongue to the roof of my mouth, my heart in my belly, ere

I should come by a fire to thaw me. But I with blowing the fire shall

warm myself; for, considering the weather, a taller man than I will

take cold. Holla, ho! Curtis!

I just want to sleep. Why won't you let me sleep?

I'm so tired. Can I just sleep?

i need sleep

"not I a little pot and soon hot" A proverb: small things heat up fast. Grumio is short — he claims that's what saves him from freezing. The self-deprecating joke establishes him as a comic character who knows his own role.

Enter Curtis.

CURTIS Katherina is frustrated and desperate, realizing she's trapped in a system where nothing she says matters.

Who is that calls so coldly?

The food is cold and disgusting. This isn't what you promised.

The food is terrible. This isn't what you said.

the food is gross

GRUMIO Petruchio is playing at innocence, turning her complaint into proof she's being ungrateful.

A piece of ice: if thou doubt it, thou mayst slide from my shoulder to

my heel with no greater a run but my head and my neck. A fire, good

Curtis.

You're complaining? I prepared it with love. You're very ungracious.

I made this for you and you're complaining? That's ungrateful.

i did this for you and you're ungrateful

CURTIS CURTIS's moment

Is my master and his wife coming, Grumio?

GRUMIO GRUMIO's moment

O, ay! Curtis, ay; and therefore fire, fire; cast on no water.

CURTIS CURTIS's moment

Is she so hot a shrew as she’s reported?

GRUMIO GRUMIO's moment

She was, good Curtis, before this frost; but thou knowest winter tames

man, woman, and beast; for it hath tamed my old master, and my new

mistress, and myself, fellow Curtis.

She was, good Curtis, before this frost; but thou knowest winter tames man, woman, and beast; for it hath tamed my old master, and my new mistress, an...

She was, good Curtis, before this frost; but thou knowest winter tames man, woman, and beast; for it...

She was, good Curtis, before this frost; but thou knowest winter tames man, woman, and...

CURTIS CURTIS's moment

Away, you three-inch fool! I am no beast.

GRUMIO GRUMIO's moment

Am I but three inches? Why, thy horn is a foot; and so long am I at the

least. But wilt thou make a fire, or shall I complain on thee to our

mistress, whose hand,—she being now at hand,— thou shalt soon feel, to

thy cold comfort, for being slow in thy hot office?

Am I but three inches? Why, thy horn is a foot; and so long am I at the least. But wilt thou make a fire, or shall I complain on thee to our mistress,...

Am I but three inches? Why, thy horn is a foot; and so long am I at the least. But wilt thou make a ...

Am I but three inches? Why, thy horn is a foot; and so long am...

"thy horn is a foot" A cuckold's horn — the traditional sign of a man whose wife has been unfaithful, imagined as sprouting from his head. Grumio implies Curtis might be wearing one — a stock jest at servants.

CURTIS CURTIS's moment

I prithee, good Grumio, tell me, how goes the world?

GRUMIO GRUMIO's moment

A cold world, Curtis, in every office but thine; and therefore fire. Do

thy duty, and have thy duty, for my master and mistress are almost

frozen to death.

A cold world, Curtis, in every office but thine; and therefore fire. Do thy duty, and have thy duty, for my master and mistress are almost frozen to d...

A cold world, Curtis, in every office but thine; and therefore fire. Do thy duty, and have thy duty,...

A cold world, Curtis, in every office but thine; and therefore fire. Do thy duty,...

CURTIS CURTIS's moment

There’s fire ready; and therefore, good Grumio, the news.

GRUMIO GRUMIO's moment

Why, ‘Jack boy! ho, boy!’ and as much news as wilt thou.

CURTIS CURTIS's moment

Come, you are so full of cony-catching.

GRUMIO GRUMIO's moment

Why, therefore, fire; for I have caught extreme cold. Where’s the cook?

Is supper ready, the house trimmed, rushes strewed, cobwebs swept, the

servingmen in their new fustian, their white stockings, and every

officer his wedding-garment on? Be the Jacks fair within, the Jills

fair without, and carpets laid, and everything in order?

