The Duality of Much Ado About Nothing: Opposites, Similarities, and Love in Shakespeare’s Romantic Comedy
Shakespeare’s romantic comedy play, Much Ado About Nothing, is a play full of love, laughter, and friendship; however, it also contains many lies, tricks, and doubles. Director Joss Whedon combines these merriments with their counterpart, deceptions, and plays them out to their fullest extent in his film adaption of the play. In an analogous way, lead characters Benedick and Beatrice are shown to be two sides of the same coin through a combination of visual techniques, parallel scenes, comedic interpretation, and black-and-white filming. After experiencing stress from the big-budget, commercialized Avengers movie, Whedon used Much Ado as
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He describes it as, “the most relaxing and fulfilling thing [he] could do after a year of being involved on a giant blockbuster” (Orr). Whedon wanted to make a film handled both comedic and serious moments with grace, which is one of the reasons he decided to film in black and white. This decision was also based on his understanding of film noir, as he felt that genre is where “criminal darkness and screwball comedy frequently coexist” (Hindle 80). He also wanted the film to have a mysterious element to it, explaining that the idea of noir attracted him because, “these people are basically espionage agents or spies, and they spend all their time just making up schemes...and tricking each other” (Pascale, 359). This interpretation lines up with the dialogue of the play, as tricks and lies are what launch the main premise into actin. Benedick notes to himself that, “This can be no trick” after hearing Claudio, Leonato, and the Prince discussing Beatrice’s supposed ‘love’ for him; however, we as the audience clearly know it is a trick (Much Ado About Nothing, 2.3.223). Later on, after some of the men see Margaret at Hero’s bedchamber window, Leonato exclaims something similar, stating, “Would the two princes lie and Claudio lie…?” (4.1.161). Once again, the audience is completely aware that this whole situation is a scheme. Whedon …show more content…
As I previously stated, the film invites us into Whedon’s house, giving us an intimate glimpse into his life and producing a feeling of closeness between the audience and the story. However, the audience is constantly reminded by two things that they are not within the same world as the film. First, there is the play’s inherent dramatic irony, as displayed in the paragraph above. Second, shooting certain scenes partially obscured by tree branches or brush puts viewers into the position of someone who is spying—similar to the characters themselves, yet totally outside the narrative. For example, when Don John is being taken into the house, we view the characters entering the gate from behind a bramble. One particular scene that stands out occurs when servants are preparing for the wedding. We see the photographer from behind two candles, and unlike the rest of the characters, she looks back at us. This mutual gaze suggests that perhaps she is as out of place as we are; after all, there certainly wasn’t a photographer character in the original script, and Whedon actually stated that she was their real on-set photographer (Orr). This surreal moment of recognition from someone within the film is striking, and makes the audience feel like they are out of place, overhearing or seeing something that they shouldn’t be. While this is much like the premise of the play, it
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
Analysis of Much Ado About Nothing Much Ado About Nothing illustrates a kind of deliberately puzzling title that seems to have been popular in the late 1590s (ex "As You Like It"). Indeed, the play is about nothing; it follows the relationships of Claudio and Hero (which is constantly hampered by plots to disrupt it), and in the end, the play culminates in the two other main characters falling in love (Beatrice and Bena*censored*), which, because it was an event that was quite predictable
With a Shout Much Ado about Nothing by William Shakespeare, is a comical story of misunderstandings and funny feuds, but also contains heartfelt love stories, one in which contains an horrible miscalculation that leads to heartbreak and "death." That story is one of Hero, the governors daughter, who falls in love with Count Claudio, a lord from Florence. Claudio undoubtably feels the same and they quickly become engaged to be married the next week. All is well until the evil Don John devises
play Much Ado about Nothing traverses the complex social, and emotional trials and triumphs of romantic relationships; Shakespeare’s perspective on the subject is both very similar to ours today, and different. Although filled with sexual innuendos, and humorous trickery and shenanigans, Much Ado about Nothing also dives into the complexities of social anxieties, defense mechanisms to cope with the social pressures, and the emotions involved. First, the characters in Much Ado about Nothing deal
