Much Ado About Nothing William Shakespeare

1. Much Ado About Nothing William Shakespeare

2. True or false? • en and women should marry persons of a similar social and economic status as themselves.

3. True or false? People can choose with whom they will fall in love.

4. True or false? Men are attracted to women who are assertive and bold.

5. True or false? Jealousy in a romantic relationship is usually a sign the relationship has problems.

6. True or false? Because parents usually know what is best for their children when it comes to choosing a mate, children should go along with their parents' wishes in this regard.

7. What is a tragicomedy? Reading Much Ado About Nothing is not like reading a traditional comedy; instead it has the potential to turn into a tragedy. Comedy is made up of complications, but in this type of play the complications could be disastrous.

8. Pun – an expression that achieves emphasis or humor by utilizing: • Two distinctly different meanings for the same word. • Two similar sound words • Examples • In R&J, Mercutio says (after being fatally stabbed,) “Ask for me tomorrow and you will find me a grave man.” • Lyre? No really!

10. Words to Know (continued) • Double Entendre – a type of pun in which a word or phrase has two or more different meanings, one of which is usually sexual. • Foil – a character whose qualities or actions usually serve to emphasize the actions or qualities of the main character, the protagonist, by providing a strong contrast.

11. Malapropism Misuse of a word for humorous effect. • It is beyond my apprehension."   Danny Ozark, baseball team manager • "We cannot let terrorists and rogue nations hold this nation hostile or hold our allies hostile."   George W. Bush • "The police are not here to create disorder, they're here to preserve disorder."   Richard Daley, former Chicago mayor

12. Irony A perception of inconsistency, sometimes humorous, in which the significance and understanding of a statement or event is changed by its context. Example: The firehouse burned down. • Dramatic Irony • Structural Irony – the use of a naïve hero whose incorrect perceptions differ from the reader’s correct ones. • Verbal Irony – a discrepancy between what is said and what is really meant; sarcasm.

13. Setting The action takes place in the city of Messina, Italy in northeastern Sicily. Messina is in a mountainous province whose eastern shore is only about five miles across from the toe of the Italian boot. Modern Messina is a large city, with between 250,000 and 300,000 inhabitants.

14. Main Characters • Benedick: Young lord from Padua who thinks he hates Beatrice but really loves her. • Beatrice: Niece of the governor of Messina who thinks she hates Benedick but really loves him. • Leonato: Governor of Messina, uncle of Beatrice, and father of Hero. • Don Pedro: Prince of Arragon, a fine fellow who has led his forces to victory in a war against his brother, Don John. • Don John: Don Pedro's bastard brother, a wicked fellow who was defeated by Don Pedro. • Claudio: Young lord from Florence who falls in love with Hero. He seems knightly and pure, but his conversations suggest that his attraction to Hero results partly from the fact that she will one day become a wealthy heiress. • Hero: Leonato's daughter, who falls in love with Claudio.

15. Themes • The road to marriage is often lined with pitfalls and impediments. • People often wear masks to disguise their true feelings. • All is not what it seems. • Love is NOT blind. • Love IS blind • A woman's chastity is a treasure no man should possess except in marriage.

16. Act I - Quotes • "There is a kind of merry war betwixt Signior Benedick and her. They never meet but there's a skirmish of wit between them." (I, i, 58-61) [p. 35] • "Because I will not do them the wrong to mistrust any, I will do myself the right to trust none; and the fine is (for the which I may go the finer), I will live a bachelor." (I, i. 233-237) [p. 41] • "It must not be denied but I am a plain-dealing villain." (I, iii, 29-30) [p. 46]

17. Act I Questions • Why is it significant that Don Pedro and his men are returning from the wars? • Why does Beatrice ask about Benedick? What is the "real" reason? • Beatrice and Benedick say that lovers are fools, and they want nothing to do with love. Why do you think they say this? • How does Benedick react to Claudio's declaration that Hero is "the sweetest lady that ever I looked on"? • Why does Claudio send Don Pedro as his emissary to Hero to declare his love? • Why does Don John want to cause trouble? Why is he so morose?

