The Taming of the Shrew Play Blog 3

Kristen Glass

The Taming of the Shrew Play Blog 3

In “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke, “Cincinnati” by Mitsuye Yamada, and “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe, the authors use many literary devices to develop the negative emotions explored in these works. There is an intense emotion described in each piece that relates to our humanity, and we should embrace the feelings of hope and pain in order to truly attain fulfillment. Last week, I attended the American Shakespeare Society’s interpretation of The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare. A broad range of emotions were presented throughout the play and off the set. As presented in this week’s readings, it is important to identify and accept one’s emotions so they may have control over their reactions to various situations.

In “My Papa’s Waltz,” Roethke uses imagery to focus on the emotion of disappointment in order to create a pitiful scene of a drunken father and young son. Roethke states, “You beat me on my head/With a palm caked hard with dirt/Then waltzed me off to bed/Still clinging to your shirt” (Lines 13-16). This implies that the father hits his son on the head when he is drunk. However, the boy continues to love his father and is hopeful because he clings to his father’s shirt as he is put to bed. Hope and anticipation drive people to keep motivated during their daily lives. If one has hope, then they can work towards creating a better world. Before the performance, the actors of The American Shakespeare Society urged the audience to donate money for the victims of Puerto Rico. The crowd was somber and disappointed that another tragedy occurred. However, with little actions, such as donating money to hurricane victims, we forge a better connection with those who are suffering and maintain hope.

In “Cincinnati,” Yamada uses diction to provoke an emotion we all fear: rejection. In the poem, the speaker is optimistic about a new beginning until a passerby “hisses” a racial slur. Yamada states, “No one except one/hissing voice that said/dirty jap/warm spittle on my right cheek” (Lines 9-12). The diction throughout the poem such as “fumbled,” “tears,” and “warm spittle” evoke a deep connection with the audience because it allows them to envision the sickening scene. Humans yearn to be accepted by everyone and when a person is not accepted into a group, they are often left with feelings of failure. At the play, I noticed that the actors included and interacted with the audience in the performance. Chairs were set up on stage for the audience to sit in and the house lights were kept on so that everyone could see each other. People should accept one another for who they are, and not discriminate based upon physical characteristics. Everyday people must make a conscious choice to include others and follow the actions of the actors in The Taming of the Shrew, rather than the racist person in “Cincinnati.”

In “The Cask of Amontillado,” Poe utilizes dialogue between the characters to develop the emotion of revenge. Montresor is angry with Fortunato for making him look like a fool, so Montresor devises a plan to enact revenge. Montresor tricks a drunken Fortunato into following him into the catacombs, where Montresor murders Fortunato. Poe writes, “‘Yes,’ I said, ‘Let us be gone.’ ‘For the love of God, Montresor!’ ‘Yes,’ I said, ‘For the love of God.’ But to these words I hearkened in vain for a reply” (1066). Montresor continues his plan to kill Fortunato even as he begs for his life. These actions are despicable, and these emotions should not be acted upon because their main goal is to hurt another person in the process. At the play, the characters devised plans to become rich or married, but they did not want to kill each other in order to settle a score. “An eye for an eye” is a principal that encourages acting up revenge and the type of ideology that Montresor followed. Living by this motto wrongly justifies harming a person for one’s own agenda.

In this week’s readings, the authors utilized devices such as imagery, diction, and dialogue to create powerful scenes of human emotion. In “My Papa’s Waltz,” by Roethke uses imagery to connect with the emotion of disappointment in loved ones. Many audience members could envision the failure of their own family and friends and the impact it had on their emotional development. In “Cincinnati,” by Yamada uses negative diction to describe a familiar scene of rejection that every reader fears. The word choice allowed the reader to feel present speaker’s awful experience. In “The Cask of Amontillado,” Poe paints a frightening story of revenge that displays destructive human characteristics that people must learn to cope with. The Taming of the Shrew was a wonderful play that explored these emotions and many more, so the audience could better relate to the story. People must learn to properly accept their emotions so that they may lead healthier, more productive lives.