The Taming of the Shrew Contents
- Social / political context
- Religious / philosophical context
- The theatrical context
- The Taming of the Shrew Induction Scene 1
- The Taming of the Shrew Induction Scene 2
- The Taming of the Shrew Act 1 Scene 1
- The Taming of the Shrew Act 1 Scene 2
- The Taming of the Shrew Act 2 Scene 1
- The Taming of the Shrew Act 3 Scene 1
- The Taming of the Shrew Act 3 Scene 2
- The Taming of the Shrew Act 4 Scene 1
- The Taming of the Shrew Act 4 Scene 2
- The Taming of the Shrew Act 4 Scene 3
- The Taming of the Shrew Act 4 Scene 4
- The Taming of the Shrew Act 4 Scene 5
- The Taming of the Shrew Act 5 Scene 1
- The Taming of the Shrew Act 5 Scene 2
More on the nature of humanity
More on the nature of humanity
All human beings are creatures – that is, they are created. Shakespeare's audience believed that everything and everybody was created by God, the all-powerful and loving father of the universe.An ordered created world
At the time Shakespeare was writing, the universe was seen as a hierarchy, known as the Chain of Being:
- God, the Creator, was at the top
- Next to God in the order of creation were the angelic spirits: there were thought to be nine orders, or ranks: Seraphs, Cherubs, Thrones, Principalities, Virtues, Powers, Dominions, Archangels, Angels
- As spirits, these were unchangeable, bodiless intermediaries between God and man; although they did not have bodies, they were thought to be able to create themselves bodies out of air so that they could appear to humans
- Below these spirits were human beings, who were thought to be unique in having both a body, like animals, but also a spirit (or soul)
- Below mankind came animals, having body but no soul
- Finally were plants; then stones.
The state as a body
Parallel orders
Just as God is at the top of the hierarchy in the Universe
- So are kings and other rulers within the state
- So is the head, the seat of reason, within the body.
Shakespeare often compares the state, or body politic, to the human body:
- For example, just as the physical body may be subject to disease, so the state may be riddled with corruption
- In many of his plays, Shakespeare uses images of disease metaphors for the corruption seen in Elizabethan society.
Reason versus passion
Shakespeare frequently stresses that it is reason which informs the soul of man and makes humans higher than animals:
- Because people have a soul, they can aspire to reach beyond their body and mortality
- If they debase their soul and lose their reason – especially through drunkenness or by giving way to extreme passion – then they are no better than animals.
Getting the balance right
Shakespeare also shows us that it is possible to go to the other extreme. Those who forget that they are not angels, but instead have human weaknesses, are just as unaware of their own humanity as those who behave like animals. Many of Shakespeare's protagonists have to learn what it means to be a fallible human being.
The Bible describes God as the unique supreme being, creator and ruler of the universe.
Seraphs were winged serpents whose images decorated many of the thrones of the Egyptian Pharaohs, thought to act as guardians over the king. The Israelites adopted the symbolism for God's throne.
One of several different types of angels, often represented as a winged child.
Chief angel. In Christian tradition Michael, Gabriel and Raphael are considered to be archangels.
Supernatural beings closely linked with the work of God; his messengers, traditionally portrayed as having a winged human form.
The spirit which gives life to a human being; the part which lives on after death; a person's inner being (personality, intellect, emotions and will) which distinguishes them from animals.
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