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• Much Ado About Nothing Essay

  ...Much Ado About Nothing: The Meaning of True Love and Romantic Couples Like many of his comedies, William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing involves young couples getting together, or trying to get together, and ends with the happy lovers getting married.  On the surface this appears to be a rather fairy-tale like ending, and both sets of lovers in this play, Claudio with Hero and Beatrice with Benedick, seem to end the play in a happy relationship. However, if we say, as William G. McCollom does in his essay “The Role of Wit in Much Ado About Nothing”, that “the governing action (the activity guiding the characters) could be formulated as the search in love for the truth about love” (165), then we can view the two sets of lovers as contrasting commentaries by Shakespeare about what constitutes “true love”.  Looking at the play in this way, we can say that in Much Ado About Nothing Shakespeare makes the point that true love is achieved with understanding, trust, and commitment by examining the relationships of the contrasting sets of lovers: the shallow relationship of Hero and Claudio, and the deeper relationship of Beatrice and Benedick. Before this subject can be tackled, it seems important to define what we are talking about when we say “true love”.  This subject alone could probably fill several philosophical essays, so for this essay let us define true love as being a relationship that is based on something...

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• Much Ado About Nothing Essay

  ...Much Ado About Nothing Character Analysis Essay “An aristocratic soldier who has recently been fighting under Don Pedro and a friend of Don Pedro and Claudio. Benedick is very witty, always making jokes and puns. He carries on a “merry war” of wits with Beatrice.” At the beginning of the play, he swears he will never fall in love or marry but that has yet to change. Much Ado About Nothing is a play written by William Shakespeare in 1598. The play Much Ado About Nothing is a romantic comedy centered on the city of Messina. Young Claudio falls in love with Leonato’s daughter, whom he plans to marry. However, Don John and Borachio will do whatever it takes to ruin their wedding. On the other hand, you have Beatrice and Benedick always being witty with one another when deep down there may be something more. Benedick is a character of interest that goes through several changes such as realizing that being independent isn’t so bad, becoming less stubborn, and using his wittiness to tell Beatrice he loves her rather than arguing with her. Benedick tends to be very independent, stating that he will remain a bachelor. Benedick says “That a woman conceived me, I thank her. That she brought me up, I likewise give her most humble thanks. But that I will have a recheat winded in my forehead or hang my bugle in an invisible baldrick, all women shall pardon me. Because I will not do them the wrong to mistrust any, I will do myself the...

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• Review Much Ado About Nothing Essay

  ...Kenneth Branagh’s presentation of Shakespeare’s play ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ was a brilliant one in which the Romantic Comedy begins with war and ends with marriage. It revolves around the relationships of two couples which propels drama, conflict and pathos that ensues in the process of their union. The deception is highlighted in the rendition ‘Sigh No More’ which was heard at the beginning and end of the movie. Also it was heard in Act 2.3. It gives a brief incite as to what the play is about, i.e. deception which explores themes of appearance verses reality. In the introduction, banqueting is seen where the characters appear to be having a picnic in the country where it is calm, quiet and peaceful. The letter introduces elements of suspense, mystery and conflict. This then causes Beatrice to ask “Has Signor Montanto returned from war...” A trait of women in comedies is that they are the huntresses of their men. Beatrice and Hero conform to tradition, which is using their femininity to ensnare the men they desire to trap into marriage. Beatrice’s wittiness attracts Benedick’s attention. Hero on the other hand outrageously flirts with Claudio at the masque. There is a reflection of Elizabethan ideals where Claudio and Hero’s interest is in marriage. They are a classic example of an Elizabethan couple as Hero is yielding and Beatrice is dominant which shows the modern woman striving for independence. Hero’s angelic look is enhanced by gently lighting,...

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• Much Ado About Nothing Essay

  ...‘Much Ado About Nothing’ by William Shakespeare contains many aspects that anchor the Elizabethan conventions of comedy, but allows us to question whether the ending gratifies the audience and does it actually create a satisfactory dramatic catharsis? Aristotle first discussed the concept of catharsis. He believed that “the poet's aim is to produce pleasure in the spectator by eliciting from the representation the emotions of pity (for others) and fear (for oneself)”. I believe ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ creates a satisfactory dramatic catharsis by Shakespeare intertwining Elizabethan comedic conventions with other forms of comedy in order for characters to receive their cathartic, happy ending. We are able to say ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ is a problem play as it does not fit into one genre, but still consists of a typical Shakespearean ending. Over the course of the play, we see various key conventions relating to the characters of Claudio and Hero. The relationship between these two can be described as inconsistent, yet conforms to the structure of ‘Separation’, ‘A struggle of young lovers to overcome difficulty, often presented by elders’ and finally ‘Reunification’ where the characters are granted a ‘Happy Ending’. A Shakespearean comedy is one that consists of a happy ending, usually involving marriages between the unmarried characters. Claudio and Hero’s unpredictable romance is the main plot, which begins the controversial...

