In Shakespeare's The Taming of the
Shrew, Act IV, Scene i, concentrates on showing how shrewd Petruchio is in
not only taming his new wife, but also in punishing his staff in order to closer align
her sympathies to the servants. He plans, it seems, to control Kate by lack of food and
sleep—his final intent is to bring her around to his way of
thinking. It is during this scene that, ironically, Curtis states that Petruchio may be
more of a shrew in his behavior than Katharina.
As the plot
moves along then into scene two, Shakespeare shifts the attention
back to what is occurring in Padua with regard to Bianca and her "suitors." A lot of
information is shared with the audience in a "I won't bore you with details," though
even while in saying so, the audience is still overwhelmed with said
details.
And while all this
occurs...
Act
IV, Scene ii is purely “connective,” or structural. It ties up loose ends and ensures
the successful progress of the Lucentio-Bianca
subplot.
As this scene
progresses, one almost needs a score card to keep track of suitors who remain, those who
depart, who is trying to trick another suitor to leave the "race," and even those who
are willing to do what ever is necessary, honest or not, to get what they
want.
For the most part, then, Act IV, Scene two, is
primarily used as a structural device to connect the overlying plot of Petruchio and
Kate, and the courting that now continues after Kate's marriage, over Bianca's
hand.
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