Much Ado About Nothing Creative Response Essay

My creative response to Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing" has been inspired by the complex themes explored through its characters and symbols, such as gender roles, love, and marriage. I found myself particularly drawn to how the issues of gender roles, societal expectations, love, and marriage were perceived differently in the Jacobean era. I focused on the characters of Beatrice and Benedick and contrasted them with the characters of Claudio and Hero. Through the characterization of Beatrice, Shakespeare challenges traditional gender roles by presenting a woman who is witty, independent, and unafraid to challenge the men in her life. Beatrice's verbal sparring with Benedick is a prime example of this, as she belittles his self-importance and challenges his masculinity. In contrast, Hero is portrayed as the embodiment of femininity. Shakespeare implies this through the use of language such as "fair Hero" and "Is she not a modest young lady?".

To contrast modern and Jacobean perspectives, I uphold traditional gender roles and suggest that "For a woman to gain honour in our time, she must exhibit purity, faithfulness, and obedience". My Jacobean perspective also emphasises the importance of women "attending to the needs of the household" while men "must sally forth into the great unknown and provide for their kin". This is why I focused on defending Hero and Claudio’s relationship while disparaging Benedick and Beatrice's. As Hero’s and Claudio’s relationship was far more traditional than Beatrice’s and Benedick’s. And due to the discussion/argument structure of my response, the contrasting views are primarily communicated to the audience through the usage of emotions such as anger and direct language such as "Thou shalt only hope!" while also attempting to appeal to