More handpicked essays just for you.
Theme of love in Shakespeare's plays
Femininity and masculinity in shakespeare plays
Gender roles in shakespearean times
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Comparison of Benedick and Claudio In the beginning of the play Much Ado About Nothing, the characters Claudio and Benedick are soldier comrades that have known each other for awhile. They have just come back from a successful war against Don Jon, Don Pedro’s illegitimate brother. Despite having the same origin in the play, Claudio and Benedick are two very different people. The era that the play takes place in is a time when a man could ask the father of the daughter for her hand in marriage. Even if the daughter did not agree to the marriage, the father could still agree. This practice gave men the mindset that women were mere possessions, a prize to show off to their comrades. Consequently, both Claudio and Benedick think of women as nothing …show more content…
They stay in the town of Messina where they have many parties at Leonato’s house. As a highly acclaimed soldier, Claudio thinks very highly of himself and only wants the best from life. At the party Claudio is smitten with a lady named Hero and supposedly falls in love with her as soon as he sees her. Nevertheless, his love is not true, and he quickly rejects her once he thinks that she is unfaithful. Claudio behaves much like a spoiled child would, who gets a nice toy but rejects it for no apparent reason. Benedick comes with the group of soldiers and at the party becomes quickly engaged in a competition with Beatrice, a former love interest, to outwit and out insult each other. Benedick is always entertaining the other characters with his jokes and wit. Many of the characters don’t take Benedick seriously because of his constant jargon. Consequently, his vast intellect makes him have an inflated ego which makes him think that he is too good to marry anybody. However, he cares deeply for Don Pedro and Claudio and is always willing to help them out with …show more content…
He believes he is too good for marriage and is happy just the way he is. This changes when he meets Beatrice. She is a worthy opponent for his wit and gives him a sound fight and wins some of the matches. With the deceptive gulling of his friends, Benedick is led to believe that Beatrice is in love with him. He vows that he is “horribly in love with her” (2.3 line 237) and immediately changes his mindset on marriage. When Beatrice asks him to defend Hero’s honor in a sword duel Benedick is torn between his loyalties of his love for Beatrice and the group of soldiers. Happily, he chooses to defend Hero and sever his ties with the group, forever winning the heart of his beloved
The difference between Beatrice,Benedick,and the other two Claudio and Hero though is that, these two are very headstrong characters with a different outlook on love, but have very much love for one another. Benedick believes in just being a bachelor and spending the rest of his life messing with as many women as he pleases, well as for Beatrice she believes there is no man good enough and willing to show her the love she wants so she much rather be left alone. But the fact that they honestly want to believe what they say is what makes this get way more interesting. What they don’t know is that they are going to soon become curious trying to figure out what they truly feel for one
Benedick and Beatrice both benefit from the deceit that they encounter. At first, both are enemies in a battle of insults and wit, until they are each fooled into thinking that the other loves them. When Benedick hears that Beatrice is supposedly attracted to him, he thinks that it is “a gull, but that the white-bearded fellow speaks it: knavery cannot, sure, hide itself in such reverence” (111). Little does he know, Leonato, the "white-bearded fellow," is also in on the joke (111). Benedick starts to admire her when he is aware that Beatrice might actually be attracted to himself, as well. She is also astonished when she first hears that he loves her. However, when Beatrice comes to terms with their affection, she hopes "Benedick [will] love on... And [she] Believe it better than reportingly" (134). In other words, she falls in love with Benedick as soon as she believes that he, too, is fond of her. They each start to fall in love with one another under the pretense that other was hiding their affection from them. Now that they are both in love, they start to open up to each other and prove that the deception they endured was worth it in the end.
Beatrice and Benedick show their apparent distaste for each other right from the first scene. Beatrice mocks Benedick to the Governor of Messina, claiming that she always beats him in a battle of wits and the last time they crossed paths Benedict’s “five wits went halting off, and now is the whole man governed by one” (1,1,50). Clearly relishing resuming their ‘merry war’, Beatrice cuts Benedick down at the first opportunity, telling him “I wonder that you still will be talking, Signor Benedick, nobody marks you” (1,1,105). Incredulously, Benedick retorts, “what my dear lady distain! Are you yet living?” (1,1,95). So, the dynamic of the two is set and it goes on from there in the same vein. Yet, the reader, even at this early stage may ponder if the lady doth protest too much.
