Laura Juan
Mr. Kelley
ENG 102
10 of April
Witty
In William Shakespeare’s play, Much Ado About Nothing, is a comedy play for entertaining the audience and to bring comedy for entertainment, one must be funny. Beatrice is a woman who is outspoken, witty, and a prideful character in the play. In the play, Beatrice is very amusing, and so are the others but she is unique. If the character did not have this type of characteristics, the story of the play would not be entertaining. In the play, Beatrice and Benedick always engage in a witty conversation that would bring laughter to the audience. Although she has a strong character, she manages to change a little at the end of the play. Beatrice is an outspoken woman in the play. Beatrice’s outspoken
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Beatrice started to bved the talks amongst their peers, who wanted them to fall in love. whichthat brings laughter to the audience Shakespeare presents this type of conflict to add drama to the story to be entertainable. In the play, Beatrice and Benedick are at each other with wits on the topic of love: Beatrice can be somewhat like this but her character is good and fits into the play for the story. Shakespeare has done his job well by bringing a character, who is a female to be more assertive which is unordinary for a woman in that time. Beatrice being the main character with Benedick brings a certain light if the play did not have them. If Beatrice’s personality is not fun and witty the play would be dull. So, its up to the readers to see if Beatrice fits her personality to the play. Although Beatrice is witty she also is a little gullible along with Benedick; they both believed the talks amongst their peers, who wanted them to fall in love. Shakespeare presents a this type of conflict to add drama to the story to be …show more content…
Magill, HarperCollins, 1989, p. 559+. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A16674385/GPS?u=avlr&sid=GPS&xid=a76f938f. Accessed 12 Apr. 2018.
"Much Ado about Nothing." Shakespearean Criticism, edited by Lynn M. Zott, vol. 67, Gale, 2003. Literature Resource Center, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/H1410000741/GLS?u=avlr&sid=GLS&xid=508d8398. Accessed 23 Apr. 2018.
MacDonald, Ronald R. "The Merry Wives of Windsor and Much Ado About Nothing." William Shakespeare: The Comedies, Twayne Publishers, 1992, pp. 69-85. Twayne's English Authors Series 489. Twayne's Authors Series, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/CX3025500016/G-Twayne?u=avlr&sid=G-Twayne&xid=930ccbd3. Accessed 11 Apr. 2018. Shakespeare, William, and Thomas Ernest. Margerison. Much Ado About Nothing with Introduction and Notes. Google Play Books, W. & R. Chambers, Limited, 1904, play.google.com/store/books/details/Much_Ado_about_Nothing?id=7sE5AQAAMAAJ.
Shakespeare, William. Much Ado About Nothing. The Works of Shakespeare [Globe Edition]. Ed. William George Clark and William Aldis Wright. 1864. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippencott and Co., 1867. Open Source Shakespeare, George Mason University.
Shakespeare represents Beatrice as a very feisty, cynical and sharp woman during the play. We can especially see this when she uses her wit to shock the messenger saying, in act one scene one, that ‘he is no less than a stuffed man.’ This is exceedingly disrespectful to fashion such a rude comment about a man who is just about to arrive back from war. One thing Shakespeare clearly shows us is that Beatrice would not be the ideal woman for most men. To emphasize this he contrasts Beatrice with a weak and quiet character such as Hero who acts upon every mans instruction, we can see this when Beatrice says to Leonato that its her ‘cousins duty’ to say ‘father as it please you.’ Shakespeare makes such a clear contrast between the two women to the extent that Beatrice steals most of Hero’s attention from the other male characters in the play. Furthermore he shows us how Beatrice is perhaps a threat to the patriarchal society at the time, we can see this on page fifty-nine where she implys that it is her duty to please herself, whether or not her father consents. This is unlike Hero, who cannot do anything unless a man is fighting her corner, however Beatrice is willing to
William Shakespeare is known for his use of dramatic irony and complicated story lines. In Much Ado About Nothing, he also adds in the element of disguise to what the characters know, or what they think they know. There are multiple characters trying to ensnare others in different facades, whether it be for better or for worse. The deception and illusion in the play can either assist the characters or completely shatter the situation, but in both cases, Shakespeare advises us to infer about what we hear or see before we jump to conclusions.
