In William Shakespeare's play, Much Ado About Nothing, it uses classic techniques of comedy and archetypes to create a comedic effect. The title, Much ado about nothing, means making fuss on insignificant matters. The title contributes to the theme of the play which is loving may have bounteous misconceptions. Shakespeare indirectly brings up the matters of love and marriage in an inaudible way, while still gratifying the audience.
From the beginning, the play introduces classic aspects that give to the comedy inspired in the play. Some of the key contributors to the humor of the play are Beatrice and Dogberry. Dogberry plays the role of The Figure of Fun quite well. As he appears in a scene, the audience can not help but laugh. Due to
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the fact that he acts more intelligent and mocks himself. He presents the readers with an uncomplicated and moderate to chuckle.
Through Dogberry, readers learn the truth about the dramatic misunderstanding of Hero and her betrayal. Hero's affair, even though it was far from the truth, shows readers the double standard for women to stay pure until marriage. Shakespeare creates humor to a delicate subject of today's great controversy. Dogberry helps resolve the matter and bring love back together. Beatrice is a strong and free-spirited women who perfectly matches the Classic Literary Archetype of The Bright Young Woman. Beatrice takes matters into her own hands and generally brings about the resolution. During the time of Shakespeare, audacious and governing women seem troublesome to wed. Through Beatrice, Shakespeare amuses the spectators through her opposed views and her setup love. Beatrice was headstrong about not settling down. However, she was quick to fall in love through the …show more content…
misunderstanding between Benedict and herself. Shakespeare mocks independent, intelligent women and free, adventurous men without all the backlash as they end up happily married. The trickery of Beatrice's and Benedict's love for one another is quite humorous as they both seem to go against their own morals towed each other. This is important as this force created love could have made the story, head south when Beatrice asked Benedict to kill Claudio. Throughout the play, Shakespeare uses part of The Comedic Ladder known as the Comedy of Ideas.
In Much ado about nothing, Characters argue ideas of sex and marriage. They have different views on marriage and sex. Many are confused on what to expect with love, marriage, and sex. Thus leading to false impressions. For instance, Benedict is more of a ladies man, as his view of sex is a pleasure with no connections and marriage is simply out of the question. Beatrice in the other hand wants more from her marriage as she refuses to settle down so easily. It's capriciously ironic that two characters, who swear to never marry, married each other. The characters talk about certain subjects in a way that if readers do not play close attention will miss. It's like a hidden treasure right before one's eyes. It was always there but only once discovered, one was aware it was there. Shakespeare also allows the characters to use one's wit and clever language to mock their opponent in arguments. This seen through Beatrice and Benedict's constant bickering at each other. They twisted each other's words and stated that there was a double meaning. Thus humoring the audience. This was a subtle attempt to satirize people about marriage and love. The humor found throughout the play allows Shakespeare to make comments on delicate matters during his
time. William Shakespeare was well-educated on the technical construction needed to create a good joke. As many are well aware that a well-developed joke consists of two parts; the setup and the unexpected punch line. Thus creating two stories or, in other words, a plot twist. The readers expect one scene to play out in a certain way but found themselves bemused by the change in course. Beatrice and Benedict's love unanticipated in the beginning of the play. Their misinterpreted love for one another is a classic example of a plot twist as readers suspected that the two character could not stand each other. The audience was surprised when the two feel for each other. Benedict was the humorist as he tends to have a double meaning which mostly referred to sex. Shakespeare joked around with the two stories punch lines and was open to discussing fragile subjects. To conclude, Shakespearean works today are too confounded as considered humorous as the later generations continue bemused by the double or hidden meanings that make the piece a comedy. William Shakespeare's overall message that love consists of copious misinterpretations is brought to surface further into the depth of the love stories within Much Ado About Nothing.
