In the original play The Taming of The Shrew, William Shakespeare unfolds how Lucentio fell in love with Bianca but could not court her until her shrewish elder sister Katherina married. Later, the eccentric Petruccio moved in with the hesitant Katherina and employed different strategies to make her an obedient partner. Lucentio married Bianca, and in the end, Katherina proved to be the most obedient wife. There is numerous new film adaptation of this provocative comedy. One of such versions is the 10 Things I Hate About You shot in 1999. Although this version is based on Shakespeare’s comedy, it differs considerably on language.
The 1999 film version was a true match of the original as it adapts Shakespeare’s play and uses secondary school context. A few characters were changed, but the plot of the film remains the same as the play. The new update borrows heavily from Shakespeare’s mockery about the discourteous young beautiful woman and the old man who attempted to win her. Stratford is a grumpy, hostile character who has a blistering word for everyone; her brilliant younger sister Bianca is poised for his prominence. At the same time, her paranoid and overprotective father refuses to let Bianca court until Stratford does. Upon realizing that Cameron, Bianca’s pining suitor, was aware of this top-secret, he employs the furtive Verona through Donner to spoil their courtship. What started as a joke eventually materialized as Verona discovered that underneath her fragile exterior at 10 Things I Hate About You lies true love. Although this adaptation of Shakespeare’s playwright started as a comedy, it ended in a tragedy, the same way the original version does.
Despite the similarities in the original and the new version of Shakespeare’s playwright, they differed remarkably in language. The former version used Elizabethan English, while its updated form applied modern language. This improved copy works best with modern audiences; it allows a modern audience to view Shakespeare differently. It is needless to consult the English-Elizabethan dictionary to understand most of the words when viewing the modern version. Even though these films varied remarkably, they both have a common theme, which indicates the extent to which diversification of Shakespeare’s artwork can be transverse by different eras and generations.