Why, therefore, fire; for I have caught extreme cold. Where’s the cook? Is supper ready, the house trimmed, rushes strewed, cobwebs swept, the serving...

Why, therefore, fire; for I have caught extreme cold. Where’s the cook? Is supper ready, the house t...

Why, therefore, fire; for I have caught extreme cold. Where’s the cook? Is supper ready,...

"rushes strewed" Rushes were spread on floors as insulation and decoration in Elizabethan houses — strewing them fresh was a sign of a properly prepared household.

CURTIS CURTIS's moment

All ready; and therefore, I pray thee, news.

GRUMIO GRUMIO's moment

First, know my horse is tired; my master and mistress fallen out.

CURTIS CURTIS's moment

How?

GRUMIO GRUMIO's moment

Out of their saddles into the dirt; and thereby hangs a tale.

CURTIS CURTIS's moment

Let’s ha’t, good Grumio.

GRUMIO GRUMIO's moment

Lend thine ear.

CURTIS CURTIS's moment

Here.

[_Striking him._] There.

CURTIS CURTIS's moment

This ’tis to feel a tale, not to hear a tale.

GRUMIO GRUMIO's moment

And therefore ’tis called a sensible tale; and this cuff was but to

knock at your ear and beseech listening. Now I begin: _Imprimis_, we

came down a foul hill, my master riding behind my mistress,—

And therefore ’tis called a sensible tale; and this cuff was but to knock at your ear and beseech listening. Now I begin: _Imprimis_, we came down a f...

And therefore ’tis called a sensible tale; and this cuff was but to knock at your ear and beseech li...

And therefore ’tis called a sensible tale; and this cuff was but to knock at...

CURTIS CURTIS's moment

Both of one horse?

GRUMIO GRUMIO's moment

What’s that to thee?

CURTIS CURTIS's moment

Why, a horse.

GRUMIO GRUMIO's moment

Tell thou the tale: but hadst thou not crossed me, thou shouldst have

heard how her horse fell, and she under her horse; thou shouldst have

heard in how miry a place, how she was bemoiled; how he left her with

the horse upon her; how he beat me because her horse stumbled; how she

waded through the dirt to pluck him off me: how he swore; how she

prayed, that never prayed before; how I cried; how the horses ran away;

how her bridle was burst; how I lost my crupper; with many things of

worthy memory, which now shall die in oblivion, and thou return

unexperienced to thy grave.

Tell thou the tale: but hadst thou not crossed me, thou shouldst have heard how her horse fell, and she under her horse; thou shouldst have heard in h...

Tell thou the tale: but hadst thou not crossed me, thou shouldst have heard how her horse fell, and ...

Tell thou the tale: but hadst thou not crossed me, thou shouldst have heard how...

CURTIS CURTIS's moment

By this reckoning he is more shrew than she.

GRUMIO GRUMIO's moment

Ay; and that thou and the proudest of you all shall find when he comes

home. But what talk I of this? Call forth Nathaniel, Joseph, Nicholas,

Philip, Walter, Sugarsop, and the rest; let their heads be sleekly

combed, their blue coats brush’d and their garters of an indifferent

knit; let them curtsy with their left legs, and not presume to touch a

hair of my master’s horse-tail till they kiss their hands. Are they all

ready?

Ay; and that thou and the proudest of you all shall find when he comes home. But what talk I of this? Call forth Nathaniel, Joseph, Nicholas, Philip, ...

Ay; and that thou and the proudest of you all shall find when he comes home. But what talk I of this...

Ay; and that thou and the proudest of you all shall find when he comes...

CURTIS CURTIS's moment

They are.

GRUMIO GRUMIO's moment

Call them forth.

CURTIS CURTIS's moment

Do you hear? ho! You must meet my master to countenance my mistress.

GRUMIO GRUMIO's moment

Why, she hath a face of her own.

CURTIS CURTIS's moment

Who knows not that?

GRUMIO GRUMIO's moment

Thou, it seems, that calls for company to countenance her.

CURTIS CURTIS's moment

I call them forth to credit her.

