Joss Whedon’s 2013 adaption of the Shakespeare play highlights the importance of forgiveness in relationships by the addition of two scenes demonstrating the effects of mutual betrayals that are not included in the original play. One scene that Whedon incorporates is during the funeral procession of Hero. In the film, as Claudio leads the gloomy line of mourners for his lover’s fake-death, the camera shows Beatrice and Hero watching from above. While there is no dialogue, one can see the obvious distress on Hero’s face as Beatrice comforts her (Whedon, Much Ado). The pain depicted on Hero’s face and her slight smile as she watches her lover be truly penitent conveys that Hero forgives Claudio in this moment for slandering her during the wedding ceremony. In …show more content…
Unlike Shakespeare, Whedon has Hero physically witness Claudio’s despair and guilt for herself in order to demonstrate that this act of visible forgiveness is essential for their relationship. Whedon depicts Hero as a stronger woman than illustrated in the play, in that she commits a truly heroic deed in order for the relationship between her and Claudio to survive and grow.
Furthermore, the importance of forgiveness is also presented by the addition of the very first scene of Whedon’s adaptation. The film begins with the morning of an affair between Beatrice and Benedick, a scene that is not present in the original play. This scene, also without any dialogue, shows Benedick, after much deliberation, leaving the bedroom while Beatrice pretends to be asleep. This scene provides an integral background to Benedick and
Hero and Claudio represent the Elizabethan norm in marriage. Claudio is the shrewd, hardheaded fortune hunter and Hero is the modest maiden of conduct books and marriage manuals, a docile young woman. It is important to note that Claudio is more concerned with advancement in Don Pedro's army than he is with love. Therefore, Shakespeare illustrates to the reader through the near tragedy of mistaken identity that Claudio must learn that marriage is more than a business arrangement and become worthy of Hero's love and affection. Source: Ranald, Margaret Loftus. "As Marriage Binds, and Blood Breaks: English Marriage and Shakespeare". Shakespeare Quarterly. Vol 30, 1979: 68-81.
Benedick is set out as one of the main characters in the play. This is probably because he has such a big personality and as 'Much Ado About Nothing' is a comedy, himself and Beatrice are essential to the plot. The play sees Benedick turn from a man who resents the very idea of trusting a woman and marriage, to one who falls in love with his equal and asks for her hand.
Beatrice and Benedick seem to have had some relationship before the beginning of the book that ended badly. This suggests that the initial situation between Beatrice and Benedick was one of mutual attraction, not of the overt hate they seem to flaunt at the beginning of the play. Scorn of this magnitude is rare among people who dislike each other from the start, and seems very unlikely in a broken up couple. In addition, both Beatrice and Benedick turned out to be very willing to abandon their smear campaigns as soon as they are convinced the other is aching for them. It is ridiculous that one would abandon one's own principals to bail out a hated enemy in trouble. This makes clear that their attitude toward each other is an act. If this is so, what is the purpose of the act...
Beatrice and Bene*censored* are adversaries united only in their contempt for marriage. Once the two finally let down their guard and allow their true feelings to blossom...
Nevertheless, there are many sharp contrasts between Hero and Beatrice in comparison to women in Shakespearean society. Hero is a mild mannered woman who is gentle and submissive. Beatrice is a woman that is outspoken and does not wish to allow social norms control her. Beatrice is a woman of many words and Hero is a woman that allows men to speak on her behalf. Hero in the end of the play does marry Claudio, and Beatrice does fall in love with Benedick from their many "merry wars" and they do get married at the end of the play.
...ay, it could be insinuated that the comedic value of them getting together is very high because you see Beatrice lose her individualism that she sticks to throughout the play. We could believe that she actually uses her individual behavior to get Benedick.
