Read The Taming of the Shrew Online
Authors: William Shakespeare
The Taming of the Shrew (9 page)
GREMIO
First, as you know, my house within the city
Is richly furnishèd with
plate
351
and gold,
Basins and ewers to
lave
352
her dainty hands:
My
hangings
353
all of Tyrian tapestry:
In ivory
coffers
354
I have stuffed my crowns:
In
cypress
355
chests my arras counterpoints,
Costly apparel,
tents
356
, and canopies,
Fine linen,
Turkey
357
cushions bossed with pearl,
Valance of Venice gold in needlework
358
:
Pewter and brass and all things that belongs
To house or housekeeping. Then, at my farm
I have a hundred
milch-kine
361
to the pail,
Sixscore fat oxen standing in my stalls,
And all things
answerable to this portion
363
.
Myself am
struck
364
in years, I must confess,
And if I die tomorrow, this is hers,
If whilst I live she will be only mine.
TRANIO
That ‘only’
came well in
367
. Sir, list to me:
I am my father’s heir and only son.
If I may have your daughter to my wife,
I’ll leave her houses three or four as good,
Within rich Pisa
walls
371
, as any one
Old Signior Gremio has in Padua,
Besides
two thousand ducats by the year
Of fruitful land
373
, all which shall be her
jointure
374
.
What, have I
pinched
375
you, Signior Gremio?
GREMIO
Two thousand ducats by the year of land?
My land amounts not to so much in all.—
Aside
That she shall have, besides an
argosy
378
That now is lying in
Marseillis’ road
379
.
What, have I choked you with an argosy?
To Tranio
TRANIO
Gremio, ’tis known my father hath no less
Than three great argosies, besides two
galliases
382
,
And twelve
tight
383
galleys. These I will assure her,
And twice as much, whate’er thou offer’st next.
GREMIO
Nay, I have offered all, I have no more,
And she can have no more than all I have.
If you like me, she shall have me and mine.
To Baptista
TRANIO
Why then the maid is mine from all the world,
By your firm promise. Gremio is
out-vied
389
.
BAPTISTA
I must confess your offer is the best,
And
let
391
your father make her the assurance,
She is your own,
else
392
, you must pardon me.
If you should die before him, where’s her dower?
TRANIO
That’s but a
cavil
394
. He is old, I young.
GREMIO
And may not young men die, as well as old?
BAPTISTA
Well, gentlemen,
I am thus resolved: on Sunday next, you know
My daughter Katherine is to be married.
Now on the Sunday following, shall Bianca
Be bride to you, if you make this assurance.
If not, to Signior Gremio.
And so, I take my leave, and thank you both.
Exit
GREMIO
Adieu, good neighbour.— Now I fear thee not.
Sirrah young
gamester
404
, your father were a fool
To give thee all, and in his waning age
Set foot under thy table
406
. Tut, a toy!
An old Italian fox is not so kind, my boy.
Exit
TRANIO
A vengeance on your crafty withered hide!
Yet I have
faced it with a card of ten
409
.
’Tis in my head
410
to do my master good:
I see no reason but supposed Lucentio
Must
get
412
a father, called ‘supposed Vincentio’,
And that’s a wonder. Fathers commonly
Do get their children, but in this case of wooing,
A child shall get a
sire
415
, if I fail not of my cunning.
Exit
running scene 3 continues
Enter Lucentio
[
disguised as Cambio
]
, Hortensio
[
disguised as Litio
]
and Bianca
LUCENTIO
Fiddler, forbear. You grow too forward, sir
1
.
Have you so soon forgot the
entertainment
2
Her sister Katherine welcomed you
withal
3
?
HORTENSIO
But, wrangling pedant, this is
The patroness of heavenly harmony:
Then give me leave to have
prerogative
6
,
And when in music we have spent an hour,
Your
lecture
8
shall have leisure for as much.
LUCENTIO
Preposterous
9
ass, that never read so far
To know the cause why music was
ordained
10
!
Was it not to refresh the mind of man
After his studies or his
usual pain
12
?
Then give me leave to read philosophy,
And while I pause,
serve in
14
your harmony.
HORTENSIO
Sirrah, I will not bear these
braves
15
of thine.
