The person01–03
01·Who they are
Who is Petruchio?
Petruchio is a gentleman from Verona who arrives in Padua with a clear agenda: to marry money. His candour about this motive — "I come to wive it wealthily in Padua" (1.2) — serves as a provocation, stripping away the romantic pretence that surrounds every other suitor in the play. However, Petruchio is too dynamic a figure to be dismissed as a simple fortune-hunter. He possesses a sharp wit, a performer's instinct for spectacle, and a self-confidence that makes him the gravitational centre of every scene he enters. He is both the play's comic engine and its most morally unsettling presence — a character audiences laugh with while questioning whether they should.
02·Arc & motivation
What is Petruchio's arc and motivation?
Petruchio's arc transitions from opportunism to dominance to a kind of ambiguous triumph. His initial motivation is financial, but once Hortensio describes Katherina's "shrewishness" (1.2), a more personal challenge emerges: the contest itself becomes the prize. He defines himself through contest and performance, and Katherina provides him with the most worthy stage in Padua.
His strategy is articulated in his 4.1 soliloquy — the "taming-school" speech — where he describes denying Katherina food and sleep under the guise of excessive concern. This moment is crucial for interpretation: is this the confession of a calculated abuser or the self-aware scheming of a man who believes, however arrogantly, that he is remaking a marriage rather than simply crushing a person? By Act 5, when Katherina obeys his summons at the banquet and delivers her lengthy speech on wifely duty, Petruchio has achieved everything he announced. Whether this represents personal growth, mutual negotiation, or victorious cruelty remains unresolved in the play.
03·Key moments
What are Petruchio's key moments?
- The wooing scene (2.1): Petruchio meets Katherina and engages her verbal fire with his own, exchanging puns and insults in a duel of wit that crackles with energy. His line "Come, come, you wasp; i' faith, you are too angry" repurposes her sharpness into something almost endearing. He matches her rhythm while remaining unhurt by it — a tactic that unsettles her because no one has tried it before.
- The wedding (3.2): Petruchio arrives grotesquely late, dressed in rags and riding a broken-down horse. This public spectacle humiliates Katherina before the Paduan social world she cares about, establishing her reputation in his hands.
- The sun/moon scene (4.5): On the road to Padua, Petruchio insists the sun is the moon and, when Katherina ultimately agrees, he quickly declares it the sun. His confrontation with Vincentio — whom he forces Katherina to address as a "young budding virgin" — demonstrates the tactic: reality is whatever Petruchio declares, complete with Katherina's compliance.
- The banquet wager (5.2): Petruchio bets on Katherina's obedience against the other husbands' confidence in theirs. She alone responds when called. His exultant "Why, there's a wench! Come on, and kiss me, Kate" frames her submission as affection — on his terms.
The cast04–05
04·Relationships
What are Petruchio's most important relationships?
Petruchio's relationship with Katherina is the play's dramatic and interpretive crux. Their first meeting (2.1) functions as a mutual recognition — two people who match each other's speed and sharpness. Whether the eventual submission in Act 5 signifies genuine understanding, Stockholm-syndrome compliance, or Katherina's own tactical choice to perform obedience for social survival remains central to the debate. His possessive declaration — "She is my goods, my chattels; she is my house, / My household stuff, my field, my barn, / My horse, my ox, my ass, my any thing" (3.2) — makes his proprietary view explicit and disturbing.
With Baptista, Petruchio acts as a businessman, negotiating the dowry in 2.1 with a commercial directness that reduces Katherina to a ledger entry, and Baptista complies with notable relief.
Grumio serves as Petruchio's domestic mirror, narrating his master's excesses to the audience with bewildered loyalty — the chaotic wedding journey, the household deprivations. Grumio humanizes the taming scheme by revealing its absurd edges while never outright condemning it.
Hortensio is the friend who recruits Petruchio into the plot (1.2), and their camaraderie highlights how integrated Petruchio's project is in a broader masculine social economy. The final banquet exposes the contradictions of that economy when Hortensio's new wife ignores his summons.
The contrast with Lucentio is structural and pointed: Lucentio's romantic idealism and disguise earn him a disobedient wife; Petruchio's bold dominance secures him the wager.
05·Connected characters
How is Petruchio connected to the other characters?
