Original: Even as a flatt’ring dream or worthless fancy.
Modern: Just like a tempting dream or silly daydream.

Original: Then take him up, and manage well the jest:
Modern: So pick him up and handle this prank carefully:

Original: Carry him gently to my fairest chamber,
Modern: Carry him gently to my most beautiful bedroom,

Original: And hang it round with all my wanton pictures;
Modern: And decorate it with all my luxurious paintings;

Original: Balm his foul head in warm distilled waters,
Modern: Wash his dirty head with warm scented water,

Original: And burn sweet wood to make the lodging sweet;
Modern: And burn fragrant wood to make the room smell pleasant;

Original: Procure me music ready when he wakes,
Modern: Get musicians ready for when he wakes up,

Original: To make a dulcet and a heavenly sound;
Modern: To make sweet and beautiful music;

Original: And if he chance to speak, be ready straight,
Modern: And if he happens to speak, be ready immediately,

Original: And with a low submissive reverence
Modern: And with humble, respectful bowing

Original: Say ‘What is it your honour will command?’
Modern: Say ‘What would your lordship like me to do?’

Original: Let one attend him with a silver basin
Modern: Have one servant wait on him with a silver bowl

Original: Full of rose-water and bestrew’d with flowers;
Modern: Filled with rose water and scattered with flower petals;

Original: Another bear the ewer, the third a diaper,
Modern: Another should carry the water pitcher, a third should hold a towel,

Original: And say ‘Will’t please your lordship cool your hands?’
Modern: And ask ‘Would your lordship like to wash your hands?’

Original: Some one be ready with a costly suit,
Modern: Someone should have expensive clothes ready,

Original: And ask him what apparel he will wear;
Modern: And ask him what outfit he’d like to put on;

Original: Another tell him of his hounds and horse,
Modern: Another should tell him about his hunting dogs and horses,

Original: And that his lady mourns at his disease;
Modern: And that his wife is worried sick about his illness;

Original: Persuade him that he hath been lunatic,
Modern: Convince him that he’s been temporarily insane,

Original: And, when he says he is, say that he dreams,
Modern: And when he says he’s crazy, tell him he’s just dreaming,

Original: For he is nothing but a mighty lord.
Modern: Because he’s nothing less than a powerful nobleman.

Original: This do, and do it kindly, gentle sirs;
Modern: Do all this, and do it with kindness, gentlemen;

Original: It will be pastime passing excellent,
Modern: It will be extremely entertaining,

Original: If it be husbanded with modesty.
Modern: If it’s managed with restraint and good taste.

The Prologue of “The Taming of the Shrew” opens outside an alehouse where Christopher Sly, a drunken tinker, has fallen asleep after being ejected by the Hostess for refusing to pay for broken glasses. A Lord returning from hunting discovers the unconscious Sly and devises an elaborate practical joke. He instructs his servants to carry Sly to his manor and treat him as if he were a nobleman who has been suffering from a long illness and delusion that he was a poor tinker.

When Sly awakens in luxurious surroundings, he initially protests his true identity, insisting he is Christopher Sly of Burton Heath. However, the Lord’s servants, along with a page disguised as Sly’s supposed wife, gradually convince him through persistent deception and the promise of comfort that he is indeed a lord who has been mad for fifteen years. Eventually, Sly accepts this new identity and agrees to watch a play that traveling actors will perform for his entertainment. The servants announce that the comedy called “The Taming of the Shrew” is about to begin, setting up the frame for the main dramatic action that follows.

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.