William Shakespeare 's Much Ado About Nothing

"In faith, hath not the world one man but he will wear his cap with

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.

Italy, a lot of the plays written were set in Italy. This play has a

William Shakespeare was a well known British writer who was known for the many plays and sonnets he wrote. This 16th century writer wrote a play called Much Ado About Nothing in the year 1598 (Alchin). This play consists of many characters meddling into each others lives, causing chaos, lots of drama, and even romance making for some very comedic entertainment. The title gives away a lot about the plot that it really is a lot about nothing. Shakespeare is regarded as a very influential writer in British literature and has been an inspiration for literature beyond his time. This play has been recreated for the cinema in many versions of film. One version of film in particular is by the director Kenneth Branagh in 1993 (IMDb). Both the Much

Human nature is often considered in isolation from the rest of the world as if it would be an exception or a special case. In Shakespeare’s Much Ado about Nothing, the complexities of human nature are explored in depth. This essay will explore in particular how Shakespeare dramatises the concepts of human misunderstandings, deception and dichotomy through effective dramatic techniques.

During the two gulling scenes, namely Act 2 Scene 3 and Act 3 Scene 1,

The Elizabethan Era is one of the most fascinating periods in the History of the World. It is named after one of the greatest of the Queens of England - Queen Elizabeth I. It was the era of the very first Theatres in England - William Shakespeare and the globe Theatre and Christopher Marlowe! It also had a very different feel and look to it than we experience nowadays and this is shown in the marriage and wedding customs, recreation, social hierarchy, and how it is a patriarchal society. The Elizabethan worldview is strongly reflected in Shakespeare’s play ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ set in the 17th century in Messina, a port on the island of Sicily,

‘Much Ado About Nothing’ by William Shakespeare contains many aspects that anchor the Elizabethan conventions of comedy, but allows us to question whether the ending gratifies the audience and does it actually create a satisfactory dramatic catharsis? Aristotle first discussed the concept of catharsis. He believed that “the poet's aim is to produce pleasure in the spectator by eliciting from the representation the emotions of pity (for others) and fear (for oneself)”. I believe ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ creates a satisfactory dramatic catharsis by Shakespeare intertwining Elizabethan comedic conventions with other forms of comedy in order for characters to receive their cathartic, happy ending. We are able to say ‘Much Ado About Nothing’

In the play Much Ado About Nothing, the theme of scandalous accusations, dishonesty, and its effects take a major role throughout the entirety of the play. However, the effects on a person’s honor vary hugely depending on the sex of the person. For a male, a jab at his honor is an insult, and most likely will result in an all out defense of his integrity in an effort to regain it. A woman, however, suffers far greater consequences. Her honor is based increasingly on her innocence (celibacy) and her interactions with other males in her family and the community, and a false portrayal of her actions in this respect could result in being shamed permanently, and thus viewed differently for the rest of her life. This is clearly evident in Much Ado About Nothing, as Hero is slandered by Claudio, causing a metaphorical “death”, and almost resulting in the actual loss of her own life. However the causes and effects change from character to character throughout the play, and it is evident that a gender gap is present in regards to honor.

Throughout his works, William Shakespeare has challenged the representations of gender roles in society, by allowing his female characters to exhibit male qualities, as well as allowing the males to exhibit female ones. Despite being written during the late 16th and early 17th centuries, his works are highly relatable to modern times. Today, they are used in classrooms all over the world to help shed light on gender inequalities, and to spark the discussion on how those issues can be resolved. In Much Ado About Nothing, Shakespeare assumes the role of puppet master to toy with these issues, highlighting key elements of the expectations in defining gender roles in society.

Power is often a theme of Shakespeare’s plays. It is what separates the nobility from the commoners, and it often what the various characters seek. Yet when it comes to power in Shakespeare’s plays, it is often associated with male characters that are seeking it, such as King Richard of Richard III and Macbeth of Macbeth. There is little discussion of power concerning women because unlike their male counterparts, women of Shakespeare’s (and even modern) time are often overshadowed by the men in their lives. Women are expected to be gentle, soft-spoken and often hesitant to go against the grain. As a result, this type of characters often lacks any sort of power. However, the more characteristics associated with males that a female character adopts, the more power she gains. This phenomenon can be witnessed in both Much Ado About Nothing and As You Like It.

The next 3 scenes in the play Much Ado About Nothing occurs at the very end of Act 3 and goes through to the start of Act 4. The rest of Act 3 is tedious and not much action occurs throughout scenes 4 and 5. First and foremost, scene 4 of act 3 takes us back to Hero, Margaret, Beatrice, and Ursula. This takes place in the early morning as Hero and Margaret are discussing about what they should wear for the marriage between Hero and Claudio. Later on, Beatrice enters the room and she acts strangely similar to the way Benedick was acting like before. Subsequently, Margaret casually mocks Beatrice about Benedick but she does it in a way that will not make Beatrice suspicious. Lastly, they all exit because Don Pedro, Claudio, Benedick, and Don

Imagine hearing the news that your worst enemy is in love with you and cannot visualize a life without you in it. Many people will never encounter this situation in their life, but you can picture the conflicted feelings one might have after hearing this. The emotions might go from disgust to maybe sympathy or even believing that you reciprocate this love towards them. But deep down, is this a love worth pursuing? Can the love over power the habit of conflict or will the passion succumb to the constant battles between the two personalities.Some might say that love can overcome anything, but in reality, this relationship will be filled with conflicted emotions and opinions.

Around the world, Shakespeare's works are read and analysed. His plays are sorted into four categories: Comedies, Histories, Tragedies and Romances. “Much Ado About Nothing”, by William Shakespeare, demonstrates the characteristics recurrent in elizabethan tragedies, despite being considered a comedy. These significant elements include: a villain, death, and a tragic love story.

William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, a comedy filled with differences between genders, witty banter between memorable characters Benedick and Beatrice, a plot of revenge that involves one character faking her death and let’s not forget the masquerade marriage that comes to readers at the end. Much Ado About Nothing, court politics while still maintain a profound amount of humor and wit. However, it is the honor and shame that is prominent in Much Ado About Nothing that we reach the turning point in this playwright, the moment everything takes a dark turn at the altar when the audience believes Act four scene one of Much Ado About Nothing is important because it presents itself as the critical turning point of the playwright as it transitions from a lighthearted comedy to a tragedy. This transition allows Shakespeare to blend two of his most commonly known playwright experiences into one.