Cambridge OCR AS Level · English Literature - H072

The Taming of the Shrew: Practice Questions

5 multiple-choice questions marked as you go, and 5 written questions with worked solutions. All on The Taming of the Shrew.

10 questions30 marksFree, no account

Question 1

1 mark

In Act 2, Scene 1, during the first meeting between Petruchio and Katherine, how does Shakespeare use 'stichomythia' to characterize their relationship?

Question 2

1 mark

Contrast the courtship of Bianca with that of Katherina. What does the use of Latin and music lessons in Bianca's plot suggest about the nature of her suitors' 'love'?

Question 3

1 mark

What does the character of Grumio contribute to the play's exploration of power dynamics?

Question 4

1 mark

Which of the following best describes the structural function of the Induction in The Taming of the Shrew when considering the play's exploration of gender and class?

Question 5

1 mark

How does the subplot involving Bianca and her various suitors (Lucentio, Hortensio, and Gremio) serve to comment on the central plot of Katherine and Petruchio?

Question 6

4 marks

How does the Induction of the play establish the theme of social hierarchy and transformation through the character of Christopher Sly?

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Question 7

6 marks

How do the divergent interpretations of Katherine's "taming"—ranging from a misogynistic farce to a commedia dell'arte satire—impact a modern audience's understanding of the play's ending?

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Question 8

3 marks

In Act 1, Scene 1 of The Taming of the Shrew, what is the specific condition Baptista Minola sets for the marriage of his younger daughter, Bianca?

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Question 9

5 marks

In The Taming of the Shrew, the Induction serves as a complex frame for the main narrative.

(a) Explain the dramatic purpose of Christopher Sly’s transformation in the Induction.
(b) Discuss how the theme of disguise introduced in the Induction is mirrored in the interactions between Lucentio and Bianca in Act 2.

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Question 10

7 marks

Petruchio’s methods of 'taming' Katherina are often compared to the training of a hawk.

(a) Identify two specific instances in Act 4 where Petruchio uses deprivation (food or sleep) to assert control.
(b) Analyze how Petruchio’s language in his soliloquy ('Thus have I politicly begun my reign...') reflects the Elizabethan social attitudes toward domestic authority.
(c) Compare Petruchio’s overt exercise of power with the more subtle manipulation used by Tranio throughout the play.

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