A Comparison Of A Midsummer Night's Dream And Much Ado About Nothing

Shakespeare meaning of friendship is somewhat similar to our definition today; a relationship that involves affectionate companionship. He does a good job at involving strong, complex same-sex friendships while the main plots of both A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Much Ado About Nothing consist of marriage of the opposite sex. The plays are similar in the aspect that the relationships are strong to begin with and that there are some outside forces that get in the way to try and destroy or disrupt those relationships. The difference is the disruption, the effect that strength has on the relationship, and the interactions within the relationships. Shakespeare uses character interactions in same-sex friendships to intensify the plot and to serve

In Much Ado About Nothing, Don Pedro, Benedick, and Claudio are all friends and are all even when it comes to wit. However, Don Pedro has power and the positions of the other two depend on Don Pedro’s favor. He uses manipulation throughout the play in order to generate outcomes in either his favor or his friend’s favor and there are cases where the outcomes work out for many others as well. In one situation, Don Pedro offers to woo Hero for Claudio while masked instead of having Claudio profess his love to Hero himself, “ I will assume thy part in some disguise/And tell fair Hero I am Claudio, /And in her bosom I’ll unclasp my heart”. (1.1.110-111) Although there is much speculation of why Don Pedro so badly wants to court Hero, everything turns out right and we find out that Don Pedro’s motives are for a positive outcome in favor of his friend. He also helps out his friend Benedick by developing a plan to convince Beatrice and Benedick that each one is in love with each other, a relationship everyone in the audience is wanting, and as a result both characters that previously despised each other end up together. With this, you can see the contrast in the way same-sex friendships affect other relationships within the

The relationship between Hermia and Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream displays the other side of close friendships. Hermia and Helena had been really good friends at one point, but later were divided by large jealousies. They begin to hate each other because they have conflict and misunderstandings when it comes to relationships with men. Helena also begins to question what happen to their friendship; she describes it as “The sisters’ vows, the hours that we have spent” (3.2.200) together. Helena begins to feel betrayal by many events throughout the play and although it may seem that this relationship is way stronger and connected than Titania and her friend, it shows the fact that friendships are vulnerable, especially when they face misunderstanding. This relates to the teme of the difficulty of love because with the misunderstandings and complexity of the relationships trying to be made in the play, the friendship between Hermia and Helena deteriorates. It also shows how relationships (or there lack of) can affect friendships. In addition, it shows how much Shakespeare admires how strong a friendship can be developed by women when Helena speaks on friendship: “To join with men in scorning your poor friend? / It is not friendly, ‘tis not maidenly”. (3.2.216-217) Shakespeare does well at showing how one can affect the other and vice versa.

In Much Ado About Nothing,