Much Ado About Nothing And Taming Of The Shrew Comparative Essay

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William Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing" and "Taming of the Shrew" are two of his best-known comedic plays. As with most of his comedies, they both feature a wedding, but there are many other similarities in themes and motifs of these plays, as well. The Taming of the Shrew is an early comedy, loosely termed “romantic” along with Much Ado About Nothing and A Midsummer Night's Dream. Such plays are lighthearted and often slapstick in style, filled with disguises and deception, and end happily. This is in sharp contrast to the later comedies that are much darker and filled with cynicism and a sometimes bitter irony. (The “Romances,” on the other hand, are called such because they use material from old adventure stories and often invoke magic.)…show more content…
It is interesting to compare the concept of love and partnership in more mature men and women in The Taming of the Shrew with Benedick and Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing. Social Roles Both plays deal with the difficulty and stuffiness of the social structure. In "Much Ado About Nothing," the characters often have to give way to people in higher authority roles. Benedick notes frequently that others in the household speak in lofty words to seem of a higher position than they are. In "Taming of the Shrew," Bianca is not allowed to marry until her older sister does, and Katherine does not wish to marry. They are forced to accept their roles as upper middle-class society ladies, however. Taming Animals In both plays, the motif of women as animals that must be tamed runs throughout. Beatrice says she will tame her "wild heart" to Benedick's loving hand, which refers to the old practice of taming falcons. And of course, Katherine is the titular shrew of "The Taming of the Shrew." Petruchio says he will tame her like a falcon as

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