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.
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...
She seems to be unprovoked, but very rigid in her opinion of him. In Leonato's house, the discussion of Beatrice and marriage leads her uncle to conclude that, "Thou will never get thee a husband if thou be so shrewd of thy tongue.... ... middle of paper ... ...
With its entangled plots and eloquent use of words, Much Ado About Nothing is a story that has the ability to entertain the masses, both young and old. Shakespeare’s use of figurative language along with situation creates such vivid imagery that carries the drama from beginning to end. For example, when we look at Act 1 Scene 1 of the play, we are quickly introduced to the sharp tongued Beatrice as she verbally annihilates her unseen co-star Benedick.... ... middle of paper ... ...
This is part of her “merry war” with Benedick. Beatrice appears to loathe Benedick and vice versa; they engage in many “skirmishes of wit.” However, although Beatrice appears hardened and sharp, she is vu...
Beatrice is, without a doubt, one of the strongest female characters that Shakespeare ever came up with in his time of writing. Shakespeare shows, through Beatrice, how every woman should act in an era where only the men were even able to have control. In this era, or the renaissance time, no woman had free will; they were always told what they could and could not do, as well as, who they were to marry. In the play “Much Ado About Nothing” Beatrice has many qualities but the ones that stand out the most in the play are: her independence, her feistiness, and of course her openness to defy male subjection.
Clark, W. G. and Wright, W. Aldis , ed. The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. Vol. 1. New York: Nelson-Doubleday
One of the most important relationships in the play is between her and Benedick. In the beginning of the book where Leonato and a messenger are conversing, Leonato says, “You must not, sir, mistake my niece. There is a kind of merry war between Signior Benedick and her: they never meet but there’s a skirmish of wit between them,” (I.i). He is telling the messenger that Beatrice, his niece, is not a bad person for insulting Benedick, but rather that she is competing in a game of wits against him. It is established from the start that Beatrice likes to insult Benedick.
Beatrice, on the other hand, is very outspoken and is not afraid to banter with Benedick. Beatrice is the only woman in the play to make certain that her voice is heard, and she makes her opinions very clear, even when others shush her. She is defying men who tell her to keep her pretty mouth shut. A voice is something that can change the world, and when Beatrice gives up hers it negatively impacts
Others in this play often say that Benedick and Beatrice didn't like each other at first, and disagreed with each other all the time. For instance the Prince did say to Benedick “The Lady Beatrice hath a quarrel with you.” These days couples are hardly completely agreeing with each other and don’t start as as friends before the date. Another reason Benedick and Beatrice relate to the modern couple is because they changed for each other. They both changed their morals for one another and looked past their differences.
Much Ado About Nothing. The Riverside Shakespeare, 2nd ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1997. 366-398.
Shakespeare makes sure that Beatrice comes off as a woman who is not afraid to speak her mind to anyone. This is portrayed in the beginning of act one, when the mail messenger comes to announce that the soldiers are on their way to Messina. They start a conversation about Benedick and he tells Beatrice that Benedick is a "lord to a lord, a ...
Throughout the play false reports are used for good and ill. In regards to Beatrice and Benedick their friends put on a verbal play of the other dying of silent passion for the other. The man after putting laying out their bait remark to each other, “If he do not dote on her upon this, I will never trust my expectation” (Act 2 Scene 3, lines 198-199). The most novel, true to the time, and down right hysterical is the very last words that Benedick says, “I will go get her picture” (Act 2, Scene 3, line 245-246). A prominent concern that still exists today a person or group makes quick judgment based on small, even false details.