Our work together

  • Introductions //
  • Analysis and 1st paragraph //

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Contrasts meant to lift an eyebrow or two. . . .

What contrasting images and ideas (or elements, including character) do you see at work in Much Ado?  And because we can't possibly leave our understanding at the doorstep of mere observation, What SIGNIFICANCE do these contrasting images serve?

23 comments:

  1. In Much Ado about Nothing, Shakespeare contrasts the very vocal and bickering couple of Beatrice and Benedick, with the very shy and reserved couple of Hero and Claudio. By doing so, Shakespeare illustrates that love is a universal feeling experienced by all personality types, and that those who are less vocal about pronouncing their love can still experience feelings of love just as strongly as anyone. In addition, Shakespeare contrasts the adulterous ways of men with their own great fear of becoming a cuckold. By doing so, Shakespeare clearly exemplifies the great irony that one of men’s greatest fears is of an action that they themselves do.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Going off of what Kyle has stated, I would say that the love between the two separate couples is an example of another pair of contrasting ideas in Much Ado about Nothing: the qualities of mature love and immature love. For instances, Claudio and Hero, being younger lovers, have a much harder transforming their affections to actions, which is shown by their overall lack of communication with one another throughout the story. However, Beatrice and Benedick, two older individuals who are more secure in themselves and veterans to emotional experiences, are very boisterous in their engagements with the other, and finds themselves on a more self-confident, and more humorous, interaction. However, they as well require the outside interaction of others such as Don Pedro and Margaret to elope, but it is a different and less direct sort of involvement, as Beatrice and Benedick only overhear their statements. This goes to show the stronger connection that mature lovers have over immature lovers, although they too require outside interference to a lesser degree.

      Delete
  2. Additionally to add onto the contrast of Beatrice and Benedick, and Hero and Claudio, each relationship displays a different view of what love could be. Beatrice and Benedick, tend to be more of the witty and fun sort of a relationship. Throughout the play we see them joking around and banter back and forth.Whereas Claudio and Hero seem to have a more romanticized relationship. When Claudio speaks to Hero in the few scenes that we see, he talks to her in more lovingly way. For example he says "Lady, as you are mine, I am yours. I give away myself for you and dote upon the exchange." Both of the couples make their love for each other obvious, but they both have different ways of doing that. The significance of this two images are many different ways to show if a person loves someone, but overall everyone has that feeling of love.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I definitely agree. The contrast between Beatrice and Benedick and Claudio and Hero is interesting and is shown throughout relationships today. Beatrice and Benedick represent "real love" that is long lasting. The proof in this is the way they bicker, and how they are extremely witty with each other, just as married couples or couples who have been together for long, do. Contrary, Claudio and Hero are a very weak relationship that could be a typical one week relationship. The proof of this, is during the wedding, Claudio publicly humiliates Hero and is quick to end their relationship. Furthermore, Hero didn't really decide to marry Claudio, the decision was made for her. Instead of talking to each other, their relationship is based off what other people do for them. I agree that Shakespeare is showing that there are two different ways to show love, and that there are different problems within the relationship based off love.

      Delete
  3. Shakespeare contrasts the character of the independent and witty Beatrice with the quiet and obedient Hero. Throughout the play, Beatrice speaks her mind and uses her language as a tool in her attempt to be considered an equal, all the while stating she will never marry. On the other hand, Hero allows herself to be controlled by her uncle, never thinking or speaking for herself. Hero all too quickly allows herself to be married to someone she has scarcely met. Shakespeare's character of Hero represents the archetypal women of this era, an obedient one perfectly suited for the patriarchal society. He uses Beatrice to argue against total obedience and through her eventual marriage shows conforming in one sense does not mean that freedom is lost. In addition, Shakespeare represents the fact that people change their mind and opinions change, just as Beatrice's did with marriage.

