A foil is described as a character that “highlights attributes in others”. In the book “Much Ado About Nothing”, the character Hero is the foil. Throughout the book, Hero highlights the negative attributes of the main character Beatrice. The action of the book occurs over several days in Messina, Italy when the character Prince John Pedro visits after a small victorious war. Over the course of a couple of days, the two characters, Beatrice and Hero, have intertwined love stories that result in tragedy, humor, scheming, and several unforgettable events. In “Much Ado About Nothing” by William Shakespeare, Hero proves to be a foil to Beatrice because the book showcases their contrasting actions, distinct personalities, and their clashing opinions.
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These differences not only illuminate the qualities they pull out in one another but they also affect their relationship. Throughout the book,Beatrice is known for being direct, pointing out the flaws in others and speaking her mind. Hero is more soft spoken and speaks the good of people. Hero also tends to think before she speaks making her appear more mature. An example is seen when Beatrice says, “ Just, if he send me no husband… Lord, I could not endure a husband with a beard on his face: I had rather lie in the woollen.” (Shakespeare 18). This showsBeatrice speaking very candidly about Bendeick and sharing how he, like all men, are not good enough for her. She shows her assertive personality to everyone around her. In contrast, Hero shows how different she is from Beatrice with the line “let it be thy part to praise him more than ever man did merit” (Shakespeare 41). Unlike Beatrice, who spoke poorly of Benedick, Hero spoke goodness and praised him. These contradicting personalities of Beatrice and Hero showcase the contrast in their personalities. Beatrice highlights the best qualities in Hero and Hero’s personality highlights the worst in Beatrice. This shows a strong character …show more content…
In the book “Much Ado About Nothing”, Hero and Beatrice’s opinions about marriage contradict each other. Beatrice stated, “ I thank God and my cold blood, I am of your humour for that: I had rather hear my dog bark at a crow than a man swear he loves me.” (Shakespeare 5). This shows how Beatrice is not fond of marriage which is a very distinctive opinion of hers. This is an opinion Hero pulls out in Beatrice through their character foil. “Count, take of me my daughter, and with her my fortunes: his grace hath made the match, and an grace say Amen to it.” , Lenato said to Claudio with Hero among them (Shakespeare 27). Even though Hero did not say she was good with marrying, her dad, Leonato, did and she went along with it. This shows the Hero is ok and happy to get married unlike Beatrice. This displays a character foil because Hero’s openness and calm response highlights Beatrice’s over reaction to the idea of
These differences not only illuminate the qualities they pull out in one another but they also affect their relationship. Throughout the book,Beatrice is known for being direct, pointing out the flaws in others and speaking her mind. Hero is more soft spoken and speaks the good of people. Hero also tends to think before she speaks making her appear more mature. An example is seen when Beatrice says, “ Just, if he send me no husband… Lord, I could not endure a husband with a beard on his face: I had rather lie in the woollen.” (Shakespeare 18). This showsBeatrice speaking very candidly about Bendeick and sharing how he, like all men, are not good enough for her. She shows her assertive personality to everyone around her. In contrast, Hero shows how different she is from Beatrice with the line “let it be thy part to praise him more than ever man did merit” (Shakespeare 41). Unlike Beatrice, who spoke poorly of Benedick, Hero spoke goodness and praised him. These contradicting personalities of Beatrice and Hero showcase the contrast in their personalities. Beatrice highlights the best qualities in Hero and Hero’s personality highlights the worst in Beatrice. This shows a strong character …show more content…
In the book “Much Ado About Nothing”, Hero and Beatrice’s opinions about marriage contradict each other. Beatrice stated, “ I thank God and my cold blood, I am of your humour for that: I had rather hear my dog bark at a crow than a man swear he loves me.” (Shakespeare 5). This shows how Beatrice is not fond of marriage which is a very distinctive opinion of hers. This is an opinion Hero pulls out in Beatrice through their character foil. “Count, take of me my daughter, and with her my fortunes: his grace hath made the match, and an grace say Amen to it.” , Lenato said to Claudio with Hero among them (Shakespeare 27). Even though Hero did not say she was good with marrying, her dad, Leonato, did and she went along with it. This shows the Hero is ok and happy to get married unlike Beatrice. This displays a character foil because Hero’s openness and calm response highlights Beatrice’s over reaction to the idea of