Vocabulary in The Taming of the Shrew

Cunning and crafty in a secretive way; here used as a surname but also carrying its adjectival sense of deceitful cleverness throughout the Induction's trick on the tinker.

A travelling mender of pots and pans, considered a low-class vagrant; used here to identify Christopher Sly's humble trade and social standing.

The woman who runs a tavern or alehouse; in this play she is the innkeeper who throws Sly out at the start of the Induction.

A nobleman of high rank; in the Induction a lord devises the trick of convincing Sly he is a great gentleman who has been mad.

Playfully undisciplined or lascivious; used here to describe pleasures or behaviour that are self-indulgent and sexually suggestive.

A bad-tempered, scolding, domineering woman; the central term of the play, applied to Katherina for her sharp tongue and fierce temper.

To court a woman with the aim of winning her hand in marriage; used repeatedly as characters compete to win Bianca's affection.

A man who formally courts a woman seeking to marry her; several suitors compete for Bianca throughout the play.

Money, property, or goods that a bride's family gives to her husband at marriage; a key motivation for Petruchio's willingness to marry Katherina.

Stubbornly contrary, difficult to deal with, and refusing to be guided; used to describe Katherina's defiant and uncooperative temperament.

Ill-tempered, shrewish, and sharp-tongued; an Elizabethan term applied to Katherina to emphasise her fierce and quarrelsome nature.

A legal settlement of property made on a wife, to be enjoyed by her after her husband's death; part of the marriage bargaining between Petruchio and Baptista.

The portion of a husband's estate that the law entitles his widow to use after his death; distinct from a dowry and used in the financial negotiations over marriage.

The public announcement in church of an intended marriage, made on three successive Sundays so that anyone with an objection may raise it.

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.

A small close-fitting head covering; Petruchio contemptuously dismisses the cap brought for Katherina as part of his campaign to break her will.

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.

A craftsman who makes fitted garments to order; the tailor arrives with a gown that Petruchio ridicules and refuses to pay for.

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.

A bird of prey trained for hunting; Petruchio explicitly compares his method of controlling Katherina to the Elizabethan practice of training a wild falcon.

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.

Wildly eccentric or recklessly impulsive; used to describe Petruchio's seemingly lunatic behaviour, which is in fact a calculated strategy.

An Elizabethan term for a rude, boisterous, ill-mannered person; applied to Petruchio to condemn his outrageous conduct at the wedding.

A young male lover or country fellow; used in the play as a slightly mocking term for a rustic or lowly suitor.

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.