How many direct Shakespeare references are there in ’10 Things I Hate About You’?
There have been many iterations of the teen rom-com over the years, with the likes of Clueless, She’s All That and Easy A influencing generations of delusional romantics and uncool high schoolers who live vicariously through the experiences of adults playing teenagers with infinitely more interesting wardrobes. Watching these films has become a rite of passage, with countless sleepovers revolving around the act of pining for the lives we see onscreen, later forming a nostalgic love for them and the associated memories.
However, while many of these films have been formative experiences as teenagers in our misguided understanding of love and romance, there was one that has withstood the passing of time and only grown its fanbase over the years, remaining one of the most beloved additions to this genre due to one specific twist.
10 Things I Hate About You, starring a young Heath Ledger, Julia Stiles and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, follows an unruly teenager called Kat and her very popular younger sister Bianca, who have both been banned from dating by their father. While this is no issue for Kat, who hates just about everyone around her, Bianca is desperate for this rule to be broken after she is asked to the school prom by a boy she likes. And so, after much pleading, their dad agrees to bend his previous rule—Bianca is allowed to date, but only when Kat does. Naturally, this is an issue given that Kat has no interest in dating any of the boys in their school, and so Bianca’s crush arranges for an equally unruly boy (played by Ledger) to date Kat.
It’s one of those classic rom-coms setups that is littered with easily resolved misunderstandings and miscommunications but with a charming twist, as a result of the film being adapted from the Shakespeare play, The Taming of the Shrew.
It’s a pitch-perfect script, with genius one-liners and a scathing level of wit from Kat as she judges the antics of the “unwashed miscreants” that attend her school. Alongside this, it has a poppy soundtrack that captures the tone of the 1990s and a completely swoon-worthy and endearing scene as Ledger’s character, Patrick, serenades Kat, singing Can’t Take My Eyes Off You.
But perhaps the most ingenious element of the script is the incorporation of lines from Shakespeare’s original play in the script with Gordon-Levitt’s character, Cameron, often spouting some of the old-English dialogue while pining for Bianca. After catching a glimpse of Bianca for the first time, Cameron says, “I burn, I pine, I perish”, immediately setting the slightly dream-like tone of this particular high school.
Meanwhile, Kat says, “Remove head from sphincter, then drive!” after someone nearly drives into her car—she’s a charmer. Patrick is encouraged to sing to Kat after he humiliates her by not reciprocating her kiss after a party. Michael said, “Sacrifice yourself on the altar of dignity and even thy score!” But there are also references to other works of the bard, with him proclaiming, “Sweet love, renew thy force” after Kat’s harsh reaction to Patrick’s dismissal of her drunken romantic gesture.
The film also features a cover of Cruel to Be Kind during a pivotal scene, which is famously a line that has been swiped from Hamlet, with Michael also quoting a line from Macbeth to impress a girl he likes, saying, “Who could refrain that had a heart, and in that heart, courage to make love known?” It is because of this that 10 Things I Hate About You remains one of the greatest rom-coms of all time, with an eternal sense of charm that never fails to entertain and remind you of simpler, sillier times.
