Summary
Much Ado About Nothing is a comedy written by William Shakespeare. The plot centers on the young woman Hero and her would-be marriage to the brave soldier Claudio, and Hero’s cousin Beatrice who has a love/hate relationship with Claudio’s friend Benedick.
The story begins when the two officers Don Pedro and Don John return victorious from war. They, and their two best soldiers Claudio and Benedick, are invited by Leonato (the governor of the town Messina) to stay at his residence. Claudio immediately falls in love with Leonato’s daughter Hero, and wishes to marry her. Benedick and Beatrice are enemies of old, and the second Benedick arrives they start arguing and insulting each other. Leonato assures the officers that this little skirmish …show more content…
In the first act, when Hero and Claudio are madly in love and Beatrice and Benedick bicker each other’s heads off, we can definitely see the disparity. We as an audience are forced to realize how unrealistic the whole Claudio/Hero-relationship is, because by the help of Beatrice and Benedick we can see the contrast between their behavior and what people in the real world behave like. In real life, people have opinions, flaws and egos that make them …show more content…
Benedick: I noted her not; but I looked on her.”
The daughter being commented on is Hero, and Benedick does not seem to like her. He thinks she is so flat and uninteresting that even as he looked at her, he took no note of her existence. The word “noting” pops up several other times during the play, and it conveys how our own perception of others always is more or less biased.
Some critics have suggested that the title has yet another meaning; in Shakespeare’s day the word “Nothing” was also slang for “vagina”. This interpretation also fits well with the themes and plot of the play, seeing as Hero’s virginity or lack thereof is central to her reputation as a respectable young woman.
There are several Renaissance-related traits in Much Ado About Nothing. When Hero faints in the church, for example, her father Leonato says that it would be better if she died than survived. He quickly buys into Don John’s false narrative of Hero being unfaithful, and since he does not want his reputation ruined by the scandal, he completely rejects Hero. Valuing one’s honor higher than the life of a daughter seems very typical for a conservative society such as a 16th century European
Much Ado About Nothing is a comedy written by William Shakespeare. The plot centers on the young woman Hero and her would-be marriage to the brave soldier Claudio, and Hero’s cousin Beatrice who has a love/hate relationship with Claudio’s friend Benedick.
The story begins when the two officers Don Pedro and Don John return victorious from war. They, and their two best soldiers Claudio and Benedick, are invited by Leonato (the governor of the town Messina) to stay at his residence. Claudio immediately falls in love with Leonato’s daughter Hero, and wishes to marry her. Benedick and Beatrice are enemies of old, and the second Benedick arrives they start arguing and insulting each other. Leonato assures the officers that this little skirmish …show more content…
In the first act, when Hero and Claudio are madly in love and Beatrice and Benedick bicker each other’s heads off, we can definitely see the disparity. We as an audience are forced to realize how unrealistic the whole Claudio/Hero-relationship is, because by the help of Beatrice and Benedick we can see the contrast between their behavior and what people in the real world behave like. In real life, people have opinions, flaws and egos that make them …show more content…
Benedick: I noted her not; but I looked on her.”
The daughter being commented on is Hero, and Benedick does not seem to like her. He thinks she is so flat and uninteresting that even as he looked at her, he took no note of her existence. The word “noting” pops up several other times during the play, and it conveys how our own perception of others always is more or less biased.
Some critics have suggested that the title has yet another meaning; in Shakespeare’s day the word “Nothing” was also slang for “vagina”. This interpretation also fits well with the themes and plot of the play, seeing as Hero’s virginity or lack thereof is central to her reputation as a respectable young woman.
There are several Renaissance-related traits in Much Ado About Nothing. When Hero faints in the church, for example, her father Leonato says that it would be better if she died than survived. He quickly buys into Don John’s false narrative of Hero being unfaithful, and since he does not want his reputation ruined by the scandal, he completely rejects Hero. Valuing one’s honor higher than the life of a daughter seems very typical for a conservative society such as a 16th century European