Essay on "Betrayal" in "Much Ado About Nothing"

3. Betrayal is a theme introduced at the very beginning of this play. How does this constant stream of betrayal affect the outcome of the plot, and which characters are most affected by it?
           
            Betrayal plays a very vital and important role in the book,"Much Ado About Nothing". Betrayal is defined as treachery or disloyalty which is delivered to someone of close relation. In this essay you will see how betrayal is displayed in the book as well as its affects on the characters and outcome of the plot.
              In the book Don John betrays his brother because of the jealousy and hatred he feels for Don Pedro. Don John envies his brother, Don Pedro for many reasons, one of them being his position. Don Pedro is the prince of Arragon. As the bastard brother, Don John doesn't feel as if he ever got a fair chance of obtaining a title of such respect and prestige. Not only is he jealous of his brother but he also feels rejected by Don Pedro. This too causes him to feel the need to bring shame on Don Pedro. Perhaps it is also Don John's way of redeeming himself. As Don Pedro's bastard brother he mostlikely is made to feel like an outsider, an outcast or someone of no relevence or importance. Therefore Don John's evil plan to dishonour Don Pedro may be his way of restoring honour back to himself. In conclusion Don John's plan of betrayal was one fueled by a deep sense of rejection as well as a desparate need for Don John to be in his brother's place.
          Don John's plan of betrayal has an undeniable affect on nearly all of the cast of "Much Ado About Nothing". His evil plan particularly affects Hero and Claudio in quite a significant way. In addition, Leonato, Don Pedro, Beatrice, Antonio and even Bennedick are affected as a result of Don John's actions. Infact, almost the entire play is based on Don John's plan to humiliate Don Pedro. However Don John plans to do this by using Claudio,Don John's right hand man, making Claudio Don John's direct and actual victim. With the help of Borrachio, Don John devises a plan to trick Claudio and Don Pedro into thinking that Hero has been unfaithful to Claudio. Magaret is also involved with this plan. Magaret, Hero's gentlewoman is in Hero's room, dressed in her clothes and having passionate sex with Borrachio who cunningly yells out Hero's name while he and Magaret are being intimate. Meanwhile Don John lures Claudio in to witness the act. Ofcourse Claudio immediately beleives that Magaret is indeed Hero and he is furious. Claudio is therefore majorly affected by Don John's plan. He feels betryed,hurt, angry and devastated at the thought that Hero has cheated on him. Don Pedro is also filled with immense anger, not only towards Hero but towards Leonato as well. At the beginning of the play we see that they are both quite very fond of each other. However Don John's plan has now not only damanged but has destroyed their great freindship forever. This is how Don Pedro is even more negatively affected by the plan.
          Hero's cousin, Beatrice is also overwelmed and left devastated by the situation. She loves and cares for her cousin deeply. Therefore the fact that Hero had been so dishonoured plays negatively on her emotions. Beatrice is so upset that she forces Bennedick to avenge her sister's downfall. The love Bennedick feels for Beatrice automatically causes him to feel a deep sense of pity for her cousin, Hero. When asked by Beatrice if he will fight for Hero's honour he is reluctant but on seeing how deeply this had hurt his love, Beatrice he is willing to do anything to put her mind at rest. Therefore Bennedick too, becomes involved in this unfortunate tragedy. Futhermore Leonato is extremely upset when Hero is accused of being unfaithful. Not only is Hero's reputation ruined but being her father, Leonato's reputation is somewhat tainted as well. In conclusion Don John majorly impacts each and every character within the play. He made it necessary for the existence of the police in the book as well as villans which were his faithful allies and partners in crime.
             Ultimately Don John makes the ending of the play an even happier one when the major problems are resolved and everyone is content. Hero and Claudio are finally married at the end of the play and their wonderful day is all the more enjoyable, knowing all that they have been through. The villans receive punishment and everyone is estatic when Don John's doings finally catch up with him. In conclusion, betrayal  is a very important aspect of the book, "Much Ado About Nothing". This is seen in how the characters are affected it as well as the the directiontaken by the play.

