Friday, September 16, 2011
Comedic Conventions: Much Ado About Nothing
Consider the conventions of Shakespearean comedy. In what ways does Much Ado About Nothing conform to those conventions? Write a 250 word response addressing that question. Be sure to use examples from the film to explain your response. Due by class time Thursday, September 22.
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This shakespeare play, Much Ado About Nothing, has all the aspects of Shakesperean comedy as it should have. One of the biggest aspects of this form of comedy is Soliloquy, a character announcing inner thoughts out loud for the audience. Claudio and Benedick both do this confessing there love to Hero and Beatrice. If talking about love is involved, obviously bawdy or a sexual tone towards that person is used. Claudio talked like this to Hero and Benedick talked like this to Beatrice and vice versa. Love at first sight is another aspect of Shakesperean comedy. Claudio and Hero is the only example of this. One of the biggest part of Shakesperean comedy is Dramatic Irony or when the audience knows something that a main character does not know to add irony to the story. The audience knew that Don John was no good but he acted that he was good. The audience also knew that Don John and Borachio devised a plan to break up Claudio and Hero. Borachio would seduce a maid in front of a open window, Don John would tell a lie to Claudio and Don Petro that Hero would be unfaithful, take Petro and Claudio to the window and make it that Hero was being unfaithful. It would of worked but other characters overheard Borachio bragging about it and reported both Borachio and Don John. Shakesperean comedy has a bunch of different elements into it and this play has great examples of all of these.
ReplyDeleteAll aspects Shakespearean comedy are used in Much Ado Without Nothing. The four most prominent are the use of banter and puns, disguises, soliloquy, and dramatic irony. The use of banter and puns is apparent from the beginning especially in the characters Beatrice and Benedick. The two characters constantly banter with eachother using a dialouge filled with puns. Disguises are used at the masquerade Leonardo hosts. Everyone wears a mask to conceal their identity from other guests, allowing them to interact freely. There is one soliloquy in the play involving Benedick. In the scene, Benedick is alone in the courtyard thinking aloud about what type of woman he wants to marry. Dramatic irony is used when Hero is accused of sleeping with another man. The audience knows that she did not cheat on Claudio, but the characters think otherwise. Much Ado Without Nothing sucessfully showcases major aspects of Shakespearean comedy throughout the play.
ReplyDeleteMuch Ado About Nothing conforms to the conventions of Shakespearean comedy because it includes banter, disguises, soliloquy, love at first sight, and dramatic irony. An example of disguise in Much Ado About Nothing is at the masquerade ball when Don Pedro poses as Claudio and reveals his love for Hero. Another instance of disguise is when Don John makes Claudio believe that Hero is cheating on him, when it is actually Margaret doing the deed. This is also an example of dramatic irony because the audience knows that Hero is not being unfaithful to Claudio, but Claudio does not know this. In the play, Benedick has a soliloquy in which he reveals his true feelings about Beatrice. Through all their insults to one another, he admits there are feelings of love for her. He says that he even wants to out-do Beatrice's love for him, as if it is a competition. An example of banter in Much Ado About Nothing is Beatrice and Benedick's clever insults back and forth to each other. They constantly bicker and try to out-wit one another. This is also an instance of dramatic irony, because the audience knows of the love that Beatrice and Benedick have for each other, but they don't realize it for a while. Love at first sight is obvious in the story, as Claudio and Hero fall instantly for each other and marry soon after. Although there is crisis in Much Ado About Nothing, the aspects of love at first sight, soliloquy, dramatic irony, disguise, and banter make it a true Shakespearean comedy.
ReplyDeleteIn Shakespeare's "Much Ado about Nothing" Shakespeare uses all of the conventions in comedies during the Shakespearian era. Soliloquies are long speeches about characters inner thoughts. Beatrice and Benedict both use soliloquies when the talk about the love they have for the other when they are alone. The use of dramatic irony appears when the watchmen find Borachio confessing Don Johns plan to destroy Hero’s reputation. Claudio does not know of the lie until the end of the play. The use of bantering is in the conversations with Beatrice and Benedick talk about one another or talks to each other. Shakespeare uses puns when the head watchman talks and when Beatrice is talking about Benedick. Shakespeare is very fond of love at first sight; he uses it with Claudio and Hero in “Much Ado about Nothing”. An example of the use of disguises is at the party and they all have masks. Shakespeare uses the masks for Benedick to hear what Beatrice thought of him without her knowing that she was talking to him.
ReplyDeleteMuch Ado About Nothing, the play written by Shakespeare, conforms to all conventions of Shakespearean comedy. The use of disguises is evident at the masquerade that Leonato holds. All characters wear masks to cover up their true identity, allowing them to do or say things they would not be able to if it weren't for a disguise. Love at first sight is prominent as this is seen between Hero and Claudio and even Beatrice and Benedick, regardless of their war full of insults against each other. Banters and puns are always in action between Claudio and Hero and Beatrice and Benedick. "Bawdy", the sexual connotation is the most common form of banter used in this play. When Hero is falsely accused of violating her love with Claudio and cheating on him, the audience already knows that it was a false accusation. The true deed was done by Don John, who plans this conspiracy against Hero. None of the characters in the play know about this, therefore, dramatic irony is already in action here; when the audience knows more than the characters. Lastly, soliloquies prevail when Beatrice and Benedick are insulting each other, but there are hidden messages inside them. Showing that they are secretly falling in love with each other. Benedick also displays his inner thoughts when he contemplates about the type of woman he wants to marry.
