Premium Essay

The Importance Of Hero In Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing

Submitted By
Words 314
Pages 2
Claudio’s denouncing of Hero at their marriage ceremony was brutally harsh, it was astonishing to witness how quick the apple of someone’s eye can transform into a “rotten orange” in their sight. This drastic shift revealed that the innocence and chastity of a woman, mattered more to Claudio than his love for hero or even she, herself. Despite him falling so deeply in love with her that he deserted his pledge against relationships, he quickly recanted this change of notion due to the discovery that she was not virtuous. Although he prioritized his lover over the war and his life as a soldier, he prioritized her chastity among everything else that had occured between them both. He had even nearly betrayed the prince, after suspecting Don Pedro

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Gender Collisions in Much Ado About Nothing

...Gender Collisions in Much Ado about Nothing Some of Shakespeare’s plays are related to the love between male and female, such as, Romeo and Juliet, Twelfth Night, Much Ado about Nothing and etc. Shakespeare’s focuses in these plays varied from different periods in his life. I’m going to analyze the gender collisions in the following couples in Much Ado about Nothing: Hero and her father Signor Leonato, Hero and Claudio, Benedick and Beatrice. I. Hero and her father Signor Leonato Hero and Leonato’s relationship is the typical father-daughter relationship in the feudal patriarchy. Signor Leonato, the father, is an arbitrary male chauvinist, loves his daughter superficially but never truly care about Hero. Hero, like most women in that time, follows everything what her father says. Obedience is rooted in her life. Marriage and obedience are the only two things she could use to please her father. As a “useless” girl in feudal society, Hero accepts her fate. All these factors result in the chaos in wedding. When Claudio doubted Hero’S chastity and dishonored Hero, Leonato’S first response is feeling humiliated for himself, worrying about his reputation and wanting to kill his daughter to save his fame. Hero just cried and even cried to faint. The only thing she could do is sitting, crying and saying “no”. She never thought stand up, and tell her father Claudio bravely “No! You are wrong! I am innocent!” The arbitrary and arrogant father and the coward daughter are still exist...

Words: 585 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

Essay

...The Shakespearean comedy, Much Ado about Nothing encompasses themes such as the importance of honour, the ideal of social grace, nevertheless uses a plot which primarily revolves around the theme of deception re occurring in various forms. On one hand deception is used throughout Much Ado About Nothing in a malicious manner, however on the on the hand it can be portrayed in a benevolent and beneficial manner such as the fooling of Beatrice and Benedick and deceiving them into proclaiming their love for each other. The use of both forms of deception often makes it difficult to distinguish between the two, such as when Claudio announces his desire to woo Hero, however Don Pedro takes it upon himself to woo her for Claudio. However Shakespeare’s use of deception is neither completely a means of malice nor a mean of showing traits of kindness between characters, the use of deception aids the development of the plot and creates a path for other elements necessary in the play such as its comical elements. The plot of Much Ado About Nothing centrals around misunderstanding, as during the Elizabethan era “Nothing” was pronounced “Noting”, meaning to observe, to take notice of or to write something down – take note of something, as the reader learns the play revolves around observation and surveying, however often these ‘notings’ are not continuously accurate, they are often misinterpreted or misunderstood and also misreported. The title highlights the idea of how lack of careful noting...

Words: 1616 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

C.L. Barber Argued That Comedy Is All About Pleasure and Merrymaking. How Do You React to This Idea in Your Study of Much Ado About Nothing?

...comedy is all about pleasure and merrymaking. How do you react to this idea in your study of Much Ado About Nothing? Much Ado About Nothing is heavily influenced by the inclusion of C.L. Barber’s viewpoint on comedy, that pleasure and merrymaking should be a focal point in festive comedy. Shakespeare utilizes witty mockery, satirical conversations and the Saturnalian reversal of roles to emphasize festivity and merrymaking as a main theme in his comedy as this ensures the audience can make fun and laugh at the situations displayed. But, as the audience we cannot forget that Shakespeare used this idea of pleasurable entertainment to disguise the underlying Machevellian plots of Don John and Borachio to disrupt the fairy tale type of tenor the characters could have led. Therefore, further into Much Ado About Nothing, discussions about whether Shakespeares play conforms to C.L. Barber’s argument or to what extent is C.L. Barber’s perspective disputed are risen. Initially, from reading the script of Much Ado About Nothing, the reader can respond to C.L. Barber’s argument with firm disagreement as many other genres are used to heighten the effect of comedy in the play, although C.L. Barber’s argument was specifically aimed at comedies, whilst Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing is classed as a dramatic comedy, where tragedy is also hung in the balance in the climactic parts of the play. The purpose of Shakespeare’s plays in general and especially Much Ado About Nothing, is to expose...

