Introduction
In the current essay, two plays of different genres that have been seen are presented and discussed in detail. The main aim is to provide a reasoned personal opinion on the most favorable play and the least desirable play among the five plays that have been seen in class. The following two pieces are the present paper’s subject: The Glass Menagerie and The Taming of the Shrew. Concerning the outline of the paper, it consists of two major parts: the first one is devoted to “The Glass Menagerie,” and the second one to “The Taming of the Shrew.” Firstly, a summary of the plot of each play is presented. Secondly, the reasoned personal view is stated along with the analysis.
The Glass Menagerie
The Glass Menagerie is a memory drama written in 1944 by Tennessee Williams. The play is the memory of past events in the life of Tom Wingfield, specifically why he left home. All scenes occur in his head, and he warns the audience of its possible bias. The events Tom tells about take place in St. Louis in the 1930s. He works in a shoe warehouse to help his mother, Amanda, and his sister, Laura. Their father left the family a long time ago and did not support them. Tom feels trapped, as he is obliged to support his family and cannot leave home.
Amanda is concerned with finding a man for her daughter. Laura is fragile physically and emotionally, which makes it challenging to communicate with men. Amanda asks Tom to introduce Laura to a man, and he invites his colleague Jim to their family dinner. Laura and Jim get to know each other, but then it turns out that Jim is engaged with another woman. Amanda unleashes her anger on Tom (even though he was not aware of Jim’s engagement). The story ends with Tom telling that he left his home forever shortly after the evening.
In my personal opinion, “The Glass Menagerie” is the best and the most profound play among the other four that I have seen. It involves various vital themes that are relevant in today’s world. First of all, the play makes us think about memory and its subjectivity. Tom is trapped by his mind that interprets the past events overemotionally, sentimentally, and appears far from reality. Moreover, it seems that the protagonist cannot live in the present and let his past go. He returns to his memory, repeatedly trying to find something that does not allow him to find his peace. Thus, the playwriter aims to demonstrate the two vital points: the subjectivity of the memory (other characters might have seen the events in a different light) and the importance of living in the present moment, leaving the past behind.
Secondly, the play shows an essential topic of escape: from reality and into reality. The main characters all wish to escape in specific ways. Amanda does not live her present life but instead exists in her past by projecting her dreams on her daughter, Laura. Tom wants to escape physically from his family house. He always gets away from something: he goes every night to movies to avoid his problems or drinks alcohol. Tom is not ready to change his reality, and he prefers to run away. Both scenarios (Tom’s and his mother’s) are ways to avoid problems instead of finding solutions. The play is a reminder that escape is not the right thing to do because it makes people powerless and unhappy. To sum up, I chose the play as the most favorable, as it is up-to-date, and it demonstrates issues that people of different ages and generations face.
The Taming of the Shrew
The Taming of the Shrew is a comedy written between 1590 and 1592 by William Shakespeare. The play begins in Padua, Italy, where several gentlemen came together to claim Bianca’s hand, who is the youngest daughter of the rich man, named Baptista Minola. However, the man is against Bianca getting married before his older daughter, Katherine. Bianca is a sweet young girl that attracts men, while Katherine is described as ill-tempered and harsh. At the same time, a young scholar, Lucentio, arrives in Padua along with his servant Tranio and immediately falls in love with Bianca. However, two other men claimed the hand of Bianca – Gremio, and Hortensio. They decide to search for a husband for Katherine that they can ask for the hand of Bianca. Meanwhile, Lucentio and Tranio change identities to allow Lucentio to be closer to Bianca, pretending to be her tutor. Hortensio’s friend, Petruchio, is a self-confident man who expresses an interest in Katherine (especially when he finds out the size of her dowry) and decides to ask for her hand.
After realizing that Bianca is in love with Lucentio, Hortensio and Gremio decide to stop their courtship, Hortensio gets married to a rich widow. Bianca and Lucentio happily get married, revealing everyone the identity swindle. At the play’s end, there is a celebration of Lucentio and Bianca’s wedding. Men continuously mock Petruchio for his marriage with a shrew. However, Katherine proves to be the most obedient among other wives being the only one who comes at her husband’s bidding.
The play was chosen as the least favorite because the themes and questions that are brought are outdated and irrelevant. There is no doubt that the story itself is beautiful and exciting. However, it does not offer any topics or philosophical issues relevant to today’s world. Most importantly, the play addresses the theme of gender and misogyny. The robust nature of Katherine is shown as a negative characteristic. Men have no interest in her, as she does not match traditional women’s behavior. The end of the play shows that there is no way to avoid the established rules where women do not have their voices. Shakespeare portrays the situation of the 16th century; however, in today’s developed world, misogyny is not considered a healthy state of affairs. Thus, the conclusion and its outcomes do not resonate with the modern world and its actual problems, and it can be considered only as a historical play.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the current essay aimed to present and analyze the two plays of different genres and themes. The play by Tennessee Williams “The Glass Menagerie” was chosen as the most favorable. It raises philosophical issues that are up-to-date and relevant in today’s world for most people. “The Taming of the Shrew” by William Shakespeare is the least favorable to my way of thinking. The play does not address questions that could be relevant and unresolved, as the developed world does not consider sexism and misogyny as normal situations.