Mojo, Will, & Me

 

For though you lay here in this goodly chamber,

Yet would you say ye were beaten out of door;

And rail upon the hostess of the house;

-First Servant

The Taming of the Shrew      Ind., Scene ii, Line 86

This is the second act of the Induction, which is sort of a different word for introduction. It is a two-scene story which precedes the play. Whilst it is thematically linked to the play, the induction has nothing to do with the action of the play itself. So that’s a little odd. But who am I to question Will?

I’m not going to give you the full story of the induction. It’s about three pages long and I’ll give you the link so that you can read it if you’d like. Long story, very short, it’s about transforming someone, in this case a n’er do well drunk, into a cultured gentleman.

And this of course is basically the theme of the play, transformation. In the case of the Induction, it’s the transformation of a man via trickery.  In the case of the play, it’s a forced transformation of a woman: a taming. Or is it? Hmmm, something to think about.

The Taming of the Shrew - Induction (shakespeare-online.com)

Okay, first off, here's the link to the Induction, so that you can read it.

And second off, if you read the Induction, you will understand the relevance of this pic. And by the way, I should tell you that the fine print on the label informs us that, though this ale was not brewed in England, it has its origin in Burton-upon-Trent in England around 1820. So, it's even more relevant.