Much Ado About Nothing Honor Quotes

Much Ado About Nothing ICE: Honor and Shame Honor plays an extremely important role in the actions of the courtiers in Much Ado About Nothing. Appearance of being honorable to others matter excessively in the courtier system. For example, woman’s honor is mostly dependent on what courtier men think and the appearance of a virgin. This emphasis of honor causes some characters to lose loyalty and courtesy to maintain the appearance of being honorable. Honor is important enough that a courtier would selfishly injure other people’s honor and betray them to preserve their own. The normal ideals of a courtier can be abandoned when a courtier is threatened with being shamed or has been shamed. The ideal language and courtesy of Claudio, Prince, and Leonato nearly disappeared after Leonato’s family had been shamed. Gender plays a role in the honor and shame system too. For …show more content…
Claudio is considered honorable, just because Prince said Claudio was honorable. Much of a person’s honor is determined by a courtier in a higher class, such as Prince. Therefore, people try to impress those of a higher class. For example, Leonato pretends that keeping the Prince and the soldiers in his house is a joyful situation to be respectful to Prince. “Never came trouble to my house in the likeness of your Grace, for trouble being gone, comfort should remain, but when you depart from me, sorrow abides, and happiness takes his leave.” (13) Honor can be bestowed upon quite easily for Prince. Prince considers Hero to be honorable, so she is. “Be happy, lady, for you are like an honorable father.” (13) To gain honor, Claudio tries to be friendly to the Prince. Claudio tries to be respectful, loyal, and formal to Prince and asks Prince for approval before doing anything. Since Prince tops the courtier system and the top determines whether people are honorable, Prince has a substantial amount of power and can use it to his