Lord is a country gentleman who appears in the Induction. The Lord takes in the besotted and unconscious Christopher Sly and, as a practical joke, installs the rustic tinker in his home as a gentleman. The Lord is not a three-dimensional character, but he offers a plausible picture of a country gentleman amid his pleasures. 

Although Sly's story ends abruptly after 1.1 in the oldest edition of The Taming of the Shrew, in the First Folio of 1623, it is complete in The Taming of a Shrew, believed to be a Bad Quarto of Shakespeare's play and to contain Shakespeare's original rendition of Sly's adventure: in three further interludes, Sly remarks on the play, eating and drinking all the while.  In a fifth episode, he has fallen asleep and the Lord orders him returned to the spot where he had been found. In a 23-line Epilogue to A Shrew, Sly is discovered by the Tapster of the tavern, who remarks that Sly's wife will be angry with him for staying out all night. Sly replies that he need not fear his wife, for he has had a dream that has taught him how to deal with her. Sly was probably played by William Sly. 

Hostess is the proprietor of the tavern from which Christopher Sly emerges at the beginning of the Induction. Sly may be referring to her, in Ind.2.21, as Marian Hacket, believed to have been a real person who lived in a hamlet near Stratford and whom Shakespeare presumably\knew as a boy. In any case, the brief appearance of (.his angry but businesslike barmaid contributes to the believable rural atmosphere of the Induction. 

Page is a servant of the local Lord, who directs him to masquerade as the wife of the deluded Christopher Sly in the Induction. He humorously discourages Sly's sexual advances, and his performance as a wife foreshadows the ideal of womanly obedience that the main play advocates. His instructions are to request, as a real wife would, 'What is't your honour will command, / Wherein your lady and your humble wife / May show her duty and make known her love?' (Ind. 1.112-115), and he presents himself to Sly as 'your wife in all obedience' (Ind.2.108). These attitudes are precisely those prescribed for wives by the converted Kate in 5.2. 

Huntsman are either of two minor characters in the Induction to The Taming of the Shrew, servants of a local landowner, the Lord. In Ind.l the Huntsmen assist the Lord in his practical joke on Christopher Sly, which is the business of the introductory scenes.  The Huntsmen's role in the plot could have been filled by servants of any sort, but the Lord's conversation with them on the merits of his hounds contributes to the rural atmosphere of the Induction.

The players are a traveling company of actors. In the Induction the Players are hired by the local Lord, who is amusing himself by providing gentlemanly amenities to a drunken tinker, Christopher Sly.  The Players perform 'a pleasant comedy' (Ind.2.130) for Sly; this play is The Taming of the Shrew.  One of the Players, identified in various editions as 'A Player', 'First Player', and 'Second Player', is designated by the name of a real Elizabethan actor in a speech heading in the First Folio edition of the play;  the part was played by John Sincklo in an early production.

Messenger is the announcer, in the Induction, of the performance by the Playersthat begins the play proper. In Ind.2 he informs Sly of the coming presentation and recommends viewing it as a healthy pastime. Various editions of the play have assigned his part to the Lord or a Servant.

Baptista is the father of Kate and Bianca. Baptista is an ineffectual elderly gentleman, a comic figure in a tradition going back to ancient Roman drama. He is frequently the butt of Kate's outbursts of temper. He insists on marrying off his elder daughter first, aggravating Kate's already shrewish nature. In 2.1, once assured that Kate is betrothed, Baptista literally auctions Bianca to the highest bidder; his calculating behavior stands in pointed contrast to the infatuation of Bianca's lover, Lucentio. These are standard attitudes and actions of a conventional father-of-the-girl figure; otherwise, Baptista has virtually no personality.

Vincentio is the father of Lucentio. Vincentio, described as 'a sober ancient gentleman' (5.1.65), arrives in Padua to find himself impersonated by the Pedant and Lucentio by his servant Tranio. He is understandably angry, but otherwise he has no distinctive personality traits.

Although the romance of Bianca and Lucentio is contrasted to the mercenary calculations other father, Lucentio is a rather bloodless lover. He is simply a stereotype—the handsome young male romantic lead—representing a tradition as old as ancient Roman drama. However, in earlier plays, this character tended to marry for money and extend romantic love to mistresses and courtesans; Shakespeare's alteration reflects his concern with love in marriage, a major theme of The Taming of the Shrew.

