Shakespeare’s plays are often associated with great love stories. Love is a subject which is omnipresent in both his tragedies and comedies. In comedies, love is even a requirement that “is always fulfilled despite all of the blocking complications” (Charney 27). These complications are often the main plot of the plays, the reason why the story unfolds the way it does. It is these complications that give depth to the characters, their relationships and their love. The ways these complications unfold give us indications as to how two individuals relate to each other and how deep their connection is. They reveal holes in character traits and test the characters’ faith, trust and trustworthiness. These attributes are among the ones questioned in both The Taming of the Shrew and Much Ado about Nothing. In these two plays are four main relationships which unravel over the course of the events. These are four love stories with their own complications and obstacles to overcome. Yet, as individual as they may seem, they share certain similarities between them. On the one hand we have Bianca and Lucentio in The Taming of the Shrew and Hero and Claudio in Much Ado about Nothing who share a certain resemblance in the way their relationships form and especially how said relationships then express themselves. More importantly, there are Kate and Petruccio in The Taming of the Shrew and Beatrice and Benedick in Much Ado about Nothing who share one striking complication in their
In order to depict many different images of love, William Shakespeare writes about the challenges of love between Romeo and Juliet. The playwright presents several aspects of love, such as unrequited, parental, and romantic love. Shakespeare’s message, while originating in the 1500s, is not unique to themes of love. In fact, this theme resurfaces many times throughout the history of literature. For instance, Zora Neale Hurston visualizes different images of love in her 1937 novel Their Eyes Were Watching God.
The “Of Mice and Men” duo demonstrated what it was like to have a trustworthy and caring friend while “The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet” demonstrated what it was like to dive into a rushed relationship based on the eye’s first impression. Romeo and Juliet’s relationship was not love, it was lust, while George and Lennie’s relationship was pure and
William Shakespeare’s comedy, Much Ado About Nothing, features a wide cast of characters and follows a variety of plotlines that deal with love, loss, deception, and redemption. Within the scenes of the play, the old adage “you don’t know what you have got until you lose it” is clearly applicable, especially in the case of Hero and Claudio’s love story, but this sentiment can surely be changed to “you don’t know who you are until you lose it”. This changed aphorism constitutes as a motto for Benedick, a soldier who fought for Don Pedro and one of the central characters of the play. Using wit as an armor to protect his softer self, Benedick’s views on marriage seem steadfast and evident; he will never, ever marry. Benedick commits himself to
Play Analysis – Essay 1 “Much Ado About Nothing “ Submitted by Noor Ul Ain Shaikh (BSMS 2A) What seems to be a comedy play for an audience who enjoys a theatre with good humor and romance, “Much Ado About Nothing” contains much more than just entertainment. If we dig in deep, William Shakespeare’s play has much more than a tragic story with happy ending; even that is debatable. The theme of this play revolves around deception, plotting against your own, personal gains and rejection.
Taming of the Shrew is a dramatic comedy in which several suitors try to captivate and marry a beautiful woman named Bianca. However, the suitors stumble upon an issue; Bianca’s older sister, Kate, is not married. Bianca is only eligible for marriage if Kate is married, so the suitors set out to find Kate a man. During Taming of the Shrew, the suitors of both Kate and Bianca are dishonest and deceive the sisters using disguises and mind games which results in a breakdown of all the characters.
What is expected of two young lovers whose families despise one another, but are determined enough to stay side by side, even if it destroys their families and themselves? Such actions are shown through the characters in Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet. Throughout the play, it shows the reader the irrational impulses associated with love that Romeo and Juliet make. Particularly, in Act two, scene two, Romeo’s reckless behavior helps the reader realize the fact that his preference of death over separation from Juliet is caused by him being head over heels in love with Juliet. In the story, when Romeo is hiding in Capulet’s orchard, he disregards the fact that he and Juliet’s families are enemies.
William Shakespeare’s play Much Ado About Nothing is considered a comedy because it features characters who both block and facilitate relationships. Every major character in the play either plays the role of a blocker or an arranger. However, Shakespeare gives the comedy another depth in that a character may be a blocker in one scene, but an arranger in another. This variance in a character’s stance reflects that anyone can act as a blocker or as an arranger at any point.
I argue that Kate’s shrewish behavior is the product of the treatment of her sister, Bianca, and father, Baptista. Kate’s final speech functions as a recognition to her need to attain comfortable compromise and closure to the untrue shrewish behavior. First, Baptista dishonors her in public. For example, when Baptista, Kate’s father, notifies Bianca’s suitors, Tranio and Lucentio, in public that he will not allow either of them to marry his younger daughter until a husband is found for Kate; he openly announces the fact he first wants to have Kate off his back. He then offers her to either of Bianca’s suitors.
Beatrice had also tried to write a poem professing her love to Benedick. They are so compatible that they had the same idea to profess their love. In Shakespearian times, the man could just choose a wife to marry, they did not have to be compatible. In a modern context, people in relationships have to be compatible, making Beatrice and Benedick an ideal
It is an admired story of love gained, lost, and misinterpreted. Although it is one of his more humorous plays, it did not lack dimension. Although love isn’t always easy, as Shakespeare shows through his tragedies, it can also cause people to smile and even laugh. To prove this point,
In addition, they questioned whether their relationship with each other is true picture of true love where Claudio and Hero love each other, as well as Benedick and Beatrice. Shakespeare’s two couples, Claudio-Hero and Benedick-Beatrice, in Much Ado About Nothing are two different relationships that has express the love-hate relationship within the play. The reason why the relationship between Hero and Claudio is so “perfect” is because this is what an ideal couple people want to look like. In short, Claudio and Hero’s love story is a fairytale.
In the Taming of the Shrew there was many plot structures. There was the framing plot, and the triple action play that included the induction: Christopher Sly and the trick played on him, Lucentio/Bianca which is the romantic play, and Petruchio/Kate which is a romantic play as well. The genre includes a comedy genre. In this play there is a beginning but there is no end. When Christopher is mentioned, we don't know what happens to him.
Shakespeare’s renowned play Twelfth Night centers around love, both in platonic and romantic instances. Characters display elements of self, brotherly, amorous, and friendly love towards one another; however, of the relationships portrayed, the strongest ones are those between men. In contrast, relationships between men and women lack depth and sincerity due to the lapse of communication between the opposing genders. Men are able to express their feelings to one another more freely, which gives their bonds strength that heterosexual relationships fail to display.
Shakespeare’s novel “Macbeth” demonstrates the many ways in which love can factor into a play. Through the connections built between characters, and the relationship Macbeth holds with power, the ways in which love are perceived through “Macbeth” are evident. In Shakespeare’s play “Macbeth,” there is a strong relationship between Lady Macbeth and Macbeth, the relationship between the two characters is known as the most obvious - yet this relationship challenges traditional perceptions of love. The attitude Lady Macbeth and Macbeth have towards each other constantly changes, thus making it hard to form a clear-cut opinion of their relationship.
We face many challenges in life, for example, some challenges are difficult physically, like climbing the highest mountain in the world, and some are mentally challenging, like being an air traffic controller. Ladies and gentlemen, can I tell you that one of the greatest challenges that you will ever face is that, of love. Not just today, but even 400 years ago, William Shakespeare was already exploring the challenges of love. I welcome you to Vox Populi: Generation Y. Speaks Out, I am Jacob Fischer and today I would like to talk about one of William Shakespeare's most famous plays, Romeo and Juliet.