'Much Ado About Nothing' is the most urbane and sardonic, and the least pastoral and romantic of Shakespeare's comedies. He wrote his plays to entertain the Elizabethan audience, and his characters can been seen as representatives of significant social issues of the time. Like most playwrights, Shakespeare reflected in his plays the world he knew. In 'Much Ado About Nothing' it is a patriarchal society, where rank and social status rule supreme and women are in a subordinate position to men, whether fathers or husbands, hence Beatrice's wish 'oh God that I were a man.' Leonato is able to depend on Hero's obedience 'daughter, remember what I told you: if the prince do solicit you in that kind, you know your answer.' This patriarchal world, with its strict code of honour, places repressive moral restraints on its young women, inspite of Beatrice's defiance. The men's persistent jokes about cuckolds and faithless wives make abundantly clear the fear of women's sexuality beneath ribaldry.
Messina is a male-dominated society. In Elizabethan times, the idea of male honour depended on male friendship as well as family, class and reputation amongst fellow men. Unlike a woman, a man could defend his honour, and that of his family too, by fighting in a battle or duel, which was not an option open to women, a fact Beatrice describes when she says 'I cannot be a man with wishing, therefore I will die a woman with grieving.' When Claudio denounces Hero about her perceived infidelity, virtually all the men assume she is guilty, merely because her accusers are men of honour, 'and as I wooed for thee to obtain her, I will join with thee to disgrace her.' Even her father asserts 'Would the two princes lie, and Claudio lie.' Male honour is tested, as seen with Benedick and Beatrice, when Benedick challenges Claudio, together with his masculine codes of value, when he is asked to 'kill Claudio,' even though his immediate response does come from his loyalty to men and the code of honour, which bind them together 'not for the wide world.' Beatrice manages to persuade him partly by love but mainly by criticising his masculinity, as she believes 'manhood is melted into curtsies'
Female honour arises from virginity and chaste behaviour. For women in that era the loss of honour was a form of annihilation, as 'death is the fairest cover for her shame.' We see that Hero is threatened with the loss of her all social standing, a disaster from which she could never recover. At first Leonato is actually dumbstruck by Claudio's accusations and believes that Claudio is responsible for Hero's defloration and that he has supposedly 'vanquish'd the resistance of her youth, and made defeat of her virginity.' This takes for granted that if Claudio has 'known her' ...
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Female honour arises from virginity and chaste behaviour. For women in that era the loss of honour was a form of annihilation, as 'death is the fairest cover for her shame.' We see that Hero is threatened with the loss of her all social standing, a disaster from which she could never recover. At first Leonato is actually dumbstruck by Claudio's accusations and believes that Claudio is responsible for Hero's defloration and that he has supposedly 'vanquish'd the resistance of her youth, and made defeat of her virginity.' This takes for granted that if Claudio has 'known her' sexually he would be justified in questioning her virtue. However, just when Hero needs her father's support most of all, he too judges her guilty, concerned only for his own shame and loss of honour, and wishes heartily she were dead 'Do not live, Hero, do not ope thine eyes.' Despite that, we do see in the end that Leonato is evidently not afraid to challenge those of higher rank then himself when have proved 'they wrong her [Hero's] honour.' He takes on the role of a loyal father, 'if they wrong her honour, the proudest of them shall well hear of it,' but this again could be viewed as Leonato maintaining his honour in proving that his daughter is innocent more for his own sake rather than that of his daughter.
The notion of male dominance is most effectively represented by the nature of arranged marriages. Patriarchal marriages were largely based on the hierarchical power structure in which fathers and husbands have dominion over daughters and wives, which is a means of securing ownership of property by the systems of inheritance and the marriage dowry. When Claudio inquires 'Hath Leonato any son, my lord?' we see his mercenary interest in marriage and therefore, we question the sincerity of his passionate declaration of love for Hero and a modern audience may believe he is
simply going through the motions of courting his lady 'Didst thou note the daughter of Signor Leonato?'
The fear of female sexuality also lies behind the importance of virginity in a bride, which explains Claudio's bitter rejection of Hero at the altar 'give not this rotten orange to your friend.' Up till now we see Claudio feels that Hero has embarrassed him, and we can see the extent of his male pride, and the concern he has with the possibility of his social status being tainted 'most foul, most fair, farewell, thou pure impiety and impious purity.' This verse is intensely contemptuous, yet some critics have argued that the artificiality of the patterning suggests ostentation in Claudio's feelings, and his grief is not for Hero but more for himself and his loss of honour.
