Much Ado About Nothing

1. Find out when the play, “Much Ado About Nothing”, was written and describe the storyline.

The play was written in 1598-1599. Much Ado About Nothing is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare set in Messina, Sicily. The story concerns a pair of lovers named Claudio and Hero who are due to be married in a week. To pass the time before their wedding day, they conspire with Don Pedro, the prince of Aragon, to trick their friends, Beatrice and Benedick, into confessing their love for one another. The prince's illegitimate brother, Don John, however, jealous of both Don Pedro's power and his affection for Claudio, plans to sabotage the coming wedding.

2. Identify some of the main characters, dividing them into two groups: ‘good’ and ‘evil’.

Good:

• Don Pedro
• Benedick
• Claudio
• Leonato
• Hero
• Beatrice

Evil:

• Don John

3. What seem to be the play’s messages? List below. Do you think the play is relevant today?

In Much Ado About Nothing, there are many examples of deliberate deception and self-deception. The word "ado" also means busy activity, fuss or trouble. So the play is about a lot of fuss over nothing. I do believe this play is still relevant because listening to what people say to you and accusing people without any evidence still occurs alot in todays society.


4. What is the difference between classical tragedy and comedy? Into which category (if either)does this play seem to fit?

Comedy: a play, movie, etc., of light and humorous character with a happy or cheerful ending; a dramatic work in which the central motif is the triumph over adverse circumstance, resulting in a successful or happy conclusion.
Classical Tragedy: The tragic hero who, though not perfect, is certainly in some way morally superior to most of the audience (and who is nearly always upper class), but also exhibits
“Hamartia,” the tragic flaw (literally, it translates as “error of judgement”) which is often
hubris, loosely translated as arrogance, that causes the hero to believe he can outwit fate or violate a moral law, which leads in turn to some kind of catastrophe, which results in peripeteia or a complete reversal of fortune from happiness to disaster.

This play 'Much Ado About Nothing' I believe fits into the comedy category more than the classical tragedy.