After a few wedding problems, Benedick and Beatrice finally declare their love for each other and get married alongside Hero and Claudio. In the play, Hero is the respectable and polite maiden just wishing she could have a husband to love. On the other hand, Beatrice is a stubborn and feisty woman who could do without a husband until the day she died. Even though they are complete opposites, they found ways to love each other as friends and they both highlight their characteristics as well. In the play, “Much Ado About Nothing”, by William…
Benedick maintains the belief that ‘he will live a bachelor’, although as the play proceeds, his feelings become clear and that he is ‘horribly in love’ with Beatrice. Beatrice and Benedick deceive each other again at the masquerade ball. While Beatrice pretends to not know that she is dancing with Benedick, she begins to insult him by calling him the “prince’s jester” and that “none but libertines delight in him”, all the while Benedick believes that he is deceiving Beatrice into thinking that he is someone else. There is another example of deceit at the masquerade ball involving Don John ‘the Bastard’.…
Men often had unfair expectations for women such as when Benedick had listed the qualities for a woman of his standards. He describes this fantasy woman as “‘Rich … that's certain; wise, or I'll none; virtuous, or I'll never cheapen her; fair, or I'll never look on her; mild, or come not near me; noble, or not I for an angel’”(II.iii.27-36). Benedick refused to consider a less-than-perfect women, until he met Beatrice who was independent, and despised the idea of a man ever loving her. Contrarily, Benedick had felt the same, and that is when he proposed what a “perfect” woman shall be. Later in the play, he begins to fall madly in love with someone who is opposite what he had pronounced right for him.…
This being that he believes that marriage would somehow tie him down and dent his sense of honour as a man if he were to subject to it. We get an idea of his attitude when he says “The savage bull may; but if ever the sensible Benedick bear it, pluck off the bull's horns and set them in my forehead … let them signify under my sign "Here you may see Benedick the married man.” In this quote he compares marriage to the taming of a wild animal, which shows that he was afraid to love someone incase it made him a weaker person (or a ‘tamed animal’). In the end his pride is one of the main factors that made him apprehensive to reveal his true feelings for Beatrice, incase others did not respect him for it. I felt that the theme of pride in this case was more of a character flaw and used in an effective way to show growth within Benedick’s character.…
Similarly to Benedict, Beatrice reveals her negative feelings about men and courtship. During her first meeting with Benedick, she states, “I had rather hear my dog bark at a crow than a man swear he loves me” (129-130). By saying this, she puts herself out of reach for Benedick, hoping that a relationship with him will never happen. It is clear that Beatrice would prefer to have Benedick hate her. Shakespeare establishes her neglecting view on Benedick to show how influential the deception must be to bring her to accepting Benedick’s love.…
By doing so, Shakespeare was able to show the true patriarchy hidden in society for Claudio thought it was more important to apologize to the father of the victim that the victim herself. Because of that, the belief of being superior and that Hero was merely a “jewel” (I.1.154) was so ingrained in him, so much so that he only idolized her as an object. This shows how Claudio (not Hero) was a “rotten orange” (4.1.29), for he may look handsome on the outside, but on the inside, for he has a rotten personality. Benedick on the other hand, as cliche as it may sound, was converted through love from a man who wanted to be a bachelor into a man that like Beatrice, protected others in times of need. At first, Benedick voices an ideal patriarchal man who complains that Beatrice “speaks poniards, and every word stabs.”…
One great example of this is when Benedick first comes back from war and her first remark to him is “I wonder that you will still be talking, Signior Benedick, nobody marks you” (A1; S1; L114-115). This not only shows her hatred toward Benedick in the beginning of the play but also shows that she can have a very wicked tongue and she is not afraid to speak her mind. Telling him that she does not know why he even wastes his breath by talking, nobody respects him so in her mind he should do them all a favor and just not talk. In the same conversation Benedick says “God keep your Ladyship still in that mind, so some gentleman or other shall ‘scape a predestinate scratched face.” And with that she replies “Scratching could not make it worse an ‘twere such a face as yours were.”…
