Shakespeare's Depiction of Superficial Love in 'Much Ado About Nothing'

Thy Love is Foolish, Good Sir

In life, a man or boy may feel attracted towards a certain lady, sometimes before he knows what kind of person they are. This is most often called a crush, and is based almost solely off of looks. “Crush” in this context is a recent term, but the concept is not. In Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing”, an example of this can be seen through the character of Claudio. After returning from the war, he is enamored by a young woman named Hero, who barely speaks yet seems to knock him senseless all the same. His display of affection is superficial and immature, and shows that although the term was not the same, the concept of a “crush” was prevalent even in Shakespeare’s day.

Several things prove Claudio’s love to

be, in fact, a crush. The first of these is the way in which speaks about her. After Claudio first meets her, he states “When you went onward on this ended action, I looked upon her with a soldier’s eye, that liked, but had a rougher task in hand than to drive liking to the name of love. But now I am returned and that war thoughts have left their places vacant, in their rooms come thronging soft and delicate desires, all prompting me how fair young Hero is, saying I liked her ere I went to wars.” This statement displays the insincerity and shallowness of Claudio’s love in two ways. Primarily, in this declaration, he mentions that his liking is a replacement for thoughts of war. If, indeed, Claudio did love her, than this love should be a flower planted and cultivated ideally in a place of importance. In the same way, a flippantness and carelessness abide in the utterance of his feelings, such as seen in the usage of the words “desires”, “fair”, “prompting”, and “delicate” by themselves. If Claudio can change his feelings as a suit of clothes, then who know how fast he can change back? His view is, as stated before, immature and blind, and gives proof to the thought that this “love” was merely a crush.

The Secondary support of the “crush theory” appears in the way that Claudio treats and talks to Hero. Throughout the play, Claudio’s seems to view her as little more than a jewel, or precious object; indeed, he even expresses this in the script. ‘Claudio- “Thou thinkest I am in sport. I pray thee tell me truly how thou lik’st her.” Benedick- “Would you buy her that you enquire after her?” Claudio- “Can the world buy such a jewel?”’ Claudio looks upon her seemingly as a valuable possession, and this is not all. Regarding the way in which he talks to her, there is one problem: he doesn’t. Except for a brief comment, his words are few to her. Again, this is more proof, along with the way he treated her, that Claudio has not much more than a crush.

In the last validation, the perspective of other people regarding Claudio’s affections is examined and evaluated to common characteristics of a “crush”.

An example of this is found in the scene where Claudio describes Hero as a precious jewel, and was previously passed over. In response to Claudio’s enquiry as to Benedick’s opinion of Hero, Benedick answers “Would you buy her that you enquire after her?” This demonstrates that other outside sources, in this case Benedick, noticed the lack of depth in Claudio’s love. Benedick notices a shallowness in sincerity manifested through the viewing of Hero as a perfect and priceless being or object. This final example is proof that Claudio’s love was not completely genuine, even through the eyes of others.

The attraction of a man to a woman, albeit mainly off of looks, is a common occurrence, and is most often recently labeled “a crush”. A portrayal of this has been revealed in the character Claudio’s love for Hero in “Much Ado about Nothing”. Several proofs which support for this theory are the manner in which Claudio talks about her, the style he treats her in, and the viewpoints of others in regard to his feelings. In conclusion, Claudio had the equivalent of a modern day “crush”. But in the end, it seems as if one of his main problems could be described with another modern term; “late

bloomer”.