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Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing

Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing. Dramatis Personae. Don Pedro , Prince of Arragon Don John , his bastard brother Claudio , young lord of Florence Benedick , young lord of Padua Leonato , Governor of Messina Antonio , his brother Balthasar, attendant on Don Pedro

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Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing

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  1. Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing

  2. Dramatis Personae • Don Pedro, Prince of Arragon • Don John, his bastard brother • Claudio, young lord of Florence • Benedick, young lord of Padua • Leonato, Governor of Messina • Antonio, his brother • Balthasar, attendant on Don Pedro • Borachio, follower of Don John • Conrade, follower of John • Friar Francis • Dogberry, a constable • Verges, a kind of village mayor (headborough) • A Sexton • A Boy • Hero, daughter of Leonato • Beatrice, niece to Leonato • Margaret and Ursula, attendants to Hero • Messengers, Watch, Attendants, &c.

  3. Setting The city of Sicily in Messina

  4. Plot Lines in the Play Beatrice & Benedick Claudio & Hero Don Pedro & Don John

  5. The Play’s Title Think about the title for a moment.  To Shakespeare's audience, "Nothing" would have been pronounced "noting" and meant more than just  "nothing."  The word also meant "to note" as to take notice of something, or "noting" as in musical notation.    While reading, consider the following questions: 1. Is the play just a little romance about "nothing" that is truly important?  2. What are we to think about the mis-use of "noticing" (eavesdropping, gossip, slander, mistaken views)? 

  6. The Play Date Written: Probably 1598. First Performance: Probably December 1598 or early in 1599. First Printing: 1600 Probable Main Sources:A short tale by Matteo Bandello (1485-1561), an Italian writer who became a bishop in France; Orlando Furioso, a great epic poem, by Ludovico Ariosto (1474-1535).  Type of Play:Much Ado About Nothing is a comedy centering on the activities of two war heroes and the women they love. Shakespeare shifts back and forth between the stories of the couples–Benedick and Beatrice, Claudio and Hero–interweaving them into a unified whole.

  7. Structure of the Play (Act I & II) Act I: Scene 1: Introduction of Beatrice & Benedick Conflict Scene 2: Antonio Relays Heresay to Leonato Scene 3: Introduction of Don John & Don Pedro Conflict Act II: Scene 1: The Masquarade Scene 2: Don John’s Plot Scene 3: The Gulling of Benedick

  8. Structure of the Play (Act III & IV) Act III: Scene 1: The Gulling of Beatrice Scene 2: Don John Lays The Trap for Claudio & Don Pedro Scene 3: Dogberry & The Watch Scene 4: Hero Preparing for Her Wedding Day Scene 5: Dogberry at Leonato’s Door Act IV: Scene 1: The Shaming of Hero & Benedick/Beatrice Confessions of Love Scene 2: Dogberry’s Examination of Barochio & Conrade

  9. Structure of the Play (Act V) Act V: Scene 1: Benedick Confronts Claudio & Leonato’s Requirement Scene 2: Benedick Tries to Write a Poem For Beatrice Scene 3: The Death & Rebirth of Hero Scene 4: Two Marriages

  10. The Three Unities The story observes the three unities– place, time, and action established by ancient Greek and Renaissance writers: Plutarch • It takes place in one locale, Aristotle (2) It lasts about a single day (3) It has one main story– although some view one or the other of the two love stories as a subplot Machiavelli

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