Thursday, 1 November 2012

Post 3: After reading the whole play


 The themes or important ideas are the necessity to marry for social benefits, the importance of virginity and the deception that these can bring to a relation: loss of honor and shame.

The lines of Leonato, Hero’s father in the Church: 
“Do not live, Hero; do not ope thine eyes:
For, did I think thou wouldst not quickly die,
Thought I thy spirits were stronger than thy shames,
Myself would, on the rearward of reproaches,
Strike at thy life. Grieved I, I had but one?
I might have said “No part of it is mine;
This shame derives itself from unknown loins”?”

I believe that the title is as unusual and amusing as the play must have been in the 16th Century. At the same time it already suggests what is going to happen; we should not care too much about things that others consider we should care a lot about.

I would ask Shakespeare, why he decided to deal with sensible themes from a humorous point of view?

1 comment:

  1. I'm not sure it is social benefit that marriage involves in this society, but social acceptance ...

    Are you sure you mean deception? Your idea is not clear.

    Could you expand on your choice of quotation?

    NB: sensible vs sensitive; no question mark after indirect questions

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