Much ado about nothing - Attitudes to love and marriage.
Much ado about nothing - Attitudes to love and marriage Even though love and marriage was a major ideal in Shakespearean England, we can get views from Much Ado about nothing, which oppose this idea. From the two main 'couples' in this play we can understand their different views on commitment throughout and because of this we as readers and viewers can learn about each relationship separately and watch the thoughts and ideas change throughout the play. From the scene given we can make many assumptions on the Beatrice and Benedick relationship and how it may have grown throughout the previous acts and scenes. We can tell from this small passage that Beatrice and Benedick have a love/hate relationship which may have come from past relationship let downs... Beatrice: indeed my lord, he lent it me awhile, and I gave him use for it, a double heart for his single one. Marry, once before he won it off me with false dice, therefore your grace may well say I have lost it. The two seem to have the same ideas on marriage even though we learn through the play that this is not true, they both know it is important to get married but have different viewpoints on the matter, they both appear to want their individuality. We can see this idea in the passage provided and many other parts of the play... Beatrice: just, if he send me no husband; for the which blessing I am at him upon my
Love In Much Ado About Nothing.
Love In Much Ado About Nothing Hero and Claudio represent an idealised love that was a very widespread image of love in the Elizabethan renaissance. With the introduction of Beatrice and Benedick, we see a very different picture- a love that thrives on conflict and tension. While Claudio says of Hero, ¡§Can the world buy such a gem,¡¨ Benedick refers to Beatrice as ¡§my dear lady disdain.¡¨ While Claudio and Hero whisper sweet nothings into each other's ears, Beatrice and Benedick bicker incessantly. (Compare ¡§My cousin tells him in his ear that he is in her heart.¡¨ to ¡§if her breath were as terrible as her terminations, there were no living near her.¡¨) However, the play ultimately shows that Beatrice and Benedick's relationship is the more genuine. When early on in the play Claudio asks, 'Hath Leonato any son my lord?¡¨ This is one of the first questions Claudio asks about Hero. This would suggest that he is finding out whether she will inherit all of Leonato¡¦s wealth before he finally decides that he loves Hero. When Don Pedro replies, ¡§no child but Hero¡¨ he immediately delivers a speech about how much he loves her, ¡§how fair young Hero is¡¨. This speech seems to be sincere but is he simply being shallow? The fact that Claudio says he is in love with Hero having only known her well for a few days raises the question as to how sincere
Much Ado About Nothing
Much Ado About Nothing- How Does Shakespeare Present Difficulties In Relationships In Much Ado About Nothing? 'Much Ado About Nothing' was written in 1600 by William Shakespeare. The play is set in Messina, Sicily however it shows typical English comedy characteristics for that time. I find this unusual because not many people travelled far from home. Relationships are shown in various ways throughout the play using themes such as love, romance and patriarchal society. The main relationships which are portrayed are between Hero and Claudio and Beatrice and Benedick. Act two scene one is the masked ball. Conversations take place between a number of couples; this makes the scene seem lively and gives a sense of movement. The character Beatrice is attracted to Benedick. However Shakespeare confuses the audience by having Beatrice pass insults to Benedick, "masking" her real feelings. Beatrice says to Benedick "why he is the Prince's jester, a very dull fool; only his gift is in devising impossible slanders". Beatrice is teasing Benedick so that her real feelings towards him are concealed. Don John appears to deliberately try to cause problems in the relationship between Hero and Claudio by claiming "how canst thou cross this marriage?" Don John is showing his distaste for the marriage his brother arranged. This is because Don John is jealous of his brother's higher status
Much Ado About Nothing
