The relationship between Benedick and Beatrice can be interpreted as genuine regardless of the comedic nature of the play by the portrayal of them both being mirror images of each other when Benedick describes himself as having ‘cold blood’ and Beatrice refers to herself as having a ‘hard heart.’ The parallel structure demonstrated in this scene adds to the element of the genuine underlying feelings they have through the use of dramatic irony as the audience can identify connections and similarities between the two that they seem unaware of, this can be seen as a comedic element but their feelings are still rendered as genuine due to their matching personalities which suggests that they would be a jubilant match. As well as this, the continuous references to their objection of marriage, such as Benedick claiming that if he were to be married they may ‘pluck off a bulls horns and set them in his forehead’ and Beatrice saying she ‘could not endure a husband,’ can be seen by the audience as Beatrice and Benedick covering up the feelings for each other which lay beneath their ‘merry war’ of conflict. However it can be argued that the relationship between Beatrice and Benedick is superficial due to its comedic element of gender reversal in Beatrice as women at the time did not have this attitude and mainly remained seen and not heard, any sort of banter from a woman was unexpected and misunderstood as shown by the Messenger taking Beatrice’s sarcasm literally when she refers to Benedick as ‘Signor Mountanto.’
In contrast, the relationship between Claudio and Hero can be seen as superficial because of the excessive language portrayed when Claudio describes Hero as the ‘sweetest lady,’ the use of the superlative makes what Claudio is saying seem over the top and cliché considering he has only seen Hero and not even exchanged words with her. This illustrated Claudio and Hero’s relationship as superficial because, unlike Beatrice and Benedick, it is not built on the solid ground of actually connecting with each other but only on a visual basis. This is supported when Claudio refers to Hero as ‘soft,’ ‘delicate
You May Also Find These Documents Helpful
-
“You can tell an artist is excellent when he denies his own perfection.” (Shakespeare 78 -79) Based on the characters Beatrice and Benedick the conflict between the two is that they have trouble expressing their love for each other, throughout the book the foil insult each other until they realize they love one another. In Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare, Benedick serves as the foil character of Beatrice by which Beatrice’s reasonable taste are illuminated through Benedick’s bearing thoughts; thus, compound the twist and conflict to the plot.…
- 606 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Benedick and Beatrice have close connections in the play, Benedick is portrayed to be a staunch bachelor, whereas Beatrice a combative character, also ironically, due to this being set in the Renaissance era, outspoken. Benedick is seen as very misogynistic.…
- 510 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Benedick’s attitude towards love is that he does not love anyone and that it is a stupid idea to fall in love with someone. Then he further explains himself in, “Then is courtesy a turncoat. But it is certain I am loved of all ladies, only you excepted; and I would I could find in my heart that I had not a hard heart, for truly I love none” (Act 1, scene 1, lines 122-125, page 13). In this quote Benedick says that the woman’s courtesy is a traitor and that all ladies love him, except for Beatrice. He also states that it is to bad that he is so hard-hearted, because he really doesn’t love anyone. Beatrice’s attitude towards love is that she does not want to be married to a man that swears to love her, because she finds that very stupid. She then further explains herself by stating in, “A dear happiness to women. They would else have been troubled with a pernicious suitor. I thank god and my cold blood I am of your humor for that. I had rather hear my dog bark at a crow than a man swear he loves me” (Act 1, scene 1, lines 126-130, page 15). In this quote Beatrice is saying that Benedick would make a nasty suitor for women and that they both feel the same way about love. She also states that she would rather hear her dog bark at a crow than hear a man say that he loves her. And I find their courtship more appealing than Claudio and Hero’s, because it is more exciting and you can’t predict what they are going to say…
- 820 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
As the dancing commences, we learn a great deal about their personalities. Beatrice, who recognizes her own rebelliousness and bluntness and their effects on others, especially men, has been hurt by Benedick sometime in the past; Benedick is vulnerable to Beatrice's insults (by the end of the scene, Benedick is at his most infuriated with Beatrice's insults, referring to her as a Harpy and as Lady Tongue; he asks Don Pedro to send him on any errand, no matter how ridiculous, just to get him away from Beatrice). This shows the clear divide in attitutdes however , if analysed deeper it seems as if there are evident similarities between Benedick and Beatrice. They’re both exposed to each other’s abuses and somehow feel threatened by…
- 833 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
Beatrice's cunning and haughty barb to a masked Benedick shows her averseness to Benedick. In addition to this, she further insults Benedick by the words 'dull' and 'fool.' it impies that Benedick is gray, boring and imbecilic, contrary to what Benedick thinks about himself. The choice of words add further insult to Benedick as they are strong words, not used in their ordinary fights, showing Benedick the true hatred of him by Beatrice for a variety of reasons. The satirical paraphrase 'only his gift is devising impossible slanders' is particularly wounding to Benedick as it alludes to the fact that he is useless, and is not good at anything, from love to war, it's clearly sacritical as it amuses other people, while still affecting Benedick and her…
- 1600 Words
- 7 Pages
Good Essays -
create much humor, as it shows that both Benedick and Beatrice are not as smart as they…
- 710 Words
- 1 Page
Good Essays -
Now the contrast of Beatrice and Hero becomes rather intriguing. Taking Hero to be a reserved, silent, amiable woman -- the ideal woman, according to male writers of the time -- it may pique the reader’s interest to observe her as the women who is disgraced and slandered. On the other hand, Beatrice, a direct and facetious woman, is not put to shame and manages to find a content relationship with her new husband Benedick. Could it be possible that Shakespeare was conveying a message through his play to comment upon the issue of gender roles in society? Perhaps it was displayed as an artful interpretation to cause males to re-evaluate their opinions of women, and to incite social…
