Much Ado About Nothing Research Paper

Gossip is one of the worst things that teenagers experience. It can ruin reputations and friendships. However, gossip does not always have a negative outcome. In William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, gossip is key to the storyline. It turns friendly relationships into romantic ones using teasing, guilt, and sympathy.

“Let her a while be secretly kept in, and publish it that she is dead indeed...Come, lady, die to live (Shakespeare 72-73).” Hero has been known throughout the play as the character that always does as she is told and “goes with the flow.” During this section, Hero could’ve spoken out about her true feelings or taken other actions, but instead does what will please her father, Leonato, Governor of Messina. Meanwhile, Beatrice openly discusses her feelings with Benedick. While they are conversing, Beatrice plainly states that she wants Benedick to “kill Claudio...a villain, that hath slandered, scorned, dishonoured [her] kinswoman (Shakespeare 74-75).” Beatrice makes very bold actions, and she is not afraid of doing so. This shows how Beatrice and Hero are foils of each other because Hero takes actions that are safe and pleasing to others, while Beatrice does what she wants and doesn’t care about what others think of her actions. Another example of this occurs during the Masquerade Ball. Beatrice talks with Don Pedro and is quoted to have said, “My cousin tells him in his ear that he is in her heart (Shakespeare 27).” Hero had chosen to accept Claudio’s proposal and claimed to have fallen in love with

Much Ado About Nothing is a play written by William Shakespeare and was thought to have been written around 1598 and 1599 (Elizabethan era/period). Benedick, who is one of the main characters in Much Ado About Nothing, is a witty, independent, strong, and funny character. He is a young man who is locked into a love-hate relationship with Beatrice. But love soon changes Benedick. Firstly, Shakespeare presents Benedick’s attitude to love as being scornful towards it and to his friends who are in love, but his decision changes when he falls in love and finds it an enjoyable emotion. Moreover, Benedick’s view of marriage is portrayed by Shakespeare to be a trap and a punishment, however, Benedick soon changes his mind and becomes desperate to prove

In his play, Much ado about nothing, William Shakespeare introduces an Elizabethan society, where status forms the main foundation. Ironically, the more status you obtain, causes a loss of identity. In a world based entirely on status, corruption and trickery are bound to occur. William Shakespeare writes that the lower status one obtains when one is born leads to more power and freedom, whereas higher status leads to a loss of identity with characters such as: Borachio, Benedick, Hero, and Don Pedro, respectively.

One reason is that Claudio wanted to marry her before meeting her for the first time. According to Shakespeare, (i.i 191-192) “I would scarce trust myself, though I had sworn the contrary, if Hero would be my wife.” This quote shows that this relationship is not realistic because people would not want to marry somebody that they barely met with. People usually want to get to know the person before making this decision. Another reason is that Claudio did not win Hero’s heart the right way. According to Shakespeare (ii.i 292-295) “Here, Claudio, I have wooed in thy name, and fair Hero is won. I have broke with her father and his goodwill obtained. Name the day of marriage, and God give thee joy.” This quote shows that Don Pedro is the one who helped Claudio to apparently win Hero’s heart. Claudio couldn’t do it himself because he is immature like a kid. Last but not least, they didn’t communicate with each other. According to (iv.i 105-113), “O Hero, what a Hero hadst thou been If half thy outward graces had been placed About thy thoughts and counsels of thy heart! But fare thee well, most foul, most fair. Farewell, Thou pure impiety and impious purity. For thee I’ll lock up all the gates of love And on my eyelids shall conjecture hang, To turn all beauty into thoughts of harm, And never shall it more be gracious.” This is what happen when Hero and Claudio didn’t communicate with each other. Without communication, messy things can happen and can end in a very bad way. Communication is crucial in a relationship. Claudio and Hero’s relationship is unrealistic in terms of today’s

Leonato stated a lie to get Benedick attention by saying, “She loves him with an enraged affection, it is past the infinite of thought” (2.3.108-109) and Prince responded “ Maybe she doth but counterfeit” (2.3.110). Leonato is explaining to Prince and Claudio that Beatrice is in love with Benedick and Prince is saying that Beatrice insult him to hide her true feeling for him. When Benedick heard this he second thought of marriage and said, “By this day, she is a fair lady. I do spy some mark on her” (2.3.247-248). This quote means that Benedick has changed his view in Beatrice, that before he did not see her as a lady, but now that he does he has fallen in love with her. Hero also lied and stated “ Benedick is in love with Beatrice… How wise, how noble, young, how rarely featured” (3.1.21-22,63). Hero is trying to get beatrice to change her point view on love and marriage by stating that benedick is in love with Beatrice and is complimenting of how smart, highly ideal and handsome Benedick is. When she heard this she said, “And Benedick love on, I will requite thee” (3.1.117). Meaning that keep loving her and that she will return the love. These quotes are important because they were both fooled by Hero, Leonato, Prince and Claudio by using the same method of trick of lying that they both love each other in order for them to actually fall in

Hero and Ursula talk about Benedick’s love for Beatrice and have a lengthy conversation about it.

