Many Facets of Love Explored in Much Ado About NothingIn Shakespeare's romantic comedy Much Ado About Nothing, Shakespeare devotes a lot time to the ideas of the young and lustful. , and intellectual love. Claudio and Hero, Borachio and Margaret, and Benedick and Beatrice, each represent one of the fundamental aspects of love. Shakespeare is careful to point out that no way is better than another. The paths are just different and all have happy endings. Shakespeare also explores the different aspects of courtship, marriages and different facets of love. The aspect of the court in Much Ado About Nothing plays a crucial role in the development of the characters and the evolution of the play as a whole. The character who must undergo the greatest transformation during the courtship process is Beatrice. The first mention of the court is in act one, scene one, when Beatrice inquires earnestly of Benedick: "Pray, has Signor Mountanto returned from the wars or not?" Beatrice loves Benedick, and he loves her, but she is too proud to admit that she has feelings for a man. She denies herself her true feelings so often that it turns from a ruse to the truth she believes: “Am I so condemned for pride and contempt? / Contempt, farewell and virgin pride, farewell! (III. ii. 108-109) There, Beatrice realizes how contemptuous she has been and vows to get rid of her steel armor for one made of chocolate. Now, it is no longer nut chocolate, nor fondant chocolate, nor even milk chocolate, but pure white chocolate so that she can imprint her shared love for Benedick: “I will reward you, / Taming my wild heart. to your loving hand” (III. ii. 111-112). Beatrice has... middle of paper ... the ceremonial aspect of relationships and how bad they can go if given the leeway for Claudio and Hero's marriage. Finally, Shakespeare shows how powerful physical attraction between two people can be; so powerful that one becomes totally submissive to the orders and demands of the other. The moral of the play: Know yourself and your neighbor. Works cited and consulted: Barton, Anne. Introduction. Much ado for nothing. The Riverside Shakespeare, 2nd ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1997. 361-365. Lewalski, BK “Love, Appearance, and Reality: Much Ado About Something” Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900 8 (1968): 235-251. Rossiter, AP "Much Ado About Nothing." Comedies and Romances of William Shakespeare. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1986. Shakespeare, William. Much Ado About Nothing. Bevington 216-51.