William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing is a popular comedy. Although it has a happy ending, the characters come close to experience tragedy. On a second thought, if Hero really was to die of the shock from the wedding, then several characters in the story will hold the responsibility. Claudio, her supposed husband to be; Leonato, her religious father who cares more about his reputation; and Don John, the villain and perpetrator of the play can be blamed for killing Hero.
Claudio, Hero’s appointed spouse, is the most responsible for Hero’s death. With his gullibility, Claudio immediately believes what Don John told him. Don John reveals that Hero is unfaithful to Claudio, and they should not get married in order to protect Claudio’s reputation, “I came hither to tell you, and circumstances shortened—for she has been long a-talking of—the lady is disloyal.” (III, ii, 96-98) When Don John said that they will visualize the evidence at Hero’s chamber window tonight, Claudio promises that he will shame Hero at the wedding if he sees anything inappropriate. This shows Claudio’s pessimistic personality, always thinking negatively of the woman he loves. When Claudio is tricked by Borachio and Margret, he becomes angry and shows his resentment by disgracing Hero at the wedding, “There, Leonato, take her back again/ Give not this rotten orange to your friend/ She’s but the sign and semblance of her honor” (V, i, 30-32) Claudio’s harsh words could be a large contribution for Hero’s death. She is unaware of the humiliation from Claudio. With the assaults of Claudio and Don Pedro, Hero is having a hard time fighting back. As a result, she fainted emotionally in front of the crowd. Claudio’s gullibility, pessimism, and his embarrassment of...
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...bring them to see this the very night before the intended wedding.” (II, ii 39-44) Borachio comes up with an evil plan to destroy the wedding and Don John is fully engaged with it. The villains choose Hero to be the target because she is Claudio’s lover and along with Claudio’s gullibility, he will believe it instantly. Even though Don John does not have any direct conversation with Hero in the play, but his evilness and Borachio’s plan are major factors that may cause Hero’s death.
If the comedy Much Ado About Nothing has turned into a tragedy and Hero is to die of shock, then Claudio, Hero’s lover; Leonato, Hero’s religious father; and Don John, the Bastard will take the responsibility for murdering her. Even though the characters nearly ended with tragedy, but Shakespeare presents Hero’s intriguing comeback and concludes the story with happiness and humorousness.
In this world rumors and dishonesty happen to be everywhere, no matter where you are. Nowaday people start rumors just to hurt and insult people’s feelings that later on lead to dramatic events. In the story “Much Ado about Nothing”, we encounter different scenes that lead to rumors and deception. One scene that we encounter is when Don John, the bastard brother spreads rumors about Hero being disloyal to Claudio and Don Pedro to corrupt Claudio’s and Hero’s relationship. Another scene that we run into is when Ursula and Hero have a talk in the garden about how Benedick has love affection towards Beatrice. Later on, these two scenes play a huge role and become dramatic elements of the story. We will encounter on how rumors and dishonesty can destroy and corrupt not just one person, but many.
There are many tragedies to be found in literature, but only a few are like Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. It is a story of forbidden love in which a young couple are torn apart by their families’ feud in Renaissance Italy; the play’s tragic ending has both main characters die. Many aspects of this play have sparked a heated debate: is Romeo and Juliet a tragedy or is it simply tragic? Some critics claim that the play lacks elements that are necessary for a tragedy. Yet Aristotle explicitly states the essential components of a tragedy in his Poetics, and Romeo and Juliet meets those requirements. Romeo and Juliet can be considered an Aristotelian tragedy because of Romeo’s impetuousness, Juliet’s loyalty to Romeo, and the play’s peripeteia.
The main problem is young Count Claudio. He is immature when it comes to matters of love, and it shows when he hints of his growing feelings for Hero when he asks Benedick what he thinks of her (I.i.161). Claudio cannot come out and just say that he has feelings for Hero, he has to seek approval from his male counterparts first. While talking to both Benedick and Don Pedro, Claudio describes his feelings as passion first (I.i.219-220), and then he says, “That I love her, I feel” (I.i.228), indicating that he knows he feels something for Hero, but he is unsure of exactly what his feeling...
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.
William Shakespeare is known for his use of dramatic irony and complicated story lines. In Much Ado About Nothing, he also adds in the element of disguise to what the characters know, or what they think they know. There are multiple characters trying to ensnare others in different facades, whether it be for better or for worse. The deception and illusion in the play can either assist the characters or completely shatter the situation, but in both cases, Shakespeare advises us to infer about what we hear or see before we jump to conclusions.
