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How Does Shakespeare Present Beatrice's Relationship In Much Ado About Nothing

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Flipping A Coin: The Game of Love and Hate Deciphering one's feelings can be a difficult task, but there are age-old concepts that can make it easier. Love will always win, and that love and hate are different sides of the same coin. In the William Shakespeare play, Much Ado About Nothing, Shakespeare uses the characters Benedick and Claudio and their relationships with Beatrice and Hero to show how love and hate are two sides to the same coin. The play starts on a normal day in Verona, with soldiers coming back from war. Leonato, the local prince, kindly allowed them to stay in his home. Something Leonato does not realize is the melodrama that will come with them. In the past, Beatrice, niece to Leonato and cousin to Hero, once loved Benedick, …show more content…

Upon Claudio and Hero being betrothed, everyone sets their sights on Bendick and Beatrice. One day Leonato, Claudio, and Don Pedro go out to the gardens, where they know Benedick is to have him “accidentally” overhear their conversation about how Beatrice is in love with him. “They seem to pity the lady: it/seems her affections have their full bent. Love me!/why, it must be requited” (2.3). Benedick is overjoyed to hear that Beatrice loves him despite her facade of indifference. Likewise, Hero and Ursula “accidentally” had Beatrice overhear how Benedick is secretly in love with her. Forcing them to confront their feelings for each other semi-organically. The evening before Claudio and Hero’s wedding, Don John, Don Pedro’s bastard brother, claims Hero is unfaithful and suggests that they should watch her window tonight if they want to see proof. Claudio, hoping it is not true, agrees to watch, and discovers Borachio, one of Don John’s henchmen, under her window calling out to who they think is Hero. The next day, distraught and furious, Claudio contemns her in front of everyone; “Sweet prince, you learn me noble thankfulness./There, Leonato, take her back again:/Give not this rotten orange to your friend” (4.1). Claudio, in the beginning, claims to love Hero very much, but then Don John comes to ruin their happiness. Staging a

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Later, Beatrice said, “Kill Claudio, you kill me to deny it. Farewell” (Shakespeare 74). Instead of asking Leonato to protect Hero with telling the truth, she asked Benedick to kill Claudio. This was a much more enraged thing to say to save her cousin. These quotes show that Beatrice and Hero are foils because in the same situation, Hero tries to get revenge by being truthful and getting help from her dad, but Beatrice wanted to take all of her anger out on Claudio by killing

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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).”

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Claudio, Hero and Don Pedro all realize how perfect Beatrice and Benedick are together and so they set up a plan to deceive the two of them into falling in love. Don Pedro comes up with the plan to be having Benedick eavesdropping on Don Pedro, Leonato and Claudio chatting about how much Beatrice is secretly in love with Benedick. Just as they expected , their plan goes off without a hitch. After the group is done talking and they all leave, Benedick comes out of hiding and start talking about what he just heard and realizes that he is in love with Beatrice. “I will be horribly in love wit her.”

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When Beatrice asks Benedick to duel Claudio for her, he agrees and plans to duel him. Benedick and Claudio are best friends who had fought in battle together, but the love of a woman completely changes Benedick’s allegiance from his fellow soldiers to his new love. Before falling in love with Beatrice, Benedick would have done everything possible to protect his brothers in battle. Now, love has emboldened him to make a choice that he would not have previously made. Benedick’s sacrifice of a meaningful friendship proves that he is now completely devoted to his relationship with Beatrice and is willing to do whatever necessary to preserve that relationship.

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In Act 3 Scene 1, Beatrice is overwhelmed with the thought of people judging her proud and scornful ways. Beatrice addresses this revolution by agreeing to leave her past self behind and seal this newfound affection with Benedick. Beatrice’s view of rejecting a man who will rule her with an iron fist is quite independent. In this case, Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing suggests Beatrice was once in love with Benedick, but his title of lord and soldier of Padua negatively effected their relationship.

