Benedick's Attitude To Love In Much Ado About Nothing

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

This is evident during his exchange with Claudio where he says, “I’faith..thou wilt needs thrust thy neck into a yoke…sigh away Sundays.” Shakespeare uses the simile ‘yoke’ to compare slavery and Benedick’s belief that if you were to get married, you would become a slave to your wife, and further implying that he views marriage as a life-long trap. In Elizabethan time’s, 1558 - 1603, a yoke was a wooden frame to harness pairs of oxen in order to transport or carry things. The metaphor ‘thrust thy neck’ shows the audience that people who get married get trapped. In addition, Shakespeare’s use of the phrase ‘Sigh away Sundays’ containing civilance (emphasis on the ’s’) creates emphasis on slavery Benedick believes you will get punished with if you were to get married. Moreover, this also creates dramatic irony as, at the time Much Ado About Nothing was written and published, upper-class Elizabethan women were subservient to men and were considered slaves to them however here Benedick implies that he thinks men are actually the slaves to women (their wives). Furthermore, the vicious verb ‘thrust’ suggests to the audience that men rush into marriage without thought to what they are really getting themselves into. This makes the audience more aware and allows them to relate this situation to reality/real life. Also, Shakespeare’s use of ‘i’faith’ spoken by Benedick, suggest strongly

Benedick, at the start of Much Ado About Nothing, is against love, marriage and women however it is clear to see by the end of the play he really does love these three things and has grown up. Moreover, Shakespeare proves that love conquers all because even though the characters challenged love, and after all the difficulties they go through, they come together and bring Shakespeare’s most unlikely couple of Beatrice and Benedick