From his poems and his plays to the English language and modern movies, William Shakespeare remains one of the greatest influences when it comes to creative works and other creative expressions. Personally, I find the unique words and turns of phrases he provided us one of his greatest accomplishments. Recently, as part of our unschooling pursuits here, we checked out a book showcasing the many words and phrases we still use today that are attributed to Shakespeare’s various works. It is mind boggling to be honest.
Because we have considered his life in its historical context and read about the Globe theater and Shakespeare’s contributions to the English Renaissance, which followed many of the Italian Renaissance influences, pulling from classical Greek and Roman literature and philosophy, and because we are currently moving through the early Italian Renaissance with its focus on the fine arts and sculpture, it seemed a good opportunity to begin reading through some of Shakespeare’s works (even if the time frames do not completely overlap). And, when I stumbled across a book at our local library that has taken Shakespeare’s plays and converted them into stories, maintaining a good amount of Shakespeare’s language and dialogue, I couldn’t help but find myself intrigued.
And so we have dipped our toes into the world of Shakespeare’s words and world with none other than The Taming of the Shrew, a play that has shaped movies and musicals over the years (though not all capturing the brilliance of Shakespeare’s work). Having raised two strong-willed and strongly opinionated young women, I was curious as to how they would respond to this particular story. Debates rage around this particular play and its themes, and yet I find it to be an interesting commentary on gender roles, the patriarchal society and its expectations, social class, and deception. Its layers run deep.
One of the first things I appreciated as we began our Shakespearean adventure was that both girls immediately related the odd opening sequence with the drunken tinker being tricked into believing himself a lord rather than a lower-class tinker to the storyline in The Player King, which relays the fascinating and true story “about a mystery boy in the 15th century who, briefly, became King of England (according to Avi, the author of The Player King). The young mystery boy, whose real name may or may not have been Lambert Simnel, was selected because of his likeness to Prince Edward, the true King of England at a time when there was much treachery and vying for the crown.
But as we continued down the unpredictable paths of Shakespeare’s work, my girls were equally intrigued by the deception and the behaviors of each of the characters. There is clearly room for some conversation around each of the characters and the resulting relationships Shakespeare showcases. My girls tend to appreciate irony and we found plenty to delve into as the story came to its close.
To help balance some of the more difficult themes, I enjoyed the ongoing conversation around the ways Shakespeare has influenced some of our language still today. I love that each of my girls remains fascinated by language and where words come from and how they came to mean what they do. We have explored that as much with movies like The Greatest Showman and Hamilton, as we have with some of the Renaissance-related materials we are exploring. I cannot miss just how much language influences both of our girls, especially in their own creative writing and in the way they interpret and navigate the world around them.
Out of all that we learned in our first foray into Shakespeare, however, I think I am most thrilled by their deep appreciation for one of the lines uttered by Kate when talking to Gremio and Hortensio, because who could not love the expression: But if it were, doubt not her care should be to comb your noddle with a three-legged stool. The very direct, forceful, and, yes, hyperbolically-violent turn of phrase caused all three of us to laugh out loud, which I am fairly certain was absolutely Shakespeare’s point. Again, there are layers upon layers worthy of longer commentaries, but what I love is that these remarkable young women resemble in their own ways the named strong character of this play who I believe captures exactly what Shakespeare intended as she closes out the play reminding audiences with a wink that perhaps it is they who have been played, or perhaps tamed.