The relationship between Claudio and Hero is shown differently by Shakespeare, as it seems to be based on attraction, especially for Claudio. After meeting Hero he compares her to a ‘jewel’ showing that he thinks she is beautiful. Comparing a woman to a jewel underlines the idea that Claudio objectifies Hero. There is also an attraction towards Hero because of wealth, through Leonato. Claudio asks ‘Hath Leonato any son’ which suggests that it was important that Hero inherits a lot of money from her father. Appearance is therefore important to Claudio whereas appearance is not as important to Benedick. He references the ‘sign of blind cupid’ proving that he truly loves Beatrice.
Shakespeare makes Benedick quick to forget his views of dying a bachelor when he hears other characters talking about Beatrice’s love for him. He says that ‘If I do not take pity of her, I am a villain: if I do not love her, I am a Jew’. Shakespeare suggests that Benedick feels he should love Beatrice out of charity (especially as Jews were considered uncharitable in Shakespearean times), again trying to hide his true inner feelings for her and support his earlier views of love. This can also show love as fickle, but if he had no feelings in the first place he would not have been so quick to change his mind on the relationship. Shakespeare shows Benedick's complete change of heart through two juxtaposing soliloquies. In his first speech Benedick starts by saying that Claudio is foolish for falling in love and that ‘one woman shall not come in my grace’, suggesting that he will never let a woman make him look a fool. He does not admit to loving Beatrice or any other character. In the second soliloquy the audience can tell that Benedick is truly in love, which he shows by attempting to sing in verse. He says ‘my poor self in love’ admitting to the audience that he is in love.
At the end of Act 2:3 the conversation between Benedick and Beatrice has changed slightly from the two-sided banter we have seen before. Now that Benedick has agreed with himself to love Beatrice he is now open and polite, and almost flirtatious, whilst Beatrice still uses the same attitude seen in the banter. We can see this in the language she uses. She mentions a ‘knife’s point’, ‘choke’ and ‘pain’ but Benedick sees this as Beatrice keeping her love from him, showing how people see things differently when they believe different things.
Shakespeare uses dramatic irony within lines 8-12 of 2:3 as Benedick talks about how men, such as Claudio become ‘the argument of his own scorn by falling in love’. He says that by seeing other men fall in love and therefore become a ‘fool’ he would think that others would not make the same mistake. This is ironic because the audience can see that Benedick may be about to fall in love with Beatrice having seen other men fall in love. The audience can see this because of the suggestions from the beginning, with the two characters’ indults towards each other. Shakespeare uses this dramatic irony to add comedy to the play through this character as Benedick says that men, such as Claudio, become a mockery of themselves by falling in love. This is because they used it to ridicule others who fell in love. Benedick is objecting to Claudio to falling in love with Hero but he will in fact become ‘the argument of his own scorn’ by falling in love with Beatrice.
Shakespeare also uses metaphors to portray the theme of love. When Beatrice is tricked into believing that Benedick loves her she develops a cold. She says that she is ‘exceeding ill’. This is a reference to love as a sickness as she now begins to love Benedick. Shakespeare uses this metaphor with reference to the love between Beatrice and Benedick to continue their comic value to the play. The way they are tricked into loving each other is amusing for the audience. Beatrice can not understand why she loves Benedick and she thinks that she does not really love him but she is in fact ill. Benedick was also told that Beatrice was ‘almost sick’ for him and Beatrice was told that Benedick was ‘well-nigh dead’ for her. Another metaphor of Beatrice is as a wild animal. She says that Benedick is ‘taming’ her ‘wild heart’. This is because Hero stated that she knows that her cousin’s spirits are as ‘coy and wild as haggards of their rock’.
Shakespeare uses motifs such as masks and veils. There is a masked ball in ‘Much Ado About Nothing’; the masks are used to move the relationships on in this play by using deception. The character of Don Pedro said that he ‘will assume thy part in some disguise’ and tell Hero that he is Claudio so that she will be ‘wooed’ by him and fall in love with Claudio. Shakespeare doesn’t simply talk about Claudio ‘wooing’ Hero because he wants to show how fickle love can be and the theme of deception. Shakespeare again, be showing how Claudio sees Hero like something to be won or possessed because he will do anything to get her, so much so that he will let someone else ‘woo’ her for him.
