Act 2 Scene 1 Homework

Act 2 Scene 1  essay: Act 2 Scene 1 is a key scene with regards to the main plot throughout the rest of the play, Shakespeare cleverly uses setting to build layers of comedy and a focus on gulling that links to further on in the plot, the scene is set at a masked ball allowing both good and bad deceit to take place. Shakespeare uses characterisation to challenge conventional ideas around love and marriage, institutionalised love is the stereotypical image of love found in fairy tales, Beatrice is very cynical of men and the idea of marriage, when presented with the description of the perfect man, ‘half Signor Benedick’s tongue…..and half Count John’s melancholy’ she still wants more, this challenges the image of women at the time who were expected to be ‘weak’ and ‘frail’ as described by John Knox. It is through Beatrice that Shakespeare makes further challenges to traditional beliefs, she says ‘I up my apes and away to Saint Peter’ it was said that women who did not procreate would live an eternal life of bestiality, ‘leading apes to hell’ however Beatrice is determined to justify her beliefs her unladylike manor is presented through the theme of marriage that runs throughout the play, the metaphor of horns is used as a negative symbol for marriage within the scene, ‘God sends a cursed cow short horns’ Beatrice is stating the benefits of not getting married this would shock upper class audiences as the construct’s view is not conventional of women at the time, ‘horns’ were said to be a symbol of cuckolds, if you don’t marry you cannot be cheated on, the word ‘curst’ suggests the she is seen as shrew-like, this links to David Stevenson’s critique that she is a shrew, ‘playing roles’ with Benedick to hide her true feelings.
    Gulling and disguise is a major theme within this scene, Beatrice and Benedick are a large source of comedy through deceit throughout the play. Benedick believing his identity is hidden tells Beatrice that her wit has been described as unsophisticated jokes similar to that found in ‘the hundred merry tales’ , it is clear that Shakespeare is trying to present hidden love described in the ‘Book of Courtier’ through her reaction, she describes Benedick as the ‘prince’s jester’ however a sense of previous affairs is implicitly indicated through double entendre, ‘I would he had boarded me’ aside from the clear sexual reference this comment presents the idea that if he gave her the chance of love she would take it. Self deception is presented through Benedick’s reaction to Beatrice’s insults, Shakespeare presents Benedick as a misogynistic character who, according to Camille Wells Slights, accuses Beatrice of ‘inverting the hierarchy of the sexes’ he then contrasts this idea as ‘every word stabs’ it can be said that the two protagonists are playing a game in which the subject is ‘a distaste for institutionalized romantic love’.Basic essay, Got the points but not enough good stuff, needs critical interpretation, historical context and links to language form and structure as well as a less list-like format:
Don John fools Claudio into thinking that Don Pedro won Hero for himself,‘Are not you Signor Benedick?’/‘You know me well. I am he.’ when this happens it can be seen as manipulation of Claudio, he is very easily fooled and trusts Don John too quickly this can be linked to further on when he falls so easily for Borachio’s plan and spoils Hero’s reputation ending the wedding. Claudio overreacts and bursts into soliloquy, ignoring his trust in Don Pedro and blaming love, he is in a constant state of fluctuation, a hopeless lover that falls very easily in and out of love, ‘the prince hath got your Hero.’/‘I wish him joy of her.’ this links to his name which means lame. In the long term this gulling of Claudio wasn’t very effective as Claudio is quick to fall back in love with Hero and regain his trust in Don Pedro.