Original: Fie, fie! unknit that threatening unkind brow,
Modern: Stop it, stop it! Unfurrow that angry, cruel frown,

Original: And dart not scornful glances from those eyes
Modern: And don’t shoot hateful looks from your eyes

Original: To wound thy lord, thy king, thy governor.
Modern: To hurt your husband, your king, your ruler.

Original: It blots thy beauty as frosts do bite the meads,
Modern: It ruins your beauty like frost damages meadows,

Original: Confounds thy fame as whirlwinds shake fair buds,
Modern: Destroys your reputation like storms destroy beautiful flowers,

Original: And in no sense is meet or amiable.
Modern: And is in no way proper or pleasant.

Original: A woman mov’d is like a fountain troubled-
Modern: An angry woman is like a disturbed fountain-

Original: Muddy, ill-seeming, thick, bereft of beauty;
Modern: Muddy, ugly-looking, thick, stripped of all beauty;

Original: And while it is so, none so dry or thirsty
Modern: And while it’s like that, no one so parched or thirsty

Original: Will deign to sip or touch one drop of it.
Modern: Would lower themselves to drink or even touch a drop of it.

Original: Thy husband is thy lord, thy life, thy keeper,
Modern: Your husband is your master, your life, your protector,

Original: Thy head, thy sovereign; one that cares for thee,
Modern: Your leader, your ruler; someone who takes care of you,

Original: And for thy maintenance commits his body
Modern: And to support you, he gives his body

Original: To painful labour both by sea and land,
Modern: To hard work both at sea and on land,

Original: To watch the night in storms, the day in cold,
Modern: To stay awake through stormy nights and cold days,

Original: Whilst thou liest warm at home, secure and safe;
Modern: While you lie warm at home, protected and safe;

Original: And craves no other tribute at thy hands
Modern: And asks for no other payment from you

Original: But love, fair looks, and true obedience-
Modern: Except love, kind looks, and honest obedience-

Original: Too little payment for so great a debt.
Modern: Too small a payment for such a huge debt.

Original: Such duty as the subject owes the prince,
Modern: The same duty that a citizen owes their ruler,

Original: Even such a woman oweth to her husband;
Modern: That’s exactly what a woman owes her husband;

Original: And when she is froward, peevish, sullen, sour,
Modern: And when she is stubborn, irritable, moody, bitter,

Original: And not obedient to his honest will,
Modern: And not obedient to his fair wishes,

Original: What is she but a foul contending rebel
Modern: What is she but a disgusting, argumentative rebel

Original: And graceless traitor to her loving lord?
Modern: And a shameless traitor to her loving husband?

Original: I am asham’d that women are so simple
Modern: I’m ashamed that women are so foolish

Original: To offer war where they should kneel for peace;
Modern: To start fights where they should beg for peace;

Original: Or seek for rule, supremacy, and sway,
Modern: Or try to gain control, power, and influence,

Original: When they are bound to serve, love, and obey.
Modern: When they’re supposed to serve, love, and obey.

Original: Why are our bodies soft and weak and smooth,
Modern: Why are our bodies soft and weak and smooth,

Original: Unapt to toil and trouble in the world,
Modern: Unfit for hard work and struggle in the world,

Original: But that our soft conditions and our hearts
Modern: If not so that our gentle nature and our hearts

Original: Should well agree with our external parts?
Modern: Should match our physical appearance?

Original: Come, come, you forward and unable worms!
Modern: Come on, come on, you rebellious and weak creatures!

Original: My mind hath been as big as one of yours,
Modern: My pride has been as great as any of yours,

Original: My heart as great, my reason haply more,
Modern: My spirit as strong, my logic perhaps even stronger,

Original: To bandy word for word and frown for frown;
Modern: To trade insult for insult and glare for glare;

Original: But now I see our lances are but straws,
Modern: But now I see our weapons are just straws,

Original: Our strength as weak, our weakness past compare,
Modern: Our strength is feeble, our weakness beyond comparison,

Original: That seeming to be most which we indeed least are.
Modern: We appear to be strongest in the areas where we’re actually weakest.

Original: Then vail your stomachs, for it is no boot,
Modern: So lower your pride, because it’s useless,

Original: And place your hands below your husband’s foot;
Modern: And put your hands beneath your husband’s foot;

Original: In token of which duty, if he please,
Modern: As a sign of this duty, if it pleases him,

Original: My hand is ready, may it do him ease.
Modern: My hand is ready, and I hope it brings him comfort.

In Act V, Scene ii of “The Taming of the Shrew,” the final scene takes place at Lucentio’s house where a banquet is being held to celebrate the recent marriages of Lucentio to Bianca, Hortensio to the Widow, and Petruchio to Katherina. The men engage in conversation about their wives, with Hortensio and the Widow making remarks about shrewish behavior and the difficulties of marriage. Petruchio proposes a wager to test which of their wives is most obedient - each husband will send for his wife, and whoever’s wife comes most readily will win the bet of one hundred crowns.

When the test begins, both Bianca and the Widow refuse to come when summoned by their respective husbands, much to everyone’s surprise. However, when Petruchio calls for Katherina, she immediately appears and demonstrates complete obedience to his requests. Petruchio then asks her to fetch the other two wives, which she does successfully. Katherina delivers a lengthy speech about a wife’s duty to submit to her husband’s authority, comparing the husband to a king and the wife to a subject. Her transformation from the headstrong woman of the opening acts to this compliant wife surprises all the other characters, and Petruchio wins the wager, claiming that he now has the most obedient wife.

The Taming of the Shrew opens with an induction featuring Christopher Sly, a drunken tinker who is tricked by a lord into believing he is nobility. A troupe of players performs the main play for Sly’s entertainment, though this framing device is largely forgotten after the first act.

The central plot follows Petruchio of Verona, who comes to Padua seeking a wealthy wife. He learns of Katherina Minola, the shrewish elder daughter of the rich Baptista, whom no man dares court due to her fierce temper and sharp tongue. Baptista has decreed that no suitor may court his younger, gentler daughter Bianca until Katherina is married. Petruchio, undaunted by Katherina’s reputation and attracted by her substantial dowry, courts and weds her despite her protests and violent resistance during their first meeting.

Meanwhile, multiple suitors pursue Bianca, including Lucentio (who disguises himself as a Latin tutor), Gremio (an old pantaloon), and Hortensio (who disguises himself as a music teacher). Lucentio and his servant Tranio orchestrate an elaborate deception, with Tranio assuming his master’s identity to court Bianca openly while Lucentio teaches her in disguise. Eventually, Bianca falls in love with Lucentio, and they secretly marry, while Hortensio abandons his pursuit and marries a wealthy widow.

After his wedding, Petruchio takes Katherina to his country house, where he employs various tactics to “tame” her, including depriving her of food and sleep under the pretense that nothing is good enough for her, and contradicting her at every turn. Gradually, Katherina appears to submit to his will. The play concludes with a feast where the three new husbands wager on whose wife is most obedient. Katherina proves most compliant, delivering a lengthy speech on wifely duty and obedience, winning Petruchio the wager and apparently demonstrating her complete transformation.