Words: 2589 - Pages: 11

Premium Essay

To What Extent Do Female Characters Go Against Contextual Expectations of Women in William Shakespeare’s ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ and Tennessee Williams's ‘a Streetcar Named Desire’?

...Shakespeare lived through the time of change - England was a proud nation and full of power. This reflects through the male, dominating characters and the way women are submissive such as Hero and Claudio. Beatrice and Benedick, however, contrasts the typical relationship of that time as Beatrice doesn’t necessarily conform to the way a woman should behave, signifying a time of change. In both of these plays, we can see that men dominate and females are usually submissive to them. However, there are exceptions which are clearly shown through Beatrice in ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ who has little regard for what is considered proper and is very outspoken and witty and rarely conforms to what is expected of her. This is also shown in ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ through Blanche, who holds herself very high and thinks of herself above men. Both Blanche and Beatrice insult the men around them. It suggests that this is considered normal of both of these different times and as a result, men appear to hold higher power and importance over women, leaving them as conforming to what the men want. In Act 1, Scene 1 in ‘Much Ado About Nothing’, Beatrice interrupts her Uncle, Leonato, and Messenger in the middle of their conversation which immediately juxtaposes her cousin, Hero. In this scene and throughout the play, Hero hardly contributes and is only seen talking when spoken to. This interruption reflects...

Words: 1346 - Pages: 6

Free Essay

The Different Flavors of Love by Shakespeare

...strong connection between a couple represent the love involved in a relationship. However, in the plays Much Ado About Nothing and Antony and Cleopatra, Shakespeare shows that either man uses love to achieve his own goals (like Claudio who wants to marry Hero as she is the perfect Elizabethan woman) or love is influenced in man by other people (like Beatrice and Benedick) or the intensity of love even brings about the death of lovers (as in Antony and Cleopatra). In addition, some characters explain their actions by professing or implying that they did them out of love (or heart-break due to lost love) when that is not actually the case. A key scene in Much Ado About Nothing occurs when Claudio publicly declares Hero to be sexually promiscuous just because he apparently saw her speaking to a man outside her bedroom window; Claudio’s tries to redeem his honor in the eyes of the public while giving people the impression that he is a betrayed and heart-broken lover who is shaming Hero. Similarly, in the Battle of Actium which takes place in Antony and Cleopatra, we see Caesar making a grave mistake of following Cleopatra when she sails away mid-battle. “Egypt, thou knew’st too well My heart was to thy rudder tied by th’ strings, And thou shouldst tow me after.” (3.12.60 – 62) Antony states that his heart is tied to her and will follow her anywhere, implying that he is very much in love with her that he would do anything to keep her by his side. But in reality, it seems as though...

Words: 3779 - Pages: 16

Premium Essay

Fear In Romeo And Juliet

...Too swift arrives as tardy as too slow" (2.6.9-15). While the Friar does not think good things will come from the marriage, as proven when he says he hopes the heavens are happy with Romeo and Juliet’s marriage so nothing unfortunate happens to make them regret their decision (2.6.1-2). Once again, Romeo ignores intuition and instead goes with what he is feeling and tells Friar Lawrence no matter what misfortunes come from his marriage, nothing can take away the joy Juliet brings him and “love-devouring death” can do whatever it pleases so long as Romeo can call Juliet his wife (2.6.3-8). At this point, Romeo is letting his passion overcome reason so much that Jesus Christ himself could come down from Heaven telling him if he married Juliet, the world would end and Romeo would ignore him and continue with the...

