Audiences have always delighted in the robust comedy and verbal inventiveness of The Taming of the Shrew . It has survived many adaptations ranging from, probably, the play printed in 1594 as The Taming of the Shrew through several eighteenth-century versions to modern-dress productions and transformations into ballet, musical, film, and opera. Introducing this new edition, H.J. Oliver pays attention to the play's theatrical virtues while also providing a deeply considered study of its textual problems, structural complexities, and interpretive challenges. This book is intended for students of English literature, Shakespeare, drama, comedy from sixth-form level upwards; actors, directors, playgoers.