    ReplyDelete
  4. The young love of Hero and Claudio contrasts Beatrice and Benedick who at times act more or less like an old married couple. Even though Beatrice and Benedick bicker back and forth, point out each other’s flaws, and insult one another, they have some level of respect and love for the each other. That love may not be as ideal or as acknowledged as the love between Hero and Claudio, but they do feel something for one another. At the beginning, Claudio has a love at first sight moment when he first sees Hero and instantly knows that he will marry her even though he knows nothing about her. Hero and Claudio have a more idealized opinion of love while Beatrice and Benedick are much more skeptical and wary about love and being in a relationship. Contrasting these two relationships is significant because this shows that every relationship has its flaws; one way of doing things is not better than another. Even though Claudio and Hero were in love, their relationship was flawed with trust issues. Benedick and Beatrice might not have been able to express their feelings very well, they knew each other well enough to build a relationship.

    ReplyDelete
  5. The two most prominent contrasting elements for me in Much Ado About Nothing were the juxtaposition between all the scheming and planning between characters (either for the best or worst) and how impulsive they were despite of it. Claudio was impulsive enough to want to marry Hero the night he proposed for her (through an elaborate plan between him and Don Pedro), but to make the wedding picture perfect, Leonato insisted that the wedding be postponed to only a week later. Though this plan was put in place to improve everything and organize what needed to be done prior to the wedding, it instead opened the door for something to go wrong as a result of the impulsive actions of the other characters (in this case, everything and anything imaginable DID go wrong). Though bitter Don John really only wanted to hurt Don Pedro, he quickly decided to hurt Claudio instead by devising an evil (and what he thought would be foolproof) plan. This set off a negative, domino-like effect of other characters’ reactions. By contrasting extreme impulsiveness with many unnecessary plans for everything, Shakespeare shows how unattainable planned perfection is, and how unpredictable life or other people’s actions may be. Also, even though a plan may be carried out perfectly between two people, there is always the possibility that sudden situations will arise and outside characters will play a role in interfering with the plan’s desired and ideal results.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Within Much Ado about Nothing, one the most prominent comparisons is between the Claudio and Hero pairing and the Benedick and Beatrice pairing. Claudio is introduced into the play as a noble and worthy man. Likewise, Hero is introduced as one of the most perfect women there is. These two images of perfection soon fall in love with each other and plan to get married. However, upon just the slightest suspicion of Hero being unfaithful, Claudio calls off the wedding and destroys Hero’s reputation. On the other hand, Benedick is introduced as “Senior Mountanto” which is clearly derogatory. Likewise, Beatrice is early on called a parrot-teacher, which is also displaying flaws in character. But when the time came for them to be married, Benedick proved nobler than Claudio. While Claudio destroyed the reputation of his wife, Benedick helps to protect it, going so far as to challenge Claudio to a duel. The reason why Claudio’s marriage of perfect people falls apart is because Claudio is unable to cope with imperfection. Benedick on the other hand realizes that there will always be imperfections and as a result, has a more content marriage. By comparing these two relationships, Shakespeare is saying that there are always imperfections. It is those who can come to grips with that that ultimately lead a happier life.

    ReplyDelete
  7. The most clear contrast within the story is the comparison between the outright, loud love that Beatrice and Benedick have and the quiet, more subtle romance that exists between Hero and Claudio. While Benedick and Beatrice are witty, constantly jousting verbally, and vocal about their feelings, Claudio and Hero are people of few words who are more serious and into the romantic side of things. With this in mind, it's clear that Shakespeare is suggesting that love can exist and suceed in any form. It doesn't matter if a couple chooses to be vocal, with a lot of teasing and outward emotion like Benedick, or if they want to be more sincere like Claudio; both forms and everything in between can work if the members participating truly love one another. Furthermore, Shakespeare exhibits the problems with each type of relationship. He shows that people who are verbal and outgoing can take the jokes too far and hurt eachothers feelings, but they also learn to accept eachothers imperfections and he shows that people who are quiet and sincere sometimes don't end up saying enough.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Contrast is predominately seen through the characters of Benedick and Beatrice. Each vocally expresses ideals that don’t align with how they truly feel. Benedick is fearful that his wife will be unfaithful and therefore chooses to denounce marriage as a trap which he himself, though he won’t admit it, has already fallen into. There are two great contrasting images used to describe Benedick’s inner conflict. The bull which represents freedom and the life of a bachelor, and the yoke which when placed upon the bull tames the animal. These two images have an underlying meaning that marriage is the domestication of a man. He can no longer do what he pleases, and instead must bear the responsibilities of a relationship. Beatrice is also open about her feelings of marriage. She does not desire to be handed over to a man and seeks to be seen as their equal. But that doesn’t stop her from loving Benedick, even though she worries that she won’t receive as much from the relationship as she puts forth.