Humour in "Much Ado About Nothing"

         The book "Much Ado About Nothing" is a perfectly remarkable example of  a Shakesperean comedy. A Shakesperean comedy is defined as one which has a happy ending. It is also of a lighthearted atmosphere and involves marriages between characters. Ironically Shakesperean comedy is also described as having much tension and conflict between characters within the play, ofetn within Families. These are all evident in the book. Witty banter and sarcasm are also some of the humorous techniques seen used by Shakespere in "Much Ado About Nothing". Deception and  reunion among many other examples are found in the book"Much Ado About Nothing" and proves it as a classic Shakesperean comedy.
        However there are more forms of humour found in the book which is much more obvious, easy to understand and laughable than the ones I've previously explained especially in the actions of Dogberry and Verges. Dogberry and his deputy Verges are both seemingly serious about their work but to the reader they are quite ridiculously funny. Dogberry has difficulty pronouncing words just right. This is always a belly jerker. Despite their poor detective skills, they manage to solve the crime. This is done deliberately by Shakespere to have a humorous effect as it is obvious that they happened to do this by mistake. Conclusively, the policemen are comedians due to their unintelligence and unawareness.

Summary of acts 1,2 and 3

    In act 2 Leonato, Beatrice,Antonio and Hero discuss Don John's melancholic ways as well as the hostility shown by Beatrice towards the male gender. Later they all gather at the party or festival rather where Antonio parties with Ursula. Meanwhile Margaret joins Balthasar. But most importantly Don Pedro woos for Hero for Claudio. Leonato tells tells Hero that she must accept the propasal of marriage from Don John if presented to her.







In act three Hero tells Ursula and Margaret the plan that she wishes to execute. The plan concerns Beatrice. It is to be the completion or the second half of Don Pedro's plan. Although Ursula and Hero are really the main ones in this plot, Margaret is still very much important as she is the one who lures Beatrice to where Ursula and Hero are. In this plot they sp[eak of Bennedick in a way for Beatrice to hear them. They speak the best ofn things about Bennedick but most importantly they talk of Bennedick's love for Beatrice which isn't actually true but rather a trick to fool Beatrice into thinking that Bennedick loves her so that she could in turn beleive and love him in return.
         Later on in act three, scene two Don Pedro, Claudio and Leonato are discussing Bennedick. They take notice of his behavior changes, hoping that he is indeed in love. They notice that Bennedick is now paying more attention to grooming himself and is happier. It is also in act three, scene two that Don John goes to Don Pedro and Claudio, tellign them that Hero is disloyal and then leading them to the window where Borachio pretends to be having sex with Hero. This isn't actually Hero but Magaret, disguised as Hero.

The Movie vs the book

      The movie on Much Ado About Nothing definatly breathes life into the book. In the beginning people are having a picnic and celebrating. When the letter is annunced there is laughter and cheer. There is tons of excitement. The people of Messina rush to prepare for the arrival of Don Pedro and company who come galloping on horses, running through the feilds and the outdoors. The movie gives a better idea of what is going on in the book. The expression of the characters is more felt for example the anger felt by Claudio when he felt he was betrayed by Don Pedro, the joy felt by Beatrice and Bennedick when they found love as well as the pain felt by Hero when she was disgraced. Whereas in the book Beatrice appears to be full of misery, the movie presents her as being humorous and playful. From the movie we are able to see how these people in the play dress. The wore long dresses while the men wore suits. The movie is filled with melodious and soft music.
      Some of the words in the book are ofcourse omitted from the movie yet the movie still does an excellent job of capturing the essence of the book, almost word for word. A good example of this is the way in which Don John's character is portrayed. He is of a very melancholic pesonality. He is very serious throughout the play and mostly keeps to himself. Hero however is in my opinion, portaryed very much in the same way in the book as well as the movie. She is shy, quiet and modest.

Questions on Much Ado About Nothing

1a. Shakespere wrote Much Ado About Nothing before the summer of 1600, assumingly in 1598.

  b.

  c. The other three romantic comedies associated with this play are 'As you like it,' 'Henry the fifth and Ben johnson's. Every man in his humor.

2a. The three basic plot lines of the play are Bennedick and Beatrice falling in love, Don John seeking to destroy Don pedro by any means possible and Claudio being in love with Hero and is tricked into beleiving that she is disloyal but inthe end finds out the truth and marries her.

  b.

