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How women are portrayed in much ado about nothing
How women are portrayed in much ado about nothing
How women are portrayed in much ado about nothing
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Is it possible for two people to be opposites in every way? The play, “Much Ado About Nothing” by William Shakespeare centers around the citizens of fifteenth century Messina, Italy. A quiet girl named Hero becomes engaged to a soldier named Claudio, and the bold Beatrice unexpectedly falls in love with her long time rival, Benedick. Claudio becomes convinced that Hero cheated on him, and the two girls along with others have to prove that Hero had been faithful, all while Beatrice explores her unfamiliar feelings of love toward Benedick. In the play “Much Ado About Nothing” by William Shakespeare, Hero and Beatrice are character foils of each other because of their opposite reactions to events, their contrasting interactions with the other …show more content…
characters, and the differing choices they make throughout the play. Hero and Beatrice have almost opposite reactions to most major events in the play, specifically when Hero is shamed by Claudio.
As Hero attempts to protect her integrity, she says to Leonato, “O my father, prove you that any man with me convers’d… refuse me, hate me, torture me to death” (Shakespeare 71). This reaction highlights her traits of timidity and fairness. She will not take action for how she was wronged, she just wants her father to decide for himself whether to believe her or not. Opposingly, Beatrice, when Hero is shamed, tells Benedick, “Kill Claudio” (Shakespeare 74). With this statement, Beatrice reveals her extreme personality and brashness. Beatrice clearly knows the influence she has on Benedick, and is very willing to take action and get what she wants. Hero and Beatrice’s two very different reactions to the shaming of Hero show how the two are foils of each …show more content…
other. Another way Hero and Beatrice are foils of each other are through their interactions with the other characters of the play. Before the masked ball, Leonato says to Hero, “If the prince do solicit you in that kind, you know your answer” (Shakespeare 19). Leonato wants to make sure Hero agrees to marry Don Pedro if he asks, and she says nothing in response, understanding. This shows her sense of duty and trust in other’s expectations. When Leonato says to Beatrice, “I hope to see you one day fitted with a husband” (Shakespeare 18), Beatrice responds, “Not till God make men of some other mettle than earth” (Shakespeare 19). This interaction shows that, unlike Hero, Beatrice is very defiant and acts on her own opinions. Beatrice has no hesitation when it comes to arguing, while Hero will do as she is told without protest, showing how the two are foils of each other. Additionally, the choices Hero and Beatrice make reveal that they are foils of each other.
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
herself. The characters Hero and Beatrice in William Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing” are foils because of their different reactions to events, interactions with others, and choices made within the play. Hero is very reserved and obedient, while Beatrice is bold and defiant. Their opposing traits are highlighted and reflected within each action they take in the play. Despite the two being as different as they could possibly be, they bring out the best in each other, showing how opposites really do attract.
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
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
Beatrice and Benedick are equal in wit and intelligence could be another reason why they are an ideal couple, because they are so equal in both wit and intelligence means that they will never have a boring conversation between them. Furthermore, to explain my reasoning is that having a not so boring conversation means that their lives would be a lot less dull and boring. Also them being equal in wit and intelligence means that they will always have something to say about one another’s opinions, thus making it impossible to have a boring conversation. An example of this would be when Beatrice says to Benedick in, “As strange as the thing I know not. It were as possible for me to say I love nothing so well as you, but believe me not, and yet I lie not, I confess nothing, nor I deny nothing. I am sorry for my cousin” (Act 4, scene 1, lines 283-287). In this quote Beatrice is telling Benedick that she can easily say that there is nothing in this world that she loves more than him. She also says that not to believe her even though she is not lying and then she says that she will confess nothing, and deny nothing. Then Benedick replies to her by saying in, “By my sword, Beatrice, thou lovest me”(Act 4, scene 1, line 288). This quote means that Benedick is asking Beatrice if she loves him. And it also means that he is very
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.
Shakespeare’s introduction of the other couple in question is in stark contrast to the way in which Beatrice and Benedick were introduced. Claudio and Hero are amorously receptive to one and other from the very start. Upon laying eyes on Hero, Claudio remarks of her to Benedict “is she not a modest young lady?” (1.1.125). Clearly, by having Claudio express his fondness of Hero to Benedick, the playwright directly compares the older and more cynical to the more young and naive, allowing the reader to see the contrasting personas of the two men. This is reinforced by Benedick, who after finishing listening to Claudio’s rhetoric on the charms of the young Hero (“in m...
