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Nature of shakespeare comedies
Shakespeare's influence on english language
Shakespeare's influence on english language
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Throughout the comedy Much Ado About Nothing, playwright William Shakespeare focuses on the theme of language. It is used for deception, and for benign and for malignant purposes. Two of Benedick’s quotes exhibit the results of benign but deceptive language. Whether “giddy” is taken to mean “changeable” or “happy,” Benedick’s statement that “man is a giddy thing” epitomizes his character growth. This growth occurs as a result of the deception of the arrangers. His statement that “the world must be peopled” displays this growth. The quotes “the world must be peopled” and “man is a giddy thing” reflect the play as a whole because they display the effects of deceptive language when used for benign purposes.
Claudio, Don Pedro, and Leonato use language to convince Benedick that Beatrice loves him; this deception pushes him to state that
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“the world must be peopled.” Immediately following his arrival in Messina, Benedick vehemently states that he will never be married. However, he quickly changes his position after Claudio, Don Pedro, and Leonato discuss the fact that Beatrice loves him. In his statement that “the world must be peopled,” Benedick reveals that their deception succeeded in convincing him that he and Beatrice belong together. He then proceeds to confess his love to Beatrice, and asks the friar to perform their wedding. The quote “the world must be peopled” therefore shows his transition from being anti-marriage to being in love and getting married. When Benedick states that “man is a giddy thing,” he is overjoyed because he and Beatrice love each other and because Claudio and Hero are together.
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
happiness. Shakespeare’s use of the double meaning in the statement “man is a giddy thing” reflects the two results of some of the deceptive language in Much Ado About Nothing. Because of the deception of the arrangers, Beatrice and Benedick change in order to acknowledge their love for each other. Their declarations of love make them happy. As seen in his statement that “the world must be peopled,” Benedick changes his position regarding marriage. Benedick is correct in his statement that “man is a giddy thing” because he changes and becomes very happy in the context of the play. Shakespeare’s purpose in the quote “the world must be peopled” is to show that man is, in fact, changeable. Correspondingly, he uses the quote “man is a giddy thing” to show that benign, deceptive language can lead to happiness and change.
“And when I lived, I was your other wife, And when you loved, you were my other husband(Shakespeare 60).” In the beginning of the play it was overwhelming, steeped in love at first sight between Hero and Claudio, until Don John’s evil-manner took a role in ruining the love between them. And because of this a conflict developed between them, but was resolved when their vigorous love for one another overcame the conflict. In Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare, Hero serves as the foil character of Claudio because of Hero’s dignified, well-mannered, eminent reputation is illuminated through Claudio’s insecure, accusing, and doubtful weakness; thereby, interminably influencing the conflict in the plot.
The 3 deliberately have a conversation about Beatrice love and affection for Benedick, causing him to question whether or not what is being said is true or not. As Leonato starts to speak, he says… By my troth, my lord, I cannot tell him what to think of it, but that she loves him with enraged affection, it is past the infinite of thought. (3.4.107-110). Typically saying Beatrice love for him is by far more than any man can comprehend by far even withstand having knowledge of. By this time Benedick seems to question whether or not this is credible, but hearing it from Leonato he thinks it has to be true because he has never spoken any words other than the
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.
Throughout Act one and two, Benedick repeatedly says that he will never love a woman or get married. At some stage in the duration of the play his mindset changes. In the end he is head over heels in love for Beatrice whom he once quarreled with habitually. The turnabout in his behavior was brought about by the deceiving Claudio and Pedro who indirectly told Benedick that Beatrice loved him.
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.
William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing is a play involving by deception, disloyalty, trickery, eavesdropping, and hearsay. The play contains numerous examples of schemes that are used to manipulate the thoughts of other characters; it is the major theme that resonates throughout the play. Ironically, it is one of these themes that bring serenity to the chaos that encompasses most of the play.
“Language is frequently used to stir up & manipulate emotions.” - Mary Hamer. The words that people say can appear brutal or detrimental. These violent words take up many forms such as lying, insulting, etc. Along with its’ comedic formula, William Shakespeare's, Much Ado About Nothing is enhanced with humorous mockery and intertwined dialogues. In the play, the soldiers have just returned from a successful war. Love is traveling through the village; however the “language of war” appears rooted in the language. Numerous times do the characters joke around in cruel dialects. The mockery, however, is not considered to be as harsh due to the presence of comedy within the play. William Shakespeare’s intricate use of language in his play, Much Ado About Nothing, allows immense aggressive language to thrive in the characters yet is able to use this to alleviate the violence.
Barton, Anne. Introduction. Much Ado About Nothing. The Riverside Shakespeare, 2nd ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1997. 361-365.
In William Shakespeare’s play ‘Much Ado about Nothing’, there are many instances of trickery and deception, which seem to surround the whole of the play.
With its entangled double 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 for which carries the drama from beginning to end. For example, when we look at Act 1 Scene 1 of the play ...
Shakespeare, William; Much Ado About Nothing; Washington Square Press; New York, NY; New Folger Edition May 1995
The choice of words used by the characters in Act 5, Scene 1, of the play, Much Ado About Nothing, clearly presents the characters emotions and constructs their characters for the audience. In contrast to his confrontation with Claudio and Don Pedro earlier in the scene, where he is reduced to begging them to hear him out ('My lord, my lord!'; Act 5, Scene 1; l. 106 ), Leonato's speeches are marked with a stateliness and self-assurance, as he has been fortified with the knowledge that his righteous indignation is justified. He is stern and dominates the scene, barking orders 'Which is the villain?' (l. 260), 'Bring you these fellows on.' (l. 333), and using the conversation to entrap, as Claudio and Don Pedro did to him during the aborted wedding:
... 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.
Each of the main characters in Much Ado About Nothing is the victim of deception, and it is because they are deceived that they act in the ways that they do. Although the central deception is directed against Claudio in an attempt to destroy his relationship with Hero, it is the deceptions involving Beatrice and Benedick which provides the play's dramatic focus.
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