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Love in literature essay
Love in literature essay
Love in literature essay
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Shakespeare was a famous playwright who portrayed love in many different
ways. In Much Ado about Nothing, there are two types of love: the conventional
relationship and the modern relationship. The Claudio-Hero love story is the
conventional relationship where they follow the customs while with the Beatrice-
Benedick love story is the modern relationship where they have a battle of wits. In Much
Ado about Nothing, Shakespeare interweaves the Claudio- Hero and Beatrice-Benedick
love stories through a series of parallels and contrasts within plot structure. Parts of a
plot structure include harmony, polarization and reconciliation.
The Claudio- Hero plot and the Beatrice-Benedick plot are harmonized because they
knew each other prior to the story. When the messenger is
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His love for her may be the result due to her
physical beauty and that she is a virtuous woman. The shaming of Hero brings
Benedick and Beatrice closer together. After the double gull is played on them, they
profess their love to one another. “I love you with so much of my heart that none is left
to protest with.” (Beatrice)(IV.1 284-285) When the double gull is played on both of
them, they didn’t question their feelings for each other. Throughout the story they
persuade others, let alone themselves, they don’t want to be in a committed
relationship. However, when they are tricked into believing they love each other they
unquestionably believe it and fall for each other. This shows that they always had
something for one another because If they didn’t, they wouldn’t have believed the gull.
The rejection of Hero may have lead to Beatrice and Benedick declare their love for
each other but this is temporary when Beatrice asks Benedick to do the unthinkable: Kill
Claudio. “Kill Claudio.” (Beatrice)(IV.1 287) Benedick is torn between choosing his best
friend, Claudio, or the woman he loves, Beatrice. He doesn’t want to kill Claudio
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.
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.
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.
Beatrice asks, Does it make any sense to write and tell him I love you when I have always treated him with scorn?” (2.3.31-34). In this quote all Claudio was saying was that Hero had told him that Beatrice had confessed to her that she was in love with Benedick but was not sure how to let him know That all changed when family and friends helped them both realized they have always been in love with one another. As for Claudio and Hero they are a couple who see eye to eye knowing they are perfect for one another. Even though they had an antagonist that did not want to see them happily married such as Don John, they were able to let it pass and end up happily
Beatrice to overhear what she has to say then maybe finally Beatrice. will admit she loves Benedick. As I said before, that Hero doesn't. say a lot, so when she does Beatrice takes notice because it's so out. of the character of the character.
Beatrice's courtship with Benedick greatly contrasts with the courtship of Hero and Claudio. Hero gladly and willingly submitted to marriage, and she accepted the role of the relatively powerless woman. In contrast Beatrice chose her submission after openly criticizing the institution of marriage.
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...
... heart in the marketplace.” (A4; S1; L 315-321). When Hero was wrongly accused is when Beatrice showed this the most. She believed that because of what he had done, Claudio deserved to be dead. She wanted no bad deed to go unpunished and what she seen fit was for Benedick to challenge Claudio to a dule and she didn’t want Benedick to stop until he was dead.
What We Talk About When We Talk About Love. It is a story that explores all
However, the explanation on this reason is not as crystal clear as one might think. Throughout the play it's portrayed as if Hero believes in true love, while Beatrice doesn't. This is not the case. Once Leonato hears about the prince wanting to marry hero he says to her, “daughter, remember what I told you: if the prince do solicit you in that kind, you know your answer.” He doesn't give her much of a choice and Hero just does as she is told.
After Claudio asks Hero to marry him, Beatrice says, “My cousin tells him he is in her heart” (Shakespeare 27). Hero agrees to marry Claudio because it is what everyone wanted her to do. This shows that Hero’s choices are based around the wants of others. When Benedick proposes to Beatrice, she tells him, “I would not deny you. But by this good day, I yield upon great persuasion, and partly to save your life, for I was told you were in a consumption” (Shakespeare 101). Despite what she said, Beatrice chooses to marry Benedick because she really loves him. The choice that Beatrice makes with her marriage is different than Hero’s because Beatrice’s decision was self-motivated. Hero and Beatrice are foils, as evident through their choices, because Hero chooses what others want for her, and Beatrice chooses what she wants for
It is not known if Beatrice thinks of him as simply a friend to banter with, or someone who means more to her than she is letting on. As soon as he returns, the pair of them begin jesting. They tease each other so often that Beatrice knows how Benedick will end their playful arguments “with a jade’s trick, [because she] knows him of old” (1.1.142–43). As the play comes to a close, she loses her nerve. Before she speaks for the last time in the play, the love notes that had yet to be exchanged between Beatrice and Benedick are brought forward.
In the text Benedick and Beatrice state that “ . Later on Benedick and Beatrice discover love for each other and are willing to be together. Their love is very realistic today. For instance, people say that they are better single and don’t need a relationship, but once there find someone they love they change their mindset. Lastly Benedick and Beatrice did not follow other people's opinions and they stuck together.
Hero and Beatrice see the world very differently, and because of this they make different decisions than one another, as you can see in Act 5 Scene 4 Hero said, “ When I lived, I was your other wife, and when you loved, you were my other husband (193).” In this Hero is confessing her everlasting love for Claudio and revealing that she is still alive in the process. Hero was able show her vulnerability in doing this, making this act of love true. Whereas when Beatrice was faced with the same obstacle to happiness she first refused,“Do you love me”, “Why no, no more than reason” (Shakespeare 193). When Benedict asked if Beatrice loved him she refused because that question was asking her to open herself up into a vulnerable state, which at that time she couldn't do.