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Don Pedro, Claudio, Leonato and Antonio were the men and Hero, Margaret and Ursula were the women who got together to play cupid for Benedick and Beatrice. They got together and lied to make Beatrice and Benedick fall in love with each other. In the beginning, they both hated each other and they both wanted nothing to do with love or marriage, but with a little lie that was told between the men and women, they finally realized that they needed to be together. The betrayal of Benedick and Beatrice was one of the betrayals in the play that turned out to have a successful

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Claudio and Hero are similar by loving each other and showing their love by getting

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A common act of men at this time, Benedick does not seek to help her “fight [her] enemy,” Claudio, until begged to, or given something in return. In this case, it would be Beatrice “lov[ing him],” and requesting that he “[u]se her love for some other way than [just] swearing by it.” Benedick then says, “Enough, I am

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Hero’s father, Leonato, makes Claudio marry his niece and then Hero reveals herself as the masked woman and Claudio becomes joyous. Benedick asks Beatrice to marry him and she happily agrees. The play ends with them all dancing before the celebration of their weddings.

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The audience may understand the concept of love and romance flowing within the characters because it was to portrayed that way but the critics would argue the fact that some of the characters like Beatrice and Benedick were made to fall in love with each other through deception. As simple as the characters were, the situations arousing in the play became more complexed as scenes passed by. What led to the trouble and chaos in the play also led to the solution in the end, when Claudio and Don Pedro were deceived into thinking by Don John that Hero was unfaithful. That very same idea also solved the problem in the end when Leonato, Hero’s father, deceived Claudio by making him believe that she is dead and that it is his duty to clear Hero’s name by reading out on her tomb and marrying the said niece who looks just like Hero. Again the plotting against own is present where the said niece turns out to be Hero and she comes back to life again.

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Beneath the storyline involving the couple, Shakespeare touches upon multiple themes such as maturity, upholding one’s reputation and love. The story about how Claudio and Hero meet is strange in itself. Claudio is returning from war to the small town of Messina. Upon his return he shares with friends that he is interested in Hero.

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From the moment John brought up the mere idea of messing around with Claudio and Hero’s love life, Borachio was on board; “We’ll wait upon your lordship” (Shakespeare 1.3.67). No persuading is needed to get Borachio’s help in deceiving Claudio. Not only does Borachio jump at the opportunity to help his friend, but also contributes immensely to the scheme. He reminds John that he is quite fond of Margaret, Hero’s waiting gentlewoman, and hatches the plan, “[Claudio and Pedro will] see me at her [Hero’s] chamber window, hear me call Margaret Hero, hear Margaret term me Claudio; and bring them to see this the very night before the intended wedding” (2.1.39-41); tricking both Pedro and Claudio into thinking Hero is no longer a maid therefore ruining the chances of their

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This juxtaposes Claudio and Hero’s relationship is based on purely on physical looks, which are not always truthful. In an opposing manner, Benedick and Beatrice’s relationship was not started from a completely dishonest place. Over years they had built a relationship through passive aggressive remarks rather than physicality, thus ensuring that they would know each other at their core. Therefore in order to move the relationship along it only took light coaxing of the small truths to progress their love. For instance, in Act One Beatrice and Benedick’s “merry war” of arguments is viewed as a type of flirting instead of actual anger or annoyance towards each other (1.1.50-54).

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It was a set up marriage and she would just try to make the male proud. Relationships, in the modern day, are more egalitarian than they use to be. This allows Benedick and Beatrice to represent more of a modern time ideal couple, than Claudio and Hero. A great quote about relationships is “ Respect is as important as love in a relationships”

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This is shown with their views on marriage. Hero is willing to marry whoever her father asks her too and when Leonato finds out that Don Pedro seeks marriage with Hero, he encourages Hero to marry and says to Hero, “Daughter, remember what I told you. If the prince does solicit you in the kind, you know your answer” (II.i.57-58). Beatrice, however rebels completely against marriage and says “If he send me no husband; for the which blessing / I am at him upon my knees every morning and evening” (23-25).

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