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
Telling her gentlewomen that Benedick loves Beatrice is her secret and it just so happens that Beatrice overhears, because it was. all planned that she should overhear. In this scene, Hero is dominant. in the conversation and says whole paragraphs instead of a few words that she says sporadically throughout the play, like in Act 1 scene 1. where she only says one line in the whole scene, "My cousin means Signor Benedick of Padua. " Page 5, line 27.This is because she needs.
This can be seen during his conversation with Beatrice, after every one hears of Hero’s “infidelity”. In this scene, when Don John and Claudio were leaving, Benedick doesn’t follow them. Instead, he sticks around with Beatrice. His action in this scene is highly critical, as it shows that he considers his love for Beatrice more important than his Allegiance to his brothers, Don John and Claudio. This action is something Benedick from the beginning would never think of doing. While in the beginning, Benedick’s allegiance remained rooted to his brothers, it has now pledged allegiance to his lover, Beatrice. In this scene, Benedick is seen to have grown as a person. Instead of losing complete trust due to un-proven rumours like Don Pedro and Claudio, he is able to take in the situation more substantially. He further proves himself during his conversation with Beatrice. By telling Benedick to “Kill Claudio” (Shakespeare 4.1.288), “Beatrice asks for her newly-professed lover the utmost favor: to place his love for her above that of his long-established friendship with Claudio. The command shows that Beatrice and Benedick are now more serious than they were. Rather than jest about serious problems as they did at the play’s beginning, they are now engaged with them” (Smith 182). Although a bit reluctant in the beginning, Benedick decides to follow his lover’s orders, and challenges Claudio to a duel. From this point on, all of Benedick belongs to Beatrice, for “Love is his compass” (Horowitz 50). To Benedick, “Love is immediately the basis for decision over life itself…. [and] Benedick’s love for Beatrice must determine his [decisions]” (Horowitz 49). The fact that Benedick decided to challenge his long-time friend Claudio further proves how much he has changed as a person. To Benedick, Beatrice has now become more important than his fellow
During the time of Shakespeare a powerful woman ruled over England and all of its empire and yet the average woman in society was often brushed aside and disregarded. These conflicting images of woman where depicted throughout Shakespeare's plays from stichomythia we see between King Richard and his mother and the disregard we see for Ophelia in Hamlet but these contrasts are best encapsulated in his comedies Much Ado About Nothing and Measure For Measure Woman. Woman of the time where considered weak and weak willed and yet Beatrice and Isabella each brave their societies views when they are faced with the persecuted of someone they love. This love causes them to fight against their oppressors without sacrificing their beliefs and eventually be a martyr to save those that they love. In this paper I will discuss the parallels of Beatrice and Isabella and the love, loss, and battles they face and how despite their actions they still end up losing but for a purpose they believe in. These woman each have their own view and struggles yet in the end they will fall back into the societal obligations that fall upon them but not without saving their loved one.
In Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, Beatrice and Benedict rant about marriage for most of the beginning of the play, while Claudio raves about how wonderful it will be being married to Hero. Yet in the end, Claudio exchanges his marriage to Hero for an opportunity to bash her in public, while Beatrice and Benedick marry despite that they were mortal enemies for most of the first three acts. How did the situation swing around to this degree? Beatrice and Benedick had been using the most extreme metaphors to demonstrate their scorn of each other and of marriage, and Claudio had been doing the same to demonstrate his love of Hero. Not only did none of these three characters mean what they were saying, but meant the reverse, and the people that plotted to bring them together or pull them apart plotted because they understood on some level what each really wanted.
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 may seem to be a harsh and pessimistic outlook on life, but the way Shakespeare brings this character to life portrays Benedick as a funny and caring man who really is not that certain about what he wants for the future. Benedick’s counterpart in the play is Beatrice, who is an independent woman with a quick tongue. Benedick and Beatrice despise and cannot stand each other because it is seemingly impossible for them to have a conversation without arguing and angering each other. The two of them provide some of the more amusing scenes of the play with their word play and mocking of each other. In reality though, they have much in common that they have yet to realize.
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.
... 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.
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 ...