Much ado about Nothing
In what ways can a modern audience respond to Shakespearean presentation ofthe two couples in Much Ado About Nothing? Much ado about nothing is centered on the love and friendships of two pairs of young lovers in Messina. It was probably first performed in late 1598 or early 1599. It is always important when reading Shakespeare to remember that Shakespeare was writing for an Elizabethan audience so therefore we will interpret and respond differently to the situations presented to us. In Much Ado About Nothing the two couples are Beatrice and Benedick, and Hero and Claudio. Both are very different couples so our response to each is varied. Beatrice and Benedick could be looked upon as a more ?modern? couple compared with the very conventional Elizabethan coupling of Hero and Claudio. The love presented in Much Ado is realistic and critical, the romantic heroes are not perfect. The theme of love is introduced right from the start of the play when the soldiers arrive at Messina for their vacation. Claudio immediately falls for ?the jewel? Hero. He almost immediately confesses his love for her ?that I love her, I feel?. Benedick replies to Claudio?s confession with cynical, deflating replies and comments which
inventive, friendly and playful. It is easy to generalise Beatrice?s relationship with contrast to Beatrice and Benedick?s down-to-earth mockery ?Would you buy her, that you their conflict starts off as clever and snide insinuation but soon degenerates to blatant, bad dramatically in the audiences estimation, he makes a ?fetish of honour arisen form his effect of prose and verse which highlight the differences between the two couples and an illusion which prevented any emotional developments until Don Pedro?s deception Shakespeare has purposefully not used one so as to highlight the sincerity of their love and today are unwilling to accept male dominance which therefore makes the Hero/Claudio
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 2151
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)
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