Petruchio carries out his functions somewhat mechanically—he states his purposes and accomplishes them, and as a lover he is simply sentimental—but he nevertheless possesses a distinct personality. A genially self-confident aristocrat, he delights in the good life He understands the appeal of excellent food and fine clothes, and in the final banquet scene he is clearly at home amid the pleasures of merry company. Petruchio doubtless incorporates traits of Elizabethan gentlemen who had hosted the young Shakespeare.

Gremio is a suitor of Bianca. Gremio is referred to as a 'pantaloon' (3.1.36), the humorous figure of a greedy old man in the Commedia Dell’Arte, and he is indeed simply a character type with little real personality. He is comically cowardly, fearful that the assertiveness of Petruchio will offend Baptista, Bianca's father.  His own style is offensively humble; approaching Baptista, he refers to himself as a 'poor petitioner' (2.1.72), in the obsequious language of a minor courtier.  He lies about his wealth when Baptista promises his daughter to the wealthiest suitor, but to no avail. Gremio is absurdly ineffective; in fact, in his attempt to win Bianca's hand he actually introduces the successful suitor into her presence, for in 2.1 he hires the disguised Lucentio as a tutor for the girl, hoping to impress her father.

Hortensio is a suitor of Bianca. A bland young man who is outsmarted in his campaign to win Bianca, Hortensio is an appropriate character to enter, ludicrously pale 'for fear' (2.1.143), to report Kate’s assault on him with a lute, thus providing an image of the 'shrew' of the title at her worst. After losing Bianca, Hortensio turns to a Widow who has pursued him. He visits the country house of Petruchio to observe that character's shrew-taming techniques, but it is unclear at the play's end whether Hortensio will be strong enough to use them when he needs them, for the Widow proves, in 5.2, to be a formidable shrew herself.

Tranio is a servant who impersonates his master, Lucentio In 1.1 Tranio proposes that Lucentio disguise himself as a humble tutor in order to approach Bianca, and when he'is assigned to take Lucentio's place and maintain his household in Padua, Tranio is entirely at ease in the role. He plays a smooth young nobleman with education and wit enough to cite classical authors while ingratiating himself with Baptista. His initiative propels the Subplot he launches Lucentio's courtship; in 2.1 he outbids Gremio for Bianca's hand in his master's name; he conceives (2.1) and carries out (4.2, 4.4) the impersonation by the Pedant of Lucentio's father, Vincentio; and he arranges for Lucentio and Bianca's elopement (4.4). And he is sufficiently bold to carry on with his plot even when the real Vincentio appears (5.1). However, for all his cleverness, he has little personality; he is a stock character, a comically deceitful servant deriving ultimately from ancient Roman drama. In fact, Shakespeare took the name Tranio from The Haunted House, by Plautus, where it is given to a witty and resourceful slave who tells inventive lies in his master's behalf.

Biondello is a servant of Lucentio. Biondello acts as servant to his fellow employee, Tranio, who is disguised as their master. His mischievous delight in the situation lends humorous force to his only important passage, the description of Petruchio approaching the wedding (3.2.30-83).

Grumio is a servant Petruchio. Grumio is a distinctly English comic figure in all respects except his name. At 1.2.28, he even fails to recognize Italian. Grumio represents a long theatrical tradition—the comical servant whose nonsense masks shrewdness. His wily foolishness is a vehicle for humor when, in 1.2, he remarks sharply on the mercenary marriage that his master is pursuing.  It can also be a means of manipulating others, as when he feigns incomprehension—first with Kate and later with the Tailor—in 4.3. His name comes from a character in an ancient Roman play, The Haunted House,  by Plautus.

Curtis is a servant of Petruchio. Curtis, who has been in charge of the household in his master's absence, greets the returning Grumio and engages him in comical repartee at the beginning of 4.1. Later in the scene, he is one of the servants whom Petruchio abuses as part of his program to demonstrate to Kate the ugliness of shrewish behavior. Curtis' name is thought to be that of an actor who played him, possibly Curtis Greville.

Nicholas is a member of the household staff of Petruchio.  Nicholas is one of the servants whom Petruchio abuses in 4.1 as part of his demonstration to Kate of the ugliness of shrewish behavior.

Joseph is a servant of Petruchio. Joseph is one of the servants whom Petruchio abuses in 4.1, as part of his demonstration to Kate of the ugliness of shrewish behavior.