Katherina Minola
Full commentary
Petruchio's wife and the central object of his 'taming' project. Their relationship is the play's dramatic core: he matches her verbal aggression wit-for-wit in their first meeting (2.1), then systematically dismantles her resistance through sleep and food deprivation, public humiliation, and reality-distortion games (the sun/moon scene, 4.5). By the finale, Katherina publicly performs the submission he has demanded, making their bond the play's most debated — is it mutual understanding or coerced compliance?
Baptista Minola
Hortensio
Grumio
Lucentio
Bianca Minola
Gremio
The Widow
Christopher Sly
Tranio
Vincentio
Biondello
The evidence06
06·Key quotes
What are Petruchio’s most famous quotes?
“Say that she rail; why then I'll tell her plain / She sings as sweetly as a nightingale.”
Petruchio · to Baptista / assembled suitors (soliloquy-like aside) · Act 2 · Scene 1
Why it matters
This quote is spoken by Petruchio in William Shakespeare's comedy The Taming of the Shrew (Act 2, Scene 1) as he lays out his audacious plan to win over — and ultimately tame — the famously sharp-tongued Katherina. Before even meeting her, Petruchio tells Baptista and the other suitors that he plans to contradict whatever Katherine says or does: if she scolds him ("rails"), he will compliment her voice as sweet; if she frowns, he will call her beautiful. This method of intentional, ironic reversal is key to the play's main conflict and its most debated theme — the "taming" of a strong-willed woman through psychological manipulation. Thematically, these lines highlight the power dynamic that Shakespeare places at the core of the play: Petruchio controls not just actions but how things are perceived and the language used, reshaping Katherine's reality according to his own perspective. This quote prompts modern audiences to question whether it showcases a playful contest of wits in courtship or a concerning silencing of female voice — making it one of the most discussed passages in the Shakespearean comedy canon.
“Come, come, you wasp; i' faith, you are too angry.”
Petruchio · to Katherina (Kate) · Act 2 · Scene 1
Why it matters
This line is spoken by Petruchio to Katherina in Act 2, Scene 1 of Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew. It takes place during their first charged encounter, set up by Baptista so that Petruchio can court his famously sharp-tongued elder daughter. Katherina has just fired back at Petruchio's verbal jabs, and he turns her reputation against her by calling her a "wasp" — an insect known for its sting. The irony here is thick: while Petruchio is being provocative and combative himself, he accuses Katherina of being overly angry. This moment captures his main tactic throughout the play — mirroring and deflecting her behavior to shake her self-image. Thematically, the line raises lasting questions about gender, power, and social roles. Is Petruchio genuinely "taming" Katherina, or is he revealing how arbitrary the labels society uses on women who resist conformity? The wasp metaphor also hints at Katherina's famous final speech, prompting audiences to consider whether her transformation is a true submission or clever survival.
“Why, there's a wench! Come on, and kiss me, Kate.”
Petruchio · to Katherine (Kate) · Act 5, Scene 2 · Final scene — the wager over wifely obedience
Why it matters
This line is delivered by Petruchio to Katherine (Kate) near the end of The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare, in the final scene of Act 5. After a long and tumultuous courtship marked by Petruchio's unconventional "taming" methods—like sleep deprivation, food denial, and psychological manipulation—Katherine has just given her well-known speech about wifely obedience and placed her hand under her husband's foot as a sign of submission. Petruchio's remark, "Why, there's a wench! Come on, and kiss me, Kate," reflects his joyful, almost boastful reaction to her compliance. This line is significant thematically on several levels: on the surface, it indicates the conclusion of the "taming" arc and Petruchio's apparent triumph in their battle of wills. However, its tone—playful, affectionate, and celebratory instead of cold or domineering—encourages audiences and scholars to discuss whether the relationship has matured into a genuine partnership or remains a display of patriarchal control. The informal use of "Kate" versus the objectifying "wench" captures the play's lasting tension between love and power, making this line a focal point for conversations about gender, performance, and irony in Shakespearean comedy.
“She is my goods, my chattels; she is my house, / My household stuff, my field, my barn, / My horse, my ox, my ass, my any thing.”