BIANCA
Why, gentlemen, you do me double wrong
To strive for that which
resteth in my choice
17
.
I am no
breeching scholar in the schools
18
,
I’ll not be tied to hours nor
’pointed
19
times,
But learn my lessons as I please myself.
And, to cut off all strife, here sit we down.
Take you your instrument, play you
the whiles
22
.
To Hortensio
His lecture will be done ere you have tuned.
HORTENSIO
You’ll leave his lecture when I am in tune?
LUCENTIO
That will be never. Tune your instrument.
BIANCA
Where left we last?
LUCENTIO
Here, madam:
‘
Hic ibat Simois. Hic est Sigeia tellus.
Hic steterat Priami regia celsa senis
.’
28
Reads
BIANCA
Conster
30
them.
LUCENTIO
‘
Hic ibat
’, as I told you before, ‘
Simois
’, I am Lucentio,
‘
hic est
’, son unto Vincentio of Pisa, ‘
Sigeia tellus
’, disguised
thus to get your love, ‘
Hic steterat
’, and that Lucentio that
comes a-wooing, ‘
Priami
’, is my man Tranio, ‘
regia
’, bearing
my
port
35
, ‘
celsa senis
’, that we might beguile the old pantaloon.
HORTENSIO
Madam, my instrument’s in tune.
BIANCA
Let’s hear. O
fie
37
! The treble jars.
He plays
LUCENTIO
Spit in the hole, man, and tune again
38
.
BIANCA
Now let me see if I can conster it: ‘
Hic ibat Simois
’, I
know you not, ‘
hic est Sigeia tellus
’, I trust you not, ‘
Hic steterat
Priami
’, take heed he hear us not, ‘
regia
’, presume not, ‘
celsa
senis
’, despair not.
HORTENSIO
Madam, ’tis now in tune.
He plays again
LUCENTIO
All but the bass.
HORTENSIO
The bass is right: ’tis the base knave that
jars
45
.
How fiery and forward our
pedant
46
is.
Aside
Now, for my life, the knave doth court my love.
Pedascule
48
, I’ll watch you better yet.
BIANCA
In time I may believe, yet I mistrust.
To Lucentio
LUCENTIO
Mistrust it not, for, sure,
Aeacides
Was Ajax, called so from his grandfather
50
.
BIANCA
I must believe my
master
52
, else, I promise you,
I should be arguing still upon that
doubt
53
.
But let it rest.— Now, Litio, to you:
Good master, take it not unkindly, pray,
That I have been thus
pleasant
56
with you both.
HORTENSIO
You may go walk, and
give me leave
57
a while.
To Lucentio
My lessons make no music in
three parts
58
.
LUCENTIO
Are you so
formal
59
, sir? Well, I must wait —
And watch
withal
60
, for, but I be deceived,
Aside
Our fine musician groweth amorous.
He stands aside
HORTENSIO
Madam, before you touch the instrument,
To learn the
order
63
of my fingering,
I must begin with rudiments of art,
To teach you
gamut
65
in a briefer sort,
More pleasant, pithy and effectual,
Than hath been taught by any of my trade.
And there it is in writing,
fairly drawn
68
.
Gives Bianca a paper
BIANCA
Why, I am past my gamut long ago.
HORTENSIO
Yet read the gamut of Hortensio.
BIANCA
‘
Gamut
I am, the
ground of all accord
71
,
Reads
A re
, to plead Hortensio’s passion.
B mi
, Bianca, take him for thy lord,
C fa ut
, that loves with all affection.
D sol re
,
one clef, two notes have I
75
,
E la mi
, show pity, or I die.’
Call you this gamut? Tut, I like it not.
Old
78
fashions please me best. I am not so nice
To change
true
79
rules for old inventions.
Enter a Messenger
MESSENGER
Mistress, your father prays you leave your books
And help to dress your sister’s chamber up.
You know tomorrow is the wedding day.
BIANCA
Farewell, sweet masters both, I must be gone.
[
Exeunt Bianca and Messenger
]
LUCENTIO
Faith, mistress, then I have no cause to stay.
[
Exit
]
HORTENSIO
But I have cause to
pry into
85
this pedant.
Methinks he looks as though he were in love.