    ReplyDelete
  9. One of the most prominent contrasts in Much Ado about Nothing is the character of Beatrice and her counterpart Hero. Leonato has his daughter completely under his control and she is continually obedient even though Beatrice tries to persuade her to be otherwise. She is seen as an innocent young woman who listens and does what she is told, showcasing her character as submissive. Beatrice, on the other hand, is absolutely different and doesn't mind voicing her opinion and expressing her "radical" thinking that women shouldn't have to obey men if they don't want to. She believes that women have voices and should be able to speak for themselves without male interference. She even gets hushed by the other men not only because they think she's saying nothing of meaning, but also because they're worried that she may influence young Hero and other women. This is important because this concept shows that Shakespeare was a "radical" thinker as well meaning that he believed that women are able to speak for themselves and not consistently need men telling what to do. They shouldn't have to be submissive and Beatrice represents this while Hero represents the rest of the world's thinking for Shakespeare's time period.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Most of the main characters in Much Ado About Nothing possess sophisticated verbal abilities. These skills are demonstrated most obviously through the banter between Beatrice and Benedick. They are described as being in "a skirmish of wit," suggesting that their exchanges are intelligent. Shakespeare obviously contrasts their mastery of language with the linguistic shortcomings of the watchman Dogberry. He, although a part of the middle class, wishes to be sophisticated like the others and, as a result, uses complicated words incorrectly. It is extremely difficult to understand the messages that he tries to convey. On the other hand, the upper class characters have more than enough skill to effectively communicate with one another. But this is not the case. Beatrice and Benedick are incapable of expressing their true feelings for one another until deceived by their friends, and Don Pedro easily tricks his brother and Claudio into thinking poorly of Hero. And, it is Dogberry who is able to uncover the truth and expose it to everyone, while everyone else remains voiceless. It seems that Shakespeare uses this uncommon hero as a means to express his skepticisms of proper language. The simpler words are the truer words, while words of deception are disguised in fanciful language.

    ReplyDelete
  11. In the play Much Ado About Nothing, Shakespeare uses multiple examples of contrasting characters, the most prominent being the foil between Benedick and Claudio. Where as Benedick is witty, independent, and speaks his mind freely, Claudio is fairly timid and immature. Shakespeare's foil of Benedick and Claudio is used to portray two opposite views of love. Benedick represents a man who appears perfectly content with living his life as a bachelor and finds it impossible to think a man would want to be with one woman for his whole life. Claudio in contrast falls in love with Hero the moment he lays eyes on her and prepares to marry her. Benedick finds this to be ridiculous, and Claudio views Benedick's opinions on love as equally strange. When Benedick discovers that Beatrice is in 'love' with him, he decides that actually he does believe in love and wants to marry her. This leads the audience to believe that he needed to receive love in order to reciprocate it. Where as when Claudio is under the impression that Hero has cheated on him, he immediately believes it and slanders her in front of everyone. The contrast between Benedick and Claudio is there to exemplify the differences that result from mature, and immature relationships.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Shakespear contrasts the characters of Hero and Beatrice very well. Hero is very quiet and subservient. She does what she is told and barely ever utters a word; She is the perfect Renaissance woman. Beatrice on the other hand is very loud and outspoken, never afraid to share what's on her mind. In my opinion it was quite necessary to have Hero as such a foil to Beatrice because she is what gives Beatrice power as a character. From Hero we see how women are supposed to behave and without her, Beatrice would not be such a daring character. Especially for reader in our time, we need the Hero character to use as a model for society in that time since we aren't really all that sure what the social norms were back then for women. Hero serves as the control variable in Much Ado's experiment with social decencies.