3.

4a. The relationship between Beatrice and Bennedick differ from that of Claudio and Hero because while persons in the play tried to bring Beatrice and bennedick together, persons tried desparately to tear Claudio and Hero apart.

 b The relationships between Beatrice and Bennedick and Claudio and Hero are related because Beatrice and Hero are cousins and Bennedick and Claudio are good friends.

5. What is unusual about the form of language in which this romantic comedy is written is that the characters do not speak everyday, regular english. They speak something similar to that of languge spoken in the bible. Reason for this si because the play is based on the days of Shakespere and it is beleived that in those days this is how persons spoke.

6. The unusual thing about the accomplishments of Dogberry and his amateur police force is that they mistakenly solved the crime of the wrong done to Hero. Their findings were not intentional.

16. The "jade's trick in line 140 according to Beatrice is referring to Bennedick's last insult to Beatrice, comparing Beatrice's mouth to that of a horse.

17a.  In relation to the rest of the characters, I would say Claudio was no younger than 23 band no older than 26. This is my opinion, because among the other characters he seems to be the most inexperienced and in need of a lot of guidance.

17b. In relation to the rest of the characters we can see that he is much younger than Don Pedro and a bit younger than Bennedick as well.This is shown in how inquisitive Claudio is. He questions Bennedick and Don Pedro as if he has not yet fully matured. He questions them about about love and life in general. He is easily influenced and made jealous when Don John and his comjpanions trick him into thinking that Don Pedro wants Hero for himself.

19. In a Shakesperean play a characetr's declaration is significant when he says he will never

7. It is important to the play that the society in which the action takes place is very tight-knit, and everyone seems to know each other very well because this is needed for parts of the play to make sense. Everyone practically knows everyone else's doings. This helps the play to flow and connects the characters, making it easy for the reader to understand. In the novel when Claudio is tricked into thinking that Hero is being unfaithful to him, this would not have made sense if the whole place was not tight knit. Everyone knows Hero's room, her clothes and such. Her gentle woman even has access to her bedroom.

8. The men in this play are obsessed with the females of the play and marrying them but not ordinary women, pure and beautiful ones. According to folklore how does this condition reveal itself?  The men of the upper classes are especially vulnerable because they are very rich, respected and most times handsome, making them desirable.

30. Leonato and Antonio want Hero to accept the propasal made by the Prince.

34. The interchange between Bennedick and Beatrice when they dance differ from that of other couples because Beatrice doesn't make her partner feel comfortable, infact Beatrice is unaware that she is dancing with Bennedick. 

Much Ado About Nothing Questions

1. In the Shakesperean play Much Ado about nothing, Don John vows to take revenge on his brother, Don Pedro. He vows to do anythimg that will embarass his brother whom he is greatly jealous of. He feels that Don Pedro has taken his glory. He wishes to be in his position. In the beginning of the play he tries to do this by tricking Claudio into beleiving that Don Pedro has seduced his love, Hero.
Claudio is deeply in love with Hero.

2. Claudio is in love with Hero.

3. Beatrice's and Bennedick's perspectives in the beginning of the play are quite similar. The both despise the thought of commitment, dread the thought of marriage and make mockery of any talk of love and romance. They think love to be unimportant. Beatrice in particular thinks that men are not capable of being faithful and that all they bring into a woman's life is pain. Bennedick doesn't have very quite contrary opinions of the opposite sex as a matter of fact he detests them.

4. The plan executed by Don Pedro is to make Beatrice and Bennedick fall in love. He plans with Leonato and Claudio that they go where they know that Bennedick is near and talk of Beatrice's undying love for him so that he could hear. He then will beleive that Beatrice loves him and somehow find it in his heart to love her in return. He plans something similar for Beatrice but this is executed by Ursula and Hero.

The Life of William Shakespeare

      
Willam Shakespeare: His Life

William Shakespeare was baptised on the 26th of April 1564 and died on the 23th of April 1616. He was an English actor, poet and playwright, infact he is recognized as the greatest writer and pre-eminent dramatist that ever lived. He was very handsome as you can clearly see in this picture and is frequently refered to as England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon". Because he was so handsome as soon as he turned eighteen someone wanted to marry him. Her name was Anne Hathaway. Personally I think she took his chilhood from him because she was eight years older than he was. Nontheless they had their first child,Susannah within six months of their marriage and then later had twins, Hamnet and Judith in 1585. Sadly Shakespeare's only son, Hamnet died in 1596 at the tender age of eleven.

