WHATS LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT?

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Greetings ! More blog writting it is. In class now we are reading a book by shakespeare called Much ado about nothing. Our Professor had asked of us to choose one of these questions and answer it. Here goes nothing . Enjoy :)


     Love isn’t meant to be contained. Love should run wild and scorch the earth with passion. But in Shakespeare’s time, the Elizabethan Era, this type of love was almost constantly quelled. Back in this time marriage was not necessarily a sign of love. People married for status and for their best interest often with actual love being of secondary importance. If asked what I think of such match-making I’m almost overwhelmed with disgust. In modern times if a person was to marry for money or social status they would most likely be chastised. In my eyes people should only marry for one reason and one reason only, and that is for love. Everything else doesn’t really matter. In quoting John Lennon of the Beatles it’s suffice to say that “all you need is love.”

   When speaking of the relationship between Claudio and Hero, I think that Claudio is attracted to Hero based on her looks, as Claudio even said “In mine eye she is the sweetest lady that ever I looked on.” He is blinded by her beauty, falling in love with her without even speaking. Now I understand that in Shakespearean plays the theory of “love at first sight” is highly common and that in the Elizabethan Era Claudio and Hero’s “love” would have even been the norm but it still doesn’t make much sense. Also for him to completely rebuke her without question at their wedding is completely absurd. If he truly loved her he would have spoken to her, defended her honor but instead he rejected her fully. Love is something that is formed over time. You could be in lust with someone by just looking at them but you surely cannot be in love. With that said, the relationship that Claudio and Hero has is not necessarily love but infatuation.  On a side note, I think that the correlation between love and marriage is just an excuse for the men of that period to lay claim to a woman, to keep her as a mere object or property. Claudio wanted Hero to be married to him not out of love but because he didn’t want any other man to have her, he wanted her to himself. Hence why he was so upset when he thought she was involved in adultery. It’s almost like him saying “my lady, my prized virgin mistress, do not dote upon another but I, for I will possess thou and let no man taint thy virtuous flesh.” This may be a tad dramatic but the message is conveyed, although I am sad that I just slaughtered Shakespearean speech. But I digress. He wanted to possess her because of his infatuation with her and in essence the entirety of the play was not based on the love this pair shared but their fixation with each other.