The Taming of the Shrew by Shakespeare
Somewhere in the English countryside, a tinker by the name of Christopher Sly becomes the mark of a joke by a local lord and is found drunk in front of an alehouse. The lord's men take Christopher to his manor and treat him as a lord. When Christopher recovers, the lord's men tell him that he is actually a lord and that he only believes himself to be a tinker because he went insane for the past years. When Christopher wakes up, he denies the story--but then he sees his wife, a pageboy dressed in women's clothes, and agrees. He wants to be alone with his wife, but then a troupe of actors appear; therefore, the play The Taming of the Shrew appears.
Baptista Minola, a rich and respectable man, has two daughters: Bianca, who is polite and modest, and Katherina, who is the "shrew"--what they call ladies with a sharp tongue.
One day, Luciento, the son of the wealthy merchant Vincentio and his servant, Tranio, happen by Baptista's house, when he, his daughters, and Gremio and Hortensio--Bianca's suitors--come out of the house.
Baptista won't let Bianca marry until Katherina has married as well. Gremio and Hortensio both reject the position of Katherina's husband. Baptista sends his daughters inside and makes the decision of shutting Bianca away save for a music teacher and a schoolmaster until Katherina has married.
Gremio and Hortensio agree that they must find a suitor for Katherina in order to see Bianca, and they both walk away. Tranio remarks on Katherina's feistiness and Luciento falls in love with Bianca at first sight. They come up with a plan to swap names and clothes, so Tranio can pretend to be Luciento and ask to be Bianca's suitor. In the plan, Tranio must agree to anything as long as Baptista doesn't promise her to anyone else, meanwhile Lucien will pretend to be a scholar and will get to know Bianca.
On his way home, Hortensio meets Petruchio, a friend from Verona who is looking for a wealthy wife. Hortensio tells Petruchio about Katherina, and Petruchio immediately says he must see her. Hortensio makes a deal with Petruchio so that he can see Katherina if he recommends Hortensio as a music master.
Just then, Gremio comes by as a scholar and Petruchio tells them that he is the one wiling to attempt to woo Katherina and possibly marry her on the condition that she has a large enough dowry (sum of money).
Tranio in the guise of Luciento comes by and tells them that he is planning to woo Bianca, and the suitors get into an argument. Petruchio breaks it up by explaining that he is the one that's going to marry Katherina, and that their happiness will only come if Petruchio succeeds in wooing Katherina.
The gentlemen go to Baptista's, and the "scholars" are sent away to teach Bianca. Petruchio asks Baptista what Katherina's dowry is, and is satisfied by the answer.
The suitors ask Baptista if they can discuss Bianca's future, and Hortensio wanders in with a broken lute on his head that had been smashed by Katherina.
Petruchio meets Katherina, who is hostile with him and even slaps him on the face. Petruchio tries to calm Katherina, and when Baptista comes, Katherina yells at her father. Petruchio tells Baptista that him and Katherina plan on marrying next Sunday, when they actually haven't.
Petruchio continues with his plan on making Katherina not a shrew, by acting even more ridiculous than her. Eventually, Katherina is too weary to argue.
Tomorrow, Tranio and Hortensio watch Luciento and Bianca, who are obviously madly in love. They each reveal their identities to each other, and then a few days later, Bianca and Luciento marry.
Petruchio and Katherina visit the party that Baptista threw to celebrate his daughters' marriages, and tries to annoy Katherina to test if she is still a shrew. Eventually she becomes weary of fighting. At the party, Luciento, Hortensio, and Petruchio decide to bet on which of their wives is the most obedient. Bianca and the widow that Hortensio married do not come, but Katherina does. And at the end, when Petruchio tells her to, Katherina tells everyone how important it is to love your husband.
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