Kevin Ting! 4G !

September 2, 2011 IB English HL

Love and Chaos ! William Shakespeare"s Much Ado About Nothing is a comedy that explores the

nature of human sexuality and through its theme of courtship as shown by its characters and their counterparts of the opposite gender such as Benedick and Beatrice, and Claudio and Hero. Shakespeare"s characters express the complexities of human interactions between male and female through their words, actions and decisions. ! There are two pairs of couples, as mentioned earlier, that serve as the main

focus of the play. Each character in the two couples have their own set of traits and characteristics that build upon the differences in the relationship between Claudio and Hero, and the relationship between Benedick and Beatrice. ! The relationship of Claudio and Hero is much more similar to the typical romance

stories. Two people are in love, but problems, in this case Don John, arise that prevent them from their happy ending. But in the end, they overcome these problems and they end their story happily as symbolized by marriage. Claudio represents what the people of Shakespeare"s era see as the standard for what a man should be, while Hero is the beautiful, innocent maiden that the man falls in love with. Despite what would seem as a typical love story, Shakespeare makes this story more realistic by delving in to the realities of human sexuality. First, Claudio is revealed to be unable to express himself to Hero, as he lets Prince pretend to be him in order to woo Hero. This shows one of the complexities of human relationships as it is difcult to profess love and at the same time receive love in return as shown by Claudio since he had to let Prince do the wooing for him. Also, the problem that put a strain on the relationship of Claudio and Hero was the trickery of Don John that led Claudio to believe that Hero was having sexual relations

Kevin Ting! 4G !

September 2, 2011 IB English HL

with another man. This shows two aspects of human relationships. The rst, based on Claudio"s immediate belief in what he saw, despite not really seeing the face of Hero, showed how men often fear that their wives would cheat on them. The second, being, the anger of Claudio quickly disappearing and turning to sorrow in learning of the death of Hero and how Hero quickly forgave and still loved Claudio despite the public humiliation that Claudio caused her when they were supposed to get married. This again stresses the complexities of the relationships between male and female as the hostility between male and female quickly dissipates and is more often than not overpowered by their love for one another. ! The relationship of Benedick and Beatrice, on the other hand, almost serve as a

foil to the relationship of Claudio and Hero. They knew each other for a long time and hated each other, and yet their relationship developed through the help of their friends. There is a lot of irony in the story of Benedick and Beatrice, and Shakespeare shows it through their conversations. In Act 5, Scene 2, lines 50-80, Benedick and Beatrice engage in a happy conversation, after they have already professed their love for one another. Despite the talk of love, there is a lot of irony used in the conversation such as when Benedick says: Only foul words, and thereupon will I kiss thee. The irony in this statement represents how the relationship of Benedick and Beatrice goes. It gives further examples of the chaotic nature of human sexuality as they fall in love despite hating each other the whole time before. Benedick also says: Suffer love! A good epithet. I do suffer love indeed, for I love thee against my will. The meaning of suffer does not literally mean that suffer is a bad thing because the way Benedick expresses it is in a happy manner. Another aspect to human sexuality presented by Shakespeare is

Kevin Ting! 4G !

September 2, 2011 IB English HL

how love can change one"s character. In Benedick"s soliloquy after nding out about Beatrice"s love for him through overhearing the conversation of Prince, Claudio and Leonato, Benedick immediately confesses to the world, and to himself as well in the process, that he also loves Beatrice. This is one of the quirks shown by Shakespeare in the relationships of humans, as both Benedick and Beatrice fall in love with one another, thinking that their other half has admitted their love already. Also, the soliloquy of Benedick shows how love can overpower even the original principles of a man as Benedick, who initially stated that he shall never marry, began to consider that he might indeed marry. Another aspect is shown in the lines of Beatrice: In spite of your heart, I think. Alas, poor heart, if you spite it for my sake, I will spite it for yours, for I will never love that which my friend hates. This shows how despite love, women are more inclined to stick up for their friends as Beatrice is sticking up for Hero while Benedick immediately confronted Claudio when Beatrice asked him to. ! The wordplay in the conversation of Beatrice and Benedick also shows a clear

difference between male and female. As Benedick asks Beatrice by saying: for which of my bad parts didst thou rst fall in love with me? While Beatrice asks by saying: But for which of my good parts did you rst suffer love for me? The difference in their language shows the difference in man and woman"s views on love. ! Overall, the characters in Shakespeare"s play, Much Ado About Nothing depict

the complexities in human relationships through several themes such as trust, courtship and communication. Also, Shakespeare emphasizes these complexities through the differences in the relationship of Beatrice and Benedick from the relationship of Claudio and Hero.