The Portrayal of Benedick and Beatrice in William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing
At the beginning of William Shakespeare's play "Much Ado About
Nothing" he portrays Beatrice and Benedick as two argumentative young
people. However he also portrays them as being attracted to each
other, this becomes clear because the first thing Beatrice says in the
play is " I pray you, is Signor Mountanto return'd from the wars or
no?" She is talking about Benedick asking the messenger in a joking
kind of way did Benedick come back from the war or did he die? This
shows that Beatrice is clearly interested in Benedick because he is
the only thing she talks about through out the whole of act one. Also
the first thing Benedick says is also about Beatrice "were you in
doubt sir that you ask'd her?" Also the first time in the play that
Beatrice and Benedick lay eyes on each other they have an argument.
When these two are having their argument they are arguing about the
silliest things. "Benedick: you are a rare parrot teacher Beatrice: a
bird of my tongue is better than a beast of yours." In a way they are
always in tune with each other, arguing about the same things but
exchanging words in their argument. The audience get the impression
that they are masking their feelings. For example if you liked someone
you would exchange a complement, instead of doing that these two
exchange insults which is their only way of communicating in a
civilised manner. Even from the start of the play we know they are
destined to be together.
These two characters have had a relationship in the past: "I know you
of old" and now they use their wits to try and hurt the...
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...of childish lust after each
other. Shakespeare has done this to add tension to the piece and
create it as if some thing is all ways going to happen between these
two characters.
In the garden scenes both Beatrice and Benedick are both easily
deceived in to falling in love with one and other, this proves that
both these characters must have feelings for each other, as if they
didn't then it would take a lot more than the prince and his side men,
and hero and her chamber maid's, to trick them in to falling in love.
It only takes a couple of minutes to trick both these characters in to
falling in love with each other, but before Beatrice knows how
Benedick feels she is sent out to fetch him for dinner little did she
know that, Benedick is now in love with her and he thinks that at this
point she is in love with him.
William Shakespeare’s writing reflected and at times emphasized the gender oriented stereotypical roles and responsibilities of the English Renaissance. However, many Shakespearean characters including Benedick and Beatrice of Much Ado About Nothing challenged the standard image and characteristics of men and women.
In this essay I will be telling you if, Beatrice and Benedick are an ideal couple. I will also be telling you if the fact they are roughly equal in wit and intelligence is significant to them being an ideal couple. Furthermore, I would also explain how their attitude towards love proves the fact that they are an ideal couple. Then I would explain why their courtship is more satisfying than Claudio and Hero’s. So let us talk about how Beatrice and Benedick are an ideal couple in this book Much Ado About Nothing by:William Shakespeare.
by using it as a comic device, but also to sort out situations so that
Oscar Wilde said, “It's beauty that captures your attention; personality which captures your heart,”. William Shakespeare’s drama, Much Ado About Nothing, focuses on two women, Beatrice and Hero, who have different personalities but still find love in the end. At first look, the play resembles a traditional love story, but in truth, it suggests one be true to him or herself and not let society determine how one should act. However, Beatrice and Hero must follow Renaissance society's rules. Traditional Renaissance women could not choose who they would marry, if a woman was accused of something, she had no means of defending herself and, women were required to be reserved. Hero is a traditional Renaissance woman because she was not able to choose
“Language is frequently used to stir up & manipulate emotions.” - Mary Hamer. The words that people say can appear brutal or detrimental. These violent words take up many forms such as lying, insulting, etc. Along with its’ comedic formula, William Shakespeare's, Much Ado About Nothing is enhanced with humorous mockery and intertwined dialogues. In the play, the soldiers have just returned from a successful war. Love is traveling through the village; however the “language of war” appears rooted in the language. Numerous times do the characters joke around in cruel dialects. The mockery, however, is not considered to be as harsh due to the presence of comedy within the play. William Shakespeare’s intricate use of language in his play, Much Ado About Nothing, allows immense aggressive language to thrive in the characters yet is able to use this to alleviate the violence.
In the play of `Much Ado About Nothing', Beatrice is portrayed as a witty and strong willed woman who talks a great deal, appearing determined not to marry. However, Don Pedro concocts a plot that brings her together with Benedick and they marry at the end.
