Another aspect of this pair of scenes is the comparisons it makes between Benedick and Beatrice, in terms of their language. Both finish their respective scenes with a soliloquy. Benedick performs his in prose, and his sharp ironic wit is very much in evidence with such justifications for his change of heart as,
'The world must be peopled,' and, 'when I said I would die a bachelor, I did not think I should live till I were married.' This epitomises the Benedick that we have previously seen, showing that love really has not changed him significantly. Beatrice, on the other hand speaks her final piece in an almost sonnet style, with two rhyming quatrains and a closing couplet, so immediately showing a change from the witty prose which she had spoken in previously. The content of this speech confirms this change, in which she waves 'farewell,' to her previous contempt and 'adieu' to her 'maiden pride.' Although further on in the play Beatrice does revert to her witty rebuffs of Benedick, albeit in jest, when she is on her own in this scene, the true effects of love on her attitude can be seen. Even though the love is relayed through a third party, the sudden change of Beatrices' stance is actually quite startling for the audience. This speech can be seen as the start of the movement in the play that resolves with 'peace, I will stop your mouth,' the beginning of 'taming' of Beatrice's 'wild heart' to that of a 'maid.'
As we can see from this small part, the play is heavily patterned, with the positioning of scenes carrying almost as much meaning as the actual content. When the intricate and meaningful structure of the gulling and courtship of Beatrice and Benedick is compared with the supposed courtship of Hero and Claudio, it becomes only too clear what Shakespeare is implying. Hero and Claudio represent the opposite end of the love spectrum to Benedick and Beatrice, the former, a relationship with few words, little understanding and an idealised picture of each other. Claudio sees Hero as the proverbial white 'virgin,' and this is central to his love of her. Their love is extremely shallow, consisting as it does on barely enough time to get to know each other, and all through the play they are still feeling each other out. They scarcely talk to each other, and when they do, it is in clich餠love poetry; 'Lady, as you are mine, I am yours. I give away myself for you, and dote upon the exchange.' This brings into mind the poetic exchanges between Romeo and Juliet, 'love at first sight' becoming prevalent. Claudio is doting on something one feels, but it is not Hero, it is what he thinks is Hero; he hasn't known her long enough to be able to dote on her.
The difference between the two types of love represented by Beatrice and Benedick, and Hero and Claudio is never sharper than it is in Act 4 Scene 1, the marriage scene. The trust Claudio shows is nonexistent, he is the epitome of impulsive masculine lover and his language towards Hero is aggressive, and in parts illustrates the 'rottenness,' that is at the core of Claudio's thinking; he cries 'give not this rotten orange to your friend.' Shakespeare is referring to Beatrice's remark earlier, in which she calls Claudio 'civil as an orange, and something of that jealous complexion.' This link serves to not only reinforce the audiences image of Claudio, namely both jealous and bitter, but also likens Hero to him, and makes the audience feel as if a rotten orange is all he deserves. He is, in this scene, making a mockery of love and the main constituent of true love, namely trust. Again conversely, Benedick and Beatrice's love stands up better than ever, but, Benedick does encounter a challenge to this love, to requite it he must not only turn his back on his much trumpeted male bonds of earlier in the play, but challenge one of those who he said he 'loved,' thanks to Beatrice's wish to 'kill Claudio.' Despite this each of them professes their love 'with all thy heart,' and although a tragedy has come to pass, their wit stays as fine-tuned as it ever was. This proves conclusively that this is a love built to last, built, it is suggested, on foundations of an old love, the stability coming from that, but the passion renewed.
Another of Shakespeare's themes is that of order, and the relationship of love and marriage to it. In Shakespeare's time marriage was almost exclusively not an expression of love between two people, as it is today, but a financial transaction between the brides father and the groom, money for the groom, prestige for the father. This is what happens, almost exactly in the marriage between Claudio and Hero. Shakespeare is attempting to get across to the audience the impersonality of this kind of marriage, by the shallowness and idealism of Claudio's image of Hero, and by the very limited communication between them. This however, is disguised by the underlying theme of the play, which suggests that marriage brings order. Beatrice, who represents a 'strong' woman, and so disorder in Shakespearean terms is 'tamed' in the last scene of the play by Benedick with an ironic kiss, saying 'peace, I will stop your mouth,' thus 'stopping' the only means of rebellion that Beatrice has. This represents the taming of the rebellion, at the very gate of the order that is marriage. Claudio and Hero's marriage too represents the sorting of the disorder that reigned after Claudio's rejection of hero and her subsequent 'death'
Conversely, we have love, which is the raw expression of passion between two people, or at least that is the ideal. Love comes in many forms in this play, and although each is different, all have one thing in common; each is chaotic. Love is not an orderly thing, even if the resolution of it is. The method by which Beatrice and Benedick discover (or rediscover) their love is through a sequence of deception that is both chaotic and comic, namely the galling scenes, Act 2 Scene 3 and Act 3 Scene 1. Marriage represents the taming of this chaos, as is exemplified in Benedick and Beatrice's case. At the very end of the play, when Beatrice and Benedick are getting married, they have one last bout of words, before Benedick cries 'Peace, I will stop your mouth,' kissing her. This shows a number of things, the triumph of love over wit and words - possibly. The triumph of man over woman - probably, but it is also the triumph of order over chaos, the blissful sound of silence is heard after a play full of chaotic conversation. By this token, it is a triumph of marriage over love, and by that token, marriage can be seen to be killing love.
