What Does Beatrice’s Language Show About Her Attitudes Towards Different Men in the Two Different Scenes You Have Studied?
What does Beatrice’s language show about her attitudes towards different men in the two different scenes you have studied? 10th February 2012
Introduction
Much ado nothing is a romantic Shakespeare play about two couples of lovers. The play is set in Messina, deep in the heart of Italy and is based in Elizabethan times. The lovers are namely; Claudio and Hero, Bennedick and Beatrice. Claudio is a noble Florentine count from Florence. Bennedick is a war hero from Padua. Both are honourable war heroes fighting for Don Pedro the prince of Aragon. Beatrice is the niece of Leonato the Governor of Messina. At the beginning of the play Don Pedro and his valiant fighters return from the wars to Messina. While at Messina Claudio immediately falls in love with Hero. However Beatrice and Bennedick trade insults and banter. Bennedick and Beatrice seem to have more experience in love as they take the more cautious approach. Claudio immediately falls in love with Hero and show no hesitations into throwing himself head first in a relationship. Bennedick seems to have held many relationships with different women,” Then is courtesy a turn coat. But it is certain I am loved of all ladies - only you excepted” he states rather regretfully. This shows that perhaps even though he is loved all ladies, the only one lacking is the only one he is interested in. The play is rather merry and light-headed to start with, people meeting and trying to impress each other with clever speech and poetic sentences. However there are no indications of darker moments destined to happen later in the play.
STEP 2
Beatrice is not the typical Elizabethan woman, she is not afraid to make use of her wits at insulting and sharing sexual innuendo with other men. “Signor Mountanto” is the insulting name which she devised for Bennedick at the start of the play, this name has two meanings. Firstly Mountanto is a move in fencing, it is the upward thrust of the sward which suggests she thinks he is stuck up and to
Introduction
Much ado nothing is a romantic Shakespeare play about two couples of lovers. The play is set in Messina, deep in the heart of Italy and is based in Elizabethan times. The lovers are namely; Claudio and Hero, Bennedick and Beatrice. Claudio is a noble Florentine count from Florence. Bennedick is a war hero from Padua. Both are honourable war heroes fighting for Don Pedro the prince of Aragon. Beatrice is the niece of Leonato the Governor of Messina. At the beginning of the play Don Pedro and his valiant fighters return from the wars to Messina. While at Messina Claudio immediately falls in love with Hero. However Beatrice and Bennedick trade insults and banter. Bennedick and Beatrice seem to have more experience in love as they take the more cautious approach. Claudio immediately falls in love with Hero and show no hesitations into throwing himself head first in a relationship. Bennedick seems to have held many relationships with different women,” Then is courtesy a turn coat. But it is certain I am loved of all ladies - only you excepted” he states rather regretfully. This shows that perhaps even though he is loved all ladies, the only one lacking is the only one he is interested in. The play is rather merry and light-headed to start with, people meeting and trying to impress each other with clever speech and poetic sentences. However there are no indications of darker moments destined to happen later in the play.
STEP 2
Beatrice is not the typical Elizabethan woman, she is not afraid to make use of her wits at insulting and sharing sexual innuendo with other men. “Signor Mountanto” is the insulting name which she devised for Bennedick at the start of the play, this name has two meanings. Firstly Mountanto is a move in fencing, it is the upward thrust of the sward which suggests she thinks he is stuck up and to