Both of them despise marriage, are witty, and are each their own people. These, however, are not the reasons why they come together. They are brought together by their respective companions who conspire to tell each of them that the one loves the other as the two misdirected lovers listen in. In his speech directly after this, Benedick is swayed to a life that he previously would have avoided at all costs. In hearing of Beatrice’s supposed affection, he immediately changes his entire outlook on perpetual bachelorhood and pronounces a love that is not real or his own, but comes secondhand from trickery.
Benedick has been known to change his “best friends” multiple times, “Who is his companion now? He hath every month a new sworn brother.” (Shakespeare 1.1.69-71). Benedick and his attitude towards his friendships can flip depending on the situation. The fact that Benedick will change friends and style all willy-nilly means something. He needs something stable in his life to hold him down to earth instead of trying to fill the empty void in his heart. When the time comes and Beatrice wants him to duel Claudio, he is willing, “ Enough, I am engaged. I will challenge him. I will kiss your hand, and so I leave you. By this hand, Claudio shall render me a dear account.” (Shakespeare 4.1.346-58). It is shocking seeing Benedick so willing to go after his “best friend” all for Beatrice and her love for him. He has now found something that can keep him grounded and down to Earth and he will do anything to keep things like that. Together with all of Benedick’s behavior he has gained experience and developed the one of the major themes power of love( and how it drives
...e down by weeping. Shakespeare shows us that Beatrice is the only character despite some of these positive attributes of Beatrice’s character, she is very rude about men. She says ‘but manhood is melted into curtsies’ showing Benedick her lack of respect towards men. However it is possibly her refreshing honesty that leads her to be a positive role model.
Set in the sixteenth century, Much Ado About Nothing is revolved around the thought of love and marriage. Primarily, this is prevalent in the two main characters, Beatrice and Benedick. They have once been courted which suggests more maturity than the majority of couples in Shakespeare’s various plays. In the duration of the play, the violent language between Benedick and Beatrice is most evident through their ridicule. Both characters always speak critically regardless of whether they are talking to each other or out loud about one another. This is highlighted when Beatrice exclaims, “What should I do with him—dress him in my apparel / and make him my waiting gentlewoman? He that hath a / beard is more than / a youth, and he that hath no beard is less than a/ man; and he that is more than a youth is not for me, and he that is less than a/ man, I am not for him...
(Beatrice) Just, if He send me no husband, for the which blessing I am at Him upon my knees every morning and evening. Lord, I could not endure a husband with a beard on his face. I had rather lie in the woolen! (2.1.27-39). In this quote Beatrice denies marriage but not for all men. But Beatrice also supports her cousins hero marriage. Benedick and beatrice love story starts light, some of Benedicks friends make a plan with Beatrice friends to talk about how much Beatrice loves him, mean while Benedick hides Behind a bush and because of that they successfully persuade benedick that beatrice is in love with him, and then after that Benedick decides to open his heart and love Beatrice. I don't think this is right to do in my opinion because the love they each other won't last that long and they will soon separate again. Love should be about what someone feels about the other person as the samething goes to her. Because of that they will happily be together forever. As soon as Benedick hears what his fellow friends talk about what Beatrice feels for him he looks for Beatrice and then they meet and Beatrice asks him if he wants to go to dinner with the rest of the soldiers. But i think that at this scene
After Benedick is lead to believe that Beatrice is in love with him. He says, “It seems her affections have their full bent. Love me? Why it must be requited!” Here, Benedick rants with a high pitched tone, portraying his abrupt confusion about the sudden news of Beatrice’s love for him. His voice springs up an octave as he says “Love me?” thus revealing to the audience that he was questioning himself whether or not he is in love. At the end of the monologue he exclaims, “No the world must be peopled!” in a deeper and more affirmative tone, expressing his confidence in his conclusion that Beatrice was in fact in love with him. His assurance of Beatrice's love for him after so little time revealed to the audience his self confidence and his absence of humility. The last example is in the last scene of the movie, Act 5, scene 4, when Benedick asks the friar to wed Beatrice and him after Claudio and Hero finished their wedding. After calling for Beatrice in front of a crowd that had constantly seen Beatrice and Benedick insulting each other, he says “Do you not love me?” He says this in a very low pitch tone, which sounded almost monotone, thus showing to the viewers his stubbornness for his character and his trouble with revealing and admitting to his soft side that he refused to show throughout the whole