“And when I lived, I was your other wife, And when you loved, you were my other husband(Shakespeare 60).” In the beginning of the play it was overwhelming, steeped in love at first sight between Hero and Claudio, until Don John’s evil-manner took a role in ruining the love between them. And because of this a conflict developed between them, but was resolved when their vigorous love for one another overcame the conflict. In Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare, Hero serves as the foil character of Claudio because of Hero’s dignified, well-mannered, eminent reputation is illuminated through Claudio’s insecure, accusing, and doubtful weakness; thereby, interminably influencing the conflict in the plot.
In the play, “Much Ado About Nothing”, love and romance play a major role throughout the play.It takes place in Messina. The play has a lot of characters that fall in love with each other. Besides romance and love there is a lot of jealousy in the play. Characters will have up and down moments throughout the book, but they will all get together at the end of the story. Many scenes in the play will be about characters making other characters fall in love by telling one another that one likes the other. The play is all about characters getting together and being happy.
William Shakespeare is known for his use of dramatic irony and complicated story lines. In Much Ado About Nothing, he also adds in the element of disguise to what the characters know, or what they think they know. There are multiple characters trying to ensnare others in different facades, whether it be for better or for worse. The deception and illusion in the play can either assist the characters or completely shatter the situation, but in both cases, Shakespeare advises us to infer about what we hear or see before we jump to conclusions.
Shakespeare’s introduction of the other couple in question is in stark contrast to the way in which Beatrice and Benedick were introduced. Claudio and Hero are amorously receptive to one and other from the very start. Upon laying eyes on Hero, Claudio remarks of her to Benedict “is she not a modest young lady?” (1.1.125). Clearly, by having Claudio express his fondness of Hero to Benedick, the playwright directly compares the older and more cynical to the more young and naive, allowing the reader to see the contrasting personas of the two men. This is reinforced by Benedick, who after finishing listening to Claudio’s rhetoric on the charms of the young Hero (“in m...
“Language is frequently used to stir up & manipulate emotions.” - Mary Hamer. The words that people say can appear brutal or detrimental. These violent words take up many forms such as lying, insulting, etc. Along with its’ comedic formula, William Shakespeare's, Much Ado About Nothing is enhanced with humorous mockery and intertwined dialogues. In the play, the soldiers have just returned from a successful war. Love is traveling through the village; however the “language of war” appears rooted in the language. Numerous times do the characters joke around in cruel dialects. The mockery, however, is not considered to be as harsh due to the presence of comedy within the play. William Shakespeare’s intricate use of language in his play, Much Ado About Nothing, allows immense aggressive language to thrive in the characters yet is able to use this to alleviate the violence.
The modernization of nearly outdated and cliché settings typically used for Shakespearian plays such as Much Ado helps enforce Whedon's attempt to make the film and play familiar, as well as creates accessibility for the audience regardless of how well they may understand Shakespeare's language. Both the ensemble and individual cast members assist in achieving Whedon's vision by creating an atmosphere that seems familiar if only that it could be our own family and friends throwing that same banter back and forth between each other. Their playful and occasionally raw performances combine with a spectacular setting to help make Whedon's Much Ado About Nothing a stellar film that is a nearly perfect modern translation of a classic, centuries old
In William Shakespeare’s play ‘Much Ado about Nothing’, there are many instances of trickery and deception, which seem to surround the whole of the play.
It is the use of semantic that drives much of the conflict in the play to it’s climax. Dogberry character is the foil that reflects the excesses of the other characters wit and he is fundamental to the action of the play. He is view as the comic relief. His malapropisms put an interesting twist to the play. The fact that Dogberry has been given special incite on a plan that will destroy Claudio and Hero’s union, he remains the star in the play, a nobleman indeed of the mid-1800. Throughout the play we notice that Dogberry’s role as nobleman is dismissed for a foolish man. His foolishness is funny and uplifted the dark, evil, and dull moments within the
With its entangled plots and eloquent use of words, Much Ado About Nothing is a story that has the ability to entertain the masses, both young and old. Shakespeare’s use of figurative language along with situation creates such vivid imagery that carries the drama from beginning to end. For example, when we look at Act 1 Scene 1 of the play, we are quickly introduced to the sharp tongued Beatrice as she verbally annihilates her unseen co-star Benedick.... ... middle of paper ... ...