    ReplyDelete
  13. In Much ado about Nothing, Shakespeare presents an interesting foil through the relationships between Claudio and Hero and Beatrice and Benedick. In the opening of the comedy, Claudio tells Don Pedro that he has fallen for Hero, in a dramatic love-at-first-sight which rivals other famous Shakespearean characters. Benedick, on the other hand, has been acquaintances with Beatrice for quite some time, and has had a constant verbal war with her. Over time however, with the help of Don Pedro and others, they begin to fall for each other. Shakespeare contrasts the immediate love in the relationship of Claudio and Hero to the slow development of Beatrice and Benedick's relationship. Though this juxtaposition, Shakespeare is able to address and compare the two methods of falling in love.

    ReplyDelete
  14. One of the main contrasts in Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing is the main characters and their relationships. Beatrice and Benedick have a profound relationship where they truly care for each other. This relationship is nurtured by their deep consideration for each other as well as their more outspoken personalities. Beatrice and Benedick revel in arguing opinions with each other. They do not shy from confrontation, but rather embrace it, because they both know that their love will last any ordinary fight. Hero and Claudio, on the other hand, have a more superficial relationship, built on immature ideals of love and horrible communication. Hero and Claudio's relationship is further impeded by interference of other characters into their relationship as well as their own meekness with each other. In the first Act, Claudio even accepts Don Pedro's proposal to woo Hero for him. Hero is under the thumb of her father, and cannot do or say as she pleases for fear of the social repercussions. Neither character is very determined to keep the relationship together, which eventually leads to the dilemmas later on. These contrasts in the nature of the relationships and the people in them, helps to highlight good communication as an important factor a healthy long lasting relationship.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I thought the most interesting contrast in Much Ado About Nothing was that between words and physical actions. All through the play we watch, who we know to be successful physical fighters, struggle to find words. This struggle is most clear in Claudio, who is a war hero, but still cannot find the courage to even talk to Hero. It is also evident in Don John, who cannot successfully formulate his plan, because nobody seems to understand each other. Benedick and Beatrice, on the other hand, are masters of words, and they use them to wage their “merry war.” Ultimately, Much Ado About Nothing is making a point that even the most successful people will run into problems if they do not have a mastery of language.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Introducing the play with a war that established clear winners and losers, Shakespeare highlights foil characters Don Pedro and Don John. This early description of the separation as defined by the conclusion of the war (with Don Pedro's victory and Don John's defeat) is intended to draw attention to the parallel but opposing forces of the two brothers. Of course, superficial differences mark the separation of these brothers; Don Pedro is a talkative eloquent individual who earns the respect of Claudio and Leonato with ease while Don John says little in large social situations, divulging his true thoughts only when in the company of his henchmen Borachio and Conrade. The princes' involvement in Claudio and Hero’s marriage and their approach to establishing power in social circumstances also presents a notable contrast between the two characters. While Don John uses his wealth and social status to order Borachio to facilitate his attempts to thwart Claudio and Hero’s marriage, Don Pedro uses his eloquence to become involved in Claudio’s infatuation with Hero and to eventually woo her. Don John assumes the role of the villain throughout the rest of the play with the intention of establishing chaos; Don Pedro, however, assumes the role of overlooked hero who plays wingman and angry best friend to Claudio in order to woo and humiliate Hero as Claudio deems appropriate. In this way, Don John and Don Pedro represent the plot-driving conflict between good and evil that Shakespeare intentionally establishes in this romantic comedy in order to communicate the presence of this conflict in every situation.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Among the various contrasting images and people in "Much Ado About Nothing", the one that stood out to me the most was the comparison of Hero with Beatrice. It seems that Hero is everything a lady should be, quiet, demure, well-mannered, while Beatrice seems to be a whole different creature altogether what with speaking her mind and boldly swearing to keep off of men and love. Beatrice is definitely a break from tradition. With this, Shakespeare seems to demonstrate the significance of the relationship between Beatrice and Benedick. Because Beatrice is able to be seen as such an "extreme" character when it comes to love and relationships, it makes the love between her and Benedick seem that much more special. By special I mean meaningful and deep. It is not a surface infatuation such as Hero and Claudio's relationship seems to be. Because of Beatrice's far leanings against love, it makes their relationship (when they finally get together) seem that much stronger. If Beatrice is able to change her ways, she and Benedick must really have something. Overall, Hero helps to highlight Beatrice's bold character and her dramatic shift into love.

