Shakespeare On Nietzsche: Dissecting Love Through Aphorism and Character

Undergraduate Honors Thesis

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Citeable URL: https://scholar.colorado.edu/concern/undergraduate_honors_theses/kd17cv66n

Abstract

According to Nietzsche, love is a complex idea represented in three ways. Nietzsche criticizes love in its conventional definition as a form of possession and domination, scrutinizes how gender norms constrain the possibilities for a relationship between men and women, and suggests that to achieve "true" love, we must learn to embrace the strange and unexpected qualities of otherness. In applying these three ideas to three Shakespeare plays that present relationships between characters, we can see how Nietzsche's ideas develop in these relationships and love as a whole. Through looking at the relationship riddled with possession in Venus and Adonis, the jealousy-ridden dynamic between Mr. and Mrs. Ford in The Merry Wives of Windsor, and the complex plots of Much Ado About Nothing that show the acceptance of conventional love through Claudio and Hero, and Beatrice and Benedick, we see these ideas offered by Nietzche above manifesting. Working with Nietzshce's aphorisms and Shakespeare's plays in conversation with one another gives insight into the development of love between Shakespeare's characters, and how Nietzsche's ideas of love can be used to understand the differences between lust, possession, and love. Ultimately, the relationships between the characters above show what happens when they are not able to take the steps toward true love and what happens when they are, weighing on the threat of a tragic ending for the relationship and the characters involved.

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