In 'Much Ado About Nothing' Shakespeare presents us with a conventional heroine (Hero) and an unconventional heroine (Beatrice). Which is more to your taste and why?
MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING Catherine Rose October 2002 In 'Much Ado About Nothing' Shakespeare presents us with a conventional heroine (Hero) and an unconventional heroine (Beatrice). Which is more to your taste and why? In Elizabethan times, when William Shakespeare wrote the play, the conventional heroine would have been Hero. This is due to the fact that in the 1600's women were expected to be co-operative, modest, virginal and placid. Beatrice on the other hand is a heroine, but an unconventional one at that; she may have been seen as disobedient, cheeky and rebellious during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Nowadays however due to the change in women's rights at the turn of the 20th Century, we see Beatrice as a more conventional heroine. We see her good points as a heroine shining through in examples such as her crusading on her cousin's behalf and other matters, which I will discuss throughout this essay. In today's modern times we see Hero as a timid woman, who could not be a heroine. I feel we see no heroic from a modern point of view. One might prefer Beatrice's character for many reasons, one being that she is bold and set in her ways. We can see this through her stubborn views on marriage and love. During the first two acts of the play, Beatrice '.... would rather hear her dog bark at a crow than a man swear he loves her.' (Act I: Scene I) Beatrice swears in the
In 'Much Ado About Nothing' Shakespeare presents us with a conventional heroine (Hero) and an unconventional heroine (Beatrice). Which is more to your taste and why?
In 'Much Ado About Nothing' Shakespeare presents us with a conventional heroine (Hero) and an unconventional heroine (Beatrice). Which is more to your taste and why? In Shakespeare's plays, we are often presented with at least one heroine. Although frequently the character was conventional of Elizabethan periods, such as Hero in Much Ado About Nothing, who could be described as quiet, attractive, modest, obliging and 'proper', other of Shakespeare's heroines such as Beatrice were extremely different. Her more modern, outspoken attitude contrasts to what was expected at the time and may therefore have been rather surprising to an Elizabethan audience. In act 1, we are instantly introduced to Beatrice's witty and sarcastic character in addition to the fact she is against marriage, "I had rather hear my dog bark at a crow than a man swear he loves me." (I.1 - line 123) We also learn about her relationship with Benedick, "There is a kind of merry war betwixt Signor Benedick and her; they never meet but there's a skirmish of wit between them." (Leonato of Beatrice, I.1 - line 56) The way this relationship develops, as well as the way Beatrice changes throughout the play by learning to love Benedick is a factor that makes her character more interesting, and also a reason why many may prefer Beatrice along with her unconventional mannerisms. Later on in the play, unlike Hero,
"Much Ado About Nothing"
Level 2 Access Communications "Much Ado About Nothing" Remind yourself of Act 1 Scene iii where Don John reveals his true nature. What do you think about the presentation of this character and do you ever feel his presence poses a serious threat to the happiness of the other characters and the comic tone of the play? Our first introduction to Don John is during Leonato's welcoming of Don Pedro's party to his home. Everyone is in good spirits and all the characters are represented as good natured and happy to be in each other's company. Leonato receives Don John in a far more formal fashion, referring to his recent poor relationship with his brother and Don John in turn reacts with similar formality. There is an absence of the long conversations that have recently taken place, "I thank you. I am not of many words, but I thank you" act one scene I line 141. As soon as Don John has responded to Leonato, Don Pedro takes control of the meeting and the party moves away. This first meeting is important in defining Don John's character. The absence of communication with the other characters outlines the fact he is not a part of the group. One is aware Don John is unpopular and does not feel at ease and the referral to his past transgressions affirms that this character is not intended to be good. In the screen play he is wearing black in order to signify
Much Ado About Nothing
Danielle Hay Much Ado About Nothing I am going to describe the techniques used by Shakespeare in 'Much Ado About Nothing'. I am focusing on language, themes, characters, plots and sub plots as well as the play as a whole. I will also be focusing on how the modern day as well as the Elizabethan audience would respond to this play write. Shakespeare is known as one of the worlds best play writers, he has written tragedies, histories, sonnets and comedies. Writing comedies was by far his best talent of all. He used many techniques in writing his comedies, which can be seen in many of his other plays. The basic structure of this play is that love creates conflict in society. In this play there are occasions of delight and distress as well as sarcasm and seriousness. The play is also about contrasts between people. Shakespeare started Much Ado About Nothing in the middle of a conversation, which throws us right into the story, and we pick up what is going on as we read on. Leonato: I learn in this letter that Don Pedro of Arragon comes this night to Messina.' Messenger: 'He is very near by this, he was not three leagues off when I left him.' Leonato: 'How many gentlemen have you lost in this action.' Messenger; 'Few of any sort, but non of name.' The play begins with the happy return of Don Pedro and his friends from war; they are to be
Much Ado About Nothing
Shakespeare Coursework Benedick certainly seems to be genuine, as all of his speeches seem to be sincere and none pre-meditated. Benedick is the character everyone likes. He seems also to be more passionate than most of the other characters. Benedick is prepared to be humiliated by his friends in order to marry the one which he loves. He is a proud man and does not want to be outdone by a woman, but he will do anything for Beatrice. I think that when the two had verbal insult matches they were just trying to vie for each others attention. Beatrice is a "tomboy" and nearly an anti-male character in the early parts of the play, and seems very confident and loves to better people, especially Benedick. From the beginning of the play you can tell that these two are very powerful characters in their own ways. In the first section you get an intense feeling of hatred as Beatrice and Benedick throw insults back and forth at each other, which surely must symbolize that they don't like each other. You go through the play gradually thinking if they actually hate or like each other. The twist in the play is a surprise but it has been brought on gently as well, not just suddenly placed in front of you. Each of the two know deep down that they do love each other and only when their friends plot against them do they end up declaring their love for each other. Benedick has protested in
