What happens in Act IV (Scenes 1–5) of The Taming of the Shrew?
Act IV opens at Petruchio's country house, where Grumio arrives before his master and shares the chaotic journey from Padua: Katherine fell off her horse and landed in the mud, was left to struggle while Petruchio beat the servants, and arrived cold, exhausted, and humiliated. Once inside, Petruchio begins a campaign of systematic deprivation — he dismisses the food as poorly cooked, flips the table, and keeps Katherine from sleeping under the guise of caring for her comfort. In Scene 2, back in Padua, Tranio (still disguised as Lucentio) persuades a passing Pedant to impersonate Vincentio, Lucentio's father, to meet Baptista's requirement for financial guarantors. Scenes 3 and 4 move both plots forward: Petruchio denies Katherine a new cap and gown, arguing they are inappropriate, and declares they will head to Padua in whatever clothes they have. Scene 5 features the well-known road encounter where Petruchio insists the sun is the moon; Katherine, now compliant, agrees — and then politely greets the real Vincentio as a young woman, only correcting herself when Petruchio allows it. The act concludes with the group heading toward Padua and Hortensio deciding to pursue the Widow.
Analysis
Act IV showcases Shakespeare's most unsettling artistry. Petruchio's method of "taming" is overtly theatrical; he even names it himself in the closing soliloquy of Scene 1 — "Thus have I politicly begun my reign" — presenting his actions as performance while casting Katherine as the audience. Shakespeare involves the actual audience similarly, encouraging laughter at scenes of deprivation while also revealing their cruelty. The food, the cap, the gown, and finally the dispute over the sun and moon create a rising sequence of denial of reality; each incident takes away a different aspect of Katherine's certainty — physical comfort, material identity, and ultimately, a shared perception of the outside world. The moon scene (V.5) serves as the act's turning point: Katherine's abandonment of objective truth ("be it moon, or sun, or what you please") is a blend of defeat, practical adaptation, and a form of ironic mastery — she outshines Petruchio at his own game the moment she welcomes Vincentio. The subplot mirrors the main storyline: Tranio's impersonation of Lucentio and the hired Pedant create a softer, consensual take on identity manipulation, implying that all social roles in Padua are performed rather than inherent. The act shifts tonally between farcical energy and something colder; the servants' fear is played for laughs, yet Grumio's detailed account of Katherine's fall evokes real emotion. The structural symmetry — chaos at the country house contrasted with comic order in Padua — maintains a precarious and intentionally unresolved tonal balance throughout the play.
Key quotes from Act IV (Scenes 1–5)
“Thus have I politicly begun my reign, / And 'tis my hope to end successfully.”
Petruchio delivers this soliloquy at the close of Scene 1, openly declaring his taming strategy as calculated political theatre rather than spontaneous temper.
“He that knows better how to tame a shrew, / Now let him speak — 'tis charity to show.”
Still in his Scene 1 soliloquy, Petruchio addresses the audience directly, implicating them as witnesses and potential collaborators in Katherine's subjugation.
“And be it moon, or sun, or what you please; / And if you please to call it a rush-candle, / Henceforth I vow it shall be so for me.”
Katherine speaks on the road to Padua in Scene 5, conceding control over shared reality — a moment critics read as both capitulation and subversive irony.
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Create an accountSign inVocabulary in Act IV (Scenes 1–5)
- haberdasher
- A dealer in small items of clothing and accessories such as hats, ribbons, and thread; Petruchio rejects the haberdasher's cap to assert control over Katherina.
- cap
- A small close-fitting head covering; Petruchio contemptuously dismisses the cap brought for Katherina as part of his campaign to break her will.
- gown
- A woman's full-length dress; Petruchio rejects the tailor's gown as too elaborate, using it as another means of denying Katherina what she wants.
- tailor
- A craftsman who makes fitted garments to order; the tailor arrives with a gown that Petruchio ridicules and refuses to pay for.
- taming
- The process of subduing a wild or unruly creature to obedience; used in the title and throughout to describe Petruchio's systematic breaking of Katherina's fierce will.
- falcon
- A bird of prey trained for hunting; Petruchio explicitly compares his method of controlling Katherina to the Elizabethan practice of training a wild falcon.
- haggard
- In falconry, a wild hawk caught as an adult and not yet tamed; Petruchio uses this term to describe an untamed, wilful woman who must be broken to obedience.
- pedant
- A schoolmaster or scholar; in the play a travelling pedant is persuaded to impersonate Vincentio in order to satisfy Baptista's demand for financial guarantees.