Philip is a member of the household staff of Petruchio.  Philip is one of the servants whom Petruchio abuses in 4.1 as part of his demonstration to Kate of the ugliness of shrewish behavior.

Peter is a servant of Petruchio. Peter is one of several servants whom Petruchio abuses in 4.1. The servants realize that their master's oppressive behavior is part of his strategy for taming his shrewish bride, Kate, and Peter delivers a succinct analysis of it in the longer of his two lines: 'He kills her in her own humor' (4.1.167).  Peter is not named in any of the several lists of Petruchio's servants that are recited in the scene. This fact, combined with the mute appearance in 4.4 of a servant of Lucentio identified as Peter in a stage direction, suggests that his name may be that of an actor who took both small parts, the second of which appears to have been cut. However, no scholar has been able to identify the actor, and there is nothing inherently improbable in the existence of two Peters.

Pedant is a traveling tutor who impersonates Vincentio. The Pedant has no personality; he serves merely to fill out the plot of deception and disguise. He flees when his imposture is revealed and is not mentioned again.

Kate loves Petruchio. She indicates as much in the grace with which she kisses him at the end of 5.1, and her speech in 5.2 is an implicit expression of her love. At the banquet she has already demonstrated her obedience and need not do more; Petruchio has merely asked her for a statement of principle, as much to aggravate the Widow’s and Bianca as anything else. She goes far beyond his intent, specifically referring to her own experience and stating that she is grateful for inclusion in the system she describes. The entirely spontaneous physical act of submission that closes her speech symbolizes the wifely duty demanded in this system, but it is also directed to her husband, as an expression of her gratitude. That this gesture is loving is confirmed by his affectionate response to it. Kate has found not only comfort in an assured position in society, but happiness in a loving marriage. She is thus the vehicle for an elaboration of two of Shakespeare's persistent concerns: the virtue of an ordered, hierarchical social system and the value of marriage as a venue for love. Her psychological transformation also reflects his fascination with the mysteries of the human personality. Kate's is a small part, for all its importance, and, while boldly drawn, she lacks the subtlety of later Shakespearean heroines who resemble her, such as Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing. It is noteworthy that Kate shares with several of the playwright's most lovingly developed female characters, as well as with the 'Dark Lady' of the Sonnets, a sharp temper and a dark complexion (see 2.1.248-249). It seems possible (though altogether unprovable) that these characters share the traits of a woman (entirely unidentifiable) who was romantically important to Shakespeare. The thought certainly adds resonance to his portrait of a shrew.

When alone with her tutors (not yet revealed to be suitors in disguise), Bianca is decidedly wilful, insisting, 'I'll not be tied to hours nor 'pointed times, / But learn my lessons as I please myself (3.1.19-20). She is haughtily flirtatious with Lucentio ('presume not . . . despair not' [3.1.43]), and she rejects Hortensio with curt brutality. We are not surprised to find Bianca shrewish herself in the final scene, holding Lucentio up to ridicule for believing in her wifely obedience.  This revelation emphasizes the ironic contrast between the two sisters' marriages. Kate has found true love after an explicitly mercenary courtship, whereas Bianca's union with Lucentio, the product of a conventionally idyllic romance, seems likely to be unhappy.

Widow is the bride of Hortensio. The Widow first appears at the banquet in 5.2. She is-unwilling to obey her new husband, although he believes he is able to control her, having watched Petruchio handle the shrewish Kate. When the men bet on the obedience of their wives, the Widow flatly refuses Hortensio's mild request, and Kate gives her a lengthy lecture on a wife's proper duties. The Widow has no developed personality; she serves simply as a foil for the newly obedient Kate.

Tailor is an artisan whom Petruchio abuses. Commissioned by Petruchio to provide a gown for Kate, the Tailor is driven away by his client. Petruchio's mistreatment of this innocent man is simply part of his demonstration to his bride of the ugliness of shrewish behavior. Although the Tailor defends himself before being routed, he otherwise has no distinctive personality. 

Haberdasher is an artisan whom Petruchio abuses. The Haberdasher, who has been commissioned to make a hat for Kate, speaks only one line before being driven away by his client, who is demonstrating the ugliness of shrewish behavior to his bride.

Serving-man is a servant of the country Lord who informs his master of the arrival of the Players in the Induction.