Beatrice's courtship with Benedick greatly contrasts with the courtship of Hero and Claudio. Hero gladly and willingly submitted to marriage, and she accepted the role of the relatively powerless woman. In contrast Beatrice chose her submission after openly criticizing the institution of marriage.
Shakespeare's wonderful comedy, Much Ado About Nothing, is an entertaining tale of the trials and tribulations of two pairs of lovers, who must face and overcome both malicious schemes plotted against them and also their own flaws and shortcomings before finding happiness together. Although clearly a comedy, the play is not without its darker moments. Don John plots to ruin Claudio's marriage; he nearly succeeds because Claudio, and most of the other men in the play, are too quick to judge Hero (and women in general) as innately deceitful. Naturally, true love wins through in the end, as the plot is exposed and foiled and Hero and Claudio are happily wed. Joining them at the altar are Beatrice and Benedick, the sharp-tongued pair who have (thanks to a little friendly intervention) discovered the mutual admiration previously hidden beneath their sarcasm.
At the start of the play Hero is presented as a typical woman of the time, modest and demure – she says little. In fact, Shakespeare’s first words describing Hero, ‘Is she not a modest young lady’ announce her essential qualities of modesty and decorum. In this period, these were vital qualities to have in a wife and Hero possessed them, unlike Beatrice. By contrast, Shakespeare portrays Beatrice as an untypical woman, being outspoken, independent, witty and unconventional – she is always participating in the conversation even with the men (especially Benedick), which Hero never does.
Much Ado About Nothing illustrates a kind of deliberately puzzling title that seems to have been popular in the late 1590s (ex "As You Like It"). Indeed, the play is about nothing; it follows the relationships of Claudio and Hero (which is constantly hampered by plots to disrupt it), and in the end, the play culminates in the two other main characters falling in love (Beatrice and Bena*censored*), which, because it was an event that was quite predictable, proves to be "much ado about nothing". The pronunciation of the word "nothing" would, in the late 16th Century, have been "noting," and so the title also apparently suggests a pun on the word, "noting," and on the use of the word "note" as an expression of music. In Act two, scene two ,Balthasar is encouraged to sing, but declines, saying, "note this before my notes; there’s not a note of mine that’s worth the noting." (53-54) However, Don Pedro retorts, "Note notes, forsooth, and nothing," playing on Balthasar’s words, and also demanding that he pay attention to his music and nothing else. In addition, much of the play is dedicated to people "noting" (or observing) the actions of others (such as the trick played on Beatrice and Bene*censored* by Leonato, Hero and Claudio); they often observe and overhear one another, and consequently make a great deal out of very little. Author The political and cultural events of the 15 century had a large influence on Shakespeare’s work. In Much Ado About Nothing, Don Pedro, Prince of Arragon, Don John, his brother, Borachio his servant, Bene*censored*, a young lord, and Claudio his best friend are all returning from war, and have been invited to stay with Leonato for a month. Shakespeare's antagonist Don John, bears much resemblance to Don John of Austria, the illegitimate son of Charles V, half-brother to the King of Aragon who defeated the Turks at Lepanto and returned to Messina after his victory in October of 1571. Don John of Austria had many of the qualities that Shakespeare's Don John did, he was not on good terms with his brother, and although he tried with much effort to gain status, he was frequently humiliated in attempts to bring himself fame. Shakespeare was known to draw parallels between his characters and actual historical figures, in an attempt to produce a sort abstract history of the times (ex...
The relationship between two half brothers in Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing,” is tragic and funny at the same time. Don John, the outcast and the popular Don Pedro are foils because of their disposition in life, their demeanor towards others and their dialogue which speaks volumes in this tragic/comedy.
In Much Ado About Nothing, Shakespeare plays with the concept of romantic love and its effects on those who experience it. Although Shakespeare and I would probably disagree on many of the particulars, I would have to admit that his interpretation of the word allows for a comical and highly entertaining piece of work.