The Taming of the Shrew has been the subject of much criticism. In particular, feminists have attacked the play, and in particular the play's final scene, as offensively misogynistic. Others have defended the play by highlighting the (frequently omitted) induction as evidence that the play is not meant to be taken at face value and the fact that Petruchio submits himself to the same treatment to which he submits Kate. One recent production by the American Players' Theater used part of the induction and an added ending to avoid the controversy surrounding the play; in their version, the entire play is actually Sly's dream that he is Petruccio, a dream from which he is awakened by his shrewish, real-life wife. Whatever the reaction, Shakespeare does, perhaps, respond adequately with the play's closing line: "This was but a play".
Probably the first adaptation of The Taming of the Shrew was a sequel entitled The Tamer Tamed, also known as The Woman's Prize, a comedy written in 1611 (about twenty years after the original) by John Fletcher. In Fletcher's play, the newly-widowed Petruchio is remarried to a bride who "tames" him, with the help of her friends, driving him from his house and refusing to let him have peace until he promises to respect and endeavor to satisfy her. Shakespeare's response to the play is not known, but he went on to collaborate with Fletcher on three plays for his company the King's Men, indicating some degree of approval, and Fletcher went on to succeed Shakespeare as chief dramatist of the King's Men.
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Probably the first adaptation of The Taming of the Shrew was a sequel entitled The Tamer Tamed, also known as The Woman's Prize, a comedy written in 1611 (about twenty years after the original) by John Fletcher. In Fletcher's play, the newly-widowed Petruchio is remarried to a bride who "tames" him, with the help of her friends, driving him from his house and refusing to let him have peace until he promises to respect and endeavor to satisfy her. Shakespeare's response to the play is not known, but he went on to collaborate with Fletcher on three plays for his company the King's Men, indicating some degree of approval, and Fletcher went on to succeed Shakespeare as chief dramatist of the King's Men.