Sir, this is the house; please it you that I call?
Sir, this is the house; please it you that I call?
Sir, this is the house; please it you that I call?
Sir, this is the house; please it you that I call?
Ay, what else? and, but I be deceived,
Signior Baptista may remember me,
Near twenty years ago in Genoa,
Where we were lodgers at the Pegasus.
Ay, what else? and, but I be deceived, Signior Baptista may remember me, Near twenty years ago in Genoa, Where we were lodgers at the Pegasus.
Ay, what else? and, but I be deceived, Signior Baptista may remember me, Near twenty years ago in Ge...
Ay, what else? and, but I be deceived, Signior Baptista may remember me, Near twenty...
’Tis well; and hold your own, in any case,
With such austerity as ’longeth to a father.
’Tis well; and hold your own, in any case, With such austerity as ’longeth to a father.
’Tis well; and hold your own, in any case, With such austerity as ’longeth to a father.
’Tis well; and hold your own, in any case, With such austerity as ’longeth to a father.
I warrant you. But, sir, here comes your boy;
’Twere good he were school’d.
I warrant you. But, sir, here comes your boy; ’Twere good he were school’d.
I warrant you. But, sir, here comes your boy; ’Twere good he were school’d.
I warrant you. But, sir, here comes your boy; ’Twere good he were school’d.
Fear you not him. Sirrah Biondello,
Now do your duty throughly, I advise you.
Imagine ’twere the right Vincentio.
Fear you not him. Sirrah Biondello, Now do your duty throughly, I advise you. Imagine ’twere the right Vincentio.
Fear you not him. Sirrah Biondello, Now do your duty throughly, I advise you. Imagine ’twere the rig...
Fear you not him. Sirrah Biondello, Now do your duty throughly, I advise you. Imagine ’twere the right Vincentio.
Tut! fear not me.
Tut! fear not me.
Tut! fear not me.
Tut! fear not me.
But hast thou done thy errand to Baptista?
But hast thou done thy errand to Baptista?
But hast thou done thy errand to Baptista?
But hast thou done thy errand to Baptista?
I told him that your father was at Venice,
And that you look’d for him this day in Padua.
I told him that your father was at Venice, And that you look’d for him this day in Padua.
I told him that your father was at Venice, And that you look’d for him this day in Padua.
I told him that your father was at Venice, And that you look’d for him this day in Padua.
Th’art a tall fellow; hold thee that to drink.
Here comes Baptista. Set your countenance, sir.
Th’art a tall fellow; hold thee that to drink. Here comes Baptista. Set your countenance, sir.
Th’art a tall fellow; hold thee that to drink. Here comes Baptista. Set your countenance, sir.
Th’art a tall fellow; hold thee that to drink. Here comes Baptista. Set your countenance, sir.
What Lucentio and Bianca are about to do is technically illegal — or at minimum extralegal. In Elizabethan England, a valid marriage required the father's consent for a minor, public banns announced on three successive Sundays, and a church ceremony. Bianca is presumably a minor (her father's ward), so marrying without his consent could be challenged. The entire scaffolding Tranio has erected — the fake father, the false assurance, the dowry negotiation — is designed to manufacture retrospective consent. When Baptista discovers the deception in 5-1, his main complaint is not the marriage itself but that he wasn't actually consulted. The play treats it as romantic comedy rather than genuine legal violation. But the Pedant's 'legal' performance reveals how much of Elizabethan marriage was performance to begin with.
Soft, son!
Sir, by your leave: having come to Padua
To gather in some debts, my son Lucentio
Made me acquainted with a weighty cause
Of love between your daughter and himself:
And,—for the good report I hear of you,
And for the love he beareth to your daughter,
And she to him,—to stay him not too long,
I am content, in a good father’s care,
To have him match’d; and, if you please to like
No worse than I, upon some agreement
Me shall you find ready and willing
With one consent to have her so bestow’d;
For curious I cannot be with you,
Signior Baptista, of whom I hear so well.
Soft, son! Sir, by your leave: having come to Padua To gather in some debts, my son Lucentio Made me acquainted with a weighty cause Of love between y...
Soft, son! Sir, by your leave: having come to Padua To gather in some debts, my son Lucentio Made me...
