English essay, Much Ado About Nothing
In this play, Shakespeare pairs of Hero with Claudio and Beatrice with Benedick. Using quotes from the play, discuss why Beatrice would never marry Claudio and why Benedick would not find Hero to be as suitable as a wife for him as Beatrice.
In this essay, I am going to look at the characters of Benedick, Beatrice, Claudio and Hero and go into detail on what they are like and how they view love. I will also look at why Beatrice and Benedick have a relationship and why Claudio and Hero also have a relationship but then specifically looking at why Beatrice would not marry Hero and also why Benedick would not marry Hero.
From the beginning of the play, it is made very obvious that Benedick and Beatrice
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He doesn’t just love her for looks but for her personality also. Claudio on the other hand is very different. He is a young, brave man but he is also very immature. He falls in love with Hero the first time he sees her as soon as he returns back from war. Claudio is too immature at first to know what love really is as he bases his love on looks, ignorance and wealth. He has to make sure his bride is rich before he marries her, which makes us wonder whether at this point, he really was in love. Hero and Claudio’s relationship is very different to Benedick and Beatrice’s relationship. In Hero and Claudio’s relationship, they base theirs on first impressions, ignorance and wealth as Claudio perceives Hero as the most ‘beautiful creature in the world’ and from this intends to marry her. At this point he doesn’t actually know anything about her personality or what she is like to be with. This then shows how immature and young he is and that he is not actually ready to be in love. Claudio and Hero are both very young and innocent. Claudio and Hero are a prime example of the Elizabethan norm in marriage. Claudio is seen to be the shrewd, hard headed fortune hunter whereas Hero is the modest maiden of conduct books and marriage manuals and willingly and gladly submits to marriage. Claudio is more concerned with advancement in army than he is in love. He sees his marriage to Hero to be an
In Shakespeare’s play, Much Ado About Nothing, written in the early 15th century, the relationships between Benedick and Beatrice and Hero and Claudio are the key to the play and create a lot of tension and comedy. The two relationships are interesting in different ways, and this essay will explore this in terms of the language used, the plot, characterisation and how the two relationships stand thematically.
On the other hand Benedick and Beatrice’s relationship is different; their relationship is not superficial but deeply rooted within them. They enjoy insulting each other as Benedick says to her ‘what my lady disdain! Are you yet living?’
With Claudio the situation is reversed. Although there is a misunderstanding between Claudio and Don Pedro near the beginning as to who was wooed by who for whom, Claudio has marriage to Hero in the bag. His pleasure in this is stated and overstated several times. Yet when Don John, who just recently lied to Claudio about Don Pedro's wooing Hero for himself, tells him Hero has been having sex with anyone and everyone she could get her hands on, he says, "If I see anything tonight why I should not marry her tomorrow, in the congregation where I should wed, there will I shame her". It does not make sense
Comparing Shakespeare's Presentation of the Love Between Claudio and Hero with that Between Beatrice and Benedick
As through the play, he always seems to be fencing against love and marriage. Until he falls in a prank made by his friends Claudio and Don Pedro. When he hears that Beatrice is in love with him, everything seems different for him. His attitude changes quite a lot towards his friends and his witty, smart and sharp personality dulls a little. He tries to write poetry for Beatrice and seems to be a conventional lover, who is kind of straight forward in matter love. A turning moment for Benedick in the plot comes, when he chooses love over friendship in a scene where Beatrice tells him to kill Claudio for disrespecting and humiliating her cousin Hero in front of all. In addition, his caring and generous side comes in revealing to the audience, when he is not blindly following his friends Claudio and Don Pedro, but chooses to stay by the side of Hero on the day of wedding. He shows support to Hero and her Father, Leonato, who seems to be very hurt and afflicted by the statements made by Claudio and Don Pedro about his
In contrast, Claudio constantly acts stupidly, hesitant on everything and becoming ruled by his anger and moody temper, which results in serious violence. On the other hand, Hero is insanely quiet, not opinionated, and cannot defend herself from public humiliation, as shown during the wedding scene when Claudio exposes her as a fake. Beatrice and Benedict’s love relationship is supposed to be a sub-plot, while Hero and Claudio’s relationship is the main plot in the play. Contrary to that, the relationship between Beatrice and Benedict seems much more interesting because of the opposing views from both of these characters. As the viewers of Branaugh’s film come to understand these aspects of the characters in the storyline, they begin to see that the relationship between Hero and Claudio is your cliché typical love story from the Elizabethan Era. They then look towards Beatrice and Benedict’s relationship for a true interpretation of modern day love in our
Both characters, Beatrice and Benedick are those who seem to put each other out on the spot no matter what they say to each other. As I kept reading the book, the more I realized the tension of feelings they have. Not only did I see their relationship coming, I noticed the trickery both Claudio, Prince and Leonato set up to make Benedick to eavesdrop. As of Beatrice, Hero Ursula and Margarete also decide to give it a go to make Beatrice believe that she is indeed in love with Benedick. In my opinion, I believe both Beatrice and Benedick are an ideal couple. They are not only romantic in a way where they both seem corny but they act like closest friends who don’t seem to get hurt with the amount of shade they throw.