ReplyDeleteMuch Ado About Nothing is full of comedic conventions. The first comedic convention we see is the masquerade. Shakespear uses masquerades in other plays such as Romeo and Juliet to showcase the kind of humor that was relevent in those days. They all disguise themselves and act differently than they would normally. By doing that, it allows them to say things they could never say before and they become a completely different person. Another element of comedy in Shakespear's plays are soliloquies. The soliloquie allows the character to reveal a secret feeling or emotion towards someone or something, or it allows the character to make a joke that only the audience can hear. Benedick has a soliloquie when he realizes that he is falling in love with Beatrice. Another element of comedy is the constant bantering between characters. Beatrice and Benedick banter all the time. The last element in comedy is dramatic irony. Beatrice and Benedick obviously love each other but they will eventually find out.
ReplyDeleteWilliam Shakepeare's comedy "Much Ado About Nothing" incorporates all aspects of a Shakepearean comedy. The main comedic conventions used are disguises, dramatic irony, puns, and soliliquys. Disguises is the most important of these conventions because the entire premise of the play is based on disguises. At the masquerade ball, there is comedic confusion because no one knows who everyone else is. Don Pedro pretends to be Claudio in order to woo Hero. However, Don John convinces Claudio that Don Pedro is trying to take Hero for himself. This leads to to a mess, but it eventually becomes resolved. Another convention that adds to the humor of the play is the use of dramtic irony. Dramatic irony is when the audience knows more than the characters do. In this instance, the audience knows that Don John has tricked Claudio into believing that Hero was with another man. The characters, however, are not aware of this. This leads to much confusion between the characters, which provides comedic relief to the audience. The use of puns and banter also adds to the humor of the play. When Benedick and Beatrice are talking, there witty banter and verbal attacks provide humor to the audience. These conventions make this play a classic Shakespearean comedy.
ReplyDeleteJust as every comedy written by William Shakespeare, the play “Much Ado about Nothing” is full of common themes, or conventions; the movie reproduction displays them as well. The conventions we see in the movie include the use of disguises, dramatic irony, banter and puns, and soliloquy. The use of disguises is present in most Shakespeare writing, and it is generally understood that the disguises work. One example of this convention is when Don John plans Borachio’s affair with Hero’s servant to look like it was Hero herself. Those who saw it at first fell victim to the disguise, making Hero look like a cheater. This example can also be applied to the convention of dramatic irony. The audience knew that it was Margaret sleeping with Borachio, but those who accuse Hero of being unfaithful hadn’t a clue. Banter and puns are a favorite of Shakespeare, seeing as they appear in more than just his comedies. Banter and puns are seen commonly in this movie between the often- bickering Beatrice and Benedick. Beatrice and Benedick are not fond of each other throughout the film, but end up getting married in the end. Soliloquy, another convention Shakespeare uses in most of his plays, is seen in “Much Ado about Nothing,” but not as prominently as in some other Shakespeare plays. Soliloquy appears in this play with Benedick, as he discusses with himself what kind of woman is best for him. Little did he know, the woman he would end up with was right in front of him the whole time.
ReplyDeleteThree of the most prevalent aspects of Shakespearean comedy shown in "Much Ado About Nothing" are the use of disguises, dramatic irony, and banter and puns. Disguises in Shakespeare's play are used to hide, trick, or to spy on others. During the masquerade the guests wear masks and everyone's identity is hidden. This gives the characters in the play a chance to speak freely or, in one case, to trick one another. This also leads to the next comedic convention: dramatic irony. Dramatic irony is a case in a play when the audience knows more about a situation than a character does. One example of this is when during the masquerade no one knows who anyone is, however the audience sees everything and therefore knows more than the characters do. Another use of dramatic irony is when Don John uses the masquerade as an opportunity to fool Claudio into believing that Hero had an affair with another man. The audience, however, knows that this is only a trick. That is how disguises and dramatic irony are portrayed in "Much Ado About Nothing". The final comedic convention used in "Much Ado About Nothing" is the use of banter and puns. Shakespeare uses banter and puns to humor the audience and lighten the mood. In the beginning of the play Benedick and Claudio exchange insults with the use of double entendre and puns. Those are some of the Shakespearean comedic conventions I observed in the play "Much Ado About Nothing".
ReplyDeleteIn all of the skakespeares plays they all show some category of being funny. In the play, "Much Ado about Nothing" it is full of common things such as: dramatic irony, soliloquy and many disguises. Generally in all of his plays the disguises stand out. In this play the love between Beatrice and Benedick was an example. They hide their true feelings for eachother but we the audience knows. An example of dramatic irony was when Margaret slept with Borachio and they blamed it on Hero and broke the love of Hero and Claudio. Soliloqy is a popular one in Shakespeares plays. In this one an example is when Benedick discussed what his perfect girl is and how she would fit him so well when his love with right there the whole time.
ReplyDeleteIn most of Shakespreare's plays there are his conventions of Shakesprearean comedy. In the play "Much Ado About Nothing" there are three conventions that stand out the most: soliloquy, puns, and dramatic irony. Soliloquy is when a character thinks alound on stage. This is when the real truth comes out. Beatrice and Benedick both have soliloquies when the realize they are falling in love with the other. Both of them are alone and pronounce their love for each other, but no one is around to hear the truth. Another conventions Shakespeare uses is banter and puns which adds humor for the audience. Beatrice and Benedick verbally attack one another the first time they meet and even until there wedding. Another way Shakespeare added humor was dramatic irony. Dramatic irony is when the audience knows something that is happening or going to happen before the characters do. Don John was the main cause for all the dramatic irony in the play. He convinved Claudio the Don Pedro was trying to take Hero for himself; even though we all knew he was actually trying to get Hero to fall in love with Claudio. Don John also tried to make Claudio and Don Perdo believe that Hero was with another man in the window when the audience knew it was just Borachio and a maid. This caused a lot of drama but also laughter in the audience. The conventions used by Shakespeare made this play a classic Shakespearean comedy.
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