The Taming of the Shrew Lucentio Quotes

Lucentio

Quote 4

LUCENTIO
Hic ibat, as I told you before, Simois, I am
Lucentio, hic est, son unto Vincentio of Pisa,
Sigeia tellus, disguised thus to get your love, Hic
steterat
, and that 'Lucentio' that comes a-wooing,
Priami, is my man Tranio, regia, bearing my port,
celsa senis, that we might beguile the old pantaloon. (3.1.33-38)

When Lucentio reads an excerpt from Ovid's Heroides and reveals his love for Bianca instead of translating the Latin lines to English, education becomes a disguise (like any other costume in play) for the act of courtship. The theme of education in this passage can also help us think about how the act of translation (turning words from one language into another while retaining the same sense or meaning) is a kind of transformation. While Lucentio's outside appearance changes (from Lucentio to "Cambio"), the person on the inside remains exactly the same.

Lucentio > Tranio

Quote 5

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.

Lucentio

Quote 6

LUCENTIO
Pardon, sweet father.             Lucentio and Bianca kneel.
VINCENTIO
                                     Lives my sweet son? (5.1.113-114)

In order for the play to set the world in its rightful place and restore the proper social order, children must reconcile with their parents. We're not sure why Vincentio forgives Lucentio so quickly and easily (aside from the obvious fact that he's happy to see his kid is alive and the play can't drag on forever). It does seem, however, that gesture must be made publicly in order for things to work out. Bianca follows suit in the next lines. Later, of course, Kate makes the exact same gesture toward Petruchio in Act 5, Scene 2, kneeling at his feet before a very public audience.