Authorial Methods

Question 1

what is a Soliloquy?

Answer 1

As the character is alone on stage we might expect a soliloquy to express genuine thoughts/emotions. Is this true of Petruchio’s soliloquies?

Question 2

what is a Prose, verse, blank verse?

Answer 2

Prose: no rhyme; not arranged in iambic pentameter (usually associated with characters of lower social class).
Blank verse: iambic pentameter, no rhyme
Verse: rhymes, often in couplets.

Question 3

what is a Iambic pentameter?

Answer 3

Ten syllables in each line - five stressed, five unstressed

Question 4

what is Imagery of hunting, falconry and clothes?

Answer 4

Hunting and falconry images foreground ideas about social class and gender status. 
Clothes imagery foregrounds issues of identity and appearance v. reality.

Question 5

what is a Framing device?

Answer 5

The Induction is used as a frame, perhaps to distance the audience from the Petruchio/Katharina plot. However it contains many key comedic elements suggesting it is significant in its own right.

Question 6

what is an Antithesis?

Answer 6

Contrasts used for effect eg at character level or word level.

Question 7

what is Wordplay?

Answer 7

Puns, repartee and innuendo are key aspects of wordplay

Question 8

what are Speech features?

Answer 8

Commands, questions and insults are key features of the dialogue

Question 9

what is Stage action?

Answer 9

Asides, onlookers and comments on the action are as important as the action itself

Question 10

what is a 5-act structure?

Answer 10

Induction; developed exposition in Act 1; fast moving in Acts 2 and 3; slows down in Act 4 before the climax of Act 5

Question 11

what is a Plot and sub-plot?

Answer 11

Petruchio and Katharina main plot; Bianca and suitors sub-plot. Use of sub-plot is typical of dramatic comedy.