Love in Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare Shakespeare is well known for presenting the full repertoire of human emotions, and love is no exception. Much Ado About Nothing is unquestionably a play about love. Shakespeare provides the audience with a whole gamut of lovers from the banal Claudio and Hero to the rebellious Beatrice and Benedick. It is this range which allows Shakespeare to critique the conventions and perceptions within his renaissance society This variance in love and lovers also serves to inform the audience of the many different faces of love, and to further the plot, for example it is Margaret's brand of free love that causes the turning point in the play. The comparisons drawn between Beatrice and Benedick's love and the superficial love of Hero and Claudio are typical of the constant contrasts that Shakespeare builds into this play, comical or otherwise. It is in this way that Shakespeare manages to cross-reference almost all of his characters with each other; ` the 'wise' Beatrice with the 'modest' Hero, the 'valiant' Benedick with 'Sir boy,' the young Claudio. This emphasises their strengths and highlights their weaknesses respectively. By this he makes them more interesting, and so more realistic, pointing out things about the society in which the play was written, and about human relationships as a whole. One of the topics Shakespeare is especially fond of is that of Love being a force for good in society, improving anyone who is infatuated with it. During Act 2 Scene 3 Don Pedro comments that if Beatrice loved him like she supposedly loves Benedick, 'I would have doffed all other respects and ... ... middle of paper ... ...io and Hero signifying closure and restoring order, which demonstrates that not only is their relationship superficial, but also their presentation within the play. Much Ado About Nothing explores the many nooks and crannies that lurk in the dark theoretical world of love. Shakespeare captures the essence of love, in his language, structure and content. The presentation of love in this play is wide both in scope and in application, including many relevant ideas. The structure of the play helps convey these, and still maintains it as a comedy. There is a sinister, evil tainted scene, followed by a comic one, balancing the play, but still including all the negative points that Shakespeare wants to convey. It is altogether a hugely impressive piece of playwriting, and Shakespeare deserves the adulation he duly receives.
“And when I lived, I was your other wife, And when you loved, you were my other husband(Shakespeare 60).” In the beginning of the play it was overwhelming, steeped in love at first sight between Hero and Claudio, until Don John’s evil-manner took a role in ruining the love between them. And because of this a conflict developed between them, but was resolved when their vigorous love for one another overcame the conflict. In Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare, Hero serves as the foil character of Claudio because of Hero’s dignified, well-mannered, eminent reputation is illuminated through Claudio’s insecure, accusing, and doubtful weakness; thereby, interminably influencing the conflict in the plot.
In Much Ado About Nothing Shakespeare depicts different kinds of loving relationships - romantic love, family support and loyal friendship - and shows how various characters react to love and marriage. By exploring the effects of this powerful emotion Shakespeare highlights its universal relevance, a relevance that transcends time.
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.
Set in the sixteenth century, Much Ado About Nothing is revolved around the thought of love and marriage. Primarily, this is prevalent in the two main characters, Beatrice and Benedick. They have once been courted which suggests more maturity than the majority of couples in Shakespeare’s various plays. In the duration of the play, the violent language between Benedick and Beatrice is most evident through their ridicule. Both characters always speak critically regardless of whether they are talking to each other or out loud about one another. This is highlighted when Beatrice exclaims, “What should I do with him—dress him in my apparel / and make him my waiting gentlewoman? He that hath a / beard is more than / a youth, and he that hath no beard is less than a/ man; and he that is more than a youth is not for me, and he that is less than a/ man, I am not for him...
Much Ado About Nothing is one of William Shakespeare’s best comedies and love stories. What is not to like about a play that is hilarious, romantic, and has a happy ending? In this play the foremost and most intriguing character is Benedick, a man who is a devout bachelor and who does not believe he will ever find the perfect woman; --because perfect is exactly what he must have. This may seem to be a harsh and pessimistic outlook on life, but the way Shakespeare brings this character to life portrays Benedick as a funny and caring man who really is not that certain about what he wants for the future. Benedick’s counterpart in the play is Beatrice who is an independent woman with a quick tongue. Benedick and Beatrice despise and cannot stand each other because it is seemingly impossible for them to have a conversation without arguing and angering each other. The two of them provide some of the more amusing scenes of the play with their word play and mocking of each other. In reality though, they have much in common that they have yet to realize. Both of them despise marriage, are witty, and are each their own persons. These however are not the reasons why they come together. They are brought together by their respective companions who conspire to tell each of them that the one loves the other as the two misdirected lovers listen in. In his speech directly after this, Benedick is swayed to a life that he previously would have avoided at all costs. In hearing of Beatrice’s supposed affection he immediately changes his entire outlook on perpetual bachelorhood and pronounces a love that is not real or his own, but comes secondhand from trickery.
