2 Matching Annotations
  1. Jun 2019
    1. bull.

      I decided to put Benedick’s head on the bull with the horns to visualize the metaphor of the taming of the savage bull. Everyone, specifically Claudio and Don Pedro, has directly mocked Benedick for being so averted to marriage, which Benedick is surrounded by in my piece. I used marker because this medium allows for a rougher texture that gives the effect of Claudio and Don Pedro’s words. Furthermore, the horns are red to show it's importance to the metaphor. Don Pedro has a crown over him because he is the Prince of Aragon which is also colored purple because that symbolizes royalty and lastly, Claudio is blue symbolizing loyalty.

    2. I think he thinks upon the savage bull. 
      In this line, Claudio pokes fun at Benedick for his reluctance to get married by using a metaphor involving the taming of a wild animal. This metaphor is commonly used throughout this play and comes from a classical myth in which Zeus took the form of a bull and carried off the mortal woman Europa. Just as a free bull is tamed by a farmer, in *Much Ado About Nothing* the bachelor is tamed by responsibility when he becomes a married man. This bull’s horns are another part of the image: the cuckold was depicted as having horns sprouting from his head. By comparing Benedick to a wild untamed animal, Shakespeare has solidified the character of Benedick as one who is converted by marriage, a beast of burden, and at risk of a cuckold-like shame, thus, making the “domesticated savage bull” a symbol of marriage throughout the play.