Every story or written work ever composed has a narrative structure or plot development. Narrative structure basically means the way the story is being told and how the events are set up. A plot’s structure is the way in which the story elements are arranged. Writers vary structure depending on the needs of the story. (Neal) Shakespeare had a way of storytelling that was similar in a lot of his plays. In Shakespeare’s King Lear and Much Ado, the narrative structure contains stories within stories, a strong protagonist, and a very intense climax. To begin, in both King Lear and Much Ado, the narrative structure contains stories within stories. In the play King Lear, the King has to choose how much land each of his three daughters will inherit. Once he decides, two of the daughters turn greedy and are ungrateful for what they receive and treat their father horribly. King Lear then meets another man, Gloucester , whose son Edmund plots against his brother Edgar making it seem like he is trying to murder his own father While introducing Gloucester into the plot, Shakespeare creates another story within. A similar thing happens in Much Ado. In this play, Claudio and Hero are the main focus as they fall in love and decide to get married. The other story within though is of Beatrice and Benedick. To pass the time in the week before the wedding, the lovers and their friends decide to play a game. They want to get Beatrice and Benedick, who are clearly meant for each other, to stop arguing and fall in love. (Jensen) Both these examples show Shakespeare’s use of two stories in one. In addition, there is also a protagonist found in King Lear and Much Ado’s narrative structure. According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, a protagonist is the p... ... middle of paper ... ...r narrative structure comparable. Works Cited Jensen, Samuel. "Much Ado About Nothing." Classics Defined. The midnightfaerie, n.d. Web. 19 Jan. 2014. . Neal, Pete, ed. "The Elements of Plot Development." Annenberg Learner. Annenberg Foundation, n.d. Web. 19 Jan. 2014. . "Protagonist." Merriam-Webster. N. pag. Encyclopedia Britannica. Web. 19 Jan. 2014. . Shmoop Editorial Team. "Much Ado About Nothing Plot Analysis." Shmoop.com. Shmoop University, Inc, n.d. Web. 19 Jan. 2014. . - - -. "Protagonist in King Lear." Shmoop.com. Shmoop University, Inc, n.d. Web. 19 Jan. 2014. .
Transformations inherently contain traces of the author’s social and cultural context. Much of the same can be applied to “Much ado about nothing”. It incorporates comical features, yet retains the sense of tragedy which is attached to almost all of Shakespeare’s plays. Brain Percival’s role as a director, was determining, understanding and distinguishing the social norms and the social structure of the society, and how the themes represented in the play can be transformed into a modern text. The Elizabethan society was typically a patriarchal society. Percival has used as well as transformed certain themes and textual features to ensure, that the film is more appealing and assessable to the critical modern audience.
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
Shakespeare's comedy Much Ado About Nothing is a witty play that is interpreted in many different ways for many different audiences. Branaugh's movie rendition, compared to the Shenandoah Shakespeare Company's play, have many separately emphasized points. If we look at elements such as use of space, costuming, and love relationships we find that Kenneth Branaugh emphasizes the separation of the military from the domestic which eventually heads down to the separation of men and women, while in the stage production, the director emphasizes the relationship and friendship between Claudio, Benedict, and Don Pedro.
Deceit and trickery play a huge part in the play Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare. Deception is a key theme in the play, it also moves the plot along. Trickery and deception is used in the love stories of couples Hero and Claudio, and Benedick and Beatrice, with opposite results. This play demonstrates two different kinds of deceit: the kind whose only purpose is to cause trouble, and the kind that is used to form a good outcome. In the relationship of Hero and Claudio, deception nearly succeeds in breaking them apart forever, while in the case of Benedick and Beatrice, it brings them closer together.
An author must put serious thought and consideration into the plot of their story; it is the very basis of their text and shapes what the reader perceives of, and gets from, the story. The plot must be arranged not only to provide the frame of the story, but also to make it flow and transition effectively, creating a figurative storyline within the mind of the audience. In order to achieve this, there are a variety of common plot templates that authors may choose to follow. Aldous Huxley takes a unique approach to his plot in Brave New World, intermixing different plot types, most notably the progressive and episodic plot, to enhance his novel and make it as effective as possible. Huxley utilizes these plot types to provide insight into his characters, allowing the reader to view them in different situations, while managing to connect all of the different occurrences together to form a clear and purposeful structure to his novel.