English Coursework Essay on 'Much Ado About Nothing'. 'The Jokes which society tells are a significant index of that society's concerns and anxieties'. (M. Mangan, A preface to Shakespeare's comedies, 1996) If this is the case what can we learn from 'Much Ado About Nothing' about the 'concerns and anxieties' of the society in which Shakespeare was living? 1Sir H Walpole once remarked that 'a comedy should make us think', Shakespeare exploits this function of comedy by utilizing jokes on the themes of cuckoldry, infidelity and honour to permit the audience to think about the 'concerns and anxieties' associated with these jokes within Shakespeare's society and what can be learnt from these jokes told. The figure of the Cuckold in 'Much Ado About Nothing', a husband of a woman who commits adultery, is a running joke throughout the play. In the play, the character Benedick, who carries a misogynistic view of women, is the main instigator of these jokes, he says that being a cuckold is what happens when you get married and you would have to 'hang' his 'bugle in an invisible baldrick' and he vows never to allow the plucking 'off' of 'the bull's horns and' setting 'them' on his 'forehead', meaning he does not want to get married. Even though Benedick may be slightly bestial, it is clear there is a fear of getting married in Benedick's opinions. As Michael Mangan2 comments in
Much Ado About Nothing
Much Ado About Nothing Essay Question Juliet Dunsinberre argues that 'Shakespeare saw men and women as equals in a world which declared them unequal.' How far do you agree with this statement in relation to Much Ado About Nothing? In your answer, you should refer to the context in which Shakespeare wrote and consider how a modern audience might react. Introduction In Much Ado About Nothing Shakespeare portrays a common society in which a common role model of male and female ways of behaviour exists, and contrasts it with a deviant role model. It is Beatrice and Benedick who "misbehave". Beatrice´s behaviour and Benedick´s reactions are odd because they constantly work against society´s decorum. Shakespeare portrayed the common and the deviant behaviour in a way which is reflected in the characters´ engaging in dialogue. Men and women engage in dialogue differently and this can be seen in the composition of the staged dialogues as well as in the stage directions, which indicate body language. In the following essay I will discuss and analyse how Shakespeare develops themes of equality/inequality between men and women in this play by discussing how these themes are developed in key scenes and through contrasting characters, and also by using textual evidence to justify my viewpoints, and showing how context affects interpretation. Patriarchy and Courtly Love are
Much Ado About Nothing
Much Ado About Nothing In Much Ado About Nothing, most of the characters had interesting relationships with each other. For example, Hero and Claudio, were deeply in love. Also, Don Juan, and Don John were fighting with each other. Another example was the close friendship between Benedick, Claudio, and Don Juan. But the relationship between Benedick and Beatrice was different than the others. In their relationship, they hated each other, that brought them together. Their personalities were so similar, that it made them sick of each other, but the similarities in their personalities is also what brought them together. Benedick was a smart, good-looking, and funny guy. He was very witty, and always had a response to anyone's comments. For example, when he was talking to Beatrice, he always had a comment to finish of the conversation. He also didn't like the idea of marriage. Benedick thought that marriage led to the trapping of men. When he heard about Claudio getting married, Benedick thought that Claudio was crazy, because Benedick felt that marriage was going to change the way Claudio lived. Benedick was also very stubborn. He never wanted to give into other people's ideas, and that was why he didn't want to give into the idea that marriage could be a good thing in a person's life. Beatrice was a character very similar
Much Ado About Nothing
Much ado About Nothing Act 2, scene 3 is one of the most important scenes in the play "Much Ado About Nothing". How far do you agree with this statement? Act 2 scene 3 is the most important scene in the play because this is where Benedick changes from being "horribly" against love to being in love. This shows how easy Benedick can fall into a trap. At the end of the scene Beatrice also falls into the same trap. In this scene is it proven that men are "deceivers" but not only that women are "deceivers" too. This is shown when Ursula and Hero talk about Benedick and Beatrice. In Benedick first soliloquy he wonders "how much another man is a fool, when he dedicates his behaviours to love" basically he considers that person a fool who falls in love. He portrays men, who fall in love, as the ones who have "turned orthography". In this case he takes the example of Claudio. Claudio falls in love with Hero deliberately as takes a glimpse of her. So Benedick say what a fool he is. He says before he fell in love he was with no music "... but the drum and the fife". The drum and the fife signify the music of war. So essentially he is describing him as a hard soldier. "Now had he rather hear the tabor and the pipe." The tabor and the pipe signify the music of peace and love. Therefore, later he describes him as an idiot. On the other hand in his last soliloquy he himself becomes that