Shakespeare's comedy, `Much Ado About Nothing' is a play revolved around the love and friendships of two young couples, integrated with each other through both friendship and love. Love and marriage are the two most prominent ideas in Shakespeare's comedies. The two couples are Benedick and Beatrice, an unpredicted match as they appear to be quite the opposite and are forever arguing in their poetic banter. The other couple is Claudio and Hero, the two who seem madly in love yet Claudio's untrusting and naive side takes power at one stage, in which the couple's relationship seems destined to be doomed. The two characters of Benedick and Claudio are very different in both personality and manner, much like the two couples previously mentioned. The play ends with a double marriage--the union between a fair young woman and a heroic war soldier, and the passionate match of a firebrand spinster to her avowed bachelor. Ideas of loyalty and trust are interspersed throughout the Claudio-Hero union; Claudio shows little loyalty or trust but is made repentant before the marriage can take place. As for the Beatrice/Benedick union, there is a strong sense of the uncontrollable unpredictability of love. Neither would like to admit they have fallen for each other, but they have little if any choice in the matter.
Much Ado About Nothing raises many important issues concerning the institution of marriage. Perhaps Shakespeare's purpose in writing this play was to question the existing approach to relationships and marriage. Shakespeare reveals the faults of the process through the characters of Hero and Claudio and also Hero's father, Leonato. Shakespeare also may be suggesting an alternative approach to marriage and relationships through the characters of Beatrice and Benedick.
The Presentation of the Relationship Between Beatrice and Benedick in Shakespeare’s Much Ado about Nothing
What is the real definition of love? Many people have different interpretations of the small yet powerful word. However, in William Shakespeare’s play A Midsummer Night’s Dream the definition becomes rather twisted. Pure and real love does exist within the characters but is all of the love at the end of this play authentic? Love exists in A Midsummer Night’s dream before Oberon and Puck sets magic upon others which then causes some of the true love to instantly disappear. The feeling of love in the poem is both real and fake.
Many of Shakespeare's plays show a strong theme of love. Romeo and Juliet and Much Ado About Nothing deal primarily with the issue of true and false love. Romeo and Juliet, tragic play, is about two lovers who struggle, sacrifice, and defy their families and society for the sake of love that changes them completely. Although the end of Romeo and Juliet's story is death both of the lovers, their love turns to be immortal. Much Ado About Nothing, comedy play, is about two lovers who their relationship starts as child like and develops to be true love that motives the lovers to sacrifice in order to keep their love. The two plays deal also with the idea of false love. Romeo, the hero of Romeo and Juliet, thinks that he loves Rosaline, but when he meets Juliet, the heroin of Romeo and Juliet, he falls in love with her, forgetting his love to Rosaline. In Much Ado About Nothing, the relationship between Claudio and Hero's, main characters in the play, is based on wealth and appearance attraction. Conventional love is another kind of that is shown in Romeo and Juliet, where it develops in social situations without any consideration to emotions.
In today's society, true love can be described as someone buying a sparkly present for the significant other, celebrating their special anniversary with a beautiful getaway from their hectic life, or even risking anything in the world for that one person. These are all real examples of true love but these are also the things that Claudio didn’t do to show his affection and love towards Hero. Instead, he chose to humiliate her on their wedding day, he didn’t trust her to stay faithful until marriage, and even “killed” her. In the play, Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare, the main characters, Hero, and Claudio, are not truly in love and their actions display that.
Love in William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet "Romeo and Juliet" is a love tragedy based on different kinds of loves. Romeo and Juliet become married in a forbidden relationship over the high tension brawl between their rival families which Shakespeare clearly shows in the play. Despite the family brawls, the pair decides to let their "perfect" love defeat all. Peoples ideas have changed in the space of 400 years, for example back then some loves featured in this play would produce different reactions to the audience, than today. Shakespeare opens the play with the chorus who speaks a sonnet, where love imagery is found; "Two Star-crossed lovers" =
themes is Love. There can be many facets of love found in the play. It
The world is constantly in motion; therefore, as time progresses one’s way of thinking changes as well, for instance: today’s world is surely different compared to the Elizabethan era. In Much Ado About Nothing, Shakespeare portrays love at first sight as a major theme; however, this theme is questionable, especially when Claudio rejects Hero at their wedding day. He assumed that Hero was no longer a virgin. Nevertheless, if love is beautiful, as well as a powerful force that attracts two human beings together, then why should one’s innocence matter? The power of one’s love should always speak louder; yet, one’s actions are unpredictable. In Richard III, Shakespeare depicts how evilness can corrupt one’s mind, forcing one’s heart to consist
and masks. Act II scene 1 from the 1993 production I saw, is an ideal