Friday, August 2, 2019
Love, Hate, and Marriage in Much Ado About Nothing :: Much Ado About Nothing Essays
Love, Hate, and Marriage in Much Ado About Nothing    In William Shakespeare's comedy "Much Ado About Nothing", the characters Beatrice and Benedick are involved in what could only be called a "love/hate" relationship.  The play is a classic example of this type of relationship, and allows us to view one from the outside looking in.      Both Beatrice and Benedick are strong-willed, intelligent characters, who fear that falling in love will lead to a loss of freedom and eventually heartbreak. This causes them to deny their love for each other and it is only through the machinations of other characters in the play that their true feelings emerge. When these feelings are finally acknowledged, both characters are changed, but the changes are subtle. They are neither drastic nor monumental. Both remain who they were before, but now they the two are one. They gain everything and lose nothing. Whether or not their love would have bloomed without the help of their friends, we will never know.      In the beginning of the play, Beatrice and Benedick do not seem to like each other very much, if at all. This can be seen in Act I; Scene I, (line 121- 131):      BENEDICK:   God keep your ladyship still in that mind! so some gentleman     or other shall 'scape a predestinate   scratched face.     BEATRICE:   Scratching could not make it worse, an 'twere such a face as     yours were.     BENEDICK:   Well, you are a rare parrot-teacher.     BEATRICE:   A bird of my tongue is better than a beast of yours.     BENEDICK:   I would my horse had the speed of your tongue, and so good a     continuer. But keep your way, I' God's name; I have done.     BEATRICE:   You always end with a jade's trick: I know you of old.  Were the reader to judge the relationship between the characters solely by the above lines, they would come to the conclusion that these characters much disliked, if not hated each other. This is most likely not the case. In today's world, with its knowledge of psychology, we are aware that this behaviour is most likely a cover-up for other feelings. In fact, many relationships begin with the parties involved denying attraction to each other Love, Hate, and Marriage in Much Ado About Nothing :: Much Ado About Nothing Essays Love, Hate, and Marriage in Much Ado About Nothing    In William Shakespeare's comedy "Much Ado About Nothing", the characters Beatrice and Benedick are involved in what could only be called a "love/hate" relationship.  The play is a classic example of this type of relationship, and allows us to view one from the outside looking in.      Both Beatrice and Benedick are strong-willed, intelligent characters, who fear that falling in love will lead to a loss of freedom and eventually heartbreak. This causes them to deny their love for each other and it is only through the machinations of other characters in the play that their true feelings emerge. When these feelings are finally acknowledged, both characters are changed, but the changes are subtle. They are neither drastic nor monumental. Both remain who they were before, but now they the two are one. They gain everything and lose nothing. Whether or not their love would have bloomed without the help of their friends, we will never know.      In the beginning of the play, Beatrice and Benedick do not seem to like each other very much, if at all. This can be seen in Act I; Scene I, (line 121- 131):      BENEDICK:   God keep your ladyship still in that mind! so some gentleman     or other shall 'scape a predestinate   scratched face.     BEATRICE:   Scratching could not make it worse, an 'twere such a face as     yours were.     BENEDICK:   Well, you are a rare parrot-teacher.     BEATRICE:   A bird of my tongue is better than a beast of yours.     BENEDICK:   I would my horse had the speed of your tongue, and so good a     continuer. But keep your way, I' God's name; I have done.     BEATRICE:   You always end with a jade's trick: I know you of old.  Were the reader to judge the relationship between the characters solely by the above lines, they would come to the conclusion that these characters much disliked, if not hated each other. This is most likely not the case. In today's world, with its knowledge of psychology, we are aware that this behaviour is most likely a cover-up for other feelings. In fact, many relationships begin with the parties involved denying attraction to each other
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