Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare

Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare

Much Ado About Nothing is a short play by Shakespeare, which has

comedy, romance, suspense and a lot of drama twisted into several

hundred lines of verse. The ending is happy, however, and little has

changed albeit two marriages. The play is important, not because of

its subject matter, but because it shows us that life itself is

similarly enjoyable and foolish - our lives are "much ado about

nothing".

The first thing an audience will find to enjoy in this light-hearted

comedy is the excellent stagecraft, which includes setting, costumes

and masks. Act II scene 1 from the 1993 production I saw, is an ideal

example of the type of stagecraft an audience would get ample

enjoyment out of.

As Act II scene 1 opens, the principal female characters, accompanied

by Leonato and his brother Antonio, enter a huge courtyard which is

part of Governor Leonato's estate. The whole courtyard is strung with

fairy lights, which, while illuminating the scene, also add a romantic

touch. The beautiful Italian sunset and lively fiddle music, played

mostly throughout the dialogue, capture the joyous atmosphere

perfectly.

In contrast to all the other females, Beatrice, Hero, Margaret and

Ursula are clothed in white dresses. This clearly identifies them to

the audience as the leading parts in the play. With the exception of

Leonato and Antonio, the leading male characters are clothed in black.

As the group saunter towards the centre of the courtyard, Beatrice

discusses her idea of the perfect man with the others - a happy medium

between Don John who is "too like an image and says nothing" and

Ben...

... middle of paper ...

... position, for he

too could be killed. There are numerous repercussions this action

against Claudio would produce, and none of them advantageous. But, as

it is a comedy, everything turns out well and Hero and Claudio are

eventually happily reunited.

At first I was inclined to think that Much Ado About Nothing would be

a lot of tedious work, as I am not particularly a fan of Shakespeare,

but I have thoroughly enjoyed reading it and I am very glad that I was

able to see the 1993 film version. The film was directed in such a way

that you could easily understand and not help getting drawn into the

plot. I most enjoyed following the relationship of the play's two

protagonists, Beatrice and Benedick, and watching them grow as

characters. I can say with no hesitation that this comedy is my

favourite play by Shakespeare!