Much Ado About Nothing
Much Ado About Nothing In Much Ado About Nothing, most of the characters had interesting relationships with each other. For example, Hero and Claudio, were deeply in love. Also, Don Juan, and Don John were fighting with each other. Another example was the close friendship between Benedick, Claudio, and Don Juan. But the relationship between Benedick and Beatrice was different than the others. In their relationship, they hated each other, that brought them together. Their personalities were so similar, that it made them sick of each other, but the similarities in their personalities is also what brought them together. Benedick was a smart, good-looking, and funny guy. He was very witty, and always had a response to anyone's comments. For example, when he was talking to Beatrice, he always had a comment to finish of the conversation. He also didn't like the idea of marriage. Benedick thought that marriage led to the trapping of men. When he heard about Claudio getting married, Benedick thought that Claudio was crazy, because Benedick felt that marriage was going to change the way Claudio lived. Benedick was also very stubborn. He never wanted to give into other people's ideas, and that was why he didn't want to give into the idea that marriage could be a good thing in a person's life. Beatrice was a character very similar
Much ado about nothing
WHAT IS THE ROLE OF DON JOHN IN "MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING? William Shakespeare is renowned as the English play write and poet whose body of works is considered the greatest in the history of English literature. Shakespeare's plays form one of literature's greatest legacies. Divided into comedies, histories and tragedies, Shakespeare's plays have spawned thousands of performances. The play Much ado about nothing was written by William Shakespeare during the 16th century. It is classed as one of his many comedy plays, where the main characters get married in the end. Comedies, (such as Much ado about nothing) consist of many witty scenes particularly when few characters are speaking and gossiping between themselves. Much ado about nothing is a play about confusion and misunderstanding. It is a comedy about self-deception, vanity, jealousy and pride. The play also conjures up a series of events, but there are no tragic results, and all ends well for every character, except the villains who sparked off the melodramatic events which took place in the play. Don John is known as the illegitimate half brother of Don Pedro (prince of Aragon), he is also referred to as the "Bastard" in the play. In Shakespeare's time, such people were considered as outcasts, or perhaps even evil. He is melancholy and sullen by nature, and creates a dark shadow that glooms onto the whole
Much ado about Nothing
Much Ado About Nothing: - Essay Much Ado About Nothing is a play that focuses on the relationships between men and women. It is a Shakespearean comedy therefore the themes revolving around the play include struggle, love, deceit, mishaps and lies. In this play there are usually couples who end up enduring all the struggles and trickery and normally end up getting married at the end. The lovers in this play are Beatrice, Benedick, Hero, and Claudio. Shakespearean comedies normally involve a fool or someone silly and in this play there is a fool, Dogberry, even though he is a fool he is the most truthful character but unfortunately does not have the words to explain himself. The male characters in this play are very conscious about their respect and honour and how other people see them, this helps the play reflect Elizabethan values. On one hand you have Hero who is the ideal Elizabethan women; obedient, modest and quiet but on the other hand there is Beatrice, the complete opposite of what you would look for in an Elizabethan women, she is a challenging and up roaring character and is very against the stereotypes towards women at that time. Claudio is Hero's fiancé; He is a well known and respected Count because of his performance during battle. "Doing in the figure of a lamb the feats of a lion." This means that although Claudio is young and naïve his performance was of
Much Ado About Nothing
GSCE Coursework: Much Ado About Nothing Act IV, Scene 1 is perhaps the point at which the play turns on its head. While the events up until this point could have all been foreseen, the event itself is still stunning. The shock induced in Leonato, the disbelief in Hero and Beatrice, the firm and relentless barrage from Claudio and Don Pedro, and the catalysts from Don John. All of these bring the play to a climax, as all the important aspects are brought together in one cataclysmic event that "misuse[s] the Prince, to vex Claudio, to undo Hero," and very nearly "kill[s] Leonato" (II.i.25-6). The themes of the play are brought together and work in unity, not just to provide a dramatic scene, but also to generate emotion from the audience. Sorrow for Hero, certainly anger at Don John and some anger for Claudio. Shakespeare uses dramatic irony in this scene, as Claudio is so concerned about is own male pride, that he does not even seek to find out the truth and is willing to take anyone's word without even consulting Hero about what he has seen and heard. This to my mind, shows how superficial all these emotions are, how Claudio swears that he will "lock up all the gates of love," (Line 103), yet later in the play, he accepts the offer to marry another but unbeknownst to him, that person is actually Hero. Love or women as a commodity, as something that can simply be
Much Ado About nothing
23wKatherine Hindmarsh 4NG 19th December 2003 OCR: ENGLISH language Unit 4: Coursework Item 2: Response to reading ELH: Shakespeare Much Ado About nothing "Man is a giddy thing" Discuss Benedick's changing character. During the play "Much Ado About Nothing", Benedick's character changes dramatically towards certain aspects of life, namely in his attitude towards women and love. At the beginning of the play Benedick is portrayed as an experienced soldier and a knowledgeable scholar but with little interest in women, love, and marriage; a partly formed Renaissance man. His friends were mainly his army colleagues those whom, he had fought alongside when at war. However, as the play progresses, we see him become easily influenced by others and his attitude towards life change, thus displaying his 'giddy' character. In the first scenes of this play, Benedick and Beatrice seem to have formed an instant hatred for one another; Beatrice seems to know of Benedick before he even arrives in Messina. Beatrice warns Messina about Benedick, so when Benedick arrives in Messina, everybody has an idea of what Beatrice thinks he is like, so they do not have very high opinions of him. We notice as the first few scenes take place that there is a large amount of witty repartee going on between them. "And a good
