How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Act.Scene.Line). Line numbers correspond to the Norton edition.
Quote #7
LUCENTIO
Ah, Tranio, what a cruel father's he!
But art thou not advised he took some care
To get her cunning schoolmasters to instruct her?
TRANIO
Ay, marry, am I, sir—and now 'tis plotted! (1.2.188-191)
Education is aligned with deception, no doubt, but here, Tranio's pun on "plotted" also underscores the fact that Baptista's request for tutors to school his daughters unwittingly sets the sub "plot" in motion.
Quote #8
BIANCA
Why, gentlemen, you do me double wrong
To strive for that which resteth in my choice.
I am no breeching scholar in the schools.
I'll not be tied to hours nor 'pointed times,
But learn my lessons as I please myself. (3.1.16-20)
Bianca's insistence that she is no mere schoolboy asserts her control over her own education and also over her relationship with men. We don't know it yet, but at this moment in the play, Bianca is aware that her "tutors" (at least Lucentio anyway) are actually suitors.
Quote #9
TRANIO
Faith, he is gone unto the taming school.
BIANCA
The taming-school? What, is there such a place?
TRANIO
Ay, mistress, and Petruchio is the master,
That teacheth tricks eleven and twenty long
To tame a shrew and charm her chattering tongue. (4.2.56-60)
This dialogue sets up the idea that Petruchio is some kind of master teacher. He will teach Hortensio how to control the Widow while he teaches Kate to control her "tongue." The words "tricks" and "charm" are interesting as they make Petruchio sound like a magician. We're not sure if this implies a kind of supernatural ability on Petruchio's part because the terms can also suggest that Petruchio's tactics are not real – rather, they're like the slight of hand tricks magicians use to fool audiences. This makes sense, especially given that Hortensio doesn't really learn anything thing at the so-called "taming school." The whole concept, it seems, is mere fantasy.