The merry war between Benedick and Beatrice clearly marks their attraction towards each other as the only apt companions in a patriarchal society such as Messina 'too wise too woo peaceably.' Beatrice's command to 'Kill Claudio!' is a test of Benedick's willingness to desert the world of masculine bravado and narcissism for the female values of Beatrice, who is outraged at the cruel and disreputable humiliation of her cousin. Hero has been 'belied' in the name of male honour 'Is a not approved in the height of villain, that hath slandered, scorned, dishonoured my kinswoman.' Ironically, it is neither songs nor poetry that hope to win such an independent woman, but only courage in an honourable cause. Benedick's challenge to Claudio has opened the way to Beatrice's heart 'use it for my love,' and in this we see the inextricable links between honour and love, as Benedick agrees to challenge Claudio to find the truth of Hero's fidelity as an 'Approved wanton' as well as for the sake of his love for Beatrice. 'I will live in thy heart, die in thy lap, and be buried in thy eyes: and moreover, I will go with thee to thy uncle's.' Benedick has to redeem male honour by challenging false honour and has to prove his love with action.
Claudio, on the other hand, appears to value male honour and the obligations that come with male power and position. Incongruously both Claudio and Leonato fail as honourable men, as male honour demands that they protect their women. However, we do see both men, especially Claudio arguably acknowledging his guilt in the epitaph 'I have drunk poison' and hoping for forgiveness in the song, though it does seem according to Anne Cook that he has 'wooed by proxy rather than face to face' and 'who has relied on the evidence of his eyes rather than his heart should have to take a wife unseen.' He similarly does this again, when he aggress to marry 'Another Hero,' whom he has never seen or spoken to out of respect for Hero. Nevertheless, it still can be argues that he only agrees to marry for the sake of maintaining his honour and his reputation in Messina. Moreover, if he marries Hero's cousin he does receive a second dowry, which would give him high status and respect from society.
The heart of the play lies in the fact that Beatrice and Benedick's love is far more powerful than that of Hero and Claudio's conventional relationship, a comparison that is underlined by the language and imagery of the play. The Hero-Claudio subplot, written mainly in verse, is combined with the Beatrice-Benedick plot, which has been written mainly in prose. Claudio's poetic language as an expression of love for Hero represents the newly transformed Elizabethan lover, who lies awake thinking about fashionable doublets, talks in elaborate flowery language 'can the world buy such a jewel' and delights in love music. However, Benedick rivals Claudio in the appearance of his role as courtly lover as he shaves off his beard and gets a 'toothache,' sings love songs and writes 'halting' sonnets, which he accepts 'Marry, I cannot show it in rhyme; I have tried. I can find out no rhyme to 'lady' but 'baby'... I was not born under a rhyming planet.' When Claudio declaims in verse, this underlines the artificiality of his sentiments towards Hero, unlike Beatrice and Benedick whose prose suits the realism of their proclaimed love for one another. The love between the traditional romantic war hero wooing a passive loyal woman appears in hollow in comparison to Beatrice and Benedick.
'Much Ado About Nothing' revolves around male honour and male friendship and that is what Beatrice attacks 'you dare easier be friends with me, than fight with mine enemy,' challenging male solidarity and introducing ideas about sexual equality 'for women have souls as well as men.' The masculine value code is eventually challenged by Benedick, which clearly changes himself. Beatrice has encouraged Benedick to a new level of seeing and feeling, then that compared to this military friends, who remain firmly in their old male world, cracking their jokes about cuckolds to the very end 'Bull Jove, sir, had, an amiable low, And some such strange bull leaped your father's cow.' We see, therefore, that love triumphs in the relationship between Beatrice and Benedick but ideas of honour still shape the behaviour of the characters with whom we have less sympathy.
AS ENGLISH LITERATURE: MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING
'THIS IS MORE A PLAY ABOUT HONOUR THAN ABOUT LOVE.' EXPLORE THIS STATEMENT WITH REFERENCE TO THE WAY SHAKESPEARE PRESENTS BOTH MEN AND WOMEN IN 'MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING'
