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Role of media in society
Role of media in society
How shakespeare influences modern culture
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Even from its title, Shakespeare’s play Much Ado About Nothing epitomizes the modern day phrase “to make a mountain out of a molehill.” Comparable to today’s celebrity gossip magazines, the play sheds light on the nature of gossip during Shakespeare’s time and the receptiveness of the Shakespearean community towards rumor and humiliation. In this particular play, despite not having any speaking parts, the implied effect that society has in the overall picture of the play is tremendous. Intensifying the effect of the main conflict and conveying the tendencies of human nature to trust in deception, society and its thirst for the latest gossip recruits characters and readers alike as spectators, eagerly watching as the scandal unfolds.
Following the news of Hero’s alleged affair, society reveals the true nature of Claudio and Don Pedro through the characters’ manipulation of public exposure to shame Hero. This is evident in Act 2 when Borachio first introduces his plan to Don John. From the beginning, Borachio had predicted Claudio and the prince’s reaction, and instructed Don John to “…tell them that you know that Hero loves me; intend a kind of zeal both to the Prince and Claudio (as in love of your brother’s honor, who hath made this match, and his friend’s reputation, who is thus like to be cozened with the semblance of a maid) that you have discovered thus” (2.2.35-40). Although one would normally believe that after being accused as disloyal, Hero would be the only one to suffer the shame, Borachio makes it clear that the prince and Claudio will suffer from their own humiliation as well. From his explanation, Borachio anticipates that the prince will feel ashamed because society may view him as one of bad judgment for making...
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...221-225). From this quote, Benedick shows that he does not wish to be mocked by society, in which people believe that they can predict his reactions. Determined to prove society wrong, Benedick also makes the hasty decision to love Beatrice.
Ultimately it can be seen that throughout the play, the underlying presence of society exaggerates conflicts through shame and conveys the ice that human nature is willing to believe deception over the truth. While it is clear that the gossip and news of Shakespeare’s time period and those of the modern day differ in many different ways, both are indirectly related by their values in society based upon human interest. True of both the past and now, it is through society which both shame and humiliation come to light, as well as proof of the uninformed and reckless judgment of human beings.
Works Cited
Much Ado About Nothing
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.
She adds that she’s agreeable with everyone, with him as an exception. Benedick retorts that she’s lucky that she doesn’t love him like all the other women he knows, because he loves no one, especially not her. Beatrice responds, “A dear happiness to women, they would have been troubled by a pernicious suitor.... ... middle of paper ...
Throughout Act one and two, Benedick repeatedly says that he will never love a woman or get married. At some stage in the duration of the play his mindset changes. In the end he is head over heels in love for Beatrice whom he once quarreled with habitually. The turnabout in his behavior was brought about by the deceiving Claudio and Pedro who indirectly told Benedick that Beatrice loved him.
In this world rumors and dishonesty happen to be everywhere, no matter where you are. Nowaday people start rumors just to hurt and insult people’s feelings that later on lead to dramatic events. In the story “Much Ado about Nothing”, we encounter different scenes that lead to rumors and deception. One scene that we encounter is when Don John, the bastard brother spreads rumors about Hero being disloyal to Claudio and Don Pedro to corrupt Claudio’s and Hero’s relationship. Another scene that we run into is when Ursula and Hero have a talk in the garden about how Benedick has love affection towards Beatrice. Later on, these two scenes play a huge role and become dramatic elements of the story. We will encounter on how rumors and dishonesty can destroy and corrupt not just one person, but many.
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.
William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing is a play involving by deception, disloyalty, trickery, eavesdropping, and hearsay. The play contains numerous examples of schemes that are used to manipulate the thoughts of other characters; it is the major theme that resonates throughout the play. Ironically, it is one of these themes that bring serenity to the chaos that encompasses most of the play.
“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.
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.
With its entangled double 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 for which carries the drama from beginning to end. For example, when we look at Act 1 Scene 1 of the play ...
... heart in the marketplace.” (A4; S1; L 315-321). When Hero was wrongly accused is when Beatrice showed this the most. She believed that because of what he had done, Claudio deserved to be dead. She wanted no bad deed to go unpunished and what she seen fit was for Benedick to challenge Claudio to a dule and she didn’t want Benedick to stop until he was dead.
The common thread of jealousy ties together the main plots in Much Ado About Nothing, Othello, and The Winter's Tale. In each of these plays, the main conflict is centered around some form of jealousy. While jealousy is the mutual, most prominent cause for turmoil in these plays, its effects on the characters, and ultimately the plots, is different in each case. This difference has much to do with the way in which the concept of jealousy is woven into each play, and what it is intended to accomplish.
The Elizabethan Era under the rule of Queen Elizabeth I in England not only produced an expansion of growth in the suburbs and a more unified nation, but also introduced the world’s most famous playwright of all times, William Shakespeare. During this period of greatest artistic achievement, Shakespeare, who produced about thirty- seven plays as well as many other great works, created what is considered his greatest achievement, Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Surprisingly, this particular five-act play depicts numerous aspects which are relevant to today’s society, four hundred years later. Some of these aspects of human values are not only questioned, but also rigorously criticized, as well as generously supported throughout this play. These aspects include family loyalty, revenge, honesty, understanding, deception, and most notably value of human life, and gender roles. While many writers do not often compare to Shakespeare, a few, including Susan Glaspell, in her play, Trifles, compares yet contrasts greatly in dealing with similar lessons and values. Through the analyses of both literary pieces, it is clear that while some aspects in Hamlet directly compare, some contrast with those of Susan Glaspell’s shorter play, Trifles, and both demonstrate values relevant to today’s society.
The world is a scandalous place filled with egocentric people to who will often make choices based on personal pleasure and beneficial needs. In William Shakespeare’s play Othello, when not chosen for the higher titled position, the villain seeks revenge and manipulates others in scandalous acts to take over. Through characterization of the three main characters, Othello, Desdemona, and Iago, we realize that, lacking trust leads to a self-disrupting nature filled with betrayal, death, and suicide.
The contention that Shakespeare’s histories are in fact political drama appears to fall uneasily on the ears of modern readers. One reason for this could be the fact that we, as a society, have blurred the connotation of politics to the vaguest of notions – narrow at times, yet far too inclusive. A young reader is likely to view politics as election and debate, a sort of ongoing candidacy. Indeed, this may be a valid modern definition, if somewhat limited. For our purposes, however, this definition is not sufficient to establish a starting point from which to examine Shakespeare’s presentation of political drama.
Through comedy and tragedy Shakespeare reveals the vast expanses and profound depths of the character of life. For him they are not separate worlds of drama and romance, but poles of a continuum. The distinction between tragedy and comedy is called in question when we turn to Shakespeare. Though the characters differ in stature and power, and the events vary in weight and significance, the movements of life in all Shakespeare's plays are governed by the same universal principles which move events in our own lives. Through myriad images Shakespeare portrays not only the character of man and society but the character of life itself.