Soft, son! Sir, by your leave: having come to Padua To gather in some debts,...
Sir, pardon me in what I have to say.
Your plainness and your shortness please me well.
Right true it is your son Lucentio here
Doth love my daughter, and she loveth him,
Or both dissemble deeply their affections;
And therefore, if you say no more than this,
That like a father you will deal with him,
And pass my daughter a sufficient dower,
The match is made, and all is done:
Your son shall have my daughter with consent.
Sir, pardon me in what I have to say. Your plainness and your shortness please me well. Right true it is your son Lucentio here Doth love my daughter,...
Sir, pardon me in what I have to say. Your plainness and your shortness please me well. Right true i...
Sir, pardon me in what I have to say. Your plainness and your shortness please...
I thank you, sir. Where then do you know best
We be affied, and such assurance ta’en
As shall with either part’s agreement stand?
I thank you, sir. Where then do you know best We be affied, and such assurance ta’en As shall with either part’s agreement stand?
I thank you, sir. Where then do you know best We be affied, and such assurance ta’en As shall with e...
I thank you, sir. Where then do you know best We be affied, and such...
Not in my house, Lucentio, for you know
Pitchers have ears, and I have many servants;
Besides, old Gremio is hearkening still,
And happily we might be interrupted.
Not in my house, Lucentio, for you know Pitchers have ears, and I have many servants; Besides, old Gremio is hearkening still, And happily we might be...
Not in my house, Lucentio, for you know Pitchers have ears, and I have many servants; Besides, old G...
Not in my house, Lucentio, for you know Pitchers have ears, and I have many...
Then at my lodging, and it like you:
There doth my father lie; and there this night
We’ll pass the business privately and well.
Send for your daughter by your servant here;
My boy shall fetch the scrivener presently.
The worst is this, that at so slender warning
You are like to have a thin and slender pittance.
Then at my lodging, and it like you: There doth my father lie; and there this night We’ll pass the business privately and well. Send for your daughter...
Then at my lodging, and it like you: There doth my father lie; and there this night We’ll pass the b...
Then at my lodging, and it like you: There doth my father lie; and there...
It likes me well. Cambio, hie you home,
And bid Bianca make her ready straight;
And, if you will, tell what hath happened:
Lucentio’s father is arriv’d in Padua,
And how she’s like to be Lucentio’s wife.
It likes me well. Cambio, hie you home, And bid Bianca make her ready straight; And, if you will, tell what hath happened: Lucentio’s father is arriv’...
It likes me well. Cambio, hie you home, And bid Bianca make her ready straight; And, if you will, te...
It likes me well. Cambio, hie you home, And bid Bianca make her ready straight;...
I pray the gods she may, with all my heart!
I pray the gods she may, with all my heart!
I pray the gods she may, with all my heart!
I pray the gods she may, with all my heart!
Dally not with the gods, but get thee gone.
Signior Baptista, shall I lead the way?
Welcome! One mess is like to be your cheer;
Come, sir; we will better it in Pisa.
Dally not with the gods, but get thee gone. Signior Baptista, shall I lead the way? Welcome! One mess is like to be your cheer; Come, sir; we will bet...
Dally not with the gods, but get thee gone. Signior Baptista, shall I lead the way? Welcome! One mes...
Dally not with the gods, but get thee gone. Signior Baptista, shall I lead the...
I follow you.
I follow you.
I follow you.
I follow you.
Cambio!
Cambio!
Cambio!
Cambio!
What say’st thou, Biondello?
What say’st thou, Biondello?
What say’st thou, Biondello?
What say’st thou, Biondello?
You saw my master wink and laugh upon you?
You saw my master wink and laugh upon you?
You saw my master wink and laugh upon you?
You saw my master wink and laugh upon you?
Biondello, what of that?
Biondello, what of that?
Biondello, what of that?
Biondello, what of that?