GRUMIO GRUMIO's moment

Why, she comes to borrow nothing of them.

Enter four or five Servants.

NATHANIEL NATHANIEL's moment

Welcome home, Grumio!

PHILIP PHILIP's moment

How now, Grumio!

JOSEPH JOSEPH's moment

What, Grumio!

NICHOLAS NICHOLAS's moment

Fellow Grumio!

NATHANIEL NATHANIEL's moment

How now, old lad!

GRUMIO GRUMIO's moment

Welcome, you; how now, you; what, you; fellow, you; and thus much for

greeting. Now, my spruce companions, is all ready, and all things neat?

Welcome, you; how now, you; what, you; fellow, you; and thus much for greeting. Now, my spruce companions, is all ready, and all things neat?

Welcome, you; how now, you; what, you; fellow, you; and thus much for greeting. Now, my spruce compa...

Welcome, you; how now, you; what, you; fellow, you; and thus much for greeting. Now,...

NATHANIEL NATHANIEL's moment

All things is ready. How near is our master?

GRUMIO ≋ verse GRUMIO's moment

E’en at hand, alighted by this; and therefore be not,—

Cock’s passion, silence! I hear my master.

E’en at hand, alighted by this; and therefore be not,— Cock’s passion, silence! I hear my master.

Enter Petruchio and Katherina.

PETRUCHIO ≋ verse PETRUCHIO's moment

Where be these knaves? What! no man at door

To hold my stirrup nor to take my horse?

Where is Nathaniel, Gregory, Philip?—

Where be these knaves? What! no man at door To hold my stirrup nor to take my horse? Where is Nathaniel, Gregory, Philip?—

Where be these knaves? What! no man at door To hold my stirrup nor to take my horse? Where is Nathan...

Where be these knaves? What! no man at door To hold my stirrup nor to...

ALL SERVANTS ALL SERVANTS's moment

Here, here, sir; here, sir.

PETRUCHIO ≋ verse PETRUCHIO's moment

Here, sir! here, sir! here, sir! here, sir!

You logger-headed and unpolish’d grooms!

What, no attendance? no regard? no duty?

Where is the foolish knave I sent before?

Here, sir! here, sir! here, sir! here, sir! You logger-headed and unpolish’d grooms! What, no attendance? no regard? no duty? Where is the foolish kna...

Here, sir! here, sir! here, sir! here, sir! You logger-headed and unpolish’d grooms! What, no attend...

Here, sir! here, sir! here, sir! here, sir! You logger-headed and unpolish’d grooms! What, no...

GRUMIO GRUMIO's moment

Here, sir; as foolish as I was before.

PETRUCHIO ≋ verse PETRUCHIO's moment

You peasant swain! you whoreson malt-horse drudge!

Did I not bid thee meet me in the park,

And bring along these rascal knaves with thee?

You peasant swain! you whoreson malt-horse drudge! Did I not bid thee meet me in the park, And bring along these rascal knaves with thee?

You peasant swain! you whoreson malt-horse drudge! Did I not bid thee meet me in the park, And bring...

You peasant swain! you whoreson malt-horse drudge! Did I not bid thee meet me in...

GRUMIO ≋ verse GRUMIO's moment

Nathaniel’s coat, sir, was not fully made,

And Gabriel’s pumps were all unpink’d i’ the heel;

There was no link to colour Peter’s hat,

And Walter’s dagger was not come from sheathing;

There was none fine but Adam, Ralph, and Gregory;

The rest were ragged, old, and beggarly;

Yet, as they are, here are they come to meet you.

Nathaniel’s coat, sir, was not fully made, And Gabriel’s pumps were all unpink’d i’ the heel; There was no link to colour Peter’s hat, And Walter’s da...

Nathaniel’s coat, sir, was not fully made, And Gabriel’s pumps were all unpink’d i’ the heel; There ...

Nathaniel’s coat, sir, was not fully made, And Gabriel’s pumps were all unpink’d i’ the...

PETRUCHIO PETRUCHIO's moment

Go, rascals, go and fetch my supper in.