- 1614 Words
- 7 Pages
Powerful Essays -
Benedick is almost a match for Beatrice as a memorable Shakespearean character. His apparent misogyny and unwillingness to make a commitment to a woman are almost stereotypes early in the play. His use of language, especially in his "merry war" with Beatrice, prevents him from being the clichéd male who refuses to commit to a relationship.…
- 366 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
Firstly, Beatrice is one of the main female characters in this play. She is niece of Leonato and is unfortunately an orphan, reason of which she has immense freedom. Having so much freedom explains why she is so different from the other women of that time. She did not have the same respect for men since she did not grow up with a father figure like Hero for instance. Being Leonato's niece, makes her Hero's cousin, which explains their close friendship. She is extremely protective of her cousin Hero, and puts her before anyone. Beatrice does not like the idea of marriage and falling in love to her is nothing important what so ever. Being as witty as she is, Beatrice often bickers with men, especially Benedick. Beatrice and Benedick always have arguments in which their goal is to outwit each other. Beatrice seems to be a very strong woman and is fully capable of dealing with many situations thrown at her. Her vulnerability however, comes out eventually. Don Pedro, among others, know that Beatrice puts up a front, that she is not truly as arrogant as she sometime acts. Her bickering with Benedick is sign of love, and everyone is well aware of this. Since it is so obvious, Don Pedro eventually suggests to trick Beatrice…
- 1916 Words
- 8 Pages
Better Essays -
In this play, the reader can compare the two different couples and quickly realizes that Beatrice and Benedick take their time, don’t rush, and compared to Hero and Claudio it wasn’t love at first sight. Right from the beginning of the play, during their first conversation they try to use a type of language that hides the real feelings they have behind for eachtoher. " What my Lady Disdain! Are you yet living? " This quote is said by Benedick to Beatrice, when he comes back to Messina. They try to be very unpleasant to each other and act like they don't care, as they don't want to admit it to the other but to themselves as well. It’s not until the end of the play that Benedick and Beatrice share their feelings and tell each other that they are in love, which shows how they took their time, and really waited for the right moment to let everything go. " Do not you love me? " " Why no, no more than a reason." This quote shows that they still hide their real feelings from each other until the last minute,when they finally feel like it's time to deliver their feelings. Those words said by Benedick show the delivery of all this secret " A miracle! Here's our own hands against our hearts. Come, I will…
- 1031 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Well, this was signior Benedick that said so.”. (2.1.27-29) This quote is Beatrice acting as she does not know it is Benedick who is under that mask. It is debatable whether Beatrice knows that Benedick is the stranger behind the mask but if she does happen to know this then she is deceiving him to make a fool out of him. Of all of deception and trickery that runs through “Much Ado About Nothing” one of the most prominent is the love affair between Beatrice and Benedick. It starts of as “a merry war” that goes on with both Benedick and Beatrice denying the fact that they have romantic feelings towards each other. The signior Benedick and Beatrice first hide their love/feelings with each other. They have a love hate relationship in the beginning as Beatrice says, “What should I do with him? Dress him in my apparel and make him my waiting gentlewoman?” (2.1.34-35). Her meaning of this is that she has no interest in him only using him as a follower. This all changes with the help of being deceived by Hero, Ursula, Don Pedro, Claudio and Leonato lying telling Benedick and Beatrice are strongly in love with each other. With them thinking that the other is in love with them they start to show their true feelings towards each other on their…
- 825 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
The relationship between Beatrice and Benedick exposes the truth in a manner that removes the significance of the lies. Whereas Claudio and Hero’s connection still relies on the treacheries as a crucial property to flourish. These juxtaposing relationships illustrate how varied human relations can be when fabrications are at the center. As the play matures the relationships developed at different degrees into opposing situations: one growing stronger while the other was weakened due to the deceptions. In these final lines, Shakespeare is exposing how circumstances can contrast even amongst comparable conditions. While lying ultimately unites one, it almost destroys the other couple. Trickery is depicted as neither wrong nor right through the scope of these…
- 1092 Words
- 5 Pages
Good Essays -
In Much Ado About Nothing, Shakespeare presents an interesting relationship between the characters of Beatrice and Benedick. We can compare their relationships with the poems ‘Sonnet 130’, ‘Sonnet 43’ and ‘Salome’ and the relationships presented in them. Although Shakespeare includes a conventional relationship between Hero and Claudio, he also decides to involve a different affair between Beatrice and Benedick.…
- 823 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
Beatrice and Benedick, two main characters in the play who are confused about each other, always in denial. They both don’t believe in love, they think it is foolish and a waste of time. Right as they first made eye contact, they already start bumping heads. For example, Beatrice says, “A dear happiness to woman. They would...I had rather hear my dog bark at a crow than a man swear he loves me.” (1.1.126-130). Beatrice is stating that she doesn’t want no man loving her, she doesn’t believe a man can truly love her. That she rather…
- 776 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
As can be seen, Benedick and Beatrice are the contrariety of each other, for Benedick is irrational in his decision making, while Beatrice is reasonable in hers, which furthers the love stories within the plot. For example, whenever Benedick overhears Claudio, Leonato, and Don Pedro talking about how much Beatrice loves him he immediately believes them. After Beatrice comes to ask him to come to dinner, he says to himself that what she said held a “double meaning” (Shakespeare 95) and that he…
- 491 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays