Back to the Play
“pillory”
Imagery
Act 2,
Scene 1
Lines 144-156

An explanation of the word “pillory” in Act 2, Scene 1 of myShakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew.

 

Baptista

Why then, thou canst not break her to the lute?    

Hortensio

Why, no, for she hath broke the lute to me.
I did but tell her she mistook her frets,
And bowed her hand to teach her fingering,
When, with a most impatient devilish spirit,
'Frets, call you these?' quoth she, 'I'll fume with them.'
And with that word she struck me on the head,
And through the instrument my pate made way;    
And there I stood amazèd for a while,
As on a pillory looking through the lute,    
While she did call me ‘rascal fiddler’
And ‘twangling Jack’ with twenty such vile terms,    
As had she studied to misuse me so.    

A pillory is a device for holding prisoners in which their heads and hands protrude through planks of wood.