After her final epigram Beatrice does not speak again for the remainder of the play, albeit a small remainder. This could well show that she has been cast aside, and the only female to ever pose a threat to the male dominance. In the final portion, Don Pedro is told to 'Get thee a wife,' as if even the intelligent Benedick has been bent to the idea that wives are merely mascots, to be waved around and boasted about in a most manly fashion. It suggests to the audience that the wild-card wit of Beatrice has been silenced by the serenity of marriage, and since male supremacy is restored, the audience quickly makes the link that arguably Shakespeare associated the very concept of order with the superiority of men in almost every important aspect of life.
Don Pedro is notable not so much for his contribution to the already considerable amount of love in the play, but for his lack of it. Early on in the play, Don Pedro asks Beatrice, 'Will you have me, lady?' and is refused by her. It is not clear whether this proposition is in jest or not, although he attempts to brush it off afterwards. This is a break in stereotyping; it was almost unheard of for a woman to refuse such an offer, especially from one so prestigious. This once again reinforces the idea of Beatrice as a rebellious force, almost a heretic to the times, and it is therefore more of a shock when she 'requites' Benedick, and even more so when she is fully 'tamed' in the final scene.
Shakespeare also captures the dynamics of the platonic relationships, between friends, family and so on. This inevitably asks the audience to compare them with other forms of love, and we find that romantic and platonic are not so different. For example the shallowness of Leonato's fatherly love for Hero demonstrated in the short period after Hero's disgrace is not far removed from the shallowness of Claudio's love for Hero. Leonato cries 'Death is the fairest cover for her shame,' and trusts a man he hardly knows over the daughter he raised, not only is his integrity questioned, but also his intelligence, as with Claudio. This link is not carried on, as the Friar convinces Leonato as to his daughter's innocence, but in the audiences eyes the damage is already done. Pity is taken on Hero for two shallow, distrustful men being the two most important in her life, father and husband. The audience imagines Hero as a defenceless 'maid,' with the only real virtue a woman can have, her honour, having been torn away. The death that Leonato announces, and which the characters believe, is more symbolic than physical, because without her honour she is effectively dead.
When 'another Hero' returns, she forgives Claudio immediately for his treatment of her, pronouncing herself a 'maid.' She forgives by the acceptance of Claudio's renewed proposal, and in doing so is returning Claudio to his former place, as 'my other husband,' much as Claudio returns her to her virginal position. In each others eyes, therefore, they are the same as before, and so as much at risk from distrust as before. Because this will be a marriage based on conceptions of the other, it is deemed almost certain to fail in the audience's eyes.
The ending of the play brings resolution, because it is, after all, a comedy. However, we are left with a faintly bitter taste in our mouth, because even though Hero and Claudio have been reconciled, Claudio has learnt nothing from it. He immediately returns Hero to the virginal pedestal he had her on before, crying 'another Hero!' as she lifts her veil. This demonstrates his belief that Hero has been replaced, and this is not the 'rotten orange' of before, but the virginal Hero of his mind. Although he is humbled by his previous vice, agreeing to be the masked brides 'husband, if you like of me,' and he carries on with folly, making jokes about cuckoldry on the last page, which hardly seem appropriate to the audience after his earlier performance. The audience mostly feels that this marriage will not work, and both him and his wife might well become 'double dealers,' at the dissatisfaction of a superficial, vacuous marriage. The fact that the ending is male dominated adds to the taste, the comic aspects perhaps putting over the points Shakespeare is attempting to make better than if it were a tragedy. The very fact that there is not full resolution at the end draws our attention to the details of why that fact is so, this being impossible in a tragedy, for there is no resolution
The overall message of the play I feel is subversive in terms of love, despite a number of clues showing otherwise. At the time the play was written, as has been said, marriage was primarily a transaction, almost never for love. Of the two marriages it is obvious which one will be successful and which one will almost certainly fail. Claudio and Hero's marriage was arranged between Don Pedro and Leonato, so defiantly falling into the transaction marriage category, whereas Benedick and Beatrices' was not arranged at all. The message that this conveys to the audience is very subversive for the time; that marriage should be for love and not for money. This message is however fairly well disguised, so to the casual eye the play seems conventional, with the marriage of Claudio and Hero signifying closure and restoring order, which demonstrates that not only is their relationship superficial, but also their presentation within the play.
Much Ado About Nothing explores the many nooks and crannies that lurk in the dark theoretical world of love. Shakespeare captures the essence of love, in his language, structure and content. The presentation of love in this play is wide both in scope and in application, including many relevant ideas. The structure of the play helps convey these, and still maintains it as a comedy. There is a sinister, evil tainted scene, followed by a comic one, balancing the play, but still including all the negative points that Shakespeare wants to convey. It is altogether a hugely impressive piece of playwriting, and Shakespeare deserves the adulation he duly receives.