Beatrice and Benedick are roughly equal in wit and intelligence, which means they have a lot in common and thus their attitude towards love and their courtship is more satisfying than Claudio and Hero’s. In Shakespeare’s play, Benedick and Beatrice’s relationship keeps the reader intrigued because they are a realistic couple. They both do not believe in marriage, Benedick says, “Because I will not do them the wrong to mistrust any, I will do myself the right to trust none. And the fine is, for which I may go the finer, I will live a…
Much Ado About Nothing, written by William Shakespeare, takes place in Messina, Italy in the 16th century. The story ends with a romantic ending, but characters go through shame and honor throughout the story. In Much Ado About Nothing, two couples are put through some very difficult situations, showing us that they have their similarities, but they also have a lot of differences. Benedick and Beatrice are independent. Both want to live lives as single to avoid getting hurt or wounded by the other gender.…
Claudio stated “Then down upon her knees she falls, weeps, sobs, beats her heart, tears her hair, prays, curses: ‘O sweet Benedick, God give me patience.’” (2.3.154-156). When Claudio says this, Benedick’s love switch turns on yet he swears that he only has to love her because she loves him. Out of this lie, Benedick and Beatrice put their differences, or more like similarities aside…
As stated in the text, Benedick proclaimed, “... but if ever the sensible Benedick bear it, pluck off the bull's horns,”(Shakespeare 9) showing how he, himself thinks he is sensible, and how he is not used to reacting in a broad way. Based upon Claudio and Benedick’s reactivity to situations, both characters act in different ways to situations, as Claudio takes events more serious, where as Benedick in strong minded and doesn't react in a serious manner. Both character’s reactions strengthens each other’s, as Claudio’s foolish and reactive character goes against and develops the sensible and wise character of…
The biggest difference between Claudio and Benedick is that Claudio desperately wants to get married. On the other hand, Benedick has nothing good to say about getting married, or women for that matter. Benedick has a very negative outlook on marriage, he thinks it is pointless and that he will never find a faithful woman. Not only do they differ in that way, but also Claudio is very shy and quiet, whilst Benedick is very flamboyant and witty. Furthermore, one smaller thing that is different about the two men is what they think about Hero.…
"The courtship of Benedick and Beatrice has a beautiful observed reality, a poise and maturity, a refreshing humour which makes the operatic main plot seem absurdly unreal. " It is clear that Beatrice and Benedick are in love from the first we see of them; it is not simply through the Prince's intervention that the seeds of love are sown between them. When Beatrice is informed that Don Pedro and his party are coming to Messina, her first thought is for her 'Senior Mountanto'. Within four spoken lines of his arrival Benedick is quarrelling with his 'Lady Disdain'. From the very beginning then their thoughts and speeches are occupied with each other.…
It was only through Benedick that Beatrice would be able to get what she wanted. Benedick was a respectable soldier, which meant that he had the means to confront Claudio and in this manner, restore Hero and her family’s honor. Benedick, by challenging Claudio, would be viewed in a heroic light, while Beatrice would simply be seen as a bystander because she could not challenge him herself. This shifted Beatrice’s position as a vocal and strong woman to a confined woman who could only accomplish something with the aid of a man, perpetuating a sort of damsel-in-distress image, “ I cannot be a man with wishing, therefore I will die a woman with grieving,” (4.1.316-317). The depiction of women in this position is common in Shakespeare’s work; in The Merchant of Venice, Portia, a young heiress, was only given power when she disguised herself as a young, male law clerk.…
“If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” “beggars can’t be choosers,” and “actions speak louder than words” are all common day proverbs that just about any average child living in today’s American society has heard numerous times. These are lessons are taught to children young, that way they can better comprehend what is commonly viewed to be truly important in life. Values of this consist of kindness, respect, happiness, intelligence, friendship, etc. Children most commonly learn the importance of these through the teachings of their parents.…