Tranio is Lucentio's servant and the mastermind behind much of the scheming throughout the play. He encourages Lucentio to disguise himself as a teacher for Bianca and he himself pretends to be Lucentio for much of the play. Tranio uses his clever wit to get Lucentio and himself out of difficult situations, and also to poke fun at the noblemen he serves. He often feigns ignorance and interprets things overly literally, allowing him to annoy and joke with Lucentio and Vincentio.
Tranio Quotes in The Taming of the Shrew
The The Taming of the Shrew quotes below are all either spoken by Tranio or refer to Tranio. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Act 1, Scene 1
Quotes
Act 4, Scene 2
Quotes
Tranio: Faith, he is gone unto the taming school.
Bianca: The taming school? What, is there such a place?
Tranio: Ay, mistress, and Petruchio is the master,
That teacheth tricks eleven and twenty long
To tame a shrew and charm her chattering tongue.
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
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Tranio Character Timeline in The Taming of the Shrew
The timeline below shows where the character Tranio appears in The Taming of the Shrew. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Act 1, Scene 1
Lucentio enters with his servant Tranio. He has just arrived in Padua, eager to study philosophy. Tranio says that he, too,...
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...Katherine is "too rough," (i.1.55) for him. Katherine responds harshly to Gremio and Hortensio, and Tranio notes how difficult and badly behaved Katherine seems.
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...Katherine, so that they may fairly compete for Bianca's hand in marriage. They exit, leaving Tranio and Lucentio alone on-stage.
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...he has suddenly fallen in love with Bianca and is desperate to win her heart. Tranio asks if Lucentio also heard about the arrangement with Katherine, and saw Bianca's rude, boisterous...
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Tranio coyly asks who will play the part of Lucentio, if Lucentio is the teacher. Lucentio...
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Act 1, Scene 2
Tranio enters, disguised as Lucentio, with his servant Biondello. Tranio asks the group how to get...
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Petruchio informs Tranio that Bianca cannot marry until her older sister, whom he wants as his wife, is...
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Act 2, Scene 1
...with Lucentio (disguised as Cambio). Petruchio enters with Hortensio (disguised as a tutor named Litio). Tranio (disguised as Lucentio) enters with Biondello. Petruchio introduces himself and tells Baptista he is interested...
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...Greek, Latin, and other languages. Baptista thanks him for the teacher, and then asks who Tranio is. Tranio introduces himself as Lucentio, and says that he is a suitor for Bianca....
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Baptista enters with Gremio and Tranio (disguised as Lucentio). Katherine complains to her father that he has wed her to a...
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...figuring out who Bianca's husband will be. Gremio claims that he loved Bianca first, but Tranio says he loves her more. Baptista breaks up their dispute by saying that whoever offers...
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Act 3, Scene 2
It is Katherine and Petruchio's wedding day, and Baptista, Gremio, Katherine, Bianca, Tranio (disguised as Lucentio), and Lucentio (disguised as Cambio) are all present for the ceremony. Petruchio,...
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...asks where Katherine is. Baptista is offended by Petruchio's lateness and ridiculous clothing. He and Tranio tell Petruchio to change his clothes before seeing Katherine. Petruchio refuses and goes to find...
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Left alone, Tranio and Lucentio discuss their plan to get Bianca for Lucentio. Tranio tells him that he...
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...and Petruchio were wed. He calls Petruchio "a devil, a devil, a very fiend," (iii.2.157). Tranio counters that Katherine is a devil, herself, but according to Gremio, she's "a lamb, a...
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...announces that he will leave now, skipping the traditional wedding feast that has been arranged. Tranio and Gremio ask him to stay, but Petruchio insists that he must leave, offering no...
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...mate. Baptista tells everyone that they can still enjoy the feast, and that Lucentio (actually Tranio) and Bianca can take the places of Petruchio and Katherine.
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Act 4, Scene 2
...in Padua, Hortensio (disguised as Litio) leads the person he thinks is Lucentio (in reality Tranio) to spy on Bianca and the real Lucentio (disguised as Cambio). They see Bianca and...
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Tranio goes forward to Bianca and Lucentio and tells them the news about Hortensio. He also...
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Tranio asks the merchant where he is from and the merchant responds that he is from...
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The merchant agrees and thanks Tranio for helping him. As Tranio leaves to find suitable clothes for the merchant, he mentions...
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Act 4, Scene 4
In Padua, Tranio (still disguised as Lucentio) brings the merchant, who is dressed up as Vincentio, to Baptista's...
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Baptista is convinced that the merchant is Vincentio. Baptista, the merchant, and Tranio decide to go to Lucentio's lodging to discuss the financial particulars of the marriage in...
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...to a banquet, agreeing to marry her to the person he thinks is Lucentio (actually Tranio). Before going to the banquet, Lucentio will elope with Bianca to a church and get...
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Act 5, Scene 1
...the merchant to cry out that a madman is attacking them. Biondello leaves. Baptista and Tranio (still impersonating Lucentio) enter. Vincentio is furious at his servant Tranio when Tranio pretends not...
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Act 5, Scene 2
...had pretended to be Vincentio, Lucentio, Bianca, Petruchio, and Katherine are all present. The servants Tranio, Grumio, and Biondello are there as well, as are Hortensio and the widow he has...
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...widow teases Petruchio for being married to a shrew, offending Katherine. The women leave, and Tranio also teases Petruchio, saying he is ruled by his wife. Baptista tells Petruchio that he...
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