For Benedick, “seeing” the truth in regards to love serves an importance as eyes are used to perceive a person’s actions and formulate a judgement (2.3.8). According to the Oxford English Dictionary “a sight” is defined as This definition relates to Benedick's use of "sight" as he is subverting the idea of "love at first sight" by offering a different element the trope: to see the horrifying loss of status in a man's world (2.3.7-12). Benedick is a man who places importance on his masculine identity, thus the thought of love is horrifying because he “sees” love as an emotion that strips a man of his masculine identity (2.3.7-12). For instance, Benedick makes a reference to Claudio's own experience of “seeing” a “...man [acting as] a fool
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A “drum and fife” are regarding a stern “militant supporter” (Oxford English Dictionary). When Benedick begins to talk about the “tabor and the pipe” and the “drum and the fife”, he is talking about music and is using imagery to convey Claudio’s former dedication to his militant duties (2.3.14-15). He mentions the “drum and fife” to show that Claudio was not a man of love but a man of war (2.3.14). By juxtaposing the militant instrument to “a tabor and pipe”, Benedick demonstrates how Claudio transitions from listening to warfare to listening to the soft sounds of love (2.3.15). The drum and fife are played by two separate people, but the tabor and pipe are played by one person, thus Benedick is hinting at the notion of Claudio no longer being a masculine man who stands on his own but is now in the need of company (2.3.14-15). He is not only using the metaphorics of “seeing” a man fall in love, but he is presenting musical imagery in order to demonstrate the effects love has on man (2.3.14-15). As a result, he is stating that upon entering the realm of courtly love, one is forced to leave behind one’s masculinity and enter the realm of femininity, a claim denoted by Claudio listening to softer music and detouring away from shiny armor for fancy clothing (2.3.14-20). Notably, Benedick is creating an image in the …show more content…
Benedick's eyes tell him that love has the ability to transform a man and strip him of his masculine identity (2.3.7-12). This passage is Benedick refuting the idea of “courtly love” being a romantic element to a love story by further stating how a man leaves the domains of a male world in order to enter the world of courting (2.3.12-20). Although the reader might have interpreted the ending of the passage as him finally succumbing to the idea of love, a deeper reading offers the truth that Benedick creates high standards for women in order to protect his masculine identity as a
A “drum and fife” are regarding a stern “militant supporter” (Oxford English Dictionary). When Benedick begins to talk about the “tabor and the pipe” and the “drum and the fife”, he is talking about music and is using imagery to convey Claudio’s former dedication to his militant duties (2.3.14-15). He mentions the “drum and fife” to show that Claudio was not a man of love but a man of war (2.3.14). By juxtaposing the militant instrument to “a tabor and pipe”, Benedick demonstrates how Claudio transitions from listening to warfare to listening to the soft sounds of love (2.3.15). The drum and fife are played by two separate people, but the tabor and pipe are played by one person, thus Benedick is hinting at the notion of Claudio no longer being a masculine man who stands on his own but is now in the need of company (2.3.14-15). He is not only using the metaphorics of “seeing” a man fall in love, but he is presenting musical imagery in order to demonstrate the effects love has on man (2.3.14-15). As a result, he is stating that upon entering the realm of courtly love, one is forced to leave behind one’s masculinity and enter the realm of femininity, a claim denoted by Claudio listening to softer music and detouring away from shiny armor for fancy clothing (2.3.14-20). Notably, Benedick is creating an image in the …show more content…
Benedick's eyes tell him that love has the ability to transform a man and strip him of his masculine identity (2.3.7-12). This passage is Benedick refuting the idea of “courtly love” being a romantic element to a love story by further stating how a man leaves the domains of a male world in order to enter the world of courting (2.3.12-20). Although the reader might have interpreted the ending of the passage as him finally succumbing to the idea of love, a deeper reading offers the truth that Benedick creates high standards for women in order to protect his masculine identity as a