Much Ado about nothing Essay Example For Students

Much Ado about nothing Essay Venomously Don John spreads this fraudulent information: â€Å"The lady is disloyal. The word is too good to paint out her wickedness, I could say she were worse, think you of a worse title, and I will fit her to it: go but with me tonight, you shall see her chamber window entered, even the night before her wedding day: if you love her, then tomorrow wed her: but it would better fit your honour to change your mind†. Interestingly Claudio, without a word to the woman he supposedly has lost his heart to, accepts the word of the bastard Don John and falsely believes that what he is seeing is the truth. Without hesitation he makes the decision to denunciate and publicly humiliate his intended bride Hero at the altar on their wedding day just hours later. Ironically it is also gossip which resolves this tragedy and restores Messina back to its frivolous, lively and superficial lifestyle. Borachio and his accomplice are caught gossiping about their role in the deception of Claudio by the two incompetent watchmen, Verges and Dogberry, which leads to the arrest of the criminals and sees Hero’s innocence restored. Thus we can conclude that gossip in â€Å"â€Å"Much Ado About Nothing†Ã¢â‚¬  has multiple consequences ranging from the happy to the catastrophic. Gossip not only has the power to create conflict but also the power to resolve it. So how does this answer the question as to whether gossip is good or bad? Gossip depends on who is gossiping and for what reason. It has the power to heal and the power to destroy. As Timothy Hallet once said â€Å"A lot of it depends on perspective. If you are on the receiving end, gossip can feel malicious and exclusionary but idle talk can also be a valuable weapon† These prophetic words are epitomised by the disgrace and shame Hero felt when she was wrongly accused on her wedding day and the enormous pleasure it gave Don John to watch his clever manipulation of gossip strip Claudio of his honour, which proves that gossip can only be judged when we analyse its effect. Let us assume for a moment that Hero actually had acted unfaithfully. Now it would be fair to say that gossip would be a very valuable tool in this situation, because Hero would not be able to hide her actions as people would know that she was not chaste and Claudio would be saved from the humiliation of marrying a ‘stale, a wanton’. There is no denying that gossip is a powerful weapon which moves in silent ways and can define for people the accepted limits that society imposes on personal behaviour, without any direct confrontation. Thus gossip can be interpreted as a positive thing because it has the power to change and alter human behaviour. This example also illustrates the subjective nature of gossip and proves that gossip generally has both a positive and a negative effect on its participants. Usually the gossiper is enjoying the experience and the gossiped about is squirming, feeling humiliated and belittled. In â€Å"â€Å"Much Ado About Nothing†Ã¢â‚¬  characters use gossip as a mask for the truth, a disguise for reality and a camouflage to protect their insecurities. Gossip is their way of avoiding a confrontation over the serious question of love and gossip helps maintain the merry atmosphere ever present on Messinas surface, whilst the mistrust underneath its surface threatens to destroy it. Gossiping provides an alternate pathway for expressing opinions that could be seen as unacceptable. In â€Å"â€Å"Much Ado About Nothing†Ã¢â‚¬  the people of Messina use gossip as a way to force Beatrice and Benedick to admit they love each other. The fact is that these two individuals are in an ongoing, contentious battle and bluntly refuse to acknowledge any inklings of feelings for each other. Poetic Terminology EssayHere Shakespeare cleverly aligns both Claudio and Leonato to represent the male viewpoint and the code of honour that they held so dearly. Ironically Claudio is in no way held to the same pre-marital expectations of honour as Hero is because noble or well to do families were greatly concerned with the chastity of their woman, who became their kin through marriage and premarital relationships on the woman’s part were considered immoral because it was feared that impure blood would be introduced into the family bloodline, which could then lead to disputes over inheritance claims, and power struggles and disgrace as the inevitable consequence. Thus the way virginity was prized in their woman did not transfer to the male code of conduct and male virginity was never a pre-requisite for marriage. So it is easy to see that â€Å"â€Å"Much Ado About Nothing†Ã¢â‚¬  is centrally interested in the code of honour by which rule can be maintained. While for women honour lay in her chastity, for men honour depended on male friendships, alliances and was more military in nature. Unlike women, a man could defend his honour and that of his families by fighting in battle. This code of honour that we see in â€Å"â€Å"Much Ado About Nothing†Ã¢â‚¬  had sprung from an earlier feudal code, and was a European phenomenon. This code of honour lay, often uncomfortably, alongside the new legal and religious codes, which were also used to consolidate the monarchs in their absolute power. It defined the conditions of membership of the community and honour and its central moral imperative remained what it had always been, the need to be true to ones word. A man was as good as his word. To keep faith meant continuing allegiance to the code of honour, whereas to break it brought shame and banishment. Thus the customs of the code of honour were maintained chiefly by the conventions of society. However these conventions and the code of honour have rapidly changed over the decades. The perception of honour in our generation today has changed dramatically. Families today do not rely upon chaste behaviour to bring them power and position in society and although it may be considered immoral by some to loose their virginity before marriage, the majority of the population find it socially acceptable to have sexual relations before marriage. Honour for men has not changed quite so significantly and honour for men today is still very similar. Forming strong bonds, friendships and alliances between other males is the norm. However the scale and strength at which this occurs has decreased dramatically, because not as many men go to war which is were the most binding of these bonds is formed. These days it seems that these kinds of male bonds are formed on the sports field rather than on the battlefield, causing male honour to be on a backwards slide. The trend we now see in the twenty first century is that honour is no longer as important to us as it was in the 1600’s and this underpins many of society’s problems. Although the code of honour which bound the characters of â€Å"â€Å"Much Ado About Nothing†Ã¢â‚¬  to the conventions of society and confined most of civilization in the 1600’s to live within its constraints was restrictive and oppressive, this code of conduct, defining as it did a person’s worth, ensured that there was a social responsibility concerning people’s behaviour which is all too often missing in today’s ‘me’ generation.