Petruchio · to Wedding guests / Baptista's household · Act III, Scene 2
Why it matters
These lines are spoken by Petruchio in Act III, Scene 2 of Shakespeare's comedy The Taming of the Shrew. He addresses the wedding guests and Baptista's household as he forcibly takes Katherine away right after their marriage ceremony. Petruchio lists a series of possessions — goods, chattels, field, barn, horse, ox, ass — intentionally mimicking the language of property law and referencing the Tenth Commandment’s warning against coveting a neighbor’s property. This quote is crucial to the play's examination of patriarchal authority and the legal status of women in Elizabethan England: upon marriage, a wife became a feme covert, losing her legal identity to her husband. By comparing Katherine to livestock and household items, Petruchio highlights — and perhaps mocks — the dehumanizing nature of coverture. The speech challenges audiences to consider whether his "taming" is a form of comic control or outright oppression, sparking ongoing discussions about whether the play supports or critiques misogyny. Its straightforward, list-like style has made it one of the most frequently referenced lines in gender studies.
Study07–08
07·Questions
Questions readers ask about Petruchio
Why does Petruchio come to Padua in the first place?
Petruchio comes to Padua to find a wealthy wife. He states his motive outright: "I come to wive it wealthily in Padua" (1.2), stripping away the romantic idealism that motivates every other suitor in the play. Once Hortensio describes Katherina's shrewishness, however, the personal challenge of "taming" her becomes a prize beyond her dowry alone.
What is Petruchio's relationship with Hortensio?
Hortensio is Petruchio's old friend and the person who brings him into Padua's marriage market. In 1.2, Hortensio directs Petruchio specifically toward Katherina, hoping that solving the "shrew problem" will free Bianca for his own pursuit. Their friendship is pragmatic and competitive, rooted in masculine camaraderie, and its limits are revealed at the final banquet, where Hortensio's new wife refuses his summons while Katherina obeys Petruchio's.
What is Petruchio's most famous line?
Petruchio's most quoted line is "She is my goods, my chattels; she is my house, / My household stuff, my field, my barn, / My horse, my ox, my ass, my any thing" (3.2). This declaration, both legally grounded in early modern marriage law and deeply unsettling, reduces Katherina to a catalogue of property. It makes his possessive worldview explicit and is central to debates about whether the play endorses or critiques his methods.
How does Petruchio plan to tame Katherina?
Petruchio reveals his strategy in his 4.1 soliloquy: he will deny Katherina food, sleep, and fine clothes under the guise of wanting perfection for her. By framing deprivation as excessive care, he aims to weaken her resistance without appearing openly cruel. Whether this plan constitutes calculated abuse, a theatrical power game, or a twisted form of pedagogy is the play's core interpretive question.
What does Petruchio mean when he says "Come, come, you wasp; i' faith, you are too angry"?
Spoken during their first meeting (2.1), this line is Petruchio's refusal to be unsettled by Katherina's sharp tongue. By calling her a "wasp" — acknowledging her sting — but calmly insisting she is simply "too angry," he reframes her aggression as a minor mood rather than a formidable challenge. It is his opening tactic of reflecting her energy while remaining unaffected by it, a move that disturbs Katherina because no one has tried it before.
What happens in the sun/moon scene with Petruchio and Vincentio?
On the road to Padua in 4.5, Petruchio insists the sun is the moon; when Katherina agrees, he immediately declares it the sun again. He then forces her to address the elderly Vincentio as a "young budding virgin." This scene clearly demonstrates his reality-distortion tactic: truth is whatever Petruchio declares, and Katherina's compliance indicates that his taming scheme has largely succeeded.
How does Petruchio win the wager at the final banquet?
In 5.2, Petruchio bets the other husbands that Katherina will come when called — a wager both Lucentio and Hortensio confidently accept. Katherina is the only wife who obeys the summons; Bianca and the Widow both refuse. Petruchio's exultant response — "Why, there's a wench! Come on, and kiss me, Kate" — frames her submission as affection, but entirely on his terms, marking his plan with a clear public triumph.
Is Petruchio a villain in The Taming of the Shrew?
Petruchio is better described as the play's most morally ambiguous character than as a straightforward villain. He is undeniably the comic engine of the play — witty, charismatic, and self-aware — yet his methods include public humiliation, food and sleep deprivation, and systematic reality-distortion. Shakespeare leaves unresolved whether these tactics constitute cruelty or a rough-edged form of care, prompting audiences to laugh with Petruchio while questioning whether they should.
08·Essay angles
Use this in your essay
Tool · Essay angles
Performance and authenticity: Petruchio's behaviour is consistently theatrical
Petruchio and social order: Examine how every other suitor in the play
The Induction frame: Christopher Sly observes this story as entertainment performed to deceive him. Discuss how the Sly frame shapes an audience's reception of Petruchio