Much Ado About Nothing

1. Much Ado About Nothing William Shakespeare (1598) “He was not of an age, but for all time!” (Ben Jonson)

2. William Shakespeare • Birth: April 23, 1564 in Stratford • Death: April 23, 1616 • Attended grammar school until age 15 and married at age 18 • Wrote plays from 1592-1612, most of which were performed at The Globe • 37 plays • 154 sonnets • 5 major poems

3. The True Author • Anti-Stratfordians, people who deny Shakespeare’s authorship, charge that a middle-class author from a small town could not have imagined the lives of kings and nobles. • They propose that the real author is someone who came from a higher social class and a more prestigious education. • Since Shakespeare was quite well-known in his own time, there would need to have been an extraordinary conspiracy to conceal the identity of the real playwright.

4. A Tragicomedy • A play that encompasses elements from both tragedy and comedy. The plot typically begins with tragic implications that are happily avoided at the drama’s end. • Tragedy: a serious and often somber drama that typically ends in disaster and that focuses on a character who undergoes unexpected personal reversals. It represents the experiences of noble characters. • Comedy: an amusing and entertaining drama that ends happily and presents the “lighter side” of life. It represents the experiences of ordinary people. • Much Ado is a play of love, villainy, friendship, parent-child relationships, society and customs

5. Characters • Leonato – Governor of Messina and father of Hero, conventional and grief-stricken • Hero – Leonato’s daughter, chaste and docile • Beatrice – Leonato’s niece, spirited and witty • Benedick – Young lord of Padua, brave and quick-witted misogynist (dislikes and mistrusts women) • Claudio – Young lord of Florence, easily swayed by outer appearances • Don Pedro – Prince of Aragon, courtly and conventional • Balthasar – singer attending Don Pedro, whose out-of-key love song sets the tone of the play • Don John – Don Pedro’s illegitimate brother, envious and mischief-maker

6. Summary • Main plot: Obstacles in the union of young Claudio and Hero • Conventional • “The villainous luring of Claudio into the mistaken belief that Hero is unchaste” • Subplot: Battle of the sexes between older and wiser Beatrice and Benedick • Intellectual, witty, and humorous • “The benevolent luring of Beatrice and Benedick into mutual declarations of love”

7. Summ More • Beatrice and Benedick are self-conscious makes them indifferent to conventional niceties. If they do not declare their love, it is because they are too defensive or too wise to play society’s conventional game. • Don John is a radically antisocial human being who refuses to observe the appropriate code of manners.

8. Language • Pun: a play on words that capitalizes on a similarity of spelling and/or pronunciation between words that have different meanings. • Innuendo: an indirect or subtle and usually derogatory implication in expression; an insinuation. Claudio: Now you talk of a sheet of paper, I remember a pretty jest your daughter told us of. Leonato: O, when she had writ it and was reading it over, she found Benedick and Beatrice between the sheet. • The word “sheet” is used to refer to a piece of paper and used to refer to a  bed sheet, with an innuendo placed in between about Beatrice and Benedick.

9. Language • Clever word play: verbal wit based on the meanings and ambiguities of words. Benedick: What, my dear Lady Disdain! Are you yet living? Beatrice: Is it possible Disdain should die while she hath such meet (suitable) food to feed it as SigniorBenedick? Courtesy itself must convert to Disdain if you come in her presence. • The word “disdain” is used as a name for Beatrice and as a description of her attitude toward Benedick.

10. Themes • The nature of attraction between man and woman • The role of marriage in society • Gender roles • The nature of truth • Reality versus appearance

11. Modern Connections • The innocent being wrongfully accused. • The romance: Friends serve as “go-betweens”, or in some way help potential lovers come together. • The public’s disdain for illegitimate children.

12. What do you think? • Men and women should marry persons of a similar social and economic status as themselves. • People choose with whom they fall in love. • It is better not to marry than to marry and risk being cheated on by your spouse. • Most people can be trusted to be faithful in marriage. • Men are attracted to women who are assertive and bold.