MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING

Shakespeare wrote this comedy about 1598-99; it was published in a quarto edition in 1600.

It was known in several poetical and dramatic adaptations.

The author inspired himself from Bandello's "Novelle", from Ariosto's "Orlando Furioso", and he was influenced by Castiglione's "Il Cortegiano" for the sub-plot of Beatrice and Benedick, even if it seems that it is Shakespeare's own.

THE STORY

The main theme is that of the lover deceived by a person who assumes the lover's appearance.

The prince of Aragon, Don Pedro, followed by Claudio and Benedick, goes to visit Leonato, governor of Messina, Hero's father and Beatrice's uncle.

Claudio immediately falls in love with Hero and they decide to marry.

Beatrice and Benedick, instead, are always quarrelling, so the friends want them to fall in love with each other: Don Pedro, Leonato and Claudio make Benedick believe Beatrice loves him, while Hero and one of her ladies make Beatrice believe Benedick loves her.

Don John, Don Pedro's bastard brother, pretends of being favourable to the marriage of Claudio and Hero, but really he tries to ruin it: the night before the wedding, his servant Borachio pretends to talk to Hero, but the woman he talks with is Margaret, a gentlewoman attending on Hero.

Claudio and Don Pedro see them chatting, so the next day Claudio refuses to marry Hero; she swoons and Leonato decides to simulate that she is dead until the truth would have come out.

Meanwhile Borachio, drunk, confesses Don John's trap to his companion, but some sentinels, headed by two foolish officers, hear him.

Having known the trap, Claudio offers himself to marry a cousin of Hero's to be forgiven by Leonato. At the time of the wedding, however, he finds that the bride is Hero.

Even Benedick and Beatrice get married and Don John is arrested and punished.

THE CHARACTERS

Though the plot of Hero and Claudio is the main subject of the drama, with the scene of the refuse of Claudio in the church and the final effect of the false dead who resurrects, it isn't the lively part of the story. The passions and the feelings of the characters aren't strong and Don John's personality is hardly mentioned; Claudio appears mechanical and inhuman in his changes of humour.

Instead Benedick and Beatrice are described accurately: they are sarcastic, acute, cheerful, funny and, above all, proud of not being married, but in the end they evolve getting married: they are the so-called round characters. Beatrice assumes the features of a dramatic character, when she sincerely gets angry for the injustice suffered by her cousin Hero.

OBSERVATIONS

Often in Shakespeare's works there are some recurrent themes, like magical elements, potions and premonitory dreams especially in the tragedies, but in this comedy appears only the chaos theme. In fact the term of the title, "ado", translated in Italian with "rumore", means "confusion", "intrigue".

FILM

"MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING", USA 1994

Director    Kenneth Branagh

Cast Kenneth Branagh, Emma Thompson, Denzel Washington, Robert Sean Leonard, Keanu Reeves, Michael Keaton

BIBLIOGRAPHY

William Shakespeare, "Tutto il teatro", Newton 1990