18. Act II – Scene i • What does Beatrice have against marriage? • How does Beatrice insult Benedick? A little latter, how does the reader know that Benedick is upset? • When he is alone, what is Claudio’s response to the news that Don John has just given him? • After Benedick enters and annoys Claudio so much that Claudio walks off, what is Benedick’s reaction to Beatrice’s earlier insult? • To what does Benedick compare Claudio? What is being suggested about Claudio? • For what reason does Benedick exit in such a hurry? In leaving, what does Benedick call Beatrice? What is suggested about their verbal dueling? • Explain the pun that Benedick uses. (Look for “dish” and “food.”) • How does Don Pedro tease Beatrice? What is Don Pedro’s opinion of Beatrice? • Who will work toward the match of Beatrice and Benedick? • How is Beatrice a foil to Don John? How is she also a foil for Hero?

19. Act 2, Scenes ii and iii • Explain Borachio’s scheme to end the marriage plans of Claudio and Hero? What is Don John’s part in the plan? • What is the point of Benedick’s soliloquy? • What does Benedick do as Leonato, Claudio, and Don Pedro enter? Why does he do this? • In the exchange between Balthazar and Don Pedro, which begins with Don Pedro saying, “No, pray thee, come,” what is the play on words? • In the conversation they hold for Benedick’s sake, how do Claudio and Leonato explain the fact that while Beatrice frequently insults Benedick, she claims to love him? • Describe three things that convince Benedick that these men are telling the truth. • Identify two reasons that Benedick decides to return Beatrice’s love.

20. Quotes – Speaker and Meaning? • “Happy are they that hear their detractions and can put them to mending.” • “But doth not the appetite alter? A man loves the meat in his youth, that he cannot endure in his age.” • “Shall quips and sentences, and these paper bullets of the brain, awe a man from the career of his humor?”

21. Act 3, Scene i • What does Hero tell Margaret to do? What does Hero tell Ursula to do? • To what animal does Hero compare Beatrice? • In the following lines Hero explains to Ursula why Benedick should not tell Beatrice his feelings. Explain them: But nature never fram’d a woman’s heart Of prouder stuff than that of Beatrice Disdain and scorn ride sparkling in her eyes, Misprising what they look on; and her wit Values itself so highly, that to her All matter else seems weak. She cannot love, Nor take no shape nor project of affection, She is so self-endeared. • How much truth is there in this criticism of Beatrice? • For what reasons does Beatrice decide to return Benedick’s love.

22. Act III, Scene ii and iii • Describe how Claudio and Don Pedro respond to Don John’s accusations against Hero. • What do Claudio and Don Pedro plan to do if what Don John says is true? • What is your opinion of Claudio and Don Pedro’s reaction? • What was said earlier in the plan to prepare for the reaction of Claudio? • What is the job of the watch? • What does Dogberry tell them to do if they have trouble? • Borachio starts to relate why he got 1000 ducats from Don John. Why does he digress? • Why were Claudio and Don Pedro so easily fooled in the garden? • Of what crime does the watch accuse Conrade and Borachio?

23. Act IV - Interpretation You are now an honorary member of the Reduced Shakespeare Company. Take your designated part of Act IV and create a modern/abbreviated version for the entire class. Keep in mind: • The characters • Tone of the speaker • Plot – not leave out major plot aspects • LEAVE OUT all the “Shakespearey” words.

24. Act V Quiz • Who are the two old men without teeth that Claudio speaks of in Scene i? • Why do Claudio and Don Pedro seek Benedick? • Why does Benedick seek them? • From whom does Claudio learn about Hero’s innocence? • Whom does Leonato blame for Hero’s “death?” • What does Leonato ask Claudio and Don Pedro to do? • When Beatrice sees Benedick in scene ii, what does she describe as foul wind? • Why does Benedick want to talk to the Friar before the wedding of Hero and Claudio? • Who does Claudio promise to marry since Hero is dead? • How do Claudio and Hero prove that Benedick and Beatrice really love each other, even though they deny it?