The Play Explained

Also known as Katherine and Kate, the eldest daughter of Baptista Minola, with whom she lives in Padua. She is sharp-tongued, quick-tempered, and prone to violence.  Her hostility toward suitors particularly distresses her mother. But her anger and rudeness disguise her deep-seated sense of insecurity and her jealousy toward her sister, Bianca. She does not resist her suitor Petruchio forever, though, and she eventually is tamed by him.

Petruchio is a gentleman from Verona. Loud, boisterous, eccentric, quick-witted, he has come to Padua “to wive and thrive.” He wishes for nothing more than a woman with an enormous dowry, and he finds Kate to be the perfect fit. Disregarding everyone who warns him of her shrewishness, he eventually succeeds not only in wooing Katherine, but in silencing her tongue and temper with his own. He loves her spunkiness, and is happy to have her as his wife. 

The younger daughter of Baptista, the lovely Bianca proves herself the opposite of her sister, Kate, at the beginning of the play: she is soft-spoken, sweet, and unassuming. Thus, she operates as Kate’s principal female foil. Because of her large dowry and her mild behavior, several men vie for her hand. Baptista, however, will not let her marry until Kate is wed. She loves her sister in spite of the spiteful treatment she receives. Her spunky side comes out in the end when she refuses to listen to her husband's requests and she participates in some verbal jousting with the widow and Petruchio. 

A young student from Pisa, the good-natured and intrepid Lucentio comes to Padua to study at the city’s renowned university, but he is immediately sidetracked when he falls in love with Bianca at first sight. By disguising himself as a Latin instructor named Cambio, he convinces Gremio to offer him to Baptista as a tutor for Bianca. He wins her love, but his impersonation gets him into trouble when his mother, Vincentia, visits Padua.

Baptista Minola is one of the wealthiest women in Padua, and her daughters become the prey of many suitors due to the substantial dowries she can offer. She is good-natured. Her absentmindedness increases when Kate shows her obstinate nature. Thus, at the opening of the play, she is already desperate to find her a suitor, having decided that she must marry before Bianca does. 

Baptista is mostly forgiving of her precious daughter Bianca's elopement. Petruchio and Kate's marriage and the taming of her eldest daughter surprises and pleases Baptista to no end.  

Mother to Lucentio and master to Tranio and Biondello, Vincentia comes to Padua to find her son and discovers Tranio in her son's stead. Horrified, she believes that something terrible has happened to Lucentio and that Tranio is responsible. Vincentia is not amused when she discovers that Lucentio and Bianca have married without the consent of their mothers, and vows to get revenge on Tranio. 

As Lucentio’s servant and right hand man, Tranio accompanies Lucentio from Verona. He plays an important part in his master’s charade. He assumes Lucentio’s identity and bargains with Baptista for Bianca’s hand. He tricks the merchantess into pretending to be Lucentio's mother. Once Vincentia discovers his treachery, he realizes he will bear the burnt of the punishment for Lucentio's plan to win Bianca.

Grumia is Petruchio's right hand servant and friend. She is aware of Petruchio's plan to woo and tame Kate, and she is a sassy, quick-witted woman. Her mindfulness of her master's plan comes into play when she gets in on the action and teases Kate with the promise of food, but denies it in the end. 

Upon the merchantess' arrival in Padua, she is met by Tranio who tells her that her presence in the city will bring about certain death because she is a visitor. He convinces her to disguise herself as Lucentio's mother, Vincentia, in order to preserve her life- when in all actuality, it is in orer to obtain assurance of the dowry Tranio promisees in Lucentio's stead.

A gentleman of Verona, rival to Gremio as the two of them are both vying for Bianca's hand in marriage. The two beome friends as they work together to find  match for Kate. 

Hortensio directs Petruchio to Kate and then dresses up as a music instructor named Litio to court Bianca. Ultimately, he gives up on the girl when he sees that Bianca only has eyes for her lowly schoolmaster, Cambio. He vows to woo her no more and returns to Padua to marry a wealthy widow who has shown interest in him, and he shows interest in learning the tricks that Petruchio is playing on Katherine, so that his wife will be tamed as well. 

The rich elderly gentleman neighbor to the Minola family who has been interested in making Bianca his wife throughout the end of his life. Bianca is wholly uninterested in Gremio, largely due to his age. He is both rival and friend to Hortensio. He offers all that he has to Baptista in an effort to obtain Bianca's hand, but he falls short as he cannot offer her as much as Lucentio. Gremio is often found lurking around wherever Bianca is, but also when there are interesting goings-on. In the end, he is furious not to have earned Bianca's hand, but is happy to share in the wedding feast. 

Biondello is Lucentio’s sharp-witted and sarcastic servant, who assists his master and Tranio in carrying out their plot. When Vincentia arrives in town, his involvement in Lucentio and Tranio's plan to deceive Baptista becomes apparent and he fears for his life when Vincentia threatens him. 

Curtis is one of Petruchio's servingmen and friend. He finds the situation with Petruchio's new wife comical and jokes about it with Nathaniel and Grumia. 

The officer is incredibly excited at the prospect of arresting a rich beautiful woman such as Vincentia.

Nathaniel is one of Petruchio's servingmen and is  frustrated when Petruchio uses him as a pawn in his game. 

The tailor brings a beautiful hat and dress upon Grumia's request. Petruchio uses the tailor in order to teach Kate a lesson about gratitude. The tailor is not amused with Petruchio's shenanigans and is offended when Petruchio insults his work. 

Baptista Minola's servant watches out for the daughters of the house, (particularly Bianca) and she cares deeply when her master Baptista is stressed out because of her  Katherina's behavior. 

The widow which Hortensio married loves a good verbal joust and she sets out to get the best of Kate. She refuses to be tamed herself, despite her husband's efforts.