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Much Ado About Nothing Sacrifice Essay

1013 Words5 Pages

Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, is a play that illustrates the importance of respect and love through sacrifice. A character that sacrificed a great deal throughout the play is Hero. As the play progresses, Hero’s reputation is transformed and becomes flawed from false accusations that extinguish her pure and noble nature, sacrificing her righteousness. Hero values respect and love which explains how her angelic and upstanding character is sacrificed to illustrate the accustomed lifestyle that people observe and obey in regards to the social status of women throughout Shakespeare’s work as a whole. Though Hero does not say much throughout the play, her external and physical appearance clearly represents her pure heart, and sacred morals. …show more content…

This limits women to find the confidence to stand up for their beliefs. As Claudio falsely degrades Hero’s character, Hero accepts these accusations voluntarily and remains silent about the issue. Claudio stands up in public and proceeds to call Hero slanderous names such as, “thou pure impiety and impious purity” (IV.i.109). Hero again does not object, though she falls due to complete shock. Once her father hears these accusations, he commands to “let her die” as a result of the crimes she committed (IV.i.163). These incidents in the play illustrate Hero’s sacrifice of her angelic and pure character. Hero does little to convince others of her innocence. Moreover, clinging to the traditional views of women, men are unlikely to listen to what women have to say. Shakespeare portrays women 's ranking in relation to men by illustrating Hero’s great sacrifice, and how her closest mentors refuse to help support her. Hero has little power to fall back on in this situation, explaining the classic image that Shakespeare created for her to resemble. Through these scenes in Much Ado About Nothing, Shakespeare effectively conveys the power women had throughout this time period by addressing Hero sacrificing her virtue. He communicates the idea of women standing up for their beliefs, shifting away from the formal rules that society

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