IB English Much Ado About Nothing
Although William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing exemplified many different types of literary devices, the most prominent and significant of these was the continual pun on the word nothing. From the start, the title of the play foreshadowed that the concept of “nothing” played an essential role in the play’s storyline. Shakespeare brilliantly manipulated the many meanings and various pronunciations of the word, thus creating elaborate wordplays with several different connotations. This continual pun on “nothing” was not limited a particular scene or act, but rather it was prominent throughout the play. Shakespeare continually makes plays on words his works, but In Much Ado About Nothing, none impacted the play as profoundly as his pun on “nothing.” This pun fit in very well the atmosphere of the play, particularly in Benedick’s and Beatrice’s bickering. These witty exchanges signified to the audience that the characters were well educated and clever. Furthermore, they also contributed to the theme of misconception and misinterpretation that was essential to the action of the play. In Much Ado About Nothing, the word nothing possessed many different meanings. In order to fully understand the extent of Sh
akespeare’s pun, the reader or audience member must consider that during the late sixteenth century, the word “nothing” would have been pronounced, “noting.” In essence, Shakespeare used the pronunciation of "nothing" as a play on the concept of "noting". Shakespeare’s was acutely aware of the similarity between the words note, nothing, and nothing. An example of this can be seen in Act II, scene iii: Ironically, in the end of the play, noting in the literal sense of writing was the way in which the false observed “notings” were clarified. The only way of resolving all of the confusion inherent to the play was to write everything down. In this way writing became the way of eliminating all misconceptions. When Dogberry, Verges, and the watchmen captured Don John they had the sexton "note" the events of the evening in writing. In the end, it was this written proof that saved Hero’s reputation. Furthermore, written notes ultimately united Beatrice and Benedick once and for all, when Hero and Claudio revealed their love sonnets and giving textual evidence of their love.
Some topics in this essay:
Don Pedro,
Shakespeare’s Ado,
William Shakespeare,
Benedick’s Beatrice’s,
Hero Claudio,
Don John's,
Borachio Ironically,
Claudio Hero’s,
Don John,
Beatrice Benedick,
pun “nothing”,
benedick beatrice,
misconception misinterpretation,
shakespeare brilliantly,
william shakespeare,
word “nothing”,
throughout play,
action play,
beatrice benedick,
elaborate pun,
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Approximate Word count = 940
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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