William Shakespeare: His work

Some of Shakespeare's surviving works include a collaboration of 38 plays,154 sonnets and two long narrative poems among other narratives. Some of Shakespeare's plays such as Hamlet and Romeo & Juliet are among the most well known literary works in the world. However there have been rumors that Shakespeare didn't actually write all of his plays on his own and that either Christopher Marlowe or Queen Elizabeth were the real authors. But in my opinion I think this is a rumor and nothing more as there is clear evidence of Shakespeare's personal involvement within his plays.One of Shakespear'e plays, Hamlet was actually influenced by an incident which occured when Shajespeare was fifteen. A woman in a nearby village drowned in Avon. Her death was ruled accidental but still may have been a suicide. Shakespeare later used this in Hamlet leaving open the question of whether Ophelia died accidentally or by her own hand.
Hamlet was first printed in 1603. It is Shakespeare's largest drama, based on a lost play known as the Ur-Hamlet. Prince Hamlet, an enigmatic intellectual, mourns both his father's death and his mother's remarriage. His father's ghost appears to him and tells that Claudius, married to Queen Gertrude, Hamlet's mother, poisoned him. Hamlet, fascinated by cruelly witty games, swears revenge. "The time is out of joint; O cursed spite, That ever I was born to set it right!" He arranges an old play whose story has a parallel to that of Claudius. Hamlet's behavior is considered mad. He kills the eavesdropping Polonius, the court chamberlain, by thrusting his sword through a curtain. Polonius's son Laertes returns to Denmark to avenge his father's death. Polonius's daughter Ofelia loves Hamlet, but the prince's sadistically brutal behavior drives her to madness. "Get thee to a nunnery: why wouldst thou be a breeder of sinners?" he tells Ophelia who dies by drowning. Before the slaughter that ends the story, Hamlet says to his friend Horatio: "I shall win at the odds. But thou wouldst not think how ill all's here about my heart." A duel takes place and ends with the death of Gertrude, Laertes, Claudius, and Hamlet, whose final words are "the rest is silence."
According to a legend, he left Stratford for London to avoid a charge of poaching. After 1582 Shakespeare probably joined as an actor one or several companies of players. By 1584 he emerged as a rising playwright in London, and became soon a central figure in London´s leading theater company, the Lord Chamberlain´s Company, renamed later as the King´s Men. He wrote many great plays for the group. In 1599 a new theater, called The Globe, was built



William Shakespeare: His Childhood

Shakespeare was born and raised in Stratford-upon-Avon. He was the eldest son of Mary Arden and John Shakespeare who was a glover and wood dealer. At the age of eighteen, He married Anne Hathaway with whom he had three children. Wait a minute........He wasn't the typical eighteen year old of modern day so lets back up a bit. William Shakespeare's father, John Shakespeare was a man of status within the community so William was granted free education. It is assumed that Shakespeare attended King Edward 1V Grammar School. He was educated in Stratford from age seven in 1517 and finished his schooling at age fourteen in 1578. Following his father William Shakespeare also did some butchering at some point and time in his youth.

William Shakespeare: What makes him so great?

Shakespeare possessed a vast aray of vocabulary especially for his time. He used 29,066 different words in his plays. Today the average English-speaking person uses something like 2000 words in everyday speech. Many numerologists even claim that Shakespeare wrote the King James version of the bible at the age of 46. Another fasinating fact about William Shakespeare was that he came from very humble beginnings but still somehow managed to be the best. This therefore makes him an inspiration for all those who may be struggling for a better life and a brighter future. Another reason which earns Shakespeare the title of "The greatest writer that ever lived" is the fact that his writings have lived on throughout the years. Instead of them being forgotten and discarded as I'm sure many other writings of his time have been, his writngs have been modified, modernized and translated for a younger audience to enjoy. 


A bit about the Elizabethan era.