Words: 1452 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Romeo and Juliet

...A TEACHER’S GUIDE TO THE SIGNET CLASSIC EDITION OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE’S ROMEO AND JULIET By ARTHEA J.S. REED, PH.D. S E R I E S W. GEIGER ELLIS, ED.D., E D I T O R S : UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA, EMERITUS and ARTHEA J. S. REED, PH.D., UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA, RETIRED A Teacher’s Guide to the Signet Classic Edition of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet 2 INTRODUCTION William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is an excellent introduction to Shakespearean drama; teenagers can relate to its plot, characters, and themes. The play’s action is easily understood, the character’s motives are clear, and many of the themes are as current today as they were in Shakespeare’s time. Therefore, it can be read on a variety of levels, allowing all students to enjoy it. Less able readers can experience the swash-buckling action and investigate the themes of parent-child conflict, sexuality, friendship, and suicide. Because of the play’s accessibility to teenagers, able readers can view the play from a more literary perspective, examining the themes of hostility ad its effect on the innocent, the use of deception and its consequences, and the effects of faulty decision making. They can study how the characters function within the drama and how Shakespeare uses language to develop plot, characters, and themes. The most able students can develop skills involved in literary criticism by delving into the play’s comic and tragic elements and its classically...

Words: 7462 - Pages: 30

Premium Essay

The Works of Shakespeare

...of human existence o Aristotle – the great philosopher ENTER SHAKESPEARE – THE LITERARY GIANT Spelling of Shakespeare: Spelling not yet standardized, thus name spelled in different ways • Shakespeare, Shakspere, Shackspere, Shaxper, Shagspere, Shaxberd, etc. Shakespeare: The most well known playwright of Elizabethan times is Shakespeare. But there were also other writers who in their time were just as, or even more famous than him. WHAT MAKES SHAKESPEARE STAND OUT? – The volume of his works Plays firmly attributed to Shakespeare ■ 14 COMEDIES – funny play – with amusing events – ended in marriage / or happily o Midsummer Night’s Dream, Merchant of Venice, Twelfth Night, As You Like It, Much Ado about Nothing… ■ 10 HISTORIES – Richard III, Richard II, Henry IV… ■ 10 TRAGEDIES – ends in death ← Hamlet, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, Othello, Julius Caesar… ■ 4 Romances – ( chivalry and love) Pericles,...

Words: 8454 - Pages: 34

Premium Essay

Macbeth

...A TEACHER’S GUIDE TO THE SIGNET CLASSIC EDITION OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE’S MACBETH LINDA NEAL UNDERWOOD S E R I E S E D I T O R S : W. GEIGER ELLIS, ED.D., ARTHEA J. S. REED, PH.D., UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA, EMERITUS and UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA, RETIRED A Teacher’s Guide to the Signet Classic Edition of William Shakespeare’s Macbeth 2 INTRODUCTION William Shakespeare developed many stories into excellent dramatizations for the Elizabethan stage. Shakespeare knew how to entertain and involve an audience with fast-paced plots, creative imagery, and multi-faceted characters. Macbeth is an action-packed, psychological thriller that has not lost its impact in nearly four hundred years. The politically ambitious character of Macbeth is as timely today as he was to Shakespeare's audience. Mary McCarthy says in her essay about Macbeth, "It is a troubling thought that Macbeth, of all Shakespeare's characters, should seem the most 'modern,' the only one you could transpose into contemporary battle dress or a sport shirt and slacks." (Signet Classic Macbeth) Audiences today quickly become interested in the plot of a blindly ambitious general with a strong-willed wife who must try to cope with the guilt engendered by their murder of an innocent king in order to further their power. The elements of superstition, ghosts, and witchcraft, though more readily a part of everyday life for the Renaissance audience, remain intriguing to modern teenagers. The action-packed...

