Character

Petruchio in The Taming of the Shrew

Role: A gentleman fortune-hunter who woos and "tames" Katherina through contradiction, wit, and psychological manipulation Family: Son of the deceased Antonio; inherits lands and wealth in Verona First appearance: Act 1, Scene 2 Last appearance: Act 5, Scene 2 Approx. lines: 172

Petruchio arrives in Padua as a fortune hunter, explicit about his intentions: he has come to marry a wealthy woman, any woman, to support himself. He is bold, improvisational, and utterly without romantic sentiment. When Hortensio warns him that Katherina is a notorious shrew—impossible to court, unbearable to marry—Petruchio’s response is immediate: he will marry her. Not because he loves her, but because the dowry is sufficient and the challenge amuses him. He speaks confidently of his ability to endure her, comparing himself to mountains that do not shake in the wind, and to men who have heard lions roar and cannons fire. Her tongue, he insists, is nothing.

Petruchio’s method of courtship is extraordinary: he praises Katherina’s worst qualities as if they were virtues. When she insults him, he tells her she sings like a nightingale. When she frowns, he says she looks like the morning roses. He woos her through contradiction, a strategy that seems designed not to convince her but to exhaust her resistance, to make her see that engaging with him on his own terms might be easier than fighting. He marries her swiftly and takes her to his remote country house, where he withholds food and sleep while insisting everything is an act of love. He tells her the sun is the moon, the moon is the sun, and she is beautiful when she is angry. By the end of Act 4, Kate begins to agree with his inversions, calling the sun a “rush-candle” and an old man a “young budding virgin.” The play never clarifies whether she has been broken, transformed, or is simply playing the same game he invented.

What makes Petruchio compelling is that he genuinely seems to enjoy Kate by the end. His contradictions are not entirely cynical; there is real pleasure in their wit-play, real intimacy in their shared ability to see through pretense. When he returns to Padua, he boasts of her obedience, and when she delivers her long speech on wifely duty, he calls her “a wench” and takes her to bed—language and action that could be read as either dominance or affection, or both at once. The play leaves Petruchio as an enigma: a man who set out to marry for money but may have found something more, or who has simply proven that he is the better player of the marriage game.

Key quotes

Say that she rail, why then I'll tell her plain / She sings as sweetly as a nightingale:

If she yells at me, I'll just tell her straight out That she sings as sweetly as a nightingale:

Petruchio · Act 2, Scene 1

Petruchio has just learned that Kate is a shrew and immediately declares his strategy to Hortensio: he will answer her fury with extravagant praise. This line is famous because it crystallizes the entire philosophy of the taming — conquest through contradiction and relentless inversion of reality. It shows Petruchio as a man who sees shrewishness not as an obstacle but as a game he can win through wit.

Not I, believe me: thus I'll visit her.

Not me, believe me: I'll visit her like this.

Petruchio · Act 3, Scene 2

When Baptista suggests Petruchio change into better clothes before visiting Kate, Petruchio refuses. This moment reveals his strategy: he will not conform to anyone's expectations, not even the father of his bride. It foreshadows the systematic inversion of reality he will inflict on Kate at his house.

Thus have I politicly begun my reign, / And 'tis my hope to end successfully.

This is how I've cleverly started my reign, / And I hope to finish it just as well.

Petruchio · Act 4, Scene 1

After subjecting Kate to hunger, sleeplessness, and deliberate humiliation, Petruchio reflects on his method. He compares his treatment of Kate to falconry—using deprivation to train her. The word 'reign' reveals his ideology: marriage is a kingdom where he is the monarch and she must learn to obey.

Nay, then you lie: it is the blessed sun.

No, you're wrong: it's the blessed sun.

Petruchio · Act 4, Scene 5

On the road to Padua, Kate agrees that the moon is the sun when Petruchio insists. His immediate reversal—calling it the sun again—is the play's most perfect moment of linguistic power. It shows that for Petruchio, truth is not fixed but belongs to whoever has the will to name it.

And as the sun breaks through the darkest clouds, / So honour peereth in the meanest habit.

And just as the sun breaks through the darkest clouds, / Honour shines even in the most modest attire.

Petruchio · Act 4, Scene 3

Petruchio speaks this line when Kate protests his shabby clothes for their journey home. He argues that inner worth transcends outward appearance, a philosophy that extends to Kate herself—her true nature will shine regardless of what she wears or how he has manipulated her. The image is beautiful and memorable, though its irony is sharp.

Relationships

Petruchio & Katherina

husband; claims to "tame" her through love and contradiction

Petruchio & Grumio

servant; loyal companion and accomplice in his schemes

Petruchio & Hortensio

fellow suitor and friend; collaborates to win Bianca's hand

Petruchio & Gremio

rival suitor; competes for Bianca before Petruchio arrives

Petruchio & Tranio

acquaintance; recognizes the scheme with the false Vincentio

Petruchio & Baptista Minola

father-in-law; negotiates dowry and marriage terms

Where Petruchio appears

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