Charlebois December 15, 2015 Perception of Evidence In Much Ado About Nothing, Othello, and A Winter’s Tale, William Shakespeare shows the shift in which in which perception becomes knowledge. As a thing becomes known, through one sense or another, it is filtered through the mind, and then emerges as knowledge. Shakespeare examines this process, focusing on the ways in which we unconsciously influence the formation of knowledge. Much Ado about Nothing, Othello and A Winter’s Tale each explore different
Amber Kellmer 19 October, 2015 Brother Waddell ENG373 Analytical Paper TITLE The presence and display of love in Much Ado About Nothing is very different depending on which character or relationship one focuses on. Benedick and Beatrice show their love for each other like a school boy, who picks on his crush to show he likes her. In contrast, Hero and Claudio’s relationship is much more innocent and simple. Shakespeare shows the themes of love, the difference between appearance and reality, and deception
Gossip and Deceit in Much Ado About Nothing Much Ado About Nothing is primarily a play about gossip. Indeed, the title means a big fuss about a trifle, and by the end, this is exactly what happens. All accusations will come to nothing, causing the play to end the same way as if they never occurred at all. Shakespeare brilliantly plays on the meanings of nothing throughout this play. The word "nothing" would actually have been pronounced "noting" in his time. It can mean worthless, a person of
Beatrice and Benedick in Act 1 of Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare In 'Much Ado About Nothing' we learn about Beatrice and Benedick. Benedick is a very confident, witty man who appears to have a love hate relationship with Beatrice. He is very self sure with women and makes it known to others that he would prefer to remain a bachelor for the rest of his life rather than marry a woman. Beatrice in a way is very similar to Benedick, she also is very intelligent
A Feminist Perspective of Much Ado About Nothing Much Ado About Nothing, though a critically acclaimed play, seems to be truly a fuss of trivial details and sexist thinking. The title fits the play itself, in the sense that it is a case of a great amount of nothing, which perhaps can be assumed to be a mistake on William Shakespeare's part. The characters in the comedy are not realistic, and those that could have been were transformed throughout the course of events depicted
Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing In the play "Much Ado About Nothing", William Shakespeare describes how a person can do a lot of things out of nothing. There are four main characters in this play that find a lot to do about stupid things and it can make things very difficult. The main characters are: Benedick, Claudio, Beatrice, and Hero. Shakespeare explains the roles of these four different characters and how relationships work. It's amazing what he knew 400 years ago about relationships
When the men went to war, Claudio proved himself to Don Pedro. Claudio took the position away from Don John as Don Pedro’s right hand man. This much to Don John’s displeasure, he says to Conrade “He has all the glories of my overthrow”. This means that Claudio is now best friends with Don Pedro and being called a hero by Don Pedro. A characteristic of a credible villain is a motive for their evilness
A Feminist Perspective of Hero in Much Ado About Nothing Unlike the title of this piece suggests, Hero did not undergo her transformation in Much Ado About Nothing through magic. Rather, Hero was a victim of the double standards and illogical fears that the men of Shakespeare’s plays commonly held. The following quote sums it up quite well: In the plays female sexuality is not expressed variously through courtship, pregnancy, childbearing, and remarriage, as it is in the period
Hero and Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare The two characters, Hero and Beatrice, go hand in hand, although each has many differences. The reason the characters are so different, at times, is Shakespeare's way of emphasising each character. Hero would not seem as quiet if Beatrice wasn't so loud, and Beatrice wouldn't seem so overly confident if Hero didn't act so shy. The two, during the play fall in love with two very different people. They both
Shrew and Beatrice, of Much Ado About Nothing Shakespeare’s Katharina, of The Taming of the Shrew and Beatrice, of Much Ado About Nothing, are very similar characters. Each is plagued with unrequited love, and depressed by their inability to woo the suitor of their choosing. Neither will accept the passive female role expected by society. Yet, both women seem to accept their role as wife by the conclusion. Upon further examination, one will find that Beatrice is a much more complex character
Shakespeare's Techniques in Much Ado About Nothing I am going to describe the techniques used by Shakespeare in 'Much Ado About Nothing'. I am focusing on language, themes, characters, plots and sub plots as well as the play as a whole. I will also be focusing on how the modern day as well as the Elizabethan audience would respond to this play write. Shakespeare is known as one of the worlds best play writers, he has written tragedies, histories, sonnets and comedies