There is a thin line between love and hate. Beatrice and Benedick both have put effort into a façade to cover up their true feelings. Sometimes, this façade exposes a glimpse of one’s true intentions. At the beginning of the play, Beatrice questions “I pray you, is Signor Montanto…” revealing that she does care for him or else she would not have asked for the condition of Benedick specifically. When Claudio is admiring Hero’s beauty, Benedick disagrees with him, instead believing “her cousin… exceeds her as much in beauty” exemplifying that to him, Beatrice is the most beautiful.
Benedick and Beatrice are very important characters. This reason is, they there the opposite of Hero and Claudio. Benedick and Beatrice despise each other and have no interest in love. Until in (Shakespeare) Page 87, Benedict overhears Claudio, Don Pedro and Leonato, talk about how Beatrices love for him is abound. Soon Beatrice here's the same conversation from Ursula and Hero. After Claudio and Hero get married, they meet up and fall in love after some conflict. In Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare, Benedick acts as the stubborn, no love in his heart character. Beatrice is the witty and quick counter part to Benedick. Through every act the opinion towards each other changes until they both fall for
There is a way to find out how Benedick and Beatrice can get tricked by other people into romance. For example, Beatrice is modestestly and said “I have a good eye uncle, I can see a church
In “Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare”, Beatrice and Hero are the converse of one another more ways than one, for Beatrice is using her wits to torture someone she desperately likes (Bendick) on the other hand with Hero you get to see a gentle character who doesn't have a backbone, but both want what best for each other no matter what. This supports my thesis because This proves how Beatrice and Hero are somewhat similar because both are describes as ladies who have good hearts and intentions because they do try to help each other find true love and I think there is quite a sister bond. Overall this shows that Hero and Beatrice are both well meaning and thoughtful even if one of them doesn't want to show it.
“Much Ado About Nothing” is set in Messina, the Isle of Sicily, where Shakespeare depicts Hero as a typical unmarried Elizabethan character. Shakespeare shows that Hero comes from a wealthy background with an important family. In this essay, I am going to write about: Shakespeare’s characterization of Hero, Hero’s contrast to Beatrice, and her relationship with Leonato and Claudio. The two characters, Hero and Beatrice, go hand in hand, despite their many differences.
Benedick is “certain [he] [is] loved of all ladies” showing he is highly self-assured and unafraid to make such a statement in public and be so “certain” of his words. When he announces that he is loved by “all ladies”, he is suggesting that the view universally held of himself is faultless and he does not and can not perceive how anyone could dislike him. Similar to Mr Darcy, Benedick is thought of highly within his society. As a soldier just returned from a successful battle, his arrogance is incited by the encouragement fed to him by the people around him. Another central male character Shakespeare poses as fundamentally flawed is Claudio. He is rendered as an impetuous and heedless character shown to be incapable of developing a sensible understanding of situations and imprudent when it comes to decision making. This is because Claudio fails to have the ability to gain a deeper knowledge and therefore has the tendency to only examine from an exterior prospect. This is seen when he entitles Hero as a “jewel” which indicates he is only observing at face value and he describes that he “looked on” her, is suggesting he did not care to look beyond her appearance. Don John’s cunning plan to sabotage Hero and Claudio’s relationship causes Claudio to promptly jump to a conclusion without consideration and is quick to disregard Hero by saying, “farewell therefore, Hero”. Shakespeare’s purpose in Don John’s plan to provoke Claudio is to challenge him and this reveals perfectly his flaws proving he is incapable of thinking for himself. It shows how gullible Claudio is and how easily he can be swayed and to make rash decisions. In addition it reveals the instability and extreme fragility of the blossoming relationship between Claudio and Hero is and possibly how one-sided it is, as he does not proportionate any
Beatrice and Benedick are two of the most critical people in this play, and they hold many of the comedic points. Also, their idealistic love is what makes the play so successful even though they aren't the main characters. As we know him, Benedick is a stubborn male figure who is against unrequited love at the beginning of the play. He never listens to other people's suggestions or conversations and always ends in a "Jades Trick" quoting Beatrice in Act one. Thinking marriage will ruin the quality of a man's life; this is why Benedick is against the thought or breath of marriage. Beatrice has a similar view towards the marriage life as well; her character is a soft-hearted lady but does not show this type of demeanor at all towards
In Claudio and Hero, they are very romantic and way too lovey dovey because they want to have a future in life. Hero is are sweet girl and she said “Now Ursula, when Beatrice doth come . . . That only wound by hearsay” (3.1.16-24). This mean that only whisper to people and not to Benedick and Beatrice, so they can be together. It doesn’t mean that they are serious but, making them that love is real. I think that this is important because it shows that Hero and Claudio are trying to trick them into getting in love. Lastly, love is always real and they need it in