Honour and Fidelity Varies for Men and Women in the play Much Ado about Nothing

The Shakespearean play, Much Ado About Nothing, has a unique and an interesting way of presenting the idea of gender, especially for female characters. The play demonstrates two contradictory characters, Hero and Beatrice; one being the “ideal” women during this era and the other being the complete opposite from the “ideal” women. The play challenges as well as reinforces the gender roles during this era with the comparison between the two female characters as well as the attitude of men towards women.

Elizabethan society was deeply unequal. Although a woman was on the throne, women were not considered equal to men and were often treated like property rather than people. The class system was also unfair; a large proportion of the population lived in poverty while the rich flaunted their extreme wealth. Shakespeare was arguably the most popular playwright of his time and had the eyes of the whole country on him, including those of the Queen and her court, so he could not challenge the social order outright. Therefore, ‘Much Ado about Nothing’ conforms to a classic comedic structure and ends in order and marriage. However, through comedy, Shakespeare does defy social norms.

Much Ado About Nothing is one of Shakespeare’s more popular plays, a comedy loved by many, and produced still to this day. However, behind all the wordplay, misconception, and pranks Shakespeare successfully exposes the dark, ugly truth about gender roles and inequality within the Elizabethan society. The inequality of genders is prevalent in Beatrice’s language, how the male characters view women within the play, and the concept of honor.

Overall the Shakespeare brings to light many issues that females dealt with during the 17 century. He talks about women's voices and opinions being suppressed, men being able to hold females as property, the double standard of males and females. With this many readers and viewers of the play, understand the concept that Shakespeare is trying to present to this audience during the time. Although Shakespeare was not a modern day feminist, he still was a feminist in the light of a man during this time period. Bringing characters such as Emilia, who are shown to not take no for an answer, Becca, someone who can stand on her own to feet, and lastly Desdemona, someone who has shown that her loyalty lies with someone who she loves and she has not

Honor is an entity that is synonymous with dignity, respect, and admiration. Life itself can be seen as a great pursuit of honor. However, although human kind is enjoined in this pursuit, there exists considerable variability among perceptions of how it is protected and gained. Shakespeare explores these perceptions as he brings our attention to the idealistic and exuberant world of the courtier. Being at the apex of the social pyramid, courtiers abide by a stringent structure of ideologies and philosophies whose foundation rests on acting with honor and sprezzatura. Whereas honor is bestowed upon and achieved, sprezzatura, a form of social elegance and grace, is a skill to be mastered by the courtier. As Shakespeare intricately weaves the dynamic characters of Claudio, Benedick, and Hero in Much ado About Nothing, he allows the reader to obtain a closer examination of the struggle of the courtier in interpreting honor and exuberating sprezzatura.

Female gender roles have greatly changed from now and the sixteen hundreds when Shakespeare wrote the popular play Much Ado About Nothing. Women were raised to believe they were inferior to men. Women were taught that men should be the one who brings in money and women should stay home to clean and bare children. Also women were given no choice in who they were to marry or when. Over hundreds of years women realized that they were just as good as men and that they should be treated equally. This essay will cover the analysis of the women’s gender roles in the play Much Ado About Nothing, showing the analysis of Beatrice not following any stereotypes, Hero following all of the stereotypes, and Margaret not getting the same stereotypes as other women because she is a servant.

Shakespeare’s portrayal of honour in its medieval,

Throughout history, a system of patriarchy and sexism has over time replicated itself across the world. From this system of male-superiority, emerged misogyny. Referring to the hatred or dislike of women, misogyny has taken many different forms throughout William Shakespeare’s published works. In specific, Shakespeare’s play Hamlet features various examples of misogyny, portrayed by the tragic hero Hamlet and his relationships with the women in his life. This underlying theme of misogyny heavily influences his course of action, and contributes nothing but conflict between his female counterparts and himself.

Midterm: Much Ado About Nothing Classic, best-beloved, most popular, most entertaining, frequently preformed, funny- those are the descriptions used when recounting Shakespeare’s play Much Ado About Nothing. Written between 1598 and 1599, on the surface Much Ado About Nothing is simply a comedy that portrays various instances of love. However, it is much more than that; Much Ado brings to light the harsh cultural morals of the era in which it was written. Underneath the comedic nature of the play, Shakespeare examines the sociality gendered double standards, and how they affected his female characters. I plan to explore how others view the comedy, Much Ado About Nothing, specifically in relation to how they perceived the female characters,

Women in the Elizabethan age were extremely repressed and discriminated against. Most would not have gone to school or received any type of formal education. They were not allowed to vote, own property, or freely voice their opinions. They were seen as the property of a man, subject to his wants, needs, and not allowed to have their own; men held extremely stereotypical views of their female counterparts that helped them justify the way they treated them. Shakespeare exposes many of these injustices and biases in his stage plays, which are still commonly read and performed today. In Much Ado About Nothing, Claudio moves from seeing women (specifically Hero) as goddesses and wives

Honour is both established and thus defended by the characters in Much Ado About Nothing. Men and women both do so by many means of social conduct, in various, different, yet similar ways. By men, honour is specifically related to being respected by others, having a sense of worth or rank, having a respectable status, suitable statements or promises made in one’s honour and having a fine sense of what is due, or right. Women embrace their honour to themselves, with chastity as a virtue of high consideration and having a reputation for such virtue, and maintaining a good name. Honour is shown as the primary reason for many of the actions taken by several different characters.

The climax of the play is when the wedding ceremony is aborted and Hero is shamed and she is accused of disloyalty to Claudio. During the Shakespearean period women that were accused of unfaithfulness before marriage would lose social standing, a standing that could never be improved. This damaged social standing could ruin an entire family, therefore when Leonato buys into the fact that Hero was disloyal to Claudio he attempts to dismiss her totally

The role of woman in the society has always been really controversial, whether it was 400 years ago or now. Shakespeare's two very famous comedy plays, The Taming of the Shrew and The Merchant of Venice challenge a very serious social issue, the role and importance of woman in society. We all know the stereotypical image of woman in the society but Shakespeare questions the society on these thoughts through his plays. While Shakespeare expresses his ideas in a very unique way in each of his plays, this issue is common in both plays and is portrayed very similarly. Whether it is the way woman are treated, portrayed or judged, Shakespeare repeats the same idea through difference acts and events between the two comedies. There are some

    Without a doubt, Shakespeare’s Elizabethan era was a time where women suffered greatly from misogyny, especially that which was told by the Church. An example of the

Honor in the play, “Much Ado About Nothing” was a driving force for the characters making decisions in the play. Shakespeare focused on honor in the play because it was significant in the time period that Shakespeare lived in. When Claudio was tricked into believing that Hero was unfaithful it caused him to dishonor Hero in front of everyone. “What man was he talked with you yesternight, / out at your window betwixt twelve and one?” (Shakespeare 4 .1 .80-81). Claudio states that he saw a man with Hero at midnight in her chamber. By stating that in