"The Taming of the Shrew" by William Shakespeare, Act V

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 respect (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
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. frivolous
    not serious in content, attitude, or behavior
    To leave frivolous circumstances, I pray you tell Signior Lucentio that his father is come from Pisa, and is here at the door to speak with him.
  2. cozen
    cheat or trick
    Lay hands on the villain; I believe 'a means to cozen somebody in this city under my countenance.
  3. rogue
    a deceitful and unreliable scoundrel
    Come hither, you rogue. What, have you forgot me?
  4. notorious
    known widely and usually unfavorably
    What, you notorious villain, didst thou never see thy master's father, Vincentio?
  5. villain
    someone who does evil deliberately
    O immortal gods! O fine villain! A silken doublet, a velvet hose, a scarlet cloak, and a copatain hat! O, I am undone! I am undone! While I play the good husband at home, my son and my servant spend all at the university.
  6. maintain
    keep for use and service
    Why, sir, what 'cerns it you if I wear pearl and gold? I thank my good father, I am able to maintain it.
  7. forswear
    formally reject or disavow
    Deny him, forswear him, or else we are all undone.
  8. pardon
    grant release from punishment for an offense
    Pardon, dear father.
  9. offend
    act in disregard of laws, rules, contracts, or promises
    How hast thou offended?
  10. counterfeit
    not genuine; imitating something superior
    Here's Lucentio,
    Right son to the right Vincentio,
    That have by marriage made thy daughter mine,
    While counterfeit supposes blear'd thine eyne.
  11. frown
    look angry or sullen as if to signal disapproval
    Look not pale, Bianca; thy father will not frown.
    Bianca is afraid that her father will frown because she eloped with Lucentio. Even though Baptista had approved the match, he had been tricked into it by a false Vincentio. Bianca's elopement prevents Baptista from fulfilling his fatherly duty in a way that honors him. This contrasts with Katherina's marriage and makes Bianca seem like the less respectful and obedient daughter.
  12. bid
    ask someone in a friendly way to do something
    My fair Bianca, bid my father welcome,
    While I with self-same kindness welcome thine.
  13. afford
    be the cause or source of
    Padua affords this kindness, son Petruchio.
    To afford something also means to "have the financial means to do something or buy something." This focus on money is part of Baptista's meaning. But he also wants to remind Petruchio, who agrees with Lucentio that everyone should sit and eat, that he is the one who paid for the banquet. And he, unlike Petruchio and Lucentio, is a native of Padua.
  14. sensible
    showing reason or sound judgment
    You are very sensible, and yet you miss my sense:
    I mean Hortensio is afeard of you.
  15. sorrow
    sadness associated with some wrong done or disappointment
    Your husband, being troubled with a shrew,
    Measures my husband's sorrow by his woe
  16. gall
    irritate or vex
    'A has a little gall'd me, I confess
  17. maim
    injure or wound seriously and leave permanent disfiguration
    And, as the jest did glance away from me,
    'Tis ten to one it maim'd you two outright.
  18. propose
    put forward
    Let's each one send unto his wife,
    And he whose wife is most obedient,
    To come at first when he doth send for her,
    Shall win the wager which we will propose.
  19. entreat
    ask for or request earnestly
    Sirrah Biondello, go and entreat my wife
    To come to me forthwith.
  20. intolerable
    incapable of being put up with
    Worse and worse; she will not come! O vile,
    Intolerable, not to be endur'd!
  21. supremacy
    power to dominate or defeat
    Marry, peace it bodes, and love, and quiet life,
    An awful rule, and right supremacy
  22. obedience
    dutiful or submissive behavior toward another person
    Nay, I will win my wager better yet,
    And show more sign of her obedience,
    Her new-built virtue and obedience.
  23. persuasion
    communication intended to induce belief or action
    See where she comes, and brings your froward wives
    As prisoners to her womanly persuasion.
  24. duty
    the social force that obliges you to behave in a certain way
    Katherine, I charge thee, tell these headstrong women
    What duty they do owe their lords and husbands.
    In charging her with this duty, Petruchio is also giving Katherina the opportunity to reform her reputation, show everyone that she is the more desirable wife, and get revenge on the widow who insulted both her and Petruchio. Whether she believes everything she says cannot be proved. What can be assumed is that she's smart enough to realize that the men are competing (she was the last wife to be sent for), and she is playing along in a way where both she and Petruchio win.
  25. mocking
    expressing contempt or ridicule
    Come, come, you're mocking; we will have no telling.
  26. scornful
    expressing extreme contempt
    Fie, fie! unknit that threatening unkind brow,
    And dart not scornful glances from those eyes
    To wound thy lord, thy king, thy governor.
  27. amiable
    diffusing warmth and friendliness
    It blots thy beauty as frosts do bite the meads,
    Confounds thy fame as whirlwinds shake fair buds,
    And in no sense is meet or amiable.
  28. deign
    do something that one considers to be below one's dignity
    A woman mov'd is like a fountain troubled-
    Muddy, ill-seeming, thick, bereft of beauty;
    And while it is so, none so dry or thirsty
    Will deign to sip or touch one drop of it.
  29. sovereign
    a nation's ruler usually by hereditary right
    Thy husband is thy lord, thy life, thy keeper,
    Thy head, thy sovereign; one that cares for thee,
    And for thy maintenance commits his body
    To painful labour both by sea and land,
    To watch the night in storms, the day in cold,
    Whilst thou liest warm at home, secure and safe
  30. tribute
    payment by one nation for protection by another
    And craves no other tribute at thy hands
    But love, fair looks, and true obedience-
    Too little payment for so great a debt.
    A tribute can also refer more generally to "something given or done as an expression of esteem." While love, fair looks, and obedience can be wifely expressions of honor and approval, the chosen definition is more fitting for the overall speech. Additionally, Katherina realizes that Petruchio, by marrying her, not only physically protects her but also socially redeems her. Thus, despite the wager, she can be truly expressing her gratitude here.
  31. peevish
    easily irritated or annoyed
    Such duty as the subject owes the prince,
    Even such a woman oweth to her husband;
    And when she is froward, peevish, sullen, sour,
    And not obedient to his honest will,
    What is she but a foul contending rebel
    And graceless traitor to her loving lord?
  32. bound
    confined or obligated by an oath
    I am asham'd that women are so simple
    To offer war where they should kneel for peace;
    Or seek for rule, supremacy, and sway,
    When they are bound to serve, love, and obey.
  33. bandy
    exchange blows
    My mind hath been as big as one of yours,
    My heart as great, my reason haply more,
    To bandy word for word and frown for frown;
    But now I see our lances are but straws,
    Our strength as weak, our weakness past compare,
    That seeming to be most which we indeed least are.
  34. token
    an individual instance of a type of symbol
    Then vail your stomachs, for it is no boot,
    And place your hands below your husband's foot;
    In token of which duty, if he please
  35. wench
    a young woman
    Why, there's a wench! Come on and kiss me, Kate.
    The term "wench" usually is an insult for a low-class young woman who is unmarried yet sexually experienced. But here, Petruchio uses the word to praise Katherina's spirit and to get her to kiss him in front of everyone (which she was ashamed to do earlier).
Created on Wed Oct 12 10:26:34 EDT 2016 (updated Mon Mar 19 13:09:31 EDT 2018)

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