Compare the Dramatisations of Benedick and Don John in Much Ado About Nothing; looking closely at the way they speak and the ways they interact with other characters
In Shakespeare’s era character traits were often represented by humours. Benedick is predominantly influenced by the sanguine humour which gives rise to his friendly, happy, optimistic and generous nature. Don John [henceforth John], however, is portrayed as an introspective, solitary and vengeful character due to the melancholic humour.
Benedick and John are both egotistical and are aware of their personalities. Benedick has wit and charisma to enhance his popularity whilst John appears to be self obsessed and selfish. John’s overuse of ‘I’ indicates his egocentricity and his opening line is stiff showing that he knows he is on the fringes of society. ‘I thank you, I am not of many words, but I thank you’ suggesting that he does not feel comfortable engaging in social contact as he is an outcast [I.1.140-141]. He is a resentful outsider who cannot abide constraints as is shown when he complains to Conrade that he is ‘trusted with a muzzle and enfranchised with a clog’ [I.3.30]. John accepts his villainy and is almost proud of his underhand maliciousness, ‘I cannot hide what I am’… ‘I am a plain dealing villain’… ‘Let me be that I am, and seek not to alter me.’[I.3.12–34].
Benedick, conversely, is confident and sharp. He uses language skilfully although, like John, he can appear rather self-centred. He too is aware of his perceived persona, referring to himself in the third person twice as “the sensible Benedick...” and says “see Benedick…” exaggerating his importance as well as his self-dramatisation as a scorner of woman which would be a recognisable soci...
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John does not change but in fact gives the impression of coming full circle in his actions- Before the curtain opens on the play, John has been rebelling against Pedro, but these rebellions have been crushed. Whilst in Messina, these actions replay themselves: John causes problems for Claudio and Pedro, but he is quickly suppressed and when he tries to flee once more he is captured.
The lack of change in John is in keeping with the audience’s viewpoint that the bastard must continue to operate on the fringes of society. Benedick, however, does change and becomes an enthusiastic advocate of marriage thereby providing a desirable ending for a comic play.
Bibliography
William Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing. Heinemann, 1979
Teacher’s Notes
York Notes, Much Ado About Nothing. Longman, York Press, 2004
http://nfs.sparknotes.com/muchado/
The play ‘An Inspector Calls’, was written by J.B Priestley in 1944. In the play, the author presents the character Mr. Birling as a successful business man. Through this essay, I’m going to be talking about how he presents Mr. Birling by being powerful and rich, optimistic and small-minded, guilty, arrogant, by blaming others and unintelligent.
Whedon's production of Much Ado About Nothing is a modern, black and white retelling of the famous Shakespeare play of the same name which tells the story of love and deceit between two couples: Hero and Claudio, and Beatrice and Benedick. While Hero and Claudio court and prepare to marry each other, Beatrice and Benedick steal the show away with their wit, humor, and constant bickering. Though they both insist that they hate each other, the flashback presented at the start of the film suggests that there is far more to the story than meets the eye. While the style of the film certainly enhances the story being told, making it a timeless classic entangled with modern society, it is the ensemble cast that work both individually and as a unit which make the film a true masterpiece, as well as the genius idea of a change in scenery that propels a sense of realism not often found in your average Shakespeare adaptation.
To conclude, character traits, language, occurrences, Claudio and Hero, the comparison against other Shakespearean plays and the unique variations of the performance are all vital aspects to the representation of Beatrice and Benedick’s love in Much Ado About Nothing.
by using it as a comic device, but also to sort out situations so that
He began to boast and embellish the story of what actually happened in that moment. He became seemingly selfish, and self absorbed doing only what would advance him in the society. After the small infraction of lying about this event, he brought John and his mother from their home, only to use them for personal gain and blackmail. These moments reveal that he is not so much about defining himself as an individual but more about conforming. That he did, becoming calculating and cold for self-gain.
With its entangled double plots and eloquent use of words, Much Ado About Nothing is a story that has the ability to entertain the masses both young and old. Shakespeare’s use of figurative language along with situation creates such vivid imagery for which carries the drama from beginning to end. For example, when we look at Act 1 Scene 1 of the play ...
In the play ‘Much ado about nothing’, Don John is a puppet whose strings are pulled by various characters and the society in which he lives. Although he does monkey businesses like every character in the play, he is the one who gets harshly judged and punished for it. His villainy is not an innate trait but rather, he chooses it to distinguish him from others.
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.
One of J.B Priestley’s most used dramatic devices throughout ‘An Inspector Calls’ is dramatic irony. Dramatic irony is when the audience understand the meaning of a situation but the characters in the play do not; this use of dramatic irony helps promote Priestley’s moral and political views. Dramatic irony can be seen in Act one when Mr. Birling makes self-assured conjectures about the potential war, “You’ll hear some people say that war’s inevitable. And to that I say – fiddlesticks,” and t...
...ssion and intrusiveness. John’s lack of having an open mind to his wife’s thoughts and opinions and his constant childish like treatment of his wife somehow emphasizes this point, although, this may not have been his intention. The narrator felt strongly that her thoughts and feelings were being disregarded and ignored as stated by the narrator “John does not know how much I really suffer. He knows there is no reason to suffer, and that satisfies him” (Gilman 115), and she shows her despise of her husband giving extra care to what he considers more important cases over his wife’s case with a sarcastic notion “I am glad my case is not serious!” (Gilman 115). It is very doubtful that John is the villain of the story, his good intentions towards doing everything practical and possible to help his wife gain her strength and wellbeing is clear throughout the story.
John, the narrator's husband, represents society at large. Like society, John controls and determines much of what his wife should or should not do, leaving his wife incapable of making her own decisions. John's domineering nature can be accredited to the fact that John is male and also a "physician of high standing" (1). John is "practical in the extreme. He has no patience with faith, an intense horror of superstition, and he scoffs openly at any talk of thi...
When Jane Austen first introduces Mr. Wickham, he is portrayed as the perfect man. He’s charming, generous, handsome, and respectful. When anyone meets Mr. Wickham, they are immediately captivated by his ch...
William Shakespeare, poet and playwright, utilized humor and irony as he developed specific language for his plays, thereby influencing literature forever. “Shakespeare became popular in the eighteenth century” (Epstein 8). He was the best all around. “Shakespeare was a classic” (8). William Shakespeare is a very known and popular man that has many works, techniques and ways. Shakespeare is the writer of many famous works of literature. His comedies include humor while his plays and poems include irony. Shakespeare sets himself apart by using his own language and word choice. Shakespeare uses certain types of allusions that people always remember, as in the phrase from Romeo and Juliet, “star-crossed lovers”.
Mary Bennet is the third daughter in the Bennet family and known to be the only plain one. She has “neither genius nor taste; and though vanity had given her application, it had given her likewise a pedantic air and conceited manner, which would have injured a higher degree of excellence that she had reached” (25). Being all that she is, her character is still shadowed in comparison to those of her younger
Frank, Mike. “Shakespeare’s Existential Comedy.” Essays—Shakespeare: Late Plays. Tobias, Richard eds. Ohio University Press, 1974.