Original: Sir, by your leave: having come to Padua
Modern: Sir, with your permission: having arrived in Padua

Original: To gather in some debts, my son Lucentio
Modern: To collect money owed to me, my son Lucentio

Original: Made me acquainted with a weighty cause
Modern: Told me about an important matter

Original: Of love between your daughter and himself;
Modern: Concerning the love between your daughter and him;

Original: And- for the good report I hear of you,
Modern: And because of the good reputation I’ve heard about you,

Original: And for the love he beareth to your daughter,
Modern: And because of the love he has for your daughter,

Original: And she to him- to stay him not too long,
Modern: And her love for him—so as not to delay him too long,

Original: I am content, in a good father’s care,
Modern: I am willing, as a caring father,

Original: To have him match’d; and, if you please to like
Modern: To have him married; and if you’re willing to approve

Original: No worse than I, upon some agreement
Modern: As much as I do, once we come to an agreement

Original: Me shall you find ready and willing
Modern: You’ll find me ready and willing

Original: With one consent to have her so bestow’d;
Modern: To agree completely to have her married this way;

Original: For curious I cannot be with you,
Modern: For I cannot be overly fussy or difficult with you,

Original: Signior Baptista, of whom I hear so well.
Modern: Signior Baptista, since I’ve heard such good things about you.

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.