Analysis of Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare
Analysis – Much ado About Nothing
Much Ado About Nothing is a play set in c1598 in England. The author of this play, William Shakespeare has used various literary techniques to construct and develop its characters. This essay will analyse some of the techniques including tone, character-specific dialogue, dramatic irony, soliloquy, and symbolism that has been used by the author to construct the characters of the play including Benedick, Beatrice, and Don John.
Tone is one of the major techniques used by Shakespeare in this play, to show audience the type and behaviour of characters. In the introduction of the play, Beatrice asks the messenger who had come to deliver a message that stated that prince Pedro is coming to Messina, if “Signior Montanto” (1.1.25) (mocking “Signior Benedick”) had returned from the battle. The tone of Beatrice used in this introductory scene, gives audience an idea that she might be a witty character. Beatrice, like in this scene, has a witty attitude in most of the scenes. An example of this is where Leonato is talking to Beatrice about her future husband, where she states that a one who has a beard is “more than a youth” (2.1.27) and he is not for her, whereas one who has none is “less than a man” (2.1.38) and she is not for him, concluding that there is no man that is able to become her husband. This shows that Beatrice is a very hard-hearted character and cannot be changed or pleased so easily. The tone of Beatrice is usually specific in most of the parts of the play. However, this is also true for the other characters in the play. This shows how tone can be used to specifically recognise a character. Therefore, it can be concluded that the author has used Tone as one of the early techniques in constructing and developing the characters, to let the audience know about the characters’ personality and behaviour.
A technique that is used for most of the characters of the play is character-specific dialogue. Character-specific
Much Ado About Nothing is a play set in c1598 in England. The author of this play, William Shakespeare has used various literary techniques to construct and develop its characters. This essay will analyse some of the techniques including tone, character-specific dialogue, dramatic irony, soliloquy, and symbolism that has been used by the author to construct the characters of the play including Benedick, Beatrice, and Don John.
Tone is one of the major techniques used by Shakespeare in this play, to show audience the type and behaviour of characters. In the introduction of the play, Beatrice asks the messenger who had come to deliver a message that stated that prince Pedro is coming to Messina, if “Signior Montanto” (1.1.25) (mocking “Signior Benedick”) had returned from the battle. The tone of Beatrice used in this introductory scene, gives audience an idea that she might be a witty character. Beatrice, like in this scene, has a witty attitude in most of the scenes. An example of this is where Leonato is talking to Beatrice about her future husband, where she states that a one who has a beard is “more than a youth” (2.1.27) and he is not for her, whereas one who has none is “less than a man” (2.1.38) and she is not for him, concluding that there is no man that is able to become her husband. This shows that Beatrice is a very hard-hearted character and cannot be changed or pleased so easily. The tone of Beatrice is usually specific in most of the parts of the play. However, this is also true for the other characters in the play. This shows how tone can be used to specifically recognise a character. Therefore, it can be concluded that the author has used Tone as one of the early techniques in constructing and developing the characters, to let the audience know about the characters’ personality and behaviour.
A technique that is used for most of the characters of the play is character-specific dialogue. Character-specific
Bibliography: * Shakespeare, William. Mares, F.H. ed. The New Cambridge Shakespeare – Much Ado About Nothing. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007. Print * n.p. “Glossary of Literary Terms” uncp.com. UNCP, n.d. Web. 22 Aug, 2010.