Entry 1: Act I. Don Pedro and his men return from the war and visit the house of Leonato and his brother, Antonio. This sudden meeting reunites Beatrice with her archrival, Benedick, and it is here that Claudio and Hero fall in love. React: Is it a In Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, there are the usual characters that show up in most of Shakespeare’s pieces.
Hero and Claudio represent the Elizabethan norm in marriage. Claudio is the shrewd, hardheaded fortune hunter and Hero is the modest maiden of conduct books and marriage manuals, a docile young woman. It is important to note that Claudio is more concerned with advancement in Don Pedro's army than he is with love. Therefore, Shakespeare illustrates to the reader through the near tragedy of mistaken identity that Claudio must learn that marriage is more than a business arrangement and become worthy of Hero's love and affection. Source: Ranald, Margaret Loftus. "As Marriage Binds, and Blood Breaks: English Marriage and Shakespeare". Shakespeare Quarterly. Vol 30, 1979: 68-81.
The ability of an author to capture the interest of the audience has and will always be an important factor in the art of storytelling and even the expression of research or related material. When an author is able to seize the attention of any partaking of their work, curiosity will develop which will lead to the wonder of what the conclusion my bring about. Not only is it important to snatch the audience’s attention in the beginning, it is necessary to hold it prisoner throughout the tale. Authors do this by having an interesting plot development in which many unexpected details come into play and the course of the story is thrown from the norm and into the conflict. Shakespeare was a master of this art in the work he produced throughout his life and was able to create stories of humor and those of tragedy. For example, his play King Lear is a terrible tragedy in which many awful things take place and the story ends by disastrous means. While in the play Much Ado About Nothing, very little conflict is present and if it is, it is resolved quickly and the play concludes with the joyfulness of marriage nuptials. His ability to develop plot and story in a way in which the audience who love to devour, Shakespeare will in a way immortalize himself, “Shakespeare proved himself to be both the "soul of the age" his works reflected and adorned and the consummate symbol of the artist whose poetic visions transcend their local habitation and become, in some mysterious way, contemporaneous with ‘all time.’” (Andrews) As stated, Shakespeare went beyond his time and created traditions, symbols, sayings, and even stories that people today will remember forever. King Lear and Much Ado About Nothing are each examples of Shakespeare's detailed ...
Beatrice is, without a doubt, one of the strongest female characters that Shakespeare ever came up with in his time of writing. Shakespeare shows, through Beatrice, how every woman should act in an era where only the men were even able to have control. In this era, or the renaissance time, no woman had free will; they were always told what they could and could not do, as well as, who they were to marry. In the play “Much Ado About Nothing” Beatrice has many qualities but the ones that stand out the most in the play are: her independence, her feistiness, and of course her openness to defy male subjection.
At the beginning, Benedick’s attitude is negative towards women in general. He swears he will never marry, as he is very critical of women and does not trust any of them not to cheat on him. He seems to oppose with Beatrice in a competition to outwit, outsmart, and out-insult each other. Obviously he has been in some sort of past relationship with Beatrice because when he meets her at the masked ball, she describes him as a selfish pig. We can infer that Benedick has some kind of deep feelings for her because after she insults him he is hurt and says, “Will your grace command me any service to the world’s end? I will go on the slightest errand now to the Antipodes that you can devise to send me on. I will fetch you a toothpick from the furthest inch of Asia . . . do you any embassage to the pigmies, rather than hold three words’ conference with this harpy” (II.i.229–235). This blatantly means that he does not wish to talk to her.
“The test of a round character is whether it is capable of surprising in a convincing way. If it never surprises, it is flat. If it does not convince, it is a flat pretending to be round.” -E.M. Forster
Beatrice is an extremely crucial character in ‘Much Ado About Nothing’. She is one of the reasons that many plans and schemes fall into place to provide us with the outcome that the play finally reaches. Shakespeare depicts Beatrice as a very strong character who knows what she wants and how she wants to achieve it. Her characteristics of sharp wit and her ability to be acutely opinionated allow her to be a notable contrast from the other women in the play, whether this be in a positive or a negative way.
Differences between Beatrice and Hero in the early scenes of Shakespeare’s play ‘Much Ado about Nothing’
But the king was not the brightest of kings, so he didn't agree to that