Biondello's parting line — 'I once knew a girl married in an afternoon on her way to the garden to get parsley to stuff a rabbit' — is one of the most perfectly calibrated comic exits in Shakespeare. It makes three things happen simultaneously: it gives Lucentio permission to act immediately, it deflates the romantic atmosphere with an absurd domestic image (parsley, rabbit), and it conveys the message that marriage is something that can happen so fast even the participants barely notice it. The image also subtly comments on Bianca: she's been the 'nice' sister, the domestic ideal. Biondello's image of a girl marrying on a vegetable errand contains a compressed version of the whole Bianca subplot — practical, quick, unromantic at bottom.
Faith, nothing; but has left me here behind to expound the meaning or
moral of his signs and tokens.
Faith, nothing; but has left me here behind to expound the meaning or moral of his signs and tokens.
Faith, nothing; but has left me here behind to expound the meaning or moral of his signs and tokens.
Faith, nothing; but has left me here behind to expound the meaning or moral of his signs and tokens.
I pray thee moralize them.
I pray thee moralize them.
I pray thee moralize them.
I pray thee moralize them.
Then thus: Baptista is safe, talking with the deceiving father of a
deceitful son.
Then thus: Baptista is safe, talking with the deceiving father of a deceitful son.
Then thus: Baptista is safe, talking with the deceiving father of a deceitful son.
Then thus: Baptista is safe, talking with the deceiving father of a deceitful son.
And what of him?
And what of him?
And what of him?
And what of him?
His daughter is to be brought by you to the supper.
His daughter is to be brought by you to the supper.
His daughter is to be brought by you to the supper.
His daughter is to be brought by you to the supper.
And then?
And then?
And then?
And then?
The old priest at Saint Luke’s church is at your command at all hours.
The old priest at Saint Luke’s church is at your command at all hours.
The old priest at Saint Luke’s church is at your command at all hours.
The old priest at Saint Luke’s church is at your command at all hours.
And what of all this?
And what of all this?
And what of all this?
And what of all this?
I cannot tell, except they are busied about a counterfeit assurance.
Take your assurance of her, _cum privilegio ad imprimendum solum_; to
the church! take the priest, clerk, and some sufficient honest
witnesses. If this be not that you look for, I have more to say, But
bid Bianca farewell for ever and a day.
I cannot tell, except they are busied about a counterfeit assurance. Take your assurance of her, _cum privilegio ad imprimendum solum_; to the church!...
I cannot tell, except they are busied about a counterfeit assurance. Take your assurance of her, _cu...
I cannot tell, except they are busied about a counterfeit assurance. Take your assurance of...
Hear’st thou, Biondello?
Hear’st thou, Biondello?
Hear’st thou, Biondello?
Hear’st thou, Biondello?
I cannot tarry: I knew a wench married in an afternoon as she went to
the garden for parsley to stuff a rabbit; and so may you, sir; and so
adieu, sir. My master hath appointed me to go to Saint Luke’s to bid
the priest be ready to come against you come with your appendix.
I cannot tarry: I knew a wench married in an afternoon as she went to the garden for parsley to stuff a rabbit; and so may you, sir; and so adieu, sir...
I cannot tarry: I knew a wench married in an afternoon as she went to the garden for parsley to stuf...
I cannot tarry: I knew a wench married in an afternoon as she went to...
I may, and will, if she be so contented.
She will be pleas’d; then wherefore should I doubt?
Hap what hap may, I’ll roundly go about her;
It shall go hard if Cambio go without her:
I may, and will, if she be so contented. She will be pleas’d; then wherefore should I doubt? Hap what hap may, I’ll roundly go about her; It shall go ...
I may, and will, if she be so contented. She will be pleas’d; then wherefore should I doubt? Hap wha...
I may, and will, if she be so contented. She will be pleas’d; then wherefore...
The Reckoning
This is pure plot machinery, but it moves fast and runs on the energy of a plan about to execute — successfully or not. The fake Vincentio is convincing, Baptista is satisfied, and Biondello's rapid-fire briefing to Lucentio at the end has the velocity of someone about to jump off a bridge with the parachute they hope they packed correctly.
If this happened today…
The moment before a heist closes: the forger is playing the mark's father convincingly, the paperwork looks good, the mark is happy, and now someone is whispering the last-minute logistics — priest is waiting, forty-minute window, go now. Everyone knows the con works only if nobody checks the actual ID. Nobody checks.