Benedick Foil

Out of the 37 plays and 154 sonnets that Shakespeare wrote, “Much Ado About Nothing” has become one his most popular pieces. The comedy follows Don Pedro, Claudio, and Benedick after they return home from war. Upon meeting Hero, Claudio immediately falls in love with her, and with the help of Don Pedro, Hero agrees to marry him. As they prepare for the wedding, Don Pedro plans to get Beatrice and Benedick together while Don John plots to ruin Hero and Claudio’s relationship. Both succeed, as Beatrice and Benedick admit their love for each other, and Claudio shames Hero at their wedding, believing that she had cheated on him. By the next day, they discover that Don John had staged the scene, and Claudio and Hero still got married, and Benedick got engaged to Beatrice. Throughout the play, Shakespeare uses character foils to emphasize the traits of his characters, and add to his story. In the play, “Much Ado About Nothing” by William Shakespeare, Benedick and Claudio are foils of each other because of their personality traits, choices, and reaction.

One reason of how Benedick and Claudio are foils is how different their personalities are. Claudio is submissive, backing down against a fight, while
In many situations in the book, the actions and words of one, would highlight the traits of the other. Although they may have similar traits, the differences in their other traits, bring out the characteristics of them. Throughout the book, different sides of the characters are shown as they grow and change, so the way that the two are foils of each other makes the changes seem more prominent and interesting. Shakespeare’s use of foils through Benedick and Claudio added to his comedic effect and overall story, which eventually became considered one of the best plays that he