Shakespeare- Comparison of Love

Comparing the Presentation of Love in Much Ado about Nothing and Sonnet 130
The portrayals of love in Much Ado about Nothing and Sonnet 130 are very diverse. In Much Ado about Nothing there are two main focuses of the play; the typical Shakespearean love of Claudio and Hero, and the gulling of Beatrice and Benedick. 
Beatrice and Benedick are the most intriguing focus of the play. Their verbal sparring and constant talk of remaining unmarried makes the audience think that they have no interest in each other but throughout the play their relationship becomes clearer.
At the beginning of the play, Beatrice and Benedick argue with one another. At the end of this, Beatrice says “you always end with a jade’s trick; I know you of old”. This suggests that she knows him well and there is some sort of history between them. This argument- or “merry war”- would initially make you think that Beatrice and Benedick don’t care about each other but their haste to answer one another suggests that they don’t want to let their guard down and show any emotion at the insults that are being thrown at them both.
The first words Beatrice delivers that involve Benedick are, “I pray you, has Signor Mountanto returned from the wars or no?” This suggests that she doesn’t think very much of Benedick yet this is the first line she delivers in the play so it does express some sort of interest. This is quite subtle as she disguises her concern with an insult.
This is similar to Shakespeare’s sonnet 130. The first line is, “My mistress’s eyes are nothing like the sun”. In this line, he is saying that his mistress’s eyes have no light in them and nothing that would instantly draw him to her. This would be very misleading if you didn’t read through the whole sonnet- where at the end Shakespeare puts aside his mistress’s flaws and confesses that he loves her anyway- because you would think that Shakespeare doesn’t really see anything in his mistress and doesn’t love her. This is very similar to Beatrice’s first line. The first time it is read, no concern could be spotted in her words as it sounds instantly sounds insulting.
Later on, at the masked ball, Benedick is in disguise and pretends to be someone else to find out what Beatrice really thinks of him. She insults him and knows that he can’t reply without showing himself. Afterwards, Benedick tells Don Pedro about his encounter with Beatrice and says “she speaks poniards, and every word stabs”. This shows that her words have hurt him deeply though he wasn’t put off by her insults at the beginning of the play when he could answer back to her as himself. He continues by saying “I would not marry her” which had nothing to do with what he had been talking about before. When Beatrice arrives and Don Pedro tells her she has lost Benedick’s heart, she replies, “he lent it me a while, and I gave him use for it, a double heart for his single one”. These two quotes back up the evidence earlier of there being history between them but they suggest that Beatrice and Benedick were romantically involved and that she loved him more than he loved her in return.
They are also very easily tricked into liking each other. Once they believe that the other person is in love with them then they are less afraid to admit to themselves that they may return those feelings. At Hero and Claudio’s wedding, Beatrice tells Benedick to kill Claudio after they admit their love for one other. When he refuses but swears he loves her she says, “Use it for my love some other way than swearing by it”. This shows that she does love him but that what Claudio has done to Hero has upset her and she wants revenge. She is also testing how much Benedick loves her.
Even though, throughout sonnet 130, Shakespeare finds faults with his mistress, the final two lines “And yet by heaven I think my love as rare, as any she belied with false compare” suggest that he still loves her despite her faults and that he doesn’t want to compare her with ridiculous things. This also implies that he would rather love a real, average person than someone who can be seen as perfect.
Beatrice and Benedick’s love is very similar to this. Once they have come to terms with the fact that they are both in love with each other they are willing to accept one another’s flaws and aren’t just in love because they will be more accepted in society. Beatrice has a mind of her own which makes the love more real unlike Hero who doesn’t have much to say about her marriage.
Claudio and Hero’s love however is entirely different. It seems very superficial as neither of them show much love to one another during the play. Hero doesn’t seem to have a mind of her own and does as she is told which is what women would do during Shakespeare’s time but it doesn’t make her very interesting and she comes across as not having much to say. Claudio seems to be a very mistrusting person and is oblivious to any of Hero’s flaws until they are pointed out by Don John. This suggests that he doesn’t have a deep connection with Hero and disregards anything she has to say when it is proved otherwise by someone of a higher status.
For example, in Shakespeare’s sonnet he says “I grant I’ve never seen a goddess go, but my mistress when she walks, treads on the ground” This quote shows that Shakespeare does not think that his mistress is anything special. He says that she is not extraordinary unlike a goddess who is perfect and has no flaws. A goddess also would create a feeling of wonder but, as this quote highlights, Shakespeare would feel no awe at the sight of his lover.
In Much Ado about Nothing however, Claudio’s view is the exact opposite of Shakespeare’s in his sonnet. When voicing his thoughts on Hero, Claudio asks Benedick “Can the world buy such a jewel?” From this we can infer that he finds himself extremely lucky to have seen Hero and wonders how he can possibly acquire her love as she is so perfect. This is a complete parallel to Shakespeare’s feelings. Claudio is completely blind to any flaws that Hero may have whereas Shakespeare feels free to point out his mistress’s imperfections.
Again, Claudio and Hero are shown to be complete opposites of both Shakespeare and Beatrice and Benedick when before he is sure that he is in love with Hero Claudio asks Don Pedro, “Hath Leonato any son, my Lord?”. If Leonato had had a son then it would have meant that when he died, most of his money would have gone to him instead of Claudio, his son in law. This highlights the point that he doesn’t want an average woman but someone who is of a high status.
Later on in the play, when Don John tricks Claudio into thinking that Don Pedro is wooing Hero for himself, Claudio says, “Friendship is constant in all other things, save in the office of love”. This is evidence that he isn’t a very trusting person and believes that Don Pedro would betray him. After this, he says, “Which I mistrusted not: farewell therefore, Hero”. This shows that he won’t do much to win over Hero and that he is quite weak hearted. It also highlights the point that they have no real connection and Claudio doesn’t even attempt to woo her himself.
After Claudio has been tricked into thinking that Hero has had an affair, he shames her at their wedding resulting in a loss of her reputation. When she faints, Claudio says, “Do not live, Hero, do not open thine eyes: for did I think thou wouldst not quickly die”. This shows that though their love may not be as true as Beatrice and Benedick’s Claudio is still hurt by Hero’s supposed affair and is overcome by fierce anger.
Shakespeare’s sonnet has a line which could relate to Claudio’s shaming of Hero. “If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head”. This is insulting his mistress as it is saying that instead of golden hairs she merely has black hairs. This is similar to when Claudio refers to Hero as a “rotten orange”. This means she is contaminated and diseased and not pure.
Moreover, I think that Sonnet 130 and Beatrice and Benedick’s love are very similar but completely diverse to Claudio and Hero’s love. Sonnet 130 represents overcoming flaws and accepting your love for the other person anyway which is exactly what happens to Beatrice and Benedick. This is an example of true love whereas Claudio and Hero demonstrate a very different kind of amity. Shakespeare uses these two couples to show a contradiction in different types of love.