Lecture Notes: Hero in Much Ado About Nothing

Introduction

• Hero as a Foil: Hero is presented as a foil to Beatrice, highlighting differences in their characters.
  • Beatrice: Outspoken, fiery, against Elizabethan conventions.
  • Hero: Stereotypical Elizabethan woman - virginal, modest, obedient.

Hero's Character Traits

• Hero faces slander by Claudio, impacting her deeply.
  • Accused of not being a virgin, faints but doesn't die (metaphor for social death).
• Important to understand Hero for coursework and exams.

Key Quotations and Analysis

Quotation 1: Hero’s Modesty

• Hero expresses willingness to help Beatrice find a husband: "I will do... any modest office... to help my cousin to a good husband."
  • Analysis:
    • Adjective: Modest - reflects her own modesty.
    • Alliteration: "Help" and "husband".

Quotation 2: Hero’s View on Beatrice

• Hero is puzzled by Beatrice's outspokenness: "Nature never framed a woman's heart of prouder stuff than that of Beatrice."
  • Analysis:
    • Alliteration: "Nature" and "never".
    • Personification: Nature frames.

Quotation 3: Hero’s Pre-Wedding Sentiment

• Before marriage, Hero feels a sense of foreboding: "My heart is exceeding heavy."
  • Analysis:
    • Foreshadowing: Indicates impending trouble.
    • Alliteration: "Heart" and "heavy".

Quotation 4: Proving Innocence

• During wedding, Hero defends her integrity: "If I know more of any man alive than that which maiden modesty doth warrant, let all my sins lack mercy."
  • Analysis:
    • Sentence Type: Exclamatory.
    • Euphemism: Reference to sexual innocence.
    • Alliteration: "Maiden" and "modesty".

Quotation 5: Emphatic Innocence

• Hero pleads her case: "Oh my father, prove that any man with me conversed... refused me, hate me, tortured me to death."
  • Analysis:
    • Repeating Pronoun: "Me" - emphasis.
    • Listing and Rule of Three: Refuse, hate, torture.

Quotation 6: Hero's Redemption

• Post-slander revelation, Hero forgives Claudio: "One hero died defiled, but I do live. And as surely as I live, I am a maid."
  • Analysis:
    • Alliteration: "Died" and "defiled".
    • Repetition: "Live" emphasizes survival.
    • Euphemism: "Maid" - still a virgin.

Conclusion

• Hero represents the conventional Elizabethan woman, contrasting with the unconventional Beatrice.

End of Notes

Thank you for listening.