Sir Philip Sydney, a contemporary of Shakespeare, composed a series of love sonnets dedicated to his beloved Stella. Sonnet 12 begins with this description of his beloved:
Cupid, because thous shin'st in Stella's eyes,
That from her locks, thy day-nets, none 'scapes free,
'That those lips swell, so full of thee they be,
That her sweet breath makes oft they flames to rise,
That in her breast thy pap sugared lies,
In the conventions of courtly love, the poet immortalizes his beloved by praising her ideal beauty. Compare this description to the interchange between Claudio and Benedick in Much Ado:
Claudio: In my eye she is the sweetest lady that ever I looked on.
Benedick: I can see yet without spectacles, and I see no such matter.
Later in the play Benedick reflects on the qualities of a woman necessary to "transform [him] to an oyster": One woman is fair, yet I am well; another virtuous, yet I am well; but till all graces be in one woman, one woman shall not come in my grace"(2.3.28-30).
What is this play telling us about courtly love? Does it embrace or criticize this tradition? How does it relate to the bawdy jokes and fears about cuckoldry that is found through out the play? What is the relationship between courtly and "real" love? How do the ideals of courtly love aid or impede the pursuit of the beloved (of finding a suitable marriage partner)?
In William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, Shakespeare mocks courtly love as a love based solely on appearance not on reality. In other words, courtly love is yet another parallel to appearance versus reality.
ReplyDeleteThe love shared by Hero and Claudio very much reflects Sir Philip Sydney’s love for Stella. In other words, their love is a courtly love based on appearance and not reality. Without even exchanging a single word between one another, Claudio has decided that he loves Hero. As soon as Hero and the rest of the welcoming party exit, Claudio turns to Benedick and asks, “Benedick, didst thou note the daughter of Signior Leonato?” (1.1.158-9). When Claudio subsequently comments, “in mine eye she is the sweetest lady that ever I looked on,” Benedick is quick to retort with, “I can see yet without spectacles and I see no such matter” (1.1.183-186). When Claudio looks at Hero, he is biased by what she seems to be- a modest, quiet, beautiful lady. In other words, Claudio sees only a façade of Hero, an appearance. Benedick, on the other hand, sees Hero as who she really is. He does not see a great beauty. He sees her imperfections and subsequently describes them to Claudio. He says, “why, i’faith, methinks she’s too low for a high praise, too brown for a fair praise, and too little for a great praise. Only this commendation I can afford her, that were she other than she is, she were unhandsome, and being no other but as she is, I do not like her” (1.1.167-172). It almost seems like Benedick and Claudio see different people before them. Claudio sees Hero, the goddess maid, while Benedick sees Hero, the person.
When Claudio believes that Hero, the goddess maid, has been unfaithful, the appearance changes once again. With only one flaw, Claudio’s “love” for Hero falls to pieces. When Hero ventures to ask Claudio, “and seemed I ever otherwise to you (i.e. did I ever not seem a maid to you)?” Claudio erupts and exclaims:
Out on thee seeming! I will write against it.
You seem to me as Dian in her orb,
As chaste as is the bud ere it be blown.
But you are more intemperate in your blood
Than Venus, or those pampered animals
That rage in savage sensuality (4.1.56-62).
This is an important speech because it truly expresses the whole of the idea I am trying to make here. When the appearance and the seeming reality do not coincide, Claudio is thrust into this angry outburst. Claudio has put the idea of Hero on such a high pedestal that he cannot bear it when that pedestal is lowered. Therefore, the courtly love of Claudio and Hero is based on the appearance of people and not the reality of people.
I very much agree with what Sarah has said in her post. In all of the comedies that we have read so far we see the fast transition of two people meeting, exchanging some form of flattery, and abruptly falling in love. It seems that everyone has something to gain when they “fall in love”. So for my post, I would like to focus on love and courting as a means of opportunity in Shakespeare’s comedies.
ReplyDeleteFirst we have the relationship in Merchant between Bassanio and Portia. In the beginning of the play we see that Bassanio is in extreme financial distress and asks his dear friend Antonio to help him court a rich lady in Belmont. Bassanio first says, “How much I have disabled mine estate / By something showing a more swelling port / Than my faint means would grant continuance,” (1.1.130-132). He goes onto explain to Antonio that he wishes he had “but the means / to hold a rival place with one of them,” (1.2.180-181) in regards to being one of Portia’s suitors. The reader never truly sees if Bassanio is truly in love with Portia throughout much of their courting. Bassanio only sees a beautiful and rich woman who will not only alleviate his financial situation but also elevate his social reputation.
In Much Ado, we see the relationship between Beatrice and Benedick. I believe that they do not truly love each other, but because of their desire to always be right, they see a moment to prove their families wrong when both sides say that Beatrice nor Benedick will ever marry. Beatrice was called a “lapwig” (3.1.15) and a “haggards of the rock” (3.1.37). When hearing this she proclaims:
Contempt, farewell, and maiden pride, adieu!