Words: 8499 - Pages: 34

Premium Essay

Harold Bloom

...Bloom’s Classic Critical Views W i l l ia m Sha k e Sp e a r e Bloom's Classic Critical Views alfred, lord Tennyson Benjamin Franklin The Brontës Charles Dickens edgar allan poe Geoffrey Chaucer George eliot George Gordon, lord Byron henry David Thoreau herman melville Jane austen John Donne and the metaphysical poets John milton Jonathan Swift mark Twain mary Shelley Nathaniel hawthorne Oscar Wilde percy Shelley ralph Waldo emerson robert Browning Samuel Taylor Coleridge Stephen Crane Walt Whitman William Blake William Shakespeare William Wordsworth Bloom’s Classic Critical Views W i l l ia m Sha k e Sp e a r e Edited and with an Introduction by Sterling professor of the humanities Yale University harold Bloom Bloom’s Classic Critical Views: William Shakespeare Copyright © 2010 Infobase Publishing Introduction © 2010 by Harold Bloom All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher. For more information contact: Bloom’s Literary Criticism An imprint of Infobase Publishing 132 West 31st Street New York NY 10001 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data William Shakespeare / edited and with an introduction by Harold Bloom : Neil Heims, volume editor. p. cm. — (Bloom’s classic critical views) Includes bibliographical references...

Words: 239932 - Pages: 960

Free Essay

Essay

...Essays Essays Part II. 2, 2.] Part II. 2, 2.] Essays The Project Gutenberg EBook of Essays, by Ralph Waldo Emerson This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net Title: Essays Author: Ralph Waldo Emerson Editor: Edna H. L. Turpin Release Date: September 4, 2005 [EBook #16643] Language: English Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ESSAYS *** 1 Essays Produced by Curtis A. Weyant , Sankar Viswanathan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net ESSAYS BY RALPH WALDO EMERSON Merrill's English Texts SELECTED AND EDITED, WITH INTRODUCTION AND NOTES, BY EDNA H.L. TURPIN, AUTHOR OF "STORIES FROM AMERICAN HISTORY," "CLASSIC FABLES," "FAMOUS PAINTERS," ETC. NEW YORK CHARLES E. MERRILL CO. 1907 CONTENTS INTRODUCTION LIFE OF EMERSON CRITICAL OPINIONS CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF PRINCIPAL WORKS THE AMERICAN SCHOLAR COMPENSATION SELF RELIANCE FRIENDSHIP HEROISM MANNERS GIFTS NATURE SHAKESPEARE; OR, THE POET PRUDENCE CIRCLES NOTES PUBLISHERS' NOTE Merrill's English Texts 2 Essays 3 This series of books will include in complete editions those masterpieces of English Literature that are best adapted for the use of schools and colleges. The editors of the several volumes will...

Words: 97797 - Pages: 392

Free Essay

The Outline of English Literature

...Министерство образования и науки Республики Казахстан Кокшетауский государственный университет им. Ш. Уалиханова An Outline of British Literature (from tradition to post modernism) Кокшетау 2011 УДК 802.0 – 5:20 ББК 81:432.1-923 № 39 Рекомендовано к печати кафедрой английского языка и МП КГУ им. Ш. Уалиханова, Ученым Советом филологического факультета КГУ им. Ш. Уалиханова, УМС КГУ им. Ш. Уалиханова. Рецензенты: Баяндина С.Ж. доктор филологических наук, профессор, декан филологического факультета КГУ им. Ш. Уалиханова Батаева Ф.А. кандидат филологических наук, доцент кафедры «Переводческое дело» Кокшетауского университета им. А. Мырзахметова Кожанова К.Т. преподаватель английского языка кафедры гуманитарного цикла ИПК и ПРО Акмолинской области An Outline of British Literature from tradition to post modernism (on specialties 050119 – “Foreign Language: Two Foreign Languages”, 050205 – “Foreign Philology” and 050207 – “Translation”): Учебное пособие / Сост. Немченко Н.Ф. – Кокшетау: Типография КГУ им. Ш. Уалиханова, 2010 – 170 с. ISBN 9965-19-350-9 Пособие представляет собой краткие очерки, характеризующие английскую литературу Великобритании, ее основные направления и тенденции. Все известные направления в литературе иллюстрированы примерами жизни и творчества авторов, вошедших в мировую литературу благодаря...