Yet if thy thoughts, Bianca, be so humble
To cast thy wand’ring eyes on every
stale
88
,
Seize thee that list
89
. If once I find thee ranging,
Hortensio will be
quit with
90
thee by changing.
Exit
running scene 4
Enter Baptista, Gremio, Tranio, Katherina, Bianca,
[
Lucentio
]
and others, Attendants
BAPTISTA
Signior Lucentio, this is the ’pointed day.
To Tranio
That Katherine and Petruchio should be married,
And yet we hear not of our son-in-law.
What will be said? What mockery will it be,
To
want
5
the bridegroom when the priest attends
To speak the ceremonial rites of marriage?
What says Lucentio to this shame of ours?
KATE
No shame but mine: I must
forsooth
8
be forced
To give my hand opposed against my heart
Unto a mad-brain
rudesby
10
full of spleen,
Who
wooed in haste and means to wed at leisure
11
.
I told you, I, he was a
frantic
12
fool,
Hiding his bitter jests in blunt behaviour.
And to be
noted for
14
a merry man,
He’ll woo a thousand, ’point the day of marriage,
Make feasts, invite friends, and proclaim the banns,
Yet never means to wed where he hath wooed.
Now must the world point at poor Katherine,
And say, ‘
Lo
19
, there is mad Petruchio’s wife,
If it would please him come and marry her.’
TRANIO
Patience, good Katherine, and Baptista too.
Upon my life, Petruchio means but well,
Whatever
fortune stays him from his word
23
.
Though he be blunt, I know him passing wise,
Though he be merry, yet withal he’s honest.
KATE
Would Katherine had never seen him though!
Exit weeping
[
followed by Bianca and others
]
BAPTISTA
Go, girl. I cannot blame thee now to weep,
For such an injury would vex a very saint,
Much more a shrew of thy impatient
humour
29
.
Enter Biondello
BIONDELLO
Master, master, news!
Old
30
news, and such news as
you never heard of!
BAPTISTA
Is it new and old too? How may that be?
BIONDELLO
Why, is it not news to hear of Petruchio’s coming?
BAPTISTA
Is he come?
BIONDELLO
Why, no, sir.
BAPTISTA
What then?
BIONDELLO
He is coming.
BAPTISTA
When will he be here?
BIONDELLO
When he stands where I am and sees you there.
TRANIO
But say, what
to
40
thine old news?
BIONDELLO
Why, Petruchio is coming in a new hat and an old
jerkin
42
: a pair of old breeches thrice turned: a pair of boots
that have been
candle-cases
43
, one buckled, another laced, an
old rusty sword ta’en out of the town armoury, with a
broken hilt, and
chapeless
45
: with two broken points: his horse
hipped
46
, with an old mothy saddle and stirrups of no kindred:
besides, possessed with the
glanders
47
and like to mose in the
chine, troubled with the
lampass
48
, infected with the fashions,
full of
windgalls
49
, sped with spavins, rayed with yellows, past
cure of the
fives
50
, stark spoiled
with the staggers, begnawn with the
bots
51
, swayed in the back and shoulder-shotten, near-
legged before and with a
half-checked bit
52
and a head-stall of
sheep’s leather
53
which, being restrained to keep him from
stumbling, hath been often burst and now repaired with
knots, one
girth
55
six times pieced, and a woman’s crupper of
velure
56
, which hath two letters for her name fairly set down in
studs, and here and there pieced with
packthread
57
.
BAPTISTA
Who comes with him?
BIONDELLO
O, sir, his
lackey
59
, for all the world caparisoned like
the horse: with a linen
stock
60
on one leg and a kersey boot-
hose on the other, gartered with a red and blue
list
61
; an old hat
and the
humour of forty fancies
62
pricked in’t for a feather —
a monster, a very monster in apparel, and not like a Christian
footboy
64
or a gentleman’s lackey.
TRANIO
’Tis some odd humour
pricks
65
him to this fashion.
Yet oftentimes he goes but
mean-apparelled
66
.
BAPTISTA
I am glad he’s come, howsoe’er he comes.
BIONDELLO
Why, sir, he comes not.
BAPTISTA
Didst thou not say he comes?
BIONDELLO
Who? That Petruchio came?
BAPTISTA
Ay, that Petruchio came.
BIONDELLO
No, sir, I say his horse comes, with him on his back.