No glory lives behind the back of such.
And Benedick, love on; I will requite thee,
Taming my wild heart to thy loving hand (3.1.115-18).
She doesn’t actually love Benedick. She thinks that he is an awful soldier and bachelor and that she would “rather hear my dog bark at a crow / than a man swear he loves me,” (1.1.129-130). Likewise can be said for Benedick when he responds to the accusation that he would dismiss Beatrice if he knew of her love. He says that he “will bear myself proudly if I perceive the love / come from her,” (2.3.228-229). They both have something to prove and truly do not love each other.
Agreeing with Sarah's point, I would also argue that Shakespeare mocks courtly love by noting its inherent fragility, especially in the face of true love. As noted above, Claudio’s and Hero's relationship is like something out of a fairy tale, beginning with "love at first sight:" Claudio barely gazes upon Hero before he starts proclaiming, "Can the world buy such a jewel? ... In mine eye she is the sweetest lady that ever I looked on" (1.1.177, 183-4). Smitten so, Claudio quickly woos Hero - through a proxy - and, before a day has gone by, is betrothed to her. Built on such a hastily-constructed foundation, it really comes as no surprise that this relationship is fragile. All it takes is a simple insinuation on the part of Don John to prompt Claudio to declare, “If I see anything tonight why I should not marry her, tomorrow in the congregation, where I should wed, there will I shame her” (3.2.116-8). Clearly, Claudio’s and Hero’s relationship is a fragile one, if the mere shadow of a doubt can cause Claudio to denounce and shame his fiancé on their wedding day without even a private talk with her beforehand to determine her guilt.
ReplyDeleteIn contrast, the relationship of Benedick and Beatrice, being a definite non-courtly one, is strong and resilient, withstanding sudden shocks. Unlike that of Hero and Claudio, the love between Beatrice and Benedick is not at all “love at first sight;” indeed, it’s questionable whether it really is love in the first place. Whereas Claudio simply “falls” in love, Benedick chooses to love, remarking, “they seem to pity the lady, it seems her affections have their full bent. Love me? Why it must be requited!” (2.3.225-7). Likewise, Beatrice, having been tricked by Margaret and Hero, also decides to love Benedick:
Stand I condemned for pride and scorn so much?
Contempt, farewell, and maiden pride, adieu! …
And Benedick, love on; I will requite thee,
Taming my wild heart to thy loving hand. (3.2.115-8)
Beatrice and Benedick, each believing the other to be afflicted with hopeless love, consciously choose to love each other, rather than simply “falling” magically in love. This decision, although unorthodox to Shakespeare’s audiences, lends their relationship and enduring quality that Claudio’s and Hero’s does not. Thus, at the end of the play when every trick, including the one on Benedick and Beatrice, is revealed, the love of Beatrice and Benedick remains strong:
BENEDICK: Do not you love me?
BEATRICE: Why no, no more than reason…
Do not you love me?
BENEDICK: Troth, no, no more than reason…
They swore that you were almost sick for me.
BEATRICE: They swore that you were well-nigh dead for me…
BENEDICK: … Come, I will have thee, but by this light
I take thee for pity.
BEATRICE. I would not deny you, but by this good day, I
yield upon great persuasion, and partly to save your
life, for I was told you were in a consumption. (5.4.76-7, 80-1, 84-5, 97-101)
The love of Benedick and Beatrice, based as it is on a conscious non-courtly decision to love, is much stronger than that of Claudio and Hero, able to withstand deception and a sudden shock. Thus, Shakespeare is mocking courtly love, highlighting it’s fragility.
I very much agree with that which has been said. In Much Ado About Nothing, there are two main romances that are followed: Beatrice and Benedick, and Claudio and Hero. This is the era of courtly love and the above Sydney quotation is the embodiment of this; he wrote a series of sonnets including this that provide an example of how love works in this time. Love is seen to consist of people giving long speeches proclaiming their love; this can be seen in other Shakespeare plays as well. The fact that it is absent from here is clearly indicative of the fact that Shakespeare is mocking this tradition in Much Ado. While Sydney writes sonnets and Romeo talks at length about the nature of love, Claudio only shortly states “In my eye she is the sweetest lady that ever I looked on” (1.1.147). In many ways this is just as sincere, though less wordy. If courtly love consists of long speeches then true love is made of concise statements that get true to one’s feelings. The former is meant to impress or win over, while the latter only seeks to convey a feeling. Benedick, though he says he will never marry, eventually realizes that he wants to be with Beatrice; he never courts her but their marriage will be a happy one because of it. Another recurring theme is cuckoldry, the fear of marital infidelity. However much he loves her, Claudio is ready to give up Hero when he believes she’s been unfaithful. Being as this is a court, courtly love might therefore be the norm, which would lead to marriages not made for love and thence to cuckoldry. The cuckold’s horns are a piece of the larger mocking of Courtly Love.
ReplyDelete