[_Exeunt some of the Servants._]

Where is the life that late I led?

Where are those—? Sit down, Kate, and welcome.

Food, food, food, food!

Re-enter Servants with supper.

Why, when, I say?—Nay, good sweet Kate, be merry.—

Off with my boots, you rogues! you villains! when?

It was the friar of orders grey,

As he forth walked on his way:

Out, you rogue! you pluck my foot awry:

[_Strikes him._]

Take that, and mend the plucking off the other.

Be merry, Kate. Some water, here; what, ho!

Where’s my spaniel Troilus? Sirrah, get you hence

And bid my cousin Ferdinand come hither:

[_Exit Servant._]

One, Kate, that you must kiss and be acquainted with.

Where are my slippers? Shall I have some water?

Come, Kate, and wash, and welcome heartily.—

[_Servant lets the ewer fall. Petruchio strikes him._]

You whoreson villain! will you let it fall?

KATHERINA KATHERINA's moment

Patience, I pray you; ’twas a fault unwilling.

PETRUCHIO ≋ verse PETRUCHIO's moment

A whoreson, beetle-headed, flap-ear’d knave!

Come, Kate, sit down; I know you have a stomach.

Will you give thanks, sweet Kate, or else shall I?—

What’s this? Mutton?

A whoreson, beetle-headed, flap-ear’d knave! Come, Kate, sit down; I know you have a stomach. Will you give thanks, sweet Kate, or else shall I?— What...

A whoreson, beetle-headed, flap-ear’d knave! Come, Kate, sit down; I know you have a stomach. Will y...

A whoreson, beetle-headed, flap-ear’d knave! Come, Kate, sit down; I know you have a stomach....

FIRST SERVANT FIRST SERVANT's moment

Ay.

PETRUCHIO PETRUCHIO's moment

Who brought it?

PETER [obedient — answering his name when called]

Here.

here

PETRUCHIO ≋ verse PETRUCHIO's moment

’Tis burnt; and so is all the meat.

What dogs are these! Where is the rascal cook?

How durst you, villains, bring it from the dresser,

And serve it thus to me that love it not?

’Tis burnt; and so is all the meat. What dogs are these! Where is the rascal cook? How durst you, villains, bring it from the dresser, And serve it th...

’Tis burnt; and so is all the meat. What dogs are these! Where is the rascal cook? How durst you, vi...

’Tis burnt; and so is all the meat. What dogs are these! Where is the...

[_Throws the meat, etc., at them._]

There, take it to you, trenchers, cups, and all.

You heedless joltheads and unmanner’d slaves!

What! do you grumble? I’ll be with you straight.

KATHERINA ≋ verse KATHERINA's moment

I pray you, husband, be not so disquiet;

The meat was well, if you were so contented.

I pray you, husband, be not so disquiet; The meat was well, if you were so contented.

PETRUCHIO ≋ verse PETRUCHIO's moment

I tell thee, Kate, ’twas burnt and dried away,

And I expressly am forbid to touch it;

For it engenders choler, planteth anger;

And better ’twere that both of us did fast,

Since, of ourselves, ourselves are choleric,

Than feed it with such over-roasted flesh.

Be patient; tomorrow ’t shall be mended.

And for this night we’ll fast for company:

Come, I will bring thee to thy bridal chamber.

I tell thee, Kate, ’twas burnt and dried away, And I expressly am forbid to touch it; For it engenders choler, planteth anger; And better ’twere that ...

I tell thee, Kate, ’twas burnt and dried away, And I expressly am forbid to touch it; For it engende...

I tell thee, Kate, ’twas burnt and dried away, And I expressly am forbid to...

"it engenders choler, planteth anger" In Elizabethan humoral medicine, burned or overcooked food was thought to produce 'choler' — hot, dry bile that caused anger and violence. Petruchio frames his food rejection as medical prudence.

[_Exeunt Petruchio, Katherina and Curtis._]

NATHANIEL NATHANIEL's moment

Peter, didst ever see the like?

PETER PETER's moment

He kills her in her own humour.

