Shakespeare's Use of Speech

In the mid-16th to late-17th centuries, when Shakespeare wrote his plays, the technology available for changing the stage to accommodate various settings was nothing like today. There was no curtain to shield the stage from the audience in order to rearrange sets so everything was to be done in front of the live audience. As a result, the sets included only minor changes and often did not include anything to hint to the audience what time of the day the scene took place. In order to make the setting obvious, Shakespeare would often include hints in the characters’ dialogue. In addition, he used speech to set the scene, giving names and backgrounds for the characters, a storyline, and their purposes in the play all within the first few lines of their entrance. There are various examples of this throughout The Taming of the Shrew but it is very obvious in Act 1 Scene i.

In Act 1 Scene i, Lucentio and Tranio are entering Padua after journeying from Pisa. In the very first lines of the play, Lucentio sums up a great deal of information such as the man that he is speaking to, Tranio, is his “trusty servant” and that he has been sent by his father, who is a wealthy merchant. Moreover, Lucentio states, “I have Pisa left / and am to Padua come…” which informs the audience that the scene, and most of the play, will be set in Padua and that Lucentio is from Pisa. Further evidence of Shakespeare using dialogue to give information is apparent when, in his first lines of the play, Baptista explains a major part of the plot of the play by stating that his youngest daughter shall not be wed until his eldest daughter is first married. Furthermore, Katherine’s “shrew-like” nature is commented on very early and is demonstrated in her conversation with the would-be Bianca suitors. Bianca has no stage directions but it is obvious through Lucentio’s mention of her “mild behavior and sobriety” that she acts politely and is restrained.

As more characters are introduced in the play in later scenes and their purposes are also described similarly in their opening lines. This becomes a very important tool for Shakespeare to use in his plays because of the lack of set diversity. He uses speech as a means not only of describing the setting but also of describing conflicts quickly for the audience.