Beatrice and Hero in Much Ado About Nothing Essay

All throughout the beginning of the play, both Beatrice and Benedick use sarcasm and hide their true feelings for each other, which is the first example of tricky in their relationship. Both of them have vowed never to marry anyone; Benedick stating: "Because I will not do them the wrong to mistrust any, I will do myself the right to trust none; and the fine is, for the which I may go the finer, I will live a bachelor." (1.1.232–35), while Beatrice says, "No, uncle, I'll none. Adam's sons are my brethren, and truly I hold it a sin to match in my kindred." (2.1.59–60.) Their friends see that they are the perfect match for one another, and plan to trick them into confessing their love for each other. When Benedick is in the orchard, he overhears Don Pedro, Claudio, and Leonato talking about how Beatrice is in love with him but is afraid he will mock her if she tells him. Benedick believes them, saying, "This can be no trick." (2.3.217.) He then goes on to say, "I will be horribly in love with her." (2.3.230–31.) Later, Beatrice hears Hero and Ursula talking about how they can't tell her that Benedick loves her because she is a scornful person. After Hero and Ursula leave, Beatrice states:

In Shakespeare’s play, Much Ado About Nothing, written in the early 15th century, the relationships between Benedick and Beatrice and Hero and Claudio are the key to the play and create a lot of tension and comedy. The two relationships are interesting in different ways, and this essay will explore this in terms of the language used, the plot, characterisation and how the two relationships stand thematically.

Claudio and Hero are the idealised Elizabethan couple in the book because of the patriarchal society that the story is based on. This is because Hero is shown as a weak and powerless young woman while Claudio is described as a powerful and honourable man. In the wedding Claudio decides to shame her and says ‘There, Leonato, take her back again Give not this rotten orange to your friend’. Even when Hero is being insulted and accused of being a prostitute she does not defend herself and says ‘Is my lord well, that he doth speak so wide?’ Instead of defending herself she asks if Claudio is alright which displays a sign of weakness in her.

Beatrice is also very sociable with other people and seems to be a shrew just when talking about Benedick and other males. Not unlike Katharina, who was told she would marry Petruchio (2.I.260-268),  Beatrice does not consent to marry Benedick directly.  Beatrice has to be entrapped with the love sonnets that Hero stole from her pocket (5.IV.88-90).  Even at the conclusion of the play, it seems as though Beatrice will not change her attitudes, just her status as an unmarried woman.

(pg 44-45 lll.1110-112) She believes that Benedick truly loves her, and is willing to marry her. “Hero’s account of Beatrice is when Beatrice is

'No; and he were, I would burn my study' she indicates that she has a

   Unlike the title of this piece suggests, Hero did not undergo her transformation in Much Ado About Nothing through magic.  Rather, Hero was a victim of the double standards and illogical fears that the men of Shakespeare’s plays commonly held.  The following quote sums it up quite well:

Differences between Beatrice and Hero in the early scenes of Shakespeare’s play ‘Much Ado about Nothing’

Don Pedro and his men return from the war and visit the house of Leonato and his brother, Antonio. This sudden meeting reunites Beatrice with her archrival, Benedick, and it is here that Claudio and Hero fall in love.

In almost all stories or plays, there are characters that are depicted as the opposite of another character. It makes you discover the attribute of another. Many of them go unnoticed, but there are many examples, such as Harry and Draco in Harry Potter. They not only serve an added plotline to the story, but can make the story even that much better. These opposite characters in some contexts can be classified as the antagonist to a protagonist, but that is not the case in all stories. In most they are called character foils. In the play, “Much ado about nothing,” by William Shakespeare, brothers Don John and Don Pedro are foils of each other because of their views on love, their morals, and their social statuses. The play takes places during the late 1500’s or early 1600’s in Messina, Italy. The play not only highlights the idea of how complicated love can be, but also expresses the idea that one person can change everyone's plans.

In this Shakespearean comedy ‘Much Ado about Nothing’ two similarly obstinate characters of Beatrice and Benedick are presented between the rather normal relationship of characters Hero and Claudio. Shakespeare presents Beatrice and Benedick’s obstinacy towards the rather obligatory act of marriage and also their particularly similar personalities that cause reason for their familiar act of squabbling; he does this whilst also presenting two characters that are completely interested in marriage and who are hardly intellectually capable of squabbling in a similar manner. As the play unfolds both characters remain combative with one another but as love becomes the better of them, they begin to reveal that somewhat secretive sensitivity

Beatrice and Benedick as a Couple in William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing 'Much Ado About Nothing' is a Shakespeare play set in Mecina. It is a comedy, about Don Pedro and his friends. The play focuses on the relationships of the characters, especially that of Beatrice/Benedick and Claudio/Hero. The two romances follow two different ideas, one an average romance in Shakespeare's day, the other a not so average romance. Beatrice and Benedick's history together is made clear from the start, when Beatrice tells the messenger bringing news of Benedick's return, that he 'is no less than a stuffed man', implying that he is very full of himself.

In “Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare”, Beatrice and Hero are the converse of one another more ways than one, for Beatrice is using her wits to torture someone she desperately likes (Bendick) on the other hand with Hero you get to see a gentle character who doesn't have a backbone, but both want what best for each other no matter what. This supports my thesis because This proves how Beatrice and Hero are somewhat similar because both are describes as ladies who have good hearts and intentions because they do try to help each other find true love and I think there is quite a sister bond. Overall this shows that Hero and Beatrice are both well meaning and thoughtful even if one of them doesn't want to show it.

One of the most intriguing characters from Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing must be Beatrice. An intelligent, well-spoken (and, perhaps more interesting, outspoken) young woman, she is an almost exact opposite of her cousin, Hero. What makes Beatrice so different than what one expects of a woman during Shakespeare’s time? Why did Shakespeare decide to make her such a strong female character? It begs the question of what women were actually like in the Tudor era, and if she was really so radical a character.

with the power of the audience in the play as well as the story seems