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How successful is the induction in the opening of the play

 

            The induction to "The Taming of the Shrew" brings an immediate sense of comedy to the play. It is the only known Shakespeare play to have an induction and this is suggested to be because Shakespeare used the "Spanish Tragedy" to help him. .
             The beginning of the induction starts with the argument between the hostess and the drunken character of Sly. "I"ll pheeze you, in faith.".
             There is dramatic irony when the audience knows that some of the characters such as the "Lord" are deceiving the character of "Sly". The audience may see the Lord as being a nasty character to play with someone's feelings so easily. In some ways it reflects the generic features of a pantomime with good Vs evil.
             The audience watching the play will be curious to see Sly's reaction to the trick that is being played on him, and how far the Lord will go. There could also be an ambiguous feel of sympathy for the beggar character of Sly, although this will be depending on the audience's social status. Having a setting that is particularly familiar to most audiences, the play will be easier to believe. .
             When Barthol"mew, the Lords page has to dress as a woman to play Sly's dutiful wife, there is an awareness of male and female roles because of this and some questions raised. Will Barthol"mew play a women well enough to be believed? Will the fact that he is playing a woman effect the whole outcome to the prank? Role swapping is a key issue in most of Shakespearean plays, so to have a play within a play is not an unusual occurrence, and most audiences will understand the purpose of this. .
             There are also parallels between rich and poor, with the Lord having much more than the character of Sly and the roles of men and women. .
             "Wherin your lady and your humble wife.
             May show her duty and make known her love".
             There is also the issue of whether the players will react and give the whole prank away, they assure the Lord that this will not happen when he asks them to be a part of his scheme, "Fear not, my lord, we can contain ourselves.


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