Christine+Walden

= Move! =

= =

==== Within the play “Taming of the Shrew” the meaning of love was constantly put into question. Was it true? Will it last? Does it even exist? Yet even in its quest to confuse and bemuse, a clear example slipped through. As we watched Katherine and Petruchio bicker and banter, true love did find itself a happy home within Bianca and Lucentio. As readers, we were privy to what can most aptly be called love at first sight. As Lucentio fought off the wiles of other men and Bianca deceived her beloved father, they grew more and more attached. It was this plot line that I felt best tied together this and the second film, “Moonstruck.” ==== ==== “Moonstruck” is the story of a woman bordering on forty getting ready to settle into a loveless marriage when she encounters her fiancé’s passionate brother, who does a wonderful job of exciting her once jaded heart. Just as Bianca found love even at the expense of her father’s wish she avoid such feelings until her sister's marriage. Similarly, Loretta, the protagonist of “Moonstruck”, found herself tumbling into love as well despite the fact it was with her fiancé’s brother. **These two films showed how utterly overtaking love at first sight can be, leaving reason behind and propriety at home, those finding themselves afflicted with the emotion can do nothing other than aim to fall gracefully as possible.** ==== = Love at First Sight =

== "I found the effect of love-in-idleness, and now in plainness do confess to thee that art to me as secret and as dear as Anne to the Queen of Carthage was: Tranio, I burn, I pine! I perish, Tranio, If I achieve not this young modest girl." (Pg. 41 Act 1 Sc. Lines: 153-160) ==

=== This quote was said by Lucentio upon seeing Bianca. In the quote he is saying that he loves her with such a passion, it is only rivaled by the classics. He is even prophesied his own death if he could not have her! The power of this love, if the words do not adequately show, is strong enough for him to go up against several suitors who have long since "laid their claim" while also having to deal with the fact that at the present Bianca has no idea who he is. ===

RONNY: I like it well done.
=== This quote exemplifies this idea of love at first sight. This exchange happened on the day these two met, there was an instant attraction leading to them going back to his house and resulted in steak and a very intimate connection. These two proceeded to feed the attraction between them despite the fact that she happens to be engaged to his brother. This relationship is similar to the one Lucentio is forging with Bianca in the sense that they both chose to pursue their serendipitous romances regardless of the things standing in their way, whether it is a group of suitors or a fiance. ===

= Parental Involvement =

==== As mentioned in that first introductory paragraph, love at first sight ranks among the unstoppable forces in this world. However, the only way to truly test an unstoppable force is to place everything in its way, a type of logic commonly seen used by the parents in this tale. In “Taming of the Shrew” when Baptista created his rule, he did not seek to punish, he simply wanted to ensure Katherine got a husband as well. The same can be seen in “Moonstruck”, when Loretta's father, Cosmo, voiced his objections to her engagement, it was not because he believed her ill-prepared or at fault rather it was because of his uneasiness with the man, Mr.Johnny. Yet in both cases, even when posed with threats Loretta and Lucentio chose to ignore the parent’s request; an effect of placing something in the path of an unstoppable force. ====

= "Gentlemen, importune me no farther, for how I firmly am resolved you know: that is, not to bestow my youngest daughter before I have a husband for the elder." =

(Pg. 33 Act 1 Sc. 1 Lines: 48-51)
=== Baptista, Bianca's father, has decided that she cannot marry until her notoriously wayward sister is wed. This has forced Lucentio to take to rather unorthodoxed means to get to Bianca, such as pretending to be a school master in order to get an audience with Bianca. This has once again shown the sheer power of this love, for a women he has seen for all of ten minutes he is willing to trade identities just to be near her! ===



COSMO: I won't come.
=== At this point Cosmo, Loretta's father, is objecting to her marriage to Mr. Johnny. He feels that Johnny has bad luck, he has decided that he will not come to the wedding due to his dislike. Similarly to Baptista with Bianca, he has placed what he considers to be an important thing in his daughter's path to guarantee things work in his order. This showed that the fathers in the stories both sought to keep as much control as they could, whether forcing reliance on a 'shrew' of a sister or threatening not to attend the wedding. However, in both cases the fathers are left under the impression that their children are respecting their decision when in truth they are choosing to work around it. As seen with Bianca and Lucentio illicit conversations under the guise of pupil and teacher. The role of the parent in both circumstances was an obstacle that proved to only fortify what had since started blossoming, a love started off a look. ===

Conclusion
“Moonstruck” and “Taming of the Shrew” were two stories that allowed us to witness a phenomenon. We were able to watch people fall into what can be described as “ill-advised” romances that proved to be the best choice they ever made. Both Lucentio and Loretta were forced to circumvent the wishes of those around them in order to attain what their hearts pined for, regardless of ‘imprudent’ that may appear. Whether Shakespeare intended this to be a key point to his play or not we may never know, but time has long been an indicator, true love does exist and it only takes a moment to fall hopelessly into it.