Compare and contrast the two pairs of lovers in 'Much Ado About Nothing', their attitudes, actions, language and love.

Authors Avatar

In the following essay, I hope to successfully compare and contrast the two pairs of lovers in ‘Much Ado About Nothing’, their attitudes, actions, language and love.

To contrast the two pairs of lovers, I will firstly compare their attitudes before the two couples actually became lovers.

        At the beginning of the play we learn that Don Pedro “hath bestowed much honour on a young Florentine” – Claudio, who is then later described as “noble”. From this I understand Claudio is a highly respected and honoured soldier and a good friend to Don Pedro. He is a conventional young hero, for that time, and what better for a young hero to acquire a young, rich, beautiful wife? And is there a better wife than a rich young heiress, daughter to the Governor of a respectable place called Messina?

 I do not think Claudio’s intention was necessarily to fall in love, and this idea is supported by the fact that he ‘falls in love’ with one of the first women he lays his eyes upon in Messina. It is supposedly ‘love at first sight’ and although this idea is very romantic, it is a very rare and spurious occurrence. In the subsequent conversation Claudio has with Benedick, he is exceedingly complimentary of Hero and does pronounce to love her, so there is a possibility of this love being genuine, but as I will later disclose, successive actions on Claudio’s part seen to give us evidence that his love is not deep.

Join now!

        We do not really have much idea about Hero’s own objectives and aims, but what is made clear in the play is that she is very much under her father’s influence. We can see this throughout the play, for instance when she is given to Count Claudio to be betrothed. Leonato says, “Count, take of me my daughter, and with her my fortunes: his grace hath made the match”. Leonato talks about Hero as if she is a ‘thing’ in his possession to give to whom he pleases. Not once is Hero asked for her opinion, not once in this ...

This is a preview of the whole essay