Sociolinguistic and literary approaches to the study of Katherina's character change in Shakespear's taming of the shrew

Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew is the portrayal of women's behaviour which is not supposed to be done. Shakespeare tried to disclose women's bad temper through the character of Katherina, a shrew. In this thesis, the writer would like to find out whether or not Katherina's language reflects her character. Katherina's language before her character change is reflected in her use of coarse language which includes taboo words, sarcasms, and impolite terms of address. In changing Katherina's character, Shakespeare used the character Petruchio who finally succeeded in taming her bad habit. Through sociolinguistic approach the writer of this thesis tries to analyze the social factors of her conversations. The writer would like to prove that Katherina's character change is refelcted in the change of her language. Katherina's language after her character change is reflected in the use of refined language - euphony, and formal terms of address. Her use of refined language shows that she has totally changed, from shrewish to unshrewish