Much Ado About Nothing Quotes Analysis

## “My Dear Lady Disdain! Are you yet living?”

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* ***“Disdain”*** connotes $scornfulness, disapproval and contempt$, perhaps suggesting that $Beatrice is always putting Benedick down and dismissing him$
* it also relfects how $belligerent and conflicting$ their relationship is as Benedick seems to view Beatrice as a %%personification%% of everything negative through the noun ***“disdain”***
* Benedick questions whether she is yet ***“living”*** which perhaps indicate that Benedick simply $does not care about her existence$
* Alternatively it could suggest that ^^she is so old that she is at the point of death which adds to the comical tone of the play, as Much Ado is ultimately a romantic comedy^^
* Shakespeare might also be ^^disregarding the views men had towards women^^ at that time
* On one level, the phrase ***“my dear lady”*** could be seen to reveal the $sarcastic or patronising tone$ Benedick has towards Beatrice and thus establishes his sense of power abover her. He $demeans her to a lower status$ and almost $reminds her of her role as a ***“lady”***$ and thus $her lack of significance and substantial knowledge$
* However, one could argue that the %%juxtaposition%% of ***“dear lady”*** and the scornful retort of ***“disdain”*** could $depict the contrasting sides to their relationship that alludes to underlying affection$
* The personal pronoun ***“my”*** combined with the affectionate address of ***“dear”*** $subtly uncover the inticmacy between their relationship$, foreshadowing their hidden feelings for one another despite their scornful manner towards each other

## “I had rather hear a dog bark at a crow than a man swear he love me”

* Beatrice $objectifies men$ here and places them amongst the likes of ***“dogs”*** and ***“crows”*** to indicate their significance
* both dogs and crows $were not regarded as valuable creatures$
* to say that the men has less significance than those insignifance creatures accetuates how irrelavant men are to Beatrice
* she thereby revelaed how $she does not need the love of any man$ to be validated as a woman
* The %%bold animalistic imagery%% of a ***“dog”*** barking can be seen as rather $unpleasant$ as it alleviates peace and quite
* By stating that she would rather hear this than ***“a man swear he loves [her]”*** $accentuates Beatrice animosity towards love$. It also suggests that she refuses to conform to Elizabethan stereotypes
* She is pushing the boundaries for conventional Elizabethan ideas of love and marriage and the stereotypes of Elizabethan women
* The cawing of a cow is a $symbol of misery and bad fortune$
* It is possible that Beatrice considers love towards men as miserable and unlucky
* Shakespeare’s use of %%hyperbolic language%% augments the conflict between the two characters as well as the as the $passion and acrimony$ displayed in her words
* perhaps Shakespeare is trying to indicate Beatrice’s desperation to break the social constraints for women

## “I will not sworn but love may transform me to an oyster”

* oysters are $closed and isolated$
* which might suggests that Benedick is very $close minded about the topic of love$
* his ideas about love is ==isolated and unusual for a Shakespearan men==
* oysters are extremely difficult to open
* this alludes to Benedick’s $inability to open up about his feelings of love$
* also highlights the $stubborn nature$ of Benedick
* Oysters have a rather $gooey and sloppy consistency$ implying that Benedick $does not want love to change him into something weak or unsubstantial$
* The %%verb%% ***“transform”*** could might imply that Benedick sees marriage as a $commitment that will change you permanately$, perhpas in a negative way. Yet it could highlight shakespeare’s ideas about the $power and impact of true love inrelationships$
* Alternatively, since oysters have the $potnetial of a beautiful pearl inside$, there is perhaps a sense of $underlying love beneath Benedick’s persistent atitude$, foreshadowing later events of him turning to love when over hearing his mates tricking him

## “I will be horribly in love with her”

* This line produces a $comedic effect$, as it seems absurd that someone would fall ***“horribly”*** in love with another person after simply weighing that person’s virtues, which $highlights the comic aspects of Benedick’s decision$
* The %%adverb%% ***“horribly”*** %%juxtaposes%% the %%abstract noun%% ***“love”***, which $symbolise the romantic yet conflicting relationship$ of Beatrice and Benedick
* The word ***“horribly”*** alo echoes with the ***“merry war”*** of Beatrice and Benedick fighting with their wits
* there is $always an element of comeptition$ between them
* It is $not enough for Benedick to just reciprocate Beatrice’s passions$; he must outdo them, perhaps in order to unseat her and win the competition
* Shakespeare uses an %%emphatic future verbal phrase%% of ***“I will be”*** to $establish Benedick’s determination and certainty$
* The definitive tone $contrasts with his earlier attitude$

@@However, the audiences might interpret this moment differently according to how the actor chooses to preform this soliloquy@@

* @@One could interpret this as a hearfelt moment as Benedick realising that he is falling in love with Beatrice@@
* @@Or could treat this as a comedic moment as Benedick is going against everything that he has said about love@@

## “taming my wild heart”

* The %%animlistic imagery%% of the verb “taming” presents Beatrice as a $wild creature$
* subverts the stereotypes of a typical Elizabethan women
* By describing her heart as ***“wild”***
* this implies that Benedick will calm and ***“tame”*** her animalistic state through his love
* The use of %%romantic imagery%% underlines Beatrice’s transformation from being $stubborn and arrogant$ when she denounces love as an option
* this concretes the power that love holds as love is able to transform those who resist it the most
* This verse is spoken in ^^iambic pentameter^^ - a form of litertaure associated with romantic ideas and thus reiterates her absoulte love for Benedick
* However, there are ^^slight irregularities^^ during this verse, which indicates that she $is not always willing to be subservient to men$ and live under the contrainsts of being a women, instead she will continue to be herself just as she refuses to conform to the traditional tight structure of Iambic Pentameter
* this also sybolises how in her relationship with Benenedick she is able to refuse to change in her personality just to fit the social expecatations. In fact, this is what Benedick loves about her. Perhaps this is what Shakespeare is celebrating and encourages his audiences to do the same.

## “I love you with so much of my heart that there is none left to protest”

* Shakespeare uses %%personification%% to present the $complete submission$ of Beatrice’s heart to Benedick
* The verb ***“protest”*** reveals her $strong compassion$ and $determined love$ for Benedick; she has fallen in love and cannot resist
* Perhaps Shakespeares is reiterating the power and inescapable nature of love
* There is also a stark contrast between her and Hero as she willingly makes her feelings and emotions known and clearly loves Benedick for who he is whilst Hero remains silent in her relationship with Claudio
* Perhaps Shakespeare deliberately contrasts the conventional relationship of Hero and Claudio to the unconventional relationship of Beatrice and Benedick to urge for change in society