Quote 4
CLAUDIO
'Tis certain so. The Prince woos for himself.
Friendship is constant in all other things
Save in the office and affairs of love.
Therefore all hearts in love use their own tongues.
Let every eye negotiate for itself
And trust no agent, for beauty is a witch
Against whose charms faith melteth into blood. (2.1.172-178)
Claudio thinks all bets are off when it comes to love; that romantic love can supersede or intrude upon friendship. As a result, he’s convinced that Don Pedro is wooing Hero for himself.
Quote 5
HERO
O god of love! I know he doth deserve
As much as may be yielded to a man,
But Nature never framed a woman's heart
Of prouder stuff than that of Beatrice.
Disdain and scorn ride sparkling in her eyes,
Misprizing what they look on, and her wit
Values itself so highly that to her
All matter else seems weak. She cannot love,
Nor take no shape nor project of affection,
She is so self-endeared. (3.1.49-58)
This is an interesting insight into Hero’s thinking. We learn more about Hero’s notions of love from her conversation about Beatrice and Benedick than from her own thoughts about her marriage to Claudio. Hero seems to realize that in order to love another, one must sacrifice some self-love. She’s rationalized that love is not about self-indulgence, but self-sacrifice... which explains some of her willingness to love Claudio even after he’s wronged her.
CLAUDIO
Sweet Hero, now thy image doth appear
In the rare semblance that I loved it first. (5.1.262-263)
Claudio declares his love for Hero again as soon as he hears of her innocence. His sudden renewed love of Hero makes us feel as though his love is not actually as deep as we’d want it to be; his love was destroyed by outside circumstance and is resolved by outside circumstance too. We wonder whether Claudio will be able to weather other miscommunications when the pair is married—or will he be as quick to judge as he is currently, even if he’s wrong?