https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwKtc0uyBLM&feature=youtu.be

Creative Annotation by Lauren Kennedy and Emma Dereskewicz

W F Bach Sonata Duetto in E Minor for Two Flutes, Fk 54 III Vivace

This flute duet mimics Benedick and Beatrice’s complex relationship through its dissonant harmonies and winding melodies that overlap at points but also conflict. Both flutes begin the piece in the same manner with ascending triplets but make their entrances out of sync. As the movement progresses, the two flutes begin to blend more and more and support one another instead of their previous discord and friction. Gradually, even after moments of dispute, Benedick and Beatrice begin to complement each other and work as a pair, marked by major, uplifting harmonies and end in sync in a perfect octave, symbolizing the two characters’ eventual adoration of one another. 

Benedick and Beatrice’s rollercoaster of a relationship is one of the most remarkable elements of the already bizarre plot of Much Ado About Nothing. In Benedick’s soliloquy at the beginning of Act 2, Scene 3, he expresses his thoughts on love and the change that results in a man because of it. Benedick sees falling in love as a foolish endeavor and ridicules Claudio for becoming “the argument of his own scorn” by falling in love with Hero. The fact that Claudio and Don Pedro‘s scheme to fool the two adversaries into falling in love with each other actually works is comical and rather shocking. The place underlying love story between Benedick and Beatrice is a key factor in the character development of both lovers. Benedick, who begins the play as a hardened war hero, criticizing Claudio for falling in love with Hero, soon falls head over heels himself. Beatrice, a cynical “shrew” who swore never to marry, soon becomes a lovebird as well. Their change in heart is so drastic and ironic that it becomes one of the defining aspects of the play as a whole, making it the well known Shakespearean comedy it is today.

As much as Gregor’s family may be inclined to believe that somewhere inside the hard- shelled body of the cockroach Gregor’s soul resides, it is understandable that they may eventually, after quite some time, lose faith in this conviction. The thought that the man who was once a hardworking salesman and the sole provider for their family could have simply woken up one morning inside the body of a enormous, grotesque vermin may begin to seem too far fetched for Gregor’s mother, father, and sister to continue believing. Particularly considering their prolonged efforts to feed and make him comfortable, it is understandable that these tasks could become tiresome and seem pointless given Gregor’s inability to communicate, not providing the family with reassurance that their efforts are being appreciated by a conscious being. In addition, it does not appear to me that at this point in the novella, Gregor is thinking human thoughts any longer. While he may be understanding his father’s words and the things going on around him, his inner thoughts no longer sound like they belong to a human trapped inside the body of a cockroach. Gregor is beginning to meld further and further into his new form and behaves accordingly.