Words: 82733 - Pages: 331

Premium Essay

Potential Product – Sunsilk Shampoo Is Still Evolving and We Have Seen That Every Alternate Year Some Major Improvement Is Introduced in the Product Line to Incorporate Innovation to Satisfy Customers and

...THE IMPACT OF ORGANIZATIONAL POLITICS ON THE WORK OF THE INTERNAL HUMAN RESOURCE PROFESSIONAL by Julie A. Paleen Aronow A Research Paper Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for Master of Science Degree in Training and Development Approved: 4 Semester Credits Dr. Kat Lui The Graduate College University of Wisconsin – Stout May, 2004 ii The Graduate School University of Wisconsin – Stout Menomonie, WI 54751 ABSTRACT Aronow Julie Ann Paleen ________________________________________________________________________ (Last Name) (First) (Middle) THE IMPACT OF ORGANIZATIONAL POLITICS ON THE WORK OF THE INTERNAL HUMAN RESOURCE PROFESSIONAL ________________________________________________________________________ (Title) Training and Development Dr. Kat Lui May 2004 65 ________________________________________________________________________ (Graduate Major) (Research Advisor) (Month/Year) (No. of Pages) American Psychological Association, 5th Edition ________________________________________________________________________ (Name of Style Manual Used in this Study) The coveted epicenter for the contemporary human resource professional is partnering with other internal business leaders to fulfill the organization’s mission through sound and ethical business principles and human resource practices. Over three decades, the discipline has matured into one that includes transactional practices along side the more sophisticated organizational development...

Words: 16734 - Pages: 67

Free Essay

Literatures I English Cape Syllabus

...re tu ra li CAPE Modern te ng Languages Literatures nE e siniEnglish ur e at l er g it En sin ur e at er it L Caribbean Examinations Council ® SYLLABUS SPECIMEN PAPER CSEC® SYLLABUS,MARK SCHEME SPECIMEN PAPER, MARK SCHEME SUBJECT REPORTS AND SUBJECT REPORTS Macmillan Education 4 Crinan Street, London, N1 9XW A division of Macmillan Publishers Limited Companies and representatives throughout the world www.macmillan-caribbean.com ISBN 978-0-230-48228-9 © Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC ®) 2015 www.cxc.org www.cxc-store.com The author has asserted their right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Design and Patents Act 1988. First published 2014 This revised version published 2015 Permission to copy The material in this book is copyright. However, the publisher grants permission for copies to be made without fee. Individuals may make copies for their own use or for use by classes of which they are in charge; institutions may make copies for use within and by the staff and students of that institution. For copying in any other circumstances, prior permission in writing must be obtained from Macmillan Publishers Limited. Under no circumstances may the material in this book be used, in part or in its entirety, for commercial gain. It must not be sold in any format. Designed by Macmillan Publishers Limited Cover design by Macmillan Publishers Limited and Red Giraffe CAPE® Literatures...

Words: 121889 - Pages: 488

Free Essay

Learning Material

...ARTS TEACHERS’ GUIDE Grade 9 ARTS Teacher’s Guide Unit I WESTERN CLASSICAL ART TRADITIONS GRADE 9 Unit 1 ARTS TEACHERS’ GUIDE GRADE 9 Unit 1 WESTERN CLASSICAL ART TRADITIONS LEARNING AREA STANDARD The learner demonstrates an understanding of basic concepts and processes in music and art through appreciation, analysis and performance for his/her self-development, celebration of his/her Filipino cultural identity and diversity, and expansion of his/her world vision. key - stage STANDARD The learner demonstrates understanding of salient features of music and arts of the Philippines and the world, through appreciation, analysis, and performance, for self-development, the celebration of Filipino cultural identity and diversity, and the expansion of one’s world vision. grade level STANDARD The learner demonstrates understanding of salient features of Western music and the arts from different historical periods, through appreciation, analysis, and performance for self-development, the celebration of Filipino cultural identity and diversity, and the expansion of one’s world vision. CONTENT STANDARDs The Learner:  demonstrates understanding of art elements and processes by synthesizing and applying prior knowledge and skills  demonstrates understanding that the arts are integral to the development of organizations, spiritual belief, historical events, scientific discoveries, natural disasters/ occurrences and other external phenomenon ...

Words: 32535 - Pages: 131