Riassunti letteratura inglese: Shakespeare - Much Ado About Nothing

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING

Serious comedy

1598 – 1599: written in this time but… crucial period of Shakespeare’s life: he’s a very popular and famous playwright. He has lots of money (he buys his house). Loss of his son. Globe theatre opened.

Knowledge play, Othello, Hamlet, Julius Caesar): Issue of (this the same issue of Montaigne (que sais-je?) * + time of scientific experiences (Galileo Galilei, everything needs to be proved) how do I know what I know?+ The knowledge is mediated, is socially transmitted/it’s indirect. It’s not the world which we have constructed for ourselves, but it’s been constructed by the society we live in. of interpretation)

We turn the data we receive into knowledge (importance of interpretation). We experience the world in different ways each time. Because that’s not an objective but a subjective reality.* Montaigne /que sais-je?: probably known through John Florio’s translations before they’ve been officially published in 1603 and he

He might have read in French because he knew it.

“Julius Caesar”

CICERO: a character in only to say these words given by Shakespeare

Man may construe things after their fashion

Far from the purpose of the things themselves

That’s to say that man interprets everything in his own way and disposition;

slightly differences according to your disposition and character; perceive

reality in different ways… so what’s real reality? [scepticism]

and that things have their own reality separated from the way we perceive them; perceive

things differently doesn’t mean they do not have their own truth; there’s a

thing in the things themselves; interpretation to get to the truth

DIFFERENT INTERPRETATIONS = DIFFERENT REALITIES according to

many factors, social – personal – familiar – healthy – etc…

Nothing: the same as Noting (observing), as Noting (female sexual organ) and

as Nothing

Title of the play: think about pronunciation in his time

Interest

In position of women in society: a proto-feminist writer. Women were becoming empowered everywhere but then they were considered as an object to exchange in a masculine culture. Zero has only recently appeared in English system of numbers. It has a great power because as a place holder 1 becomes 10, 100, 1000 etc. it's nothing that becomes something!

Notes: music/metaphor + words in a musical sense + he plays with the term note (observe) Beatrice Hero

Two important female characters: and

BEATRICE: no influence by Dante and he's not mentioned in Shakespeare's plays (He mentions other poets like Petrarch, Tasso but he must have known him)

HERO: HER - O. the o at the end of her name is as the zero, it indicates the position she has in the society. She worths nothing.

Messina, Set in but under Spanish domination, that's why some characters are Spanish.

ACT I messenger From the very first scene there's a (he'll be there in the 2 and in nd the end of the

play)He's the emblem of mediated knowledge, of reported experience. People learn from a messenger.

Leonato's reading a letter: he learns through a sheet of paper (always mediated experience)

Gentleman lost in his action : there has been a battle

Claudio: very important in the play, and the messenger let them understand limited he's good and clever, