How Far Do You Agree That Good Comedy Is Tragedy Narrowly Averted
How far do you agree that Much Ado About Nothing shows the truth of the claim that “good comedy is tragedy narrowly averted”?
“Good comedy is tragedy narrowly averted”: these words were spoken by Jonathon Bate and Eric Rasmussen in their publishing of ‘William Shakespeare: Complete Works’. They show how many elements of comedy could be interpreted as almost tragic. The comedy in Much Ado About Nothing is often created when the audience can see that something could go horribly wrong, however it is saved in the nick of time. A sense of relief and light-heartedness is created, as customarily comedy is known to end in a meeting of characters at a gleeful point in time or occasion; most frequently with a wedding.
There are many situations in ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ that corroborate the view that “good comedy is tragedy narrowly averted”. From the start of the play the audience is presented with a looming sense of villainy by the presence of Don John. In the first scene he enters, he does not say anything for a while, on stage he may be stood quietly and threatening in a dark corner. As well as adding a sinister element to the scene to generate suspicion, the positioning of Don John on stage shows his aloofness from the rest of the characters. Already an Elizabethan audience may hold some reservations towards the fact that he has been introduced as the ‘bastard’. An illegitimate child at this time would pose a threat to the whole family, especially one of high status such as Leonato’s. When passing down wealth to the heir in the family an illegitimate child could potentially intrude and declare himself to be the rightful inheritor of the wealth. This consequently creates furthermore suspicion around the character of Don Jon and fear of the danger imposed. Don Jon is first introduced when he says, “I thank you, I am not of many words but I thank you,” creating an eerie sense to his character. His taciturnity is quite unsettling since meanwhile in this scene
“Good comedy is tragedy narrowly averted”: these words were spoken by Jonathon Bate and Eric Rasmussen in their publishing of ‘William Shakespeare: Complete Works’. They show how many elements of comedy could be interpreted as almost tragic. The comedy in Much Ado About Nothing is often created when the audience can see that something could go horribly wrong, however it is saved in the nick of time. A sense of relief and light-heartedness is created, as customarily comedy is known to end in a meeting of characters at a gleeful point in time or occasion; most frequently with a wedding.
There are many situations in ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ that corroborate the view that “good comedy is tragedy narrowly averted”. From the start of the play the audience is presented with a looming sense of villainy by the presence of Don John. In the first scene he enters, he does not say anything for a while, on stage he may be stood quietly and threatening in a dark corner. As well as adding a sinister element to the scene to generate suspicion, the positioning of Don John on stage shows his aloofness from the rest of the characters. Already an Elizabethan audience may hold some reservations towards the fact that he has been introduced as the ‘bastard’. An illegitimate child at this time would pose a threat to the whole family, especially one of high status such as Leonato’s. When passing down wealth to the heir in the family an illegitimate child could potentially intrude and declare himself to be the rightful inheritor of the wealth. This consequently creates furthermore suspicion around the character of Don Jon and fear of the danger imposed. Don Jon is first introduced when he says, “I thank you, I am not of many words but I thank you,” creating an eerie sense to his character. His taciturnity is quite unsettling since meanwhile in this scene