    ReplyDelete
  18. A stark contrast present in Much Ado About Nothing is the contrast between an aristocratic, elite and upperclass society and the working class. In this play, characters such as the notable Governor of Messina, Leonato, and the "noble" princes of Aragon, Don Pedro and Don John, remain powerless despite the high position they retain in society whereas the working class men, represented by characters such as Dogberry and Borachio, wield most of the power in this play. Though it is Don John that perpetuated the slander against Hero, it is Borachio, his henchmen, who devises the plan to unfoil Hero through the bedchamber scene with Margaret. Leonato is left helpless on the day of the wedding as he sees his only child being humiliated and accused maliciously of wrongdoings. He, just like Don Pedro and Claudio, are made fools because they fall prey to the slander they hear about Hero. In the end however, it's Dogberry and Verges who prevent Don John's plotting scheme to carry out and capture him, hence saving Hero's reputation. As seen throughout this play and in the examples above, it is the working class members of society who wield any real authority in the play while the elite are left undone and defenseless by the actions transpiring around them. This power struggle played out in Much Ado presents the idea that perhaps those that are able to discern the truth in matters are the most powerful, since the noble elite blindly accepts the rumors about Hero to be true whereas the working class men have better grasped a whole on the truth and are hence able to enlighten others with it as Dogberry does, or try to dispel/taint it, as Borachio manages to do so.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Shakespeare contrasts the relationship of Beatrice and Benedick to Claudio and Hero. While Claudio and Hero represent the youth and innocence of the love, Beatrice and Benedick's relationship symbolizes the maturity of their love. Even though both couples do come together at the end, Beatrice and Benedick seem to have the deeper relationship. Hero and Claudio only seem to have an infatuation that is soon to fade away. Claudio is so quick to distrust Hero and shame her in front of everyone. Beatrice and Benedick know that they have flaws, but love each other even more because of them. By have the two contrasting relationships, Shakespeare emphasizes the idea that strongest type of love is one that is accepting and willing to trust one another.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Shakespeare contrasts two ideas with two couples; Hero and Claudio, and Beatrice and Benedick. Hero and Claudio represent young love, they show the innocence and arrogance commonly accociated with youth.(Claudio's willingness to believe Don John and Hero's innability to defend herself from Claudio's attacks)Where as Beatrice and Benedick represent seasoned love. They show that they have lost faith in love's ability to overcome obstacles by their continous feud, and show anything but innocence in their constant harassment of each other. These are two very seperate, yet similer, contrasting groups of characters. The contrast eventually leads to the conclusion of the plot, when Beatrice and Benedick are able to look past their dispute, and accept their love for each other, possibly motivated by the simplicity of Hero and Claudio's young love, which reminded them of what they once had.

    ReplyDelete
  21. One of the most obvious contrasts in Much Ado is between the two relationships of Beatrice and Benedick and that of Hero and Claudio. That contrast seems to have been beaten to death by this thread. Personally, I most enjoyed the contrasting behavior of Leonato after receiving gossip early and later in the play. In the first act, Leonato is told by Antonio (a very trustworthy source) that Don Pedro intends to marry Hero. Leonato is skeptical of the news and treats it very cautiously. In contrast to this, when Claudio slanders Hero at their wedding, Leonato treats Claudio's claims with complete credibility. Leonato is much more ready to believe the slanderous accusations of Claudio, whom he has know for a very short time, than the claims of his own brother. I think that Shakespeare purposely included this contrast to make the point that people are much more ready to believe bad new than good news, even when rationality would dictate the opposite.

    ReplyDelete