"The Taming of the Shrew" by William Shakespeare, Induction

In this comedy, a lord refuses to allow his younger daughter to marry unless her willful older sister gets married first. Learn this thematic list focusing on fun (or, for links to general lists for the play, click below).

Here are links to thematic lists for the play: Induction, Act I, Act II, Act III, Act IV, Act V

Here are links to our general lists for the play: Induction, Act I, Act II, Act III, Act IV, Act V
25 words 1190 learners

Learn words with Flashcards and other activities

Definition First
Print Flashcards

Other learning activities

Answer a few questions about each word. Use this to prep for your next quiz! Compete with other teams in real time to see who answers the most questions correctly! Test your spelling acumen. Read the definition, listen to the word and try spelling it!

Teaching tools

Create and assign quizzes to your students to test their vocabulary. Assign learning activities including Practice, Vocabulary Jams and Spelling Bees to your students, and monitor their progress in real-time.

Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. convey
    take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
    What think you, if he were convey'd to bed,
    Wrapp'd in sweet clothes, rings put upon his fingers,
    A most delicious banquet by his bed,
    And brave attendants near him when he wakes,
    Would not the beggar then forget himself?
  2. jest
    activity characterized by good humor
    Then take him up, and manage well the jest
  3. dulcet
    pleasing to the ear
    Procure me music ready when he wakes,
    To make a dulcet and a heavenly sound
  4. submissive
    inclined or willing to give in to orders or wishes of others
    And if he chance to speak, be ready straight,
    And with a low submissive reverence
    Say 'What is it your honour will command?'
  5. mourn
    feel sadness
    Another tell him of his hounds and horse,
    And that his lady mourns at his disease
  6. lunatic
    insane and believed to be affected by the phases of the moon
    Persuade him that he hath been lunatic,
    And, when he says he is, say that he dreams,
    For he is nothing but a mighty lord.
  7. husband
    use cautiously and frugally
    It will be pastime passing excellent,
    If it be husbanded with modesty.
  8. diligence
    conscientiousness in paying proper attention to a task
    My lord, I warrant you we will play our part
    As he shall think by our true diligence
    He is no less than what we say he is.
  9. office
    activities assigned to or expected of a person or group
    Take him up gently, and to bed with him;
    And each one to his office when he wakes.
  10. cunning
    crafty artfulness, especially in deception
    Well, you are come to me in happy time,
    The rather for I have some sport in hand
    Wherein your cunning can assist me much.
  11. passion
    a strong feeling or emotion
    But I am doubtful of your modesties,
    Lest, over-eying of his odd behaviour,
    For yet his honour never heard a play,
    You break into some merry passion
    And so offend him
  12. antic
    a playful, attention-getting act done for fun and amusement
    Fear not, my lord; we can contain ourselves,
    Were he the veriest antic in the world.
  13. obeisance
    bending the head or body in reverence or submission
    Sirrah, go you to Bartholomew my page,
    And see him dress'd in all suits like a lady;
    That done, conduct him to the drunkard's chamber,
    And call him 'madam,' do him obeisance.
  14. courtesy
    a considerate and respectful manner
    Such duty to the drunkard let him do,
    With soft low tongue and lowly courtesy,
    And say 'What is't your honour will command,
    Wherein your lady and your humble wife
    May show her duty and make known her love?'
  15. esteem
    look on as or consider
    And then with kind embracements, tempting kisses,
    And with declining head into his bosom,
    Bid him shed tears, as being overjoyed
    To see her noble lord restor'd to health,
    Who for this seven years hath esteemed him
    No better than a poor and loathsome beggar.
  16. shift
    a qualitative change
    And if the boy have not a woman's gift
    To rain a shower of commanded tears,
    An onion will do well for such a shift,
    Which, in a napkin being close convey'd,
    Shall in despite enforce a watery eye.
  17. dispatch
    complete or carry out
    See this dispatch'd with all the haste thou canst
  18. usurp
    take the place of
    I know the boy will well usurp the grace,
    Voice, gait, and action, of a gentlewoman
  19. homage
    respectful deference
    I long to hear him call the drunkard 'husband';
    And how my men will stay themselves from laughter
    When they do homage to this simple peasant.
  20. abate
    make less active or intense
    haply my presence
    May well abate the over-merry spleen,
    Which otherwise would grow into extremes.
  21. humor
    fluid in the body believed to determine your emotional state
    Heaven cease this idle humour in your honour!
    O, that a mighty man of such descent,
    Of such possessions, and so high esteem,
    Should be infused with so foul a spirit!
    Nowadays, humor is usually connected to laughter. While the lord might be laughing in his heart, he is outwardly keeping a straight and concerned face in order to play a joke on the tinker. Here, "idle humor" refers to a bodily fluid that, in excess, causes madness, but the phrase could be a pun that makes fun of the joke ("idle" can mean "silly or trivial"). There could also be a pun in "foul spirit" ("spirit" can refer to alcohol), since the drunken tinker behaves badly.
  22. abject
    most unfortunate or miserable
    Call home thy ancient thoughts from banishment,
    And banish hence these abject lowly dreams.
  23. malady
    impairment of normal physiological function
    For your physicians have expressly charg'd,
    In peril to incur your former malady,
    That I should yet absent me from your bed.
  24. frenzy
    state of violent mental agitation
    Your honour's players, hearing your amendment,
    Are come to play a pleasant comedy;
    For so your doctors hold it very meet,
    Seeing too much sadness hath congeal'd your blood,
    And melancholy is the nurse of frenzy.
  25. mirth
    great merriment
    Therefore they thought it good you hear a play
    And frame your mind to mirth and merriment,
    Which bars a thousand harms and lengthens life.
    As this example sentence shows, the induction is an "act that sets in motion some course of events." It also sets the merry tone for the rest of the play. But aside from a brief scene in Act 1 where a servant notices that Sly, the tinker/lord, is nodding off, the frame story is not mentioned. This suggests that it is not important. But attitudes of marriage are revealed here, and comparisons can be made between the characters' goals, roles, and deceits.
Created on Wed Oct 12 09:11:50 EDT 2016 (updated Mon Mar 19 13:07:17 EDT 2018)

Sign up now (it’s free!)

Whether you’re a teacher or a learner, Vocabulary.com can put you or your class on the path to systematic vocabulary improvement.