In the play “A Midnight Dream” composed by William Shakespeare, he ponders on a quote, “that course of true love never did run smooth” (I.I.134), emphasizing that love is complicated and is not easy. The idea that love is complicated is shown through the many plays that Shakespeare composed like “Much Ado about Nothing.” In Much Ado about Nothing one can correlate the quote from “A Midnight Dream” to the love scenes between Claudio and Hero and Benedick and Beatrice. Those scenes contain the desire to love one another but complications imped them to love as shown, “Marry, once before he won it for me with false dice; therefore, your grace may well say I lost it”, demonstrating the complicated love story between Benedick and Beatrice (ii.i.265-266). Where they are hiding their feelings due to complications and secretly love one another. I find Shakespeare’s

In Scene One of Act Four of William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, Beatrice is angered by Don Pedro and Claudio’s hasty reactions and makes the irrational decision to beg Benedick to challenge Claudio to a duel. Don Pedro and Claudio announce the lies fed to them by Don John to those attending the wedding procession, causing Hero to faint of embarrassment and despair. After the public shaming of Hero, Beatrice and Benedick have a long conversation about Beatrice’s sorrow and Hero’s shattered reputation. Beatrice begins her manipulation of Benedick: “Ah, how much might the man deserve of me that would right her!” (4.1.275-276, 141). Benedick attempts to reason with Beatrice: “Is there any way to show

How can a man go from hate to love in one second? In Much Ado About Nothing By William Shakespeare Beatrice is the foil of Benedick.

The story of Much Ado About Nothing is a slightly complex but entertaining one. Don Pedro, along with a posse of fellow soldiers such as Claudio and Benedick, visits the governor of Messina after triumphantly winning a war against Don John, who is the half-brother of Don Pedro. This is when Claudio finds affection for the governor 's daughter Hero, and successfully becomes engaged to her. All the while, Benedick and Beatrice (Hero 's cousin) are fooled into a relationship as well after the other 's devise a plan to trick them. However, the play takes a turn for the worse, when Don John starts devising a plan to ruin Hero and Claudio 's wedding. The night before the ceremony, one of Don John 's followers sleeps with one of Hero 's attendants, who is

Don John, the Prince’s brother, creates a plan to show Count Claudio that Hero is impure. Unlike the plan for Beatrice and Benedict, this plan is less complicated because Don John is only trying to help Claudio and not hurt him. Shakespeare uses this concept to show that men trust men but will not trust women. It also shows that men in this time period are willing to not marry someone due to their virginity and shame them. This shaming is shown in the wedding scene when Claudio says no to marrying Hero at the wedding and then goes on a rampage of anger destroying the wedding pews and mocking Hero in front of everyone. He goes on the spree after only trusting Don John and he chooses not to confront Hero about the virginity in question. After Claudio leaves the wedding Hero Faints due to the shock and once she wakes up her father begins to berate her and hit her. He does this after only hearing the possibly irrational Claudio. Leonato, her father does this after only hearing Claudio because he is a man of great honor and whatever he says is true due to Shakespeare’s use of a Patriarchal society to show his thoughts on the courtship process.

Beatrice and Benedick care for each other. Beatrice and Benedick care for each other enough eavesdrop gossipers. Therefore, when they heard each other’s name they stopped. “For look where Beatrice like a lapwing runs Close by the ground, to hear our conference.” (Act 3-scene page 2). Beatrice was tricked into “falling in love” but she cared enough to stop and hear Hero and Ursula. Then Benedick also gets tricked “Benedick also listens to the men gossip, he stays to hear as said in Act 2 scene 3 page 10 “Benedick: (coming forward) This can be no trick. The conference was sadly borne; they have the truth of this from Hero; they seem to pity the lady. It seems her affections have their full bent. Love me? ”.The prank that their friends played

Not only does Don Pedro seem to be the mastermind in my specific performance scene, but he seems to be the mastermind throughout the entire play as a whole from the start till the end where everything is revealed. Don Pedro functions more as a relatively strong mastermind because of his strong ability to have his peers around him follow his instructions, even when it was all a trick. Don Pedro, who was called “Prince” sometimes, is definitely the most socially powerful character in the play. He is always constantly wrapped up in some type of scheme or another. He’s also the one that sweet talks Hero on behalf of Claudio, and finally, he is also the mastermind of the big plot to trick Benedick and Beatrice back into loving each other. Not only

Beatrice and Benedick’s relationship challenges the patriarchal expectations of society, but it is evident that their love is much deeper than Hero and Claudio’s.