A: The Taming of the Shrew, by William Shakespeare, is a comedy that is full of deception and disguise.

The play begins when a Lord decides to play a trick on a drunken tinker called Christopher Sly. The Lord takes Sly back to his castle and tells him that he (Sly) is also a Lord who has lost his memory. A group of actors appear to perform a play just for Sly.      Graphic explanation

B: The play (within the play) is about Baptista and his two daughters, Katherina and Bianca, her younger sister. Bianca has many suitors (including Hortensio and Gremio) but she cannot marry until Katherina has found a husband. It seems that no-one will want to marry Katherina, who is a shrew - an unpleasant, bad-tempered woman. But Petruchio, who is looking for a rich wife, decides to woo her and at the same time help his friend Hortensio to marry Bianca. To tame Katherina, Petruchio pretends to find her rude behaviour polite, and he is very unkind to her on their wedding day. He compares his treatment of her to the taming of a wild hawk, and eventually he is successful.

C: While all this has been happening, a man from Pisa called Lucentio has fallen in love with Bianca. He wins her hand by changing places with his servant, Tranio, and pretending to be a teacher. Gremio and Hortensio are disappointed, but Hortensio immediately finds a rich widow to marry.

The play ends at a feast to celebrate the three weddings - of Katherina to Petruchio, Bianca to Lucentio and Hortensio to the widow. During the feast the bridegrooms make a bet on who is the most submissive wife. Petruchio wins the bet as Katherina shows that she has been completely tamed.