Much Ado About Nothing Research Paper free essay sample

1In one of his most famous plays, Much Ado About Nothing, Shakespeare conveys his idea that a person must be wary of others attempting to manipulate his life through the use of duplicity. Although this trickery is sometimes used to assist a person to realize something that he normally would not, it is also used to try to ruin a person’s life. Shakespeare’s clever development of his theme begins with the title. â€Å"Much Ado About Nothing† seems to express the idea that the characters in the play exaggerated the seriousness of their situation. However, it must be remembered that this play was written in the late sixteenth century. The word â€Å"nothing† was pronounced the same way as â€Å"noting. † â€Å"Noting† meant to take notice of something; to hear, observe, eavesdrop† (Squires). In the play, eavesdropping led to incorrect ideas and avoidable problems. Had people decided to confirm their hypotheses with evidence more valid than hearing a fragment of a conversation, they would have realized that they were truly creating avertable problems about nothing. Shakespeare used this cunning pun to establish that, by ensuring the legitimacy of something before believing it, a person can prevent much dilemma. The play explores the relationships of two pairs of lovers. The first, Benedick and Beatrice, begin the play in a sort of â€Å"merry war. † It becomes evident in Act I that they had known each other before he went away for battle. Beatrice flaunts her wittiness before Benedick enters the stage. She asks the messenger a peculiar question. â€Å"How many hath he killed and eaten in these wars? But how many hath he killed? For indeed, I promised to eat all of his killing† (Shakespeare, I,i,10). Of course, Beatrice did not plan to engage in cannibalism. According to (Harlan), â€Å"the suggestion here s that Beatrice is in no danger of having to commit cannibalism because she is sure Benedick is incapable of performing as a soldier, that he is a coward. † She was merely implying that she knew that Benedick could not kill another soldier. When the messenger defended him, Beatrice continued to mock him, intentionally interpreting his responses incorrectly to insult hi m. Before Benedick enters the stage, she insults his courage, his integrity, his intelligence, and his gentlemanliness (Harlan). Beatrice’s witty retorts contribute to her bold and clever characterization. Benedick matches Beatrice’s wit when he enters the scene. Their exchanges at the beginning of the play add a playful atmosphere to the act. While they are both young and unattached to a romantic partner, it becomes clear that neither desires a marital bind. Benedick expresses that he loves women; he loves his mother for birthing him and for raising him. However, he will never marry, for he will never romantically love a woman. Similarly, Beatrice states that â€Å"I had rather hear my dog bark at a crow than a man swear he loves me† (Shakespeare I,i,125). Based on their incontestably similar characterizations and their lighthearted banter, the reader can predict that a relationship will bloom between the two throughout the play. Some scholars believe that Beatrice and Benedick inwardly loved each other at the beginning of the play (Cummings), while others feel that they did not realize their love for one another until they thought that the love was requited (Harlan). Hero and Claudio are a young couple. Shakespeare references Claudio’s age multiple times throughout. Upon their return from battle, the messenger praises him: â€Å"He hath borne himself beyond the promise of his age, doing, in the figure of a lamb, the feats of a lion† (Shakespeare I,ii,13). Although Claudio is just a young man, his courage surpasses his age. However, being young and gullible, he allows his naivete to destroy his relationship later in the play. Hero, being a female in a time that women had few rights, was very compliant. She did not seem to carry the same bold atmosphere that her cousin, Beatrice, did. Instead, she mostly does what she is told to do and does not question anyone’s motives. Even when she was accused of infidelity during her wedding, Hero did not defend herself enough to make the spectators question whether Claudio could be wrong in his accusations. She also did not question the friar’s plan to fake her own death. At the end of the play, Hero willingly accepts Claudio’s second marriage proposal without requesting a further apology. Her characterization reflects the expectation of women during the time period (Harlan). She is juxtaposed to Beatrice, who is bold and rather impudent. The men in the play are ostensibly quite concerned with infidelity. When Don Pedro asked if Hero was Leonato’s daughter, he replied, â€Å"Her mother hath many times told me so. † Being the malapert character that he is, Benedick remarked, â€Å"Were you in doubt, sir, that you asked her? † Leonato