Why it matters The servants' brief exchange is the scene's sharpest commentary: Petruchio is doing to Katherine exactly what she did to everyone around her — making life impossible with bad temper.

Re-enter Curtis.

GRUMIO GRUMIO's moment

Where is he?

CURTIS ≋ verse CURTIS's moment

In her chamber, making a sermon of continency to her;

And rails, and swears, and rates, that she, poor soul,

Knows not which way to stand, to look, to speak,

And sits as one new risen from a dream.

Away, away! for he is coming hither.

In her chamber, making a sermon of continency to her; And rails, and swears, and rates, that she, poor soul, Knows not which way to stand, to look, to...

In her chamber, making a sermon of continency to her; And rails, and swears, and rates, that she, po...

In her chamber, making a sermon of continency to her; And rails, and swears, and...

[_Exeunt._]

Re-enter Petruchio.

PETRUCHIO ≋ verse PETRUCHIO's moment

Thus have I politicly begun my reign,

And ’tis my hope to end successfully.

My falcon now is sharp and passing empty.

And till she stoop she must not be full-gorg’d,

For then she never looks upon her lure.

Another way I have to man my haggard,

To make her come, and know her keeper’s call,

That is, to watch her, as we watch these kites

That bate and beat, and will not be obedient.

She eat no meat today, nor none shall eat;

Last night she slept not, nor tonight she shall not;

As with the meat, some undeserved fault

I’ll find about the making of the bed;

And here I’ll fling the pillow, there the bolster,

This way the coverlet, another way the sheets;

Ay, and amid this hurly I intend

That all is done in reverend care of her;

And, in conclusion, she shall watch all night:

And if she chance to nod I’ll rail and brawl,

And with the clamour keep her still awake.

This is a way to kill a wife with kindness;

And thus I’ll curb her mad and headstrong humour.

He that knows better how to tame a shrew,

Now let him speak; ’tis charity to show.

Thus have I politicly begun my reign, And ’tis my hope to end successfully. My falcon now is sharp and passing empty. And till she stoop she must not ...

Thus have I politicly begun my reign, And ’tis my hope to end successfully. My falcon now is sharp a...

Thus have I politicly begun my reign, And ’tis my hope to end successfully. My...

"My falcon now is sharp and passing empty" A 'sharp' falcon is one kept hungry enough to hunt. Falconers called a hungry, alert bird 'sharp set.' Petruchio has been describing Katherine as his property; now he compares her to a bird of prey being trained to the lure — a more complex image, since falcons are also wild, fierce, and ultimately voluntary.

"This is a way to kill a wife with kindness" A proverbial phrase Shakespeare may be quoting — and also the title of a contemporary play by Thomas Heywood. Petruchio's 'kindness' is sleep deprivation and starvation framed as husbandly care.

Why it matters This soliloquy is the play's structural pivot: Petruchio explains his system directly to the audience, making us co-conspirators. The falcon metaphor is telling — falcons are not broken, they are trained to choose their keeper. Whether Katherine ever genuinely chooses is what the final scene tries to answer.

🎭 Dramatic irony Petruchio delivers his falcon speech as a confidence that he knows exactly what he's doing — but the falconer metaphor carries its own irony: trained falcons are never fully domesticated; they can always choose to fly away. The play never shows Katherine's genuine interior consent.

[_Exit._]

The Reckoning

This is the scene where Petruchio's method becomes explicit — and the audience is made complicit in it. His falcon-taming soliloquy is the play's clearest statement of what he is doing and why, delivered directly to the audience so we understand we are watching a system, not just chaos. The horror is that the system works, and the play seems to endorse it.

If this happened today…

A man brings his new wife home after a disastrous wedding and immediately starts berating the household staff for every minor fault — the food is burned, the service is wrong, nothing is acceptable — while constantly framing each outburst as concern for her well-being: 'I'm doing this for you, Kate.' She defends the servants; he ignores her. Then he sends her to bed hungry while delivering a TED talk to the audience about sleep deprivation as a management technique. His servants sum it up: 'He kills her in her own humor.'

Continue to 4.2 →