How Does Shakespeare Present Love In Much Ado About Nothing

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Exploring Love in Much Ado About Nothing

In Much Ado About Nothing Shakespeare depicts different kinds of loving relationships - romantic love, family support and loyal friendship - and shows how various characters react to love and marriage. By exploring the effects of this powerful emotion Shakespeare highlights its universal relevance, a relevance that transcends time.

The main plot of Much Ado About Nothing is that of the relationship between Claudio and Hero. Their story is a melodramatic saga concerning the realities of relationships based on love at first sight. Claudio has no sooner seen the pure face of Hero than he professes his undying love and seeks her hand. This gesture could be regarded as the quintessence of romantic …show more content…

Can the world buy such a jewel?

The sincerity of Claudio's love is thrown into question by the fact that his 'soft and delicate desires,/ All prompting him how fair young Hero is, are not confessed until he has ascertained that she will bring her husband a fortune.

Claudio. Hath Leonarto any son, my Lord?

Don Pedro. No child but Hero; she's his only heir.

Claudio's interest in Hero is on account of her wealth, but her outward beauty also attracts him. Claudio is hence revealed to be a slave to social assumptions. He regards love and marriage as a sensible way in which to obtain financial security and attach himself to a virtuous and attractive girl, and in so doing obtain the approval of her father and of his friends.

However, despite Claudio's questionable motives for marriage, his genuine affection for Hero is made known through his eloquent speeches and jealous behavior. After his betrothal to Hero, Beatrice taunts him for his lack of speech, to which he replies:

Claudio. Silence is the perfectest herald of joy. I were but little happy if I could say how much. Lady, as you are mine, I am yours.

It is Claudio's desire to posses Hero that leads him to suspect his best friend of wooing his …show more content…

He highlights the superiority of relationships based on a deep understanding of character, as opposed to those based on first impressions and physical attraction. Through examples of various relationships he emphasizes the importance of trust in any loving relationship, and of love in any fulfilled life. It is Shakespeare's deep understanding of the varying relationships which exist in the lives of human beings, that gives Much Ado About Nothing its depth, strength and its contemporary relevance.

Works Cited and Consulted:

Barton, Anne. Introduction. Much Ado About Nothing. The Riverside Shakespeare, 2nd ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1997. 361-365.

Lewalski, B. K. "Love, Appearance and Reality: Much Ado About Something" Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900 8 (1968): 235-251.

Lane, Robert. "'Foremost in Report': Social Identity and Masculinity in Much Ado About Nothing" Upstart Crow 16, (1996): 31-47.

Much Ado About Nothing. Directed by Kenneth Branagh. Samuel Goldwyn Company and Renaissance Films, 1993.

Much Ado About Nothing. The Riverside Shakespeare, 2nd ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1997. 366-398.

Ranald, Margaret Loftus. " 'As Marriage Binds, and Blood Breaks': English Marriage and Shakespeare" Shakespeare Quarterly 30, (1979):

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