A Lord. PERSONS REPRESENTED. Christopher Sly, a drunken Tinker: Hostess, Page, Players, Huntsmen, (Persons in the and other Servants attending on the Lord. Baptista, a rich Gentleman of Padua. Induction. Lucentio, Son to Vincentio, in love with Bianca. Petruchio, a Gentleman of Verona, a Suitor to Katharina. Pedant, an old Fellow set up to personate Vincentio. Katharina, the Bianca, her Sister; } Daughters to Baptista. Widow. Tailor, Haberdasher, and Servants attending on Baptista and Petruchio. SCENE, sometimes in Padua; and sometimes in Petruchio's House in the Country. CHARACTERS IN THE INDUCTION To the Original Play of The Taming of a Shrew, entered on the Stationers' books in 1594, and printed in quarto in 1607. A Lord, &c. Sly. A Tapster. Page, Players, Huntsmen, &c. PERSONS REPRESENTED. Alphonsus, a Merchant of Athens. Jerobel, Duke of Cestus. Aurelius, his Son, Ferando, Polidor, Valeria, Servant to Aurelius. Sander, Servant to Ferando. Phylotus, a Merchant who personates the Duke. TAMING OF THE SHREW. INDUCTION. SCENE I. Before an Alehouse on a Heath. Enter Hostess and SLY. SLY. I'll pheese you,' in faith. I'll pheese you,] To pheese or fease, is to separate a twist into single threads. In the figurative sense it may well enough be taken, like teaze or toze, for to harrass, to plague. Perhaps I'll pheeze you, may be equivalent to I'll comb your head, a phrase vulgarly used by persons of Sly's character on like occasions. The following explanation of the word is given by Sir Thomas Smith, in his book de Sermone Anglico, printed by Robert Stephens, 4to: "To feize, means in fila diducere." JOHNSON. Shakspeare repeats his use of the word in Troilus and Cressida, where Ajax says he will pheese the pride of Achilles: and Lovewit in The Alchemist employs it in the same sense. Again, in Puttenham's Arte of English Poesie, 1589: "Your pride serves you to feaze them all alone." Again, in Stanyhurst's version of the first Book of Virgil's Eneid: |