'Reinvention' in Shakespeares 'Much Ado about Nothing'.

Essay by esszed99High School, 11th grade March 2005

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The play Much Ado About Nothing, William Shakespeares finest piece yet, centrally deals with the development of its 2 main characters, Beatrice and Benedick, and the ways in which they reinvent themselves and their emotions based on what they hear from others. These characters are perhaps Shakespeares most famously witty characters and as we discover with the plays commencement, these characters are bitter enemies and carry on a "merry war of wit" with one another. In the very first scene as we are introduced to these characters, we witness a stream of insults thrown to each other and back which is a clear indication of their situation. In this scene, when Benedick has just presently entered and is speaking with others, Beatrice begins the round of insults by asking him why is he talking since no one is listening to him. He responds "Lady Disdain! Are you yet living?" and she replies by asking how could such disdain die when Benedick is there to feed it? Then, in an extremely fast-paced exchange of barbs, they insult one another's sex, and the advantages and disadvantages they each possess because of it, looks, intelligence, intellect, and personality.

Beatrice complains about Benedick's history as a womaniser and when Benedick tells Beatrice proudly that he has never loved a woman and never will, Beatrice responds that women everywhere ought to rejoice. The conversation between Beatrice and Benedick reveals that Benedick is very much a man who prefers the company and behavior of males, and Beatrice is a woman who prefers the company and behaviors of women. It reveals that they despise one another but also that they agree on a few things. Both Benedick and Beatrice claim to scorn love and never wish to be married.

It is later on in the play...