“Grudges are for those who insist that they are owed something; forgiveness, however, is for those who are substantial enough to move on.” In Criss Jami’s quote, he explains that people who hold grudges, believe that what happened is unfair versus people who move on do deserve forgiveness. A similar theme is implied in Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, which is set in the imaginary county of Maycomb, Alabama during the Great Depression. The main protagonist in this novel is a young girl, by the name of Jean Louise Finch, better known as Scout Finch. Scout has to learn to accept the fact that a man named Bob Ewell desires revenge on Atticus because Atticus supposedly ruins Bob Ewell’s credibility at a trial where a black man, Tom Robinson,
The beginning of the play shows Claudio, on numerous occasions, as gullible and paranoid that everyone is against him. When Don John tells Claudio that Don Pedro has wooed Hero for himself he responds by saying, ““But hear these ill news with the ears of Claudio. Tis’ certain so. The Prince woos for himself” (Shakespeare 24.) This quote shows that Claudio often puts his trust in the wrong people. He takes the word of an enemy, who he has already defeated in battle, over someone who fought along side him and is supposedly his best friend. It also shows how naïve Claudio can be and how easily he will take what others say as the truth without using his better judgment. In this quote, Claudio proves how fast he can turn against someone, even one of his best friends, when he hears they have wronged him. When Don John accuses Hero of being unfaithful to Claudio he says, “If I see anything tonight w...
Beatrice's refusal to be controlled by men and Hero's subservience carries echoes of modern-day feminism. Comparing this novel to a contemporary society, women have made a substantial amount of progress in terms of gender roles. It is women like Beatrice, and the many others that choose to defy the expectations that are placed upon us by society, that help us progress to a more utopian civilization. This novel can be read by future generations to reflect back on how much we have changed and how much we have progressed, not only as women, but as humans in general. Additionally, this play also serves as one of the world's greatest odes to the single life known to man.
At the start of the play Hero is presented as a typical woman of the time, modest and demure – she says little. In fact, Shakespeare’s first words describing Hero, ‘Is she not a modest young lady’ announce her essential qualities of modesty and decorum. In this period, these were vital qualities to have in a wife and Hero possessed them, unlike Beatrice. By contrast, Shakespeare portrays Beatrice as an untypical woman, being outspoken, independent, witty and unconventional – she is always participating in the conversation even with the men (especially Benedick), which Hero never does.
Forgiveness is such a natural element of man, that hatred, even in the most opportune situations, is forgotten. In The Tempest, Shakespeare delivers this insightful message through Prospero, a complex and angered individual, with the relationships he shares and the magical abilities he possesses. Mistreated by those he least expected, Prospero, in an attempt to regain his lost honor, seeks revenge. However, it is in this process that he is able to learn the reality of what it means to be at peace and thus, forgives. Similarly, notable social activist, Desmond Tutu, describes his ideology on forgiveness, as well as the experiences that aided him towards this understanding, in his article, Desmond Tutu: ‘I am sorry’ – the three hardest words
William Shakespeare has written many literary works - from his sonnets to his plays, each has it's own individual characteristics. One popular characteristic that comes from his plays is the tragic hero. The audience can always relate to the tragic hero and the many trials he faces. Macbeth and Hamlet are just two of Shakespeare's plays that involve the tragic hero. Through their nobility, tragic flaws, and dignity Macbeth and Hamlet prove to be tragic heroes.
So forgive and forget, huh? It appears forgiveness is quite an important force in the tempest, bringing the story together beautifully. Forgiveness helps us learn about the characters in the play. Forgiveness is also what brings the play to a happy ending, but not without making one wonder whether forgiveness was really achieved. The role of forgiveness in the tempest is so significant because it is only through forgiveness that the characters truly succeed, but also because it raises the question of the extent of human forgiveness and helps the reader learn plenty about the different characters in the play. Forgiveness is of great significance to the plot and thematic context of The Tempest.
Paul Boose once said “forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future.” The future altering accusation, which disrupts the pasts of many, in Ian McEwan’s Atonement is based on innocence and incapacity. Starting at a young age, Briony Tallis writes throughout her life to atone for the false accusation she made in the past, shaping her future negatively and dismally. Briony Tallis, McEwan’s misguided protagonist, highlights the lifetime search for forgiveness using repetition, altering social economic statuses, and various storytelling techniques.
Many scholars argue that, along with Shakespeare’s other late romances, The Tempest is a play about reconciliation, forgiveness, and faith in future generations to seal such reconciliation. However, while it is clear that the theme of forgiveness is at the heart of the drama, what is up for debate is to what extent the author realizes this forgiveness. An examination of the attitudes and actions of the major characters in the play, specifically Prospero, illustrates that there is little, if any, true forgiveness and reconciliation in The Tempest.