The conversation between Beatrice and Benedick at the masked ball reveals that Benedick really does have romantic feelings for Beatrice. The audience has seen the banter from the beginning and so are surprised when he gets offended from her insults in this conversation. Beatrice calls him the ‘Prince’s jester, a very dull fool’. Benedick is hurt that Beatrice ‘knows me but does not know me’ and says that he will be ‘revenged as I may’. His reaction seems too impassioned Shakespeare implies that he would now be as affected by Beatrice’s words had he now really cared about her. Similarly, Beatrice’s previous comments are more offensive and cruel than those in Act 1:1 almost as though she herself wants to hurt Benedick for using her ‘falsely’. Beatrice had said that Benedick had lent her his heart and she had lent him a double one but he had won her heart with a ‘false dice’ implying that she thinks he used her ‘falsely’. This also shows how hurt Beatrice is because of how much she loves him, showing why she was so quick to fall for the trick as she loves him. Shakespeare makes it seem like a competition between the two characters when it comes to insulting each other, especially when Benedick says that he will have his revenge.
Veils are used towards the end of the play by Shakespeare again to show the theme of deception and to infer that either Claudio did not love Hero deeply in the first place or that he has been humbled by his experience and wants to make amends. The unveiling of Hero symbolises her new attitude to love; she is stronger and will not allow anyone to hurt her in the same way again, but she still wants to be with Claudio. When Hero is unmasked her dialogue shows her new relationship with Claudio beginning. ‘I was your other wife… you were my other husband’ showing how their relationship is a whole new one.
To show that characters are talking romantically about love Shakespeare wrote dialogue in verse. However it is also to show the more romantic characters and the ones that struggle with romance. For example, Claudio and Don Pedro talk in verse when they are at the masked ball and talking about ‘wooing’ Hero but Benedick talks more in prose. When Benedick attempts to speak in verse for Beatrice towards the end he struggles. This shows his difficulty with romance. Also when Balthasar sings about love Don Pedro sees it as romantic as he says “By my troth, a good song”” whereas Benedick says that the singer had been “a dog that should have been howled” showing that he didn’t like the song and therefore not as romantic as Don Pedro. However, Benedick, towards the end of the play, tries to sing a song showing his love for Beatrice. He ‘cannot show it in rhyme’ he says no matter how much he tried. Shakespeare makes Benedick look clumsy when in love again to add comedy to the play. This is shown when he gets annoyed when he can find ‘no rhyme to ‘lady’ but ‘baby’’. However, Shakespeare also presents Benedick as plain speaking to show that his feelings are genuine and require no adornments or flowery speech.
Shakespeare incorporates a climax in the play at the first wedding. It is a climax because of the action that is happening but also within both the relationships. Shakespeare structures the play so that the climaxes of the relationships fall together. Hero and Claudio’s relationship reaches the climax here because Claudio refuses to marry Hero due to what he believes Hero has done. Benedick and Beatrice’s relationship reaches their climax towards the end of the wedding scene when he agrees to kill Claudio for Beatrice in return for her love.
The two relationships follow different narratives to show how differently they have been formed and how they are based on separate ideas and beliefs. Benedick and Beatrice’s relationship is formed through trickery whereas Claudio and Hero’s relationship involved deception and fickleness formed through appearances. Beatrice and Benedick cannot make their love public because of Claudio’s shaming of Hero. Shakespeare uses this sub-plot to affect the main plot.
Shakespeare starts this romantic comedy with reference to war rather that the traditional love story. This can be relevant to the ‘merry war’ between Beatrice and Benedick with their friendly banter. Also it allows the men to be seen as heroes and warriors. The messenger refers to Claudio as ‘the right noble Claudio’ saying that he is high up in society and his appearance in social concept is very appealing to a character such as Hero. This is another suggestion of the fickleness of love. Claudio is concerned about his appearance if he married someone who has betrayed them and when he agrees to marry Hero’s cousin he does so because he knows she looks like Hero.
‘Much Ado About Nothing’ uses mainly the relationships between Claudio and Hero and Benedick and Beatrice to show the capital theme of love. The two relationships contrast to portray the fickleness and deception found in romance. Shakespeare uses the characters to show how different people handle and go about love.
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