Comparative Literature
Much Ado about Nothing and Life of an Amorous Woman are two texts whose authors have evidently used the element of true love to narrate the stories. Much Ado about Nothing is a play by Shakespeare that tells the story of two sets of lovers: Claudio and Hero, who fall in love and decide to get married, and Beatrice and Benedick, who are in constant war of witty insults and refuse to admit the love they have for each other. Life of an Amorous Woman is a story by Saikaku that is about an old woman who was once in love but now lives in a deserted homestead away from human habitation. While the element of what constitutes true love is evident in both texts, Shakespeare’s Much Ado about Nothing describes it in a romantic and …show more content…
In Much Ado about Nothing, Claudio falls in love Hero the moment he sees her. He says, “In mine eye she is the sweetest lady that ever I looked on… That I love her, I feel” (Shakespeare 180-181). As soon as Claudio sees Hero, she admires and falls in love with her even though he does not know anything about her. In Life of an Amorous Woman, the woman talks of many fashionable and handsome men admiring her but she falls in love with a humble soldier who has no sense of fashion. She says, “The several men who set their affections on me were both fashionable and handsome; yet none of them aroused tender feelings in me” (Saikaku 277). She adds, “there was a humble warrior…low in rank…yet from the first letter, his sentences were charged with a passion powerful enough to slay one.” This implies that even though the woman was admired by several good looking and fashionable men, she found love in the least handsome of them all.
In both stories, the element of true love is demonstrated by trust and commitment. In Shakespeare’s Much Ado about Nothing, trust is considered an important ingredient for the success of any relationship. Initially, Claudio and Hero appear to trust each other; however, trust is later broken as Claudio accuses Don Pedro and Hero of betrayal. Claudio believes Don John when he claims that Don Pedro has wooed Hero for himself. Don John says, “Tis certain
Much Ado about Nothing and Life of an Amorous Woman are two texts whose authors have evidently used the element of true love to narrate the stories. Much Ado about Nothing is a play by Shakespeare that tells the story of two sets of lovers: Claudio and Hero, who fall in love and decide to get married, and Beatrice and Benedick, who are in constant war of witty insults and refuse to admit the love they have for each other. Life of an Amorous Woman is a story by Saikaku that is about an old woman who was once in love but now lives in a deserted homestead away from human habitation. While the element of what constitutes true love is evident in both texts, Shakespeare’s Much Ado about Nothing describes it in a romantic and …show more content…
In Much Ado about Nothing, Claudio falls in love Hero the moment he sees her. He says, “In mine eye she is the sweetest lady that ever I looked on… That I love her, I feel” (Shakespeare 180-181). As soon as Claudio sees Hero, she admires and falls in love with her even though he does not know anything about her. In Life of an Amorous Woman, the woman talks of many fashionable and handsome men admiring her but she falls in love with a humble soldier who has no sense of fashion. She says, “The several men who set their affections on me were both fashionable and handsome; yet none of them aroused tender feelings in me” (Saikaku 277). She adds, “there was a humble warrior…low in rank…yet from the first letter, his sentences were charged with a passion powerful enough to slay one.” This implies that even though the woman was admired by several good looking and fashionable men, she found love in the least handsome of them all.
In both stories, the element of true love is demonstrated by trust and commitment. In Shakespeare’s Much Ado about Nothing, trust is considered an important ingredient for the success of any relationship. Initially, Claudio and Hero appear to trust each other; however, trust is later broken as Claudio accuses Don Pedro and Hero of betrayal. Claudio believes Don John when he claims that Don Pedro has wooed Hero for himself. Don John says, “Tis certain