However, the play is traditionally a bit of a controversial one, particularly in its attitude towards women. For a detailed synopsis of the plot you will have to look elsewhere, but, suffice it to say, that the Shrew is Katerina, a feisty woman with no time for husbands, who gets given a tough time by her suitor, Petruchio, until she realises the true value of men, instructing other women by saying: ‘Thy husband is thy lord, thy life, thy keeper, thy head, thy sovereign; one that cares for thee’. I remember being scorned at Uni in my English tutorial for considering that it doesn’t take many steps from there to Ephesians 5.22-33, a passage that presents the marriage relationship as so saturated with selfless love that it could mirror the sacrifice and devotion of Christ and his Church.