How to Hook 'Em: Book Review of Much Ado About Nothing

 

Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Before students read Much Ado About Nothing, they assume that they are not going to like it. William Shakespeare is boring, the plays are old, the Old English incomprehensible. It does not take them many pages into Much Ado About Nothing to change their minds. (For the record--Shakespearean or Elizabethan English is not Old English or even Middle English. It is Modern English. Though some of the vocabulary and language usage has changed, the sentence structure and majority of the words sound and look similar. With some good notes, such as those included in the Folger Shakespeare Library Editions, with a little practice the reader can parse out the dialogue and plot).

In point of fact, they need only read as far as Beatrice’s initial roasting of Benedick and his war prowess to realize that the play is going to be fun. Much Ado About Nothing is an excellent introduction to Shakespeare. With my limited ability to include Shakespeare in my curriculum, it is one of two plays I teach, the other being Hamlet, which I will discuss in a separate review of that play.

In Act I of Much Ado About Nothing, Hero and Claudio quickly get engaged. To entertain them until their wedding day, it is suggested that all take on the challenge of making a match between sworn enemies Beatrice and Benedick, both of whom are also sworn enemies of marriage. Amidst their meddling, the villain of the play plots to break Hero and Claudio apart. The threat could break them all.

Much Ado About Nothing is a comedy, and while it does have many comical moments, what defines a Shakespearean comedy is not its humor but other common characteristics, such as the general plot and especially the ending. No one dies and there is a happy ending—at least in terms of Shakespeare’s time. A comedy is a confirmation of life in the marriage(s) that result and the impending families that are begun. While there are no sequels, we can guess at the happily ever after.

As a comedy, Much Ado About Nothing has elements of trickery, deception, and mistaken identity. There are lots of instances of people overhearing and sometimes misunderstanding what they have heard, which brings more heartache than comedy.

Beatrice and Benedick, though more Beatrice, are the stars of the show. Beatrice, as aforementioned, begins with some sick burns. After making it abundantly clear that she does not like Benedick, a messenger, being captain obvious, observes, “I see, lady, the gentleman is not in your books.” Beatrice, ever at the ready, responds, “No. An he were, I would burn my study.” Perhaps not the worst option.

The play’s other couple, Claudio and Hero, have a much bumpier ride and students are usually unsatisfied with how that story rolls up at the end. Claudio, let us say, is a bit of a stink.

Would I teach this book? Yeah, and nearly every year. Every time is a pleasure, a marvel at the writing and at the difficulties of the women, even the ones near the top of the societal heap. Please PM me if you are interested in the close reading assessment I assign with this play.

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