Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare*****

Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare has been adapted so many different times and in so many different ways, that the original has been forgotten. This is Shakespeare, and he does not disappoint. He can turn a phrase.

"I have no more doublets than backs, no more stockings than legs, nor no more shoes than feet."

But the role of women underlies the play. A role that is subservient for reproduction

"KATHERINA Asses are made to bear, and so are you.
PETRUCHIO Women are made to bear, and so are you."

and sex

"What, with my tongue in your tail?"

At the bottom, this is a play about brainwashing.

"Am starved for meat, giddy for the lack of sleep,
With oath kept waking and with brawling fed;
And that which spites me more than all these wants,
He does it under the name of perfect love,
As who should say, if I should sleep or eat,
'Twere deadly sickness of else present death"

So we have a comedy about torture and Stockholm Syndrome.

An exceedingly well-written comedy about torture and Stockholm Syndrome.

This might explain why there have been so many adaptations. The plot about love and marriage is timeless, but adaptation is necessary to match the evolution of society.

I just rewatched 10 Things I Hate About You. Though based on the Shakespeare play, the men are more changed than the women in line with the over four centuries that have passed since the original.