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Diana
Mythological Allusion
Act 2,
Scene 1
Lines 255-258

An explanation of the allusion to Diana in Act 2, Scene 1 of myShakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew.

Petruchio

Did ever Dian so become a grove    
As Kate this chamber with her princely gait?    
O, be thou Dian, and let her be Kate;
And then let Kate be chaste and Dian sportful.           

Diana, or Dian, was the beautiful goddess of nature, hunting, and the moon, often pictured in a grove of trees. But she was also known as the virgin goddess, who swore an oath to never marry. Petruchio clearly would prefer to have just the playful side of Diana, without the chastity part.

Diana Leaning Against a Tree, Pietro Antonio Rotari, between 1720-1762