Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare Essay

Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare Much Ado About Nothing is a short play by Shakespeare, which has comedy, romance, suspense and a lot of drama twisted into several hundred lines of verse. The ending is happy, however, and little has changed albeit two marriages. The play is important, not because of its subject matter, but because it shows us that life itself is similarly enjoyable and foolish - our lives are much ado about nothing. The first thing an audience will find to enjoy in this light-hearted comedy is the excellent stagecraft, which includes setting, costumes and masks. Act II scene 1 from the 1993 production I saw, is an ideal example of the type of stagecraft an†¦show more content†¦The audience would find this quite comical because Beatrice has appeared so set against romance and marriage, yet she declares that a man who possessed all these qualities would surely win any woman in the world. However, she then quickly adds if a could get her good will as if realising her mistake, for she has vowed never to marry anyone. This leads into a conversation about whether Beatrice will ever marry, and Beatrice jests that she will not, for she likes neither men with beards, proclaiming that I could not endure a husband with a beard on his face nor men without beards, what should I do with him, dress him in my apparel and make him my waiting gentlewoman? This conversation pursues, with Beatrice exasperating Leonato more and more, until the masked revellers make their grand entrance. The masks are the final and most important feature of the stagecraft. They create the suspense element by disguising the wearers true identity, and this deception causes both amusement and problems. They also allow the characters to flirt playfully with one another - such is the case for Ursula and Antonio, and Margaret and Borachio. In usual circumstances, Antonio would not dream of acting the way he does with Ursula, but by wearing the mask he can detach from his social and personal responsibilities. In the production I saw, the directorShow MoreRelatedMuch Ado About Nothing, By William Shakespeare1434 Words   |  6 PagesLove is never an easy concept to understand, let alone when everyone around you seems to be figuring it out and you feel out of the loop. In the play, Much Ado About Nothing, and the novel, Pride and Prejudice, this shows to be the main plot line. These are quite dated. However, a modern twist to this story line is also seen in the television series, Gossip Girl. It is the typical love story; the prospective pairs can only fall in love with each other once they recognize their isolation and fightRead MoreMuch Ado About Nothing By William Shakespeare2685 Words   |  11 PagesMuch Ado about Nothing is a humorous play by William Shakespeare set in the city of Messina located in southern Italy. The acts have two main locations; Leonato’s house and his orchard. The others were sidelines; the church and the street where Dogberry and Verges discovered the villainy. Many scenes take place inside the several rooms of Leonato’s house, including scene 4 of Act 3. The main emergence of Benedick and Beatrice’s love story takes place in the orchard, without which the play is incompleteRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s Much Ado About Nothing1285 Words   |  6 PagesMuch Ado About Nothing, is a comedic play by William Shakespeare thought to have been written in 1598 and 1599, as Shakespeare was approaching the middle of his career. (Wikipedia) This timeless play is generally considered one of Shakespeare’s best comedies, because it combines a cheerful mood with an intricate series of deceptions and miscommunications. It’s known for its hilarity, honor, shame and court politics. Shakespeare depicts different kinds of loving relationships- romantic love, familyRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s Much Ado About Nothing898 Words   |  4 PagesBeatrice, Benedick, and Love in Much Ado About Nothing William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing is set in thirteenth century Italy. The plot of the play can be categorized as comedy or tragicomedy . Villainy and scheming combine with humor and sparkling wordplay in Shakespeare s comedy of manners. Claudio is deceived into believing that Hero, is unfaithful. Meanwhile, Benedick and Beatrice have a kind of merry war between them, matching wits in repartee. This paper will attempt toRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s Much Ado About Nothing1204 Words   |  5 PagesI will be considering the role of the villain in Much Ado About Nothing, and will conduct rhetorical analyses that will proceed to view the perspective of the villain and his or her intentions. Much Ado About Nothing written by William Shakespeare intending this play to be a comedy. Although it is hard to comprehend the comedy within the play. The characters within this play are all linked together by having a relationship that looks like a telephone wire game. The c haracters dilemma develops anRead MoreMuch Ado About Nothing By William Shakespeare843 Words   |  4 Pages 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)Read MoreMuch Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare Essay559 Words   |  3 PagesMuch Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare The play has comedy, romance, suspense, action and a lot of drama twisted into several hundred lines of verse. In the end, however, everyone is happy and not a lot changes. Thus, Shakespeare shows the reader that although the play is enjoyable and witty, it really is not a very important piece of literature because of its subject matter. The play is important because it shows us that life itself is similarly enjoyable andRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s Much Ado About Nothing2083 Words   |  9 Pagesin the end, there are millions of ways that each individual defines love according to their experiences. One individual in particular is Shakespeare, who is widely known for expressing the significance of love in various plays of his, as he portrays several branches of love such as friendship, parental love, and romantic love. In Much Ado about Nothing, Shakespeare demonstrates the ways in which Claudio and Hero’s love shows the triumph of imagination over intelligence compared to Benedick and Beatrice’sRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s Much Ado About Nothing Essay1971 Words   |  8 PagesTransition in Much Ado About Nothing 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 NothingRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s Much Ado About Nothing909 Words   |  4 PagesWilliam Shakespeare’s play Much Ado about Nothing traverses the complex social, and emotional trials and triumphs of romantic relationships; Shakespeare’s perspective on the subject is both very similar to ours today, and different. Although filled with sexual innuendos, and humorous trickery and shenanigans, Much Ado about Nothing also dives into the complexities of social anxieties, defense mechanisms to cope with the social pressures, and the emotions involved. First, the characters in Much