The film 10 Things I Hate About You was based upon Shakespeare’s 16th century play, The Taming of the Shrew. Although many could argue that a significant amount of the play was changed in order to better entertain a 21st century audience, the directors were still able to capture the timeless elements. There are many parallels between the two stories, including quotes that are similar word for word. The overall plot is almost exactly the same as well. In The Taming of the Shrew, Lucentio wants to marry Bianca, but she cannot wed before Katherine. Lucentio then disguises himself as a schoolmaster in order to get close to Bianca and tutor her. Another man vying for Bianca’s love is Hortensio. His plan is to get Petruchio to marry Katherine, and Hortensio convinces him of this because of the large dowry that she comes with. This plan is almost perfectly mirrored in 10 Things I Hate About You. Cameron wants to date Bianca, but she cannot date until her sister Kat dates. He then acts as a French tutor in order to get to know Bianca better. Cameron has some competition because Joey also wants to take Bianca out. Joey plans to pay this boy Patrick to take Kat out on a date, so that in return, he will be able to take out Bianca. However, the major difference between the two is that in 10 Things I Hate About You, the characters actually fall in love with each other. There is no element of taming Kat. In The Taming of the Shrew, Kat is not happy with Petruchio, and he is forced to “tame” her. This difference makes sense considering the two time periods in which these works were written/created. It would not make sense for Kat to submit to dating Patrick for no apparent reason. Not many fathers in today’s society would be able to force their daughters to go on a date with someone they didn’t want to. It was acceptable back in the 16th Century for a father to choose who his daughter would marry without her consent. Katherine was not happy with Petruchio and he forced her to submit to him.
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