Which of the two loves (Hero and Claudio, and Benedick and Beatrice) seems the most genuine. Much ado about nothing.

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Which of the two loves(Hero and Claudio, and Benedick and Beatrice) seems the most genuine. Hero and Claudio represent an idealised love that was a very widespread image of love in the Elizabethan renaissance. With the introduction of Beatrice and Benedick, we see a very different picture- a love that thrives on conflict and tension. While Claudio says of Hero, “Can the world buy such a gem,¨ Benedick refers to Beatrice as “my dear lady disdain.” While Claudio and Hero whisper sweet nothings into each other’s ears, Beatrice and Benedick bicker incessantly. (“My cousin tells him in his ear that he is in her heart.” to “if her breath were as terrible as her terminations, there were no living near her.”) However, the play ultimately shows that Beatrice and Benedick’s relationship is the more genuine.                                                                When early on in the play Claudio asks, “Hath Leonato any son my lord?¨ This is one of the first questions Claudio asks about Hero. This would suggest that he is finding out whether she will inherit all of Leonato’s wealth before he finally decides that he loves Hero. When Don Pedro replies, “no child but Hero¨ he immediately delivers a speech about how much he loves her, “How fair young Hero is¨. This speech seems to be sincere but is he simply being shallow? The fact that Claudio says he is in love with Hero having only known her well for a few days
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raises the question as to how sincere Claudio really is. “My liking might too sudden seem¨. This quotation shows that he realizes that it may seem odd that he has fallen in love with a potentially rich maid too quickly. However, we should remember that the idea of ‘love at first sight’ was a very popular idea for plays of the time. (Romeo and Juliet, for instance, fall in love at first sight).When Don John tells Claudio at the dance that Don Pedro “Woos for himself” he is too quick to doubt his close friend (Don Pedro). This shows how ...

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