quickly retorted, â€Å"Signior Benedick, no, for then you were a child. † (Shakespeare II,i,100-105). While this exchange was lighthearted in manner, it undoubtedly revealed their consciousness of unfaithfulness (Harlan). Although they might not have thought it of their own wives, they were certainly aware that women were capable of infidelity. In this play, Shakespeare often references folklore about cuckoldry, or a wife’s unfaithfulness to her husband. According to this myth, when a wife practiced adultery against her husband, the man would grow a pair of horns that were visible to everyone except for himself. Therefore, the townspeople would laugh at him, but he would not be aware of his wife’s sin (Harlan). Naturally, men were very afraid of being publicly humiliated in this way. This insecurity ultimately contributed to Claudio’s eruption at his wedding. Because the men were already wary of possible infidelity, it would not take much to convince them that their wives were unfaithful. Don John realized the opportunity to create trouble. He was characterized as a rather melancholic character, claiming that â€Å"I cannot hide what I am. I must be sad when I have cause, and smile at no man’s jests† (Shakespeare I,iii,13). The fact that Don John is the evil character in this play is not surprising, as the illegitimate son or daughter acting as the antagonist is banal in Shakespeare’s plays. He is known to be evil and is being watched to ensure hat he does not attempt to cause trouble in the kingdom. However, he manages to create a considerable mess. Don John has a talent of manipulating events in his favor. He ensured that Claudio would pass by Hero’s window when Borachio pretended to be having an affair with Hero. He knew that Claudio’s gullibility would cause him to accept that Hero was unfaithful wit hout considering any alternatives. The situation would have been avoided if Claudio had not been so rash in his accusations. After Claudio’s outburst at the wedding, the friar convinced Hero to fake her own death until she could prove herself innocent. This deception was followed by additional dishonesty after Don John’s plot was uncovered, when Leonato punished Claudio. Allowing him to continue to believe that Hero was dead, Leanato had Claudio write an epitaph to put on Hero’s gravesite. He was then to marry her cousin. It was not until the wedding ceremony that Claudio discovered that hero was still alive. Apparently unfazed by the fact that she had not died, he was overjoyed to marry her. During this rather serious occurrence, romantic feelings between Benedick and Beatrice begin to unfold. Because the characters cannot seem to avoid activity for the week before the wedding, they decide that they must help Benedick and Beatrice realize their affection for one another. The men, while they know Benedick is listening, fabricate a story about Beatrice’s concealed love for Benedick. The women do the same to Beatrice. Hearing this, they both decide that they can happily love the other. Both Beatrice and Benedick experience transformations: they seem to lose their wittiness. This symbolized their realizing their affection for each other (Harlan). It is noticeably replaced by confusion and affection. Both seem worried about their friends making quips about their marriage after they swore against it, but they still admit their love to one another. Beatrice decides that there is one way that Benedick can prove his love: by killing Claudio to honor her cousin. Benedick primarily refuses, but then agrees to challenge Claudio to a duel. This symbolizes his complete love for Beatrice (Harlan). By challenging Claudio to a duel, he is proving that he would kill his best friend for Beatrice’s hand in marriage. Benedick is established as a coward in Act I by Beatrice. Although this may have been part of her display against him, it is certainly true that he could not kill anyone in battle. However, Claudio showed the courage of a lion. Benedick knew that Claudio would be difficult to defeat, but he was willing to risk losing the battle for Beatrice. By the last act, it was unveiled that there was a scheme to have Benedick and Beatrice fall in love. Primarily, they pretended that they never actually loved each other. However, Claudio and Hero found notes that the two had written, confessing their affection. Therefore, the plan had worked and Benedick and Beatrice married. Throughout the play, the characters used deception to augment each other’s lives. Benedick and Beatrice would not have realized their true feelings for one another had they not been tricked into thinking that the other had requited feelings. Claudio would not have felt as sorry for his accusations if he did not think that Hero died. However, trickery also almost ruined a relationship. Therefore, people should be conscious of deception and should refrain from assuming things until they have adequate proof. ?