Benedick, not unlike Beatrice also has a quick tongue and zealous personality. He is not afraid to start or end an argument. Benedick is a seemingly arrogant and witty character. Take for example “It is certain that I am loved of all ladies.” (Shakespeare I, 1). Accounts from others as well as Benedicks impression of his own self clearly displays his arrogant, and zealous
Hero, Ursula, and Margaret’s benign deception of Beatrice convinces Beatrice that Benedick is in love with her, and as a result she admits her love for him. As seen in Benedick’s statement that “the world must be peopled,” Claudio, Don Pedro, and Leonato convince Benedick of her love as well. The deception of both Beatrice and Benedick forces them to put aside their differences in favor of love, and therefore pushes them to grow as people. In addition, the deception is necessary to bring them together. The friar also uses language to convince most of Messina that Hero is dead; as a result, Borrachio confesses to his role in her slander. By coming forward, he allows Leonato to reveal that she is not really dead, thus bringing together Claudio and Hero. Both Benedick and Beatrice’s relationship and the reconciliation of Claudio and Hero bring joy to Messina, particularly to the four of them. Because their love causes joy, the deceptive use of language leads them to
However, this leads into trouble in Act II as Don Pedro's brother, Don John, tricks Claudio into believing that Don Pedro is winning over Hero for himself. Although Don Pedro is Claudio's best friend, he is shockingly quick to believe that his friend is so willing to betray him. Subsequently Don Pedro returns and gives Claudio the news that Leonato supports the marriage, and Hero is happy to marry him. With this happy news on the table, Beatrice makes a comment that she will be single forever, and Don Pedro replies with an offer to marry her. After she rejects him, Don Pedro and his friends devise a plan to ensure Benedick, Beatrice's arch nemesis, and they fall in love together. This works, as Benedick and Beatrice both begin to see that they are not so terrible, and they decide to give the
Beatrice and Signior Benedick are suggested to have had an unpleasant past with each other, which is translated to the mocking relationship
Benedick and Beatrice engage in witty batter every time they meet. They are both witty, like to argue, stubborn, and are spirited. Their exchanges could be seen as public displays of their hate for one another, but they act as if something happened between them before. They both preach that they will never get married, but their friends and family suspect that they are hiding their feelings from themselves and one another. Hero, Beatrice's cousin, proposes a plan to trick Beatrice into believing that Benedick is hopelessly in love with her. When Beatrice was out in the garden, Hero tells her maid, "My talk to thee must be how Benedick / Is sick in love with Beatrice. Of this matter / is little Cupid's crafty bow made, / that only wounds by hearsay" (3.1.20-24). Hero's deception of Beatrice results in Beatrice thinking that Benedick is in love with her. Beatrice is forced to contemplate about her relationship with Benedick and her feelings for him. She finally realizes that her feelings for Benedick have always been there, but she never bothered to look. Hero wants to see Beatrice happy and she perceives that Beatrice is exuberant when she is around Benedick. Hero was obligated to use deception to achieve Beatrice's happiness because it was the only way that Beatrice could realize that she loved Benedick. Hero's deception revealed that hidden feelings in
When Benedick hears that Claudio has fallen in love for Hero, he is enraged. He thought that Claudio would live a bachelor’s life like him. Benedick tells him that men who are in love are not masculine. Near the end of Act IV, Benedick’s complete change is evident when Benedick chooses love over friendship. Benedick challenges Claudio, previously his closest friend in the world, to duel to the death over Claudio’s accusation as to Hero’s unethical behavior. After Beatrice complains to him about Claudio’s mistake, Benedick gives in, “Enough, I am engaged. I will challenge him.” At this point, there is no doubt that Benedick has switched his allegiances entirely over to Beatrice. But then again, Benedick was relieved that Hero was proved guilty so he would not have to fight his close friend Claudio.