Universidade Estadual do Piauí – UESPICentro de ciências humanas e Letras – CCHLCurso: Licenciatura Plena em Letras/ Inglês

Disciplina: Teatro na Literatura de Língua InglesaProfessora: Dra. Maria do Socorro Baptista 

  

Bruna R. CarvalhoEliabe Teixeira Sá S.

Leandro da Conceição

Much Ado About NothingWilliam Shakespeare

Author

William Shakespeare lived for 52 years as his biography confirms. In just 23 years, between approximately 1590 and 1613, he is attributed with writing 38 plays, Famous Shakespearean sonnets and 5 other poems. He is the most widely read of all Authors and the popularity of the Life and Works of Shakespeare, in English speaking countries, is second only to the Bible. It is therefore no surprise that Shakespeare's biography sparks so much interest.

Historical Context

It is believed that Much A do About Nothing was first performed between 1598 and 1599. In the Elizabethan era there was a huge demand for new entertainment and Much Ado About Nothing would have been produced immediately following the completion of the play.

The Plot

Much Ado About Nothing begins in Messina, soon after the end of a war. A group of soldiers are returning, victorious. The story of two very different sets of lovers, Beatrice and Benedick and Claudio and Hero. The witty banter between Beatrice and Benedick is the highlight of the play.

The Plot

The main plot of Much Ado About Nothing revolves around obstacles to the union of two young lovers (Claudio and Hero), the plays sub-plot, the "merry war" of the sexes between Beatrice and Benedick. Benedick thinks he hates Beatrice but really loves her and Beatrice who thinks she hates Benedick but really loves him!

Main Characters

• Don Pedro is the Prince of Arragon, the leader of Benedick and Claudio, a friend of Leonato, the brother of Don John. Don Pedro, sometimes called "Prince," is the most politically and socially powerful character in the play, and is constantly wrapped up in some scheme or another. He’s the enabler that sweet talks Hero secretly on Claudio’s behalf, and the mastermind of the plot to trick Benedick and Beatrice into loving each other.

Main Characters

• However, Don Pedro also falls into Don John’s scheme when his brother suggests that Don Pedro’s honor and credibility have been compromised through forming dishonorable match between Claudio and Hero. Don John operates as a plot-device more than a character.

Main Characters

• Beatrice and Benedick are presented together in the very first and very last scenes of Much Ado About Nothing, and at every step of the way, the audience senses that they will eventually marry. The subplot of the tension between the two is crucial to the play. Beatrice is one of the most interesting characters in the play. She is the niece of Leonato, a wealthy governor of Messina.

Main Characters

• Though she is a close friend with her cousin Hero, Leonato's daughter, the two couldn't be less alike. Where Hero is polite, quiet, respectful and gentle, Beatrice is feisty, cynical, witty, and sharp.

• Hero is Leonato’s daughter, Beatrice’s cousin, Antonio’s niece, and the beloved of Claudio. She’s a gentle, loving girl who doesn’t have much of a backbone, but doesn’t have much of a mean-streak either.

Main Characters

• Though she is supposed to be the female lead of the play, Hero has the fewest lines of the four primary characters. Her defining characteristic is that she’s always reacting to the actions and commands of others, and is rarely the agent of action herself.

Main Characters

• Hero is the idyllic version of a sweet and innocent girl who is wronged in love, but somehow finds the power to overcome that wrong and love again. She isn’t vulnerable emotionally, just vulnerable to circumstance.

• Claudio is a young Count from Florence who has distinguished himself as a soldier under Don Pedro, Prince of Arragon. He’s a friend of Benedick and would-be groom, and then actual groom, of Hero.

Themes for Discussion

• Shakespeare’s treatment of love in Much Ado About Nothing differs from his other romantic comedies. Sure, it shares the same stagy plot, which finishes with the lovers finally getting back together, but Shakespeare also mocks the conventions of courtly love which was popular at the time.

Themes for Discussion

• Although Claudio and Hero’s courtly marriage is central to the plot, their relationship is the least interesting thing in the play. Instead, our attention is drawn to Benedick and Beatrice’s unromantic backbiting – it is this relationship that seems more believable and enduring.

Themes for Discussion

• By contrasting these two different types of love, Shakespeare manages to poke fun at the conventions of courtly, romantic love. Claudio uses highly contrived language when speaking of love, which is undermined by Benedick and Beatrice’s banter: “Can the world buy such a Jewel?” says Claudio of Hero. “My dear Lady disdain! Are you yet living?” says Benedick of Beatrice.

Thank you so

much,

everyone!

That’s all

buddies!!!