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• MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING Essay

  ...About Nothing opens in a liminal situation with a war that has just ended. The men enter a "golden world" in Messina where the women are already located. In this situation, people fail to take things seriously, causing the war of the wombs to soon turn into a war of words. Benedick and Beatrice are the main examples of male/female rivalry that converts into belligerent wordplay. The first act portrays all the characters as being very careful to observe social norms, especially those of civilian obligations to the military. This creates a mask of politeness that slowly dissipates throughout the play until by the end there is nothing but directness of speech left. However, the first exchange between Leonato and Don Pedro is a model of politeness, with each man dismissing the problems of having guests for a month as being meaningless. Don Pedro further catalyzes the entire plot by carefully maneuvering the conversation towards Hero, Leonato's daughter. Don Pedro: "Good Signor Leonato, are you come to meet your trouble? The fashion of the world is to avoid cost, and you encounter it. Leonato: "Never came trouble to my house in the likeness of your grace; for trouble being gone, comfort should remain, but when you depart from me, sorrow abides and happiness takes his leave. Don Pedro: "You embrace your charge too willingly. I think this is your daughter. Leonato: Her mother hath many times told me so" (1.1.77-86)...

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• Mucho Ado About Nothing Essay

  ...Mucho Ado about Nothing In this essay, I will be exploring ways in which Kenneth Branagh adapts act 2 scene 1 in Mucho Ado about Nothing. In Act 2 Scene 1, instead of making it seem like a normal party which are usually held indoors, Branagh made it take place outdoors, at night time, which is lit up with a few candles/lights scattered around the party, it seem like it was made to be romantic, but also it is not too bright for them to be able to see as clear as day, and not too dark for them to blindly walk around bumping into things, thus making it seem more mysterious as also they are wearing masks to hide their identity which is why it is called a masked ball. During the party, they wear masks which relate to their personality for example, Claudio wears a baby-like mask which matches his attitude; he is a sensitive guy which means him so easily to fool, giving Claudio a baby- like mask affects the audience showing he vulnerable just like a baby, for instance during the party he sees hero and Don Pedro talking which means him think that they are together, he can easily get jealous Also Don John mask is a big, red vulture like mas, this affects the audience by giving it a scary feeling, red is a noticeable colour that is often used on caution and warning signs because in much ado about nothing, he is a villain, as he also clarifies in act 1 scene 3 line 23-24 “it must not be denied but I am a plain dealing villain.”...

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• Essay on Much Ado About Nothing

  ...Much Ado About Nothing--the title sounds, to a modern ear, offhand and self-effacing; we might expect the play that follows such a beginning to be a marvelous piece of fluff and not much more. However, the play and the title itself are weightier than they initially seem. Shakespeare used two other such titles--Twelfth Night, or What You Will and As You Like It--both of which send unexpected reverberations of meaning throughout their respective plays, the former with its reference to the Epiphany and the topsy-turvy world of a saturnalian celebration, and the latter with its implications about how the characters (and the audience itself) see the world in general and the Forest of Arden in particular. Much Ado About Nothing is no different, but we do not pick up the deeper resonances as quickly as an Elizabethan would, simply because of a shift in pronunciation. We get our first real glimpse of the pun in the title when Don Pedro says, "Note notes, forsooth, and nothing!" (The Complete Signet Classic Shakespeare, ed. Sylvan Barnet, New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc., 1972, 2.3.57). As A. R. Humphreys explains, "That 'nothing', colloquially spoken, was close to or identical with 'noting' is the basis of Shakespearean puns, especially in a context of musical 'noting'. A similar pun, though non-musical, is conceivable here" (Introduction, The Arden Shakespeare: Much Ado About Nothing, London and New...

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• Essay about Much Ado About Nothing

  ...Much Ado About Nothing In the film “Much Ado about Nothing”, how effectively does the director, Kenneth Branagh, interpret the way Shakespeare establishes the relation ship between Beatrice and Benedick in Act 1 Scene 1? (1,200 words) Kenneth Branagh opens his film “Much Ado about Nothing” by immediately changing and interpreting Shakespeare’s work. The “Sigh No More” poem is moved from the middle to the beginning. This poem was written by William Shakespeare but was never performed in his plays, so not only did Branagh introduce this poem to the play it also becames the theme to the film. The “men are deceivers ever” theme is clearly meant to be introduced straight away and emphasized. Emma Thompson, who plays Beatrice in the film, recites it and the lyrics are written on a black screen so the words and the meaning are emphasized. It is clear for someone who is watching the film for a second time that Beatrice is talking about Benedick and how her heart had been broken but how she should get on with life any way. She recites it in a hurtful, reflective way as well as very slowly, with a lot of pauses so that the audience can familiarize themselves with her voice and recognize it in the film. She then repeats the poem but this time she is with her family in a beautiful Tuscan setting and her tone has completely changed. This time she reads it in a mocking and entertaining way as if she was hiding her feelings for Benedick. When...

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