Kate Pulls a Pete Townshend

In Act 2, Scene 1 of Shakespeare strongly suggests the actions and physical appearance of Hortensio through the characters’ dialogue, despite his providing only minimal stage directions. The only direction given to the actor playing Hortensio is “Enter Hortensio with his head broke.” This rather ambiguous and somewhat nonsensical statement initially leaves Hortensio’s entrance almost entirely open to interpretation. Although his head clearly cannot be physically fractured, as he has the capacity to walk into the room and talk without any signs of pain, there are many possibilities as to what may have happened to his head. A close reading of the subsequent dialogue significantly narrows down the possibilities. Baptista’s initial inquiry as Hortensio arrives on stage, “why dost thou look so pale?” indicates that the actor playing Hortensio must enter while appearing visibly out of sorts. In Hortensio’s following monologue, he strongly alludes to the current status of the lute following Katherine’s first lesson, as “she hath broke the lute to me”. This suggests a scene in which Katherine physically breaks the lute in a manner that somehow involves Hortensio. Since the opening stage directions mentioned Hortensio’s head, his subsequent exposition fits within the actor’s expanding mental picture of the scene “And with that word she struck me one the head, And through the instrument my pate made way”. This portion of Hortensio’s speech completes the aspiring actor’s picture of his character at this juncture; Hortensio must enter the stage with a broken lute around his neck like a collar. The exposition is not yet complete at this stage of Hortensio’s monologue. On the off chance that an actor might still not understand Hortensio’s intended appearance, Shakespeare offers one final hint when Hortensio says “ And there I stood amazed for a while, As on a pillory, looking through the lute”. This reference to one’s head sticking out through a wooden opening in a pillory, makes the lute’s position on Hortensio even more clear. None of these expository statements are necessary for the audience’s understanding of the scene if the actors portray it successfully; rather they serve to increase the actors’ understanding of the scene while simultaneously adding to the humorous events appearing on stage.