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 Claudio and Hero are the two main characters as well as the main plot of the play. They are a younger couple because of the immaturity that Claudio presents. Claudio in the play is very posseive, gullible, and insecure because he doesn’t want to be cuckold by Hero. Claudio talks very much like a lover to Hero. For example when he is talking to Benedick about Hero he states “In mine eyes she is sweetest lady that ever looked on” (Shakespeare 61). Claudio is saying that Hero is one of the sweetest lady he has ever laid eyes on. Another quote is “I would scarce trust myself, though I had sworn the contrary, if Hero would be my wife” (Shakespeare 61). Here Claudio is saying that if he had ever sworn never to marry, he would break his promise to himself if Hero
The next day Claudio does exactly as he had said, degrading Hero in front of all her family and friends. Because she did not cheat on him, she did not expect that kind of reaction. She is so dejected that she faints, and everyone assumes she is dead. Eventually Borrachio is overheard talking about Don John’s plan, and Don John is arrested. Later Claudio learns that Hero is not actually dead, and they are finally married.
In the time of William Shakespeare where courtship and romance were often overshadowed by the need to marry for social betterment and to ensure inheritance, emerges a couple from Much Ado About Nothing, Hero and Claudio, who must not only grow as a couple, who faces deception and slander, but as individuals. Out of the couple, Claudio, a brave soldier respected by some of the highest ranked men during his time, Prince Don Pedro and the Governor of Messina, Leonato, has the most growing to do. Throughout the play, Claudio’s transformation from an immature, love-struck boy who believes gossip and allows himself to easily be manipulated is seen when he blossoms into a mature young man who admits to his mistakes and actually has the capacity to love the girl he has longed for.
It is reported to Don John by Borachio that “…The Prince should woo Hero for himself, and having obtained her, give her to Count Claudio.
...h it is tragic that Romeo and Juliet both die in the end, this play is not a tragedy as they alone did not determine their destiny. Certainly, tragic heroes have their lives ended for different reasons, but according to Aristotle, only true tragedies have tragic heroes that bring about death through their own mistakes.
Romantic love stories are often ended with a tragedy, because of loss of passion or a loved one. These tragedies are often the result of one person’s actions that ended someone’s life or love. In the Romeo and Juliet play written by William Shakespeare, two citizens of Verona come together and fall deeply in love. Unfortunately their love comes to an end, along with their lives, because of a misunderstanding and a persistent feud between their families. Although there are many characters in this play that have contributed to Romeo and Juliet’s death, Friar Laurence is the person most to blame.
Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is arguably the most well known and well-read play in history. With its passionate and realistic treatment of universal themes of love, fate, war, and death, it’s not difficult to see why. However, most people don’t realize that there are several versions of the play, each with their own unique additions and/or changes to the plot, dialogue, and characters. After thumbing through the texts located here on this website, you can see even at a glance the distinct differences between the versions of Romeo and Juliet. This essay will explore how people dealt with death during the Renaissance in context to Shakespeare’s Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet (Lamentable Tragedie.) More specifically, I will show that the added monologue in act 4, scene 5, regarding the convention of death, is consistent to the social and religious beliefs of the time period.
The title of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing has sparked scholarly debates about its meaning for centuries. Some say it is a play on the term “noting”, revolving around the theme of all sorts of deceptions by all sorts of appearances (Rossiter 163). Others claim it has more to do with everyone making a fuss about things that turn out to be false, therefore, nothing (Vaughn 102). Regardless of these speculations, there is something rather profound going on in the play that is worth making a big deal about: four characters in the play learn about love, and eventually, how to love.
There are many heroes in this world, whether it’s a fireman or a doctor. A hero is defined based on their courage, nobility and strength. In contrast, there are tragic heroes. According to philosopher, Aristotle, the definition of a tragic hero is one that is of greatness and dignity but, despite their greatness, makes an error, otherwise known as the hero’s “tragic flaw” or “hamartia” which leads to his downfall. In William Shakespeare’s tragedy, Macbeth, the main protagonist and round character, Macbeth starts as a man of greatness and dignity. His assumed loyalty to the country and king earns him respect from a variety of men and the title “Thane of Cawdor.” But, unfortunately because of his tragic flaw he is corrupted by his overwhelming ambition and destroys himself and the natural order of man. Macbeth transitions from the savior of his country, “Bellona’s bridegroom”, a “brave” and unbeatable man to a man of endless brutality. Macbeth is the epitome of a tragic hero.