Greenblatt, Stephen. "Much Ado About Nothing." Introduction. The Norton Shakespeare: Based of the Oxford Edition. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt et al. 2nd ed. Vol. 1. New York: W.W. Norton, 2008. 1412. Print. Early Plays and Poems.
Throughout history literature has changed into many different forms and styles, it has also stayed the same in many different ways, literary techniques and elements are key to a good piece of writing, a perfect example that shows us just this is in, A Midsummer Nights Dream, where we will further explore the different literary elements that were used most notably the plot. The plot of a story lays out the foundation and the background for the entire play to come, we'll compare and contrast this element and look at the different sub elements which are produced. We will define similarities and difference in these elements form both the play o the film. Taking a look at things such as climax, play incidents, and the conflict will all give us a better understanding of how it affects the similarities and difference of the film versus the play.
The Dramatic Significance of Act four Scene One of William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing
Bengtsson, Frederick. “King Lear by William Shakespeare.” Columbia College. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2015.
The Development of the Character of Othello as Shown by his Use of Language and Imagery in William Shakespeare's Play
In the classic drama “Othello” writing by the great William Shakespeare, the two main characters are nothing but polar opposites, one driven by resentment and the other driven by passionate love. The manipulative and disingenuous Lago, the villain of the story and Othello, the admirable yet naive martyr. Lago desires power, so much so that he begins to influence Othello’s thinking of his love with Desdemona and their marriage, turning and twisting moments in time to situations that best meet his our schemes. Othello and Lago both use a similar narrative style and figurative language when living through the story to express their own thoughts and beliefs of how the world and people work but also the thoughts of those around
Therefore one can say that the sub plot very much mirrors the main plot in terms of direct parallels that run among characters as well as the main themes and it is used by Shakespeare in order to emphasise the degree of tragedy in this play as well as evil’s triumph over innocence and good and both plots particularly highlight the point, in Act one, that “nothing comes from nothing”, thereby evil does not come from nowhere, something always comes from something
Yet Hamlet is an extremely complex play. To appreciate the imagination which went into the creation of this tragedy, let's first delve into what is putatively Shakespeare's most complex tragedy, King Lear. Lear has three daughters: Cordelia, who is faithful and unappreciated by Lear, and Regan and Goneril who receive everything at his hands and betray him. These themes of misplaced love and filial betrayal are mirrored in the subplot of the play, the relationship between the Earl of Gloster and his two sons, Edmund, who is supported and approved by Gloster and betrays him, and Edgar, who unjustly becomes a fugitive from his father's wrath. The mirror is whole. In it we view Cordelia's reflection and see Edgar, while Regan's and Goneril's reflections, which are of one face, show us Edmund.
In King Lear the two tragic characters, a king and an earl, are not ordinary men. To have a man who is conspicuous endure suffering brought about because of his own error is striking. The fear aroused for this man is of great importance because of his exalted position. His fall is awesome and overwhelming. When tragedy, as in Lear, happens to two such men, the effect is even greater. To intensify the tragedy of King Lear, Shakespeare has not one but two tragic characters and four villains. As we have seen, the sub-plot, concerning Gloucester, Edmund, and Edgar, augments the main plot. Gloucester undergoes physical and mental torment because he makes the same mistake that Lear does. Like Lear, Gloucester is neither completely good nor completely bad. There is, for instance, coarseness in the earl, who delights in speaking of his adultery. But he has good qualities as well. He shows, for instance, concern for Kent in the stocks, and he risks his life to help Lear. Gloucester's punishment, his blindness, parallel's Lear's madness. These two tragic stories unfolding at the same time give the play a great eminence.
As the play opens one can almost immediately see that Lear begins to make mistakes that will eventually result in his downfall. The very first words that he speaks in the play are :