Shakespeare presents courtship in Much Ado - How might a modern audience respond to these? Examine at least two examples of relationships in the play.

The first 200 words of this essay...

Shakespeare presents courtship in Much Ado. How might a modern audience respond to these? Examine at least two examples of relationships in the play.

The themes of love, marriage and courtship are an important part of 'Much Ado about nothing'; they are presented in a way that reflects the attitudes of the society at that time. I will explore the different attitudes of modern audiences and Shakespeare's audience towards these themes in the play.

The two examples of relationships I have chosen are Beatrice and Benedick's and Hero and Claudio's. This is because I think they are in contrast with each other, at the beginning of the play it appears that Hero and Claudio will be the perfect couple formed in a conventional way, Claudio goes through the right channels and their marriage is arranged. Later we learn that even though Beatrice and Benedick seem to deeply dislike each other and think they would be a rather an unexpected couple we realise later their love is more sincere and genuine.

The couples communicate on different levels; this reflects how comfortable they are in each other presence. Hero and Claudio's marriage was by proxy; Don Pedro was