much ado about nothing
'Much Ado About Nothing' Question - Trace the developments and changes in Benedick's character in the play 'Much Ado About Nothing'. Focus partially on the striking difference in his attitude to love and marriage in Act II Scene iii. 'Much Ado About Nothing' was written by William Shakespeare during the prime of his career. The play was written around 1598-1599, and is said to be one of Shakespeare's most amusing comedies. Even though, the play is a comedy, it also has a dark plot, which is the rivalry between the brothers Don Pedro, the Prince of Arragon and Don John, the bastard. Don John is linked with all evil in the play, and is the cause of Hero's faked death. The secondary plot is the change in relationship between Benedick and Beatrice; this is the joyful part of the play, as it ends with love and marriage. Benedick, a young lord of Padua returns from a victorious battle, with Don Pedro, Claudio, a young lord from Florence and other soldiers by his side. The whole city of Messina gets ready to congratulate Don Pedro and his men. When the soldiers arrive, they catch up with the household, however Benedick starts an ongoing verbal dispute with Beatrice: Benedick: 'What my dear lady Distain! Are you yet living?' Beatrice: A bird of my tongue is better than a beast of yours' [Act I Scene i] This clearly shows there is dislike between them. As the play
Much Ado about Nothing
Near the end of the play Antonio says he is glad "all things sort so well". To what extent do you consider the play to have a happy ending? Much Ado about Nothing is a romantic comedy written by William Shakespeare. Although nobody knows exactly when Shakespeare wrote the play, it is thought that the play was written in 1596 to 1599. The main characters in the play are Leonato, Hero, Beatrice, Benedick, Claudio and of course Don John the Bastard. Much Ado about Nothing is still one of Shakespeare's best-known plays after 400 years. The title 'Much Ado about Nothing' has a very deep meaning. 'Much Ado' means a lot of fuss, therefore a lot of fuss about nothing. Also however 'nothing' is a pun on the word 'noting' as the whole play is based on what people note when they listen in on other's conversations. Also the word 'noting' is another word meaning sexual connotation this adds to the comedy in the play. The play is all about relationships and couples, and you meet two very different couples. One couple fall in love almost at first sight and appear perfectly suited to each other. However, the man named Claudio appears to be quite shallow and believes his wife-to-be, Hero, has cheated on him. He leaves her, but is tricked into marrying her later on after he has heard proof of her innocence. Another couple has a very different relationship; they mock each other by small
Much Ado About Nothing
Danielle Hay Much Ado About Nothing I am going to describe the techniques used by Shakespeare in 'Much Ado About Nothing'. I am focusing on language, themes, characters, plots and sub plots as well as the play as a whole. I will also be focusing on how the modern day as well as the Elizabethan audience would respond to this play write. Shakespeare is known as one of the worlds best play writers, he has written tragedies, histories, sonnets and comedies. Writing comedies was by far his best talent of all. He used many techniques in writing his comedies, which can be seen in many of his other plays. The basic structure of this play is that love creates conflict in society. In this play there are occasions of delight and distress as well as sarcasm and seriousness. The play is also about contrasts between people. Shakespeare started Much Ado About Nothing in the middle of a conversation, which throws us right into the story, and we pick up what is going on as we read on. Leonato: I learn in this letter that Don Pedro of Arragon comes this night to Messina.' Messenger: 'He is very near by this, he was not three leagues off when I left him.' Leonato: 'How many gentlemen have you lost in this action.' Messenger; 'Few of any sort, but non of name.' The play begins with the happy return of Don Pedro and his friends from war; they are to be
