The background of The Shrew: Texts and intertexts

Abstract

The essay focuses on the relationship between William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew and the anonymous 1594 quarto The Taming of a Shrew, arguing that A Shrew has its own theatrical and narrative autonomy and that it could reflect a Shakespearean original different from that transmitted through the First Folio. It also examines the dramatic intertext of the Induction, possible sources that influenced both The Shrew and A Shrew, and its theatrical intertexts. The intertexts of The Shrew/ A Shrew appear to be a sort of palimpsest of quotations, revisions, and translations, suggesting the possibility of a third, ‘uncut’ version of Shakespeare's play.