Dr Mark’s The Meaning in a Nutshell
William Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing (1598)
William Shakespeare’s comedy, Much Ado About Nothing (1598) deals with the trials and tribulations (as well as the joys) of courtship and romance, especially regarding the role that gossip, eavesdropping and jumping to conclusions can play to temporarily derail a budding romance or to finally bring an estranged couple back together.
Set in the sixteenth century near Messina in Sicily, Italy, at a time when this region was ruled by Spain, the story centres on two couples. The first involves a young man, distinguished in battle but inexperienced in love, Claudio, who instantly falls for a beautiful young woman, Hero. His vaulted feelings of love are reciprocated and the couple idealise love in the way young lovers often do and rush eagerly to marriage, a union warmly accepted by her kindly father. By contrast, another accomplished soldier, Benedick, is more worldly and experienced with women and he expresses the kind of cynical resistance to the bonds of marriage that, cool, confident men can acquire. He was once in love with Beatrice, but had left her. This produced a situation that provides choice subject matter for classic romantic comedy, since the two secretly still harbour profound feelings for each other but verbally spar at every opportunity. Her witty stinging barbs are a match for his, yet their apparent hostility reveals to those perceptive in matters of love that these two deeply love each other and are perfectly suited to marriage once they overcome their hurt feelings or resistance to commitment.
As is the tradition in comedies, the couples are happily united in marriage at the end of the play. But, in the meantime, the drama features the role that gossip, eavesdropping and jumping to conclusions can play in romance, for good or ill. The love of Claudio and Hero seems thwarted by the mischief of the bitter Don John who contrives to undermine their happiness by creating an apparently convincing rumour of the infidelity of Hero just before she was to be married. Hero becomes a fallen woman, rejected at the altar by her groom and denounced by her father, only to have her reputation fully restored once the rumour is proved false, which allowed the couple to find matrimony and happiness. Meanwhile, eavesdropping is used for good when applied to Benedick and Beatrice who secretly listen to the conversations others to learn about the love their estranged partner feels for them, knowledge that inspires forgiveness and passion and the desire to seal their reconciliation in marriage.
Student resources by Dr Mark Lopez
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The purpose of the concise notes of Dr Mark’s The Meaning in a Nutshell is to provide much needed help to students seeking to unlock the meaning of the texts with which they have to deal. (More elaborate notes are provided in lessons as part of my private tutoring business.)
Subject: Much Ado About Nothing meaning, Much Ado About Nothing themes, Much Ado About Nothing analysis, Much Ado About Nothing notes