Christopher Sly, a beggar, is tossed out of an alehouse because of his disruptive behavior and quickly falls asleep in front of a Lord's house. When the Lord returns from hunting, he decides to have some fun at Sly's expense and quickly devises a plan to have his household convince Sly that he is a lord, rather than a beggar. Sly is placed in the finest chamber and dressed in the finest clothes so that he will be convinced that he owns the lavish setting in which he finds himself. Should Sly not believe he is and always has been lord of the estate, he is to be told he was ill and had lost his memory. While Sly sleeps off his binge, a group of players appears and are quickly enlisted in the Lord's duping of Sly. He requests they perform a play later that evening (which will mark the play we have come to think of as The Taming of the Shrew). The Lord enlists his servant Bartholomew's help in making Sly's duping complete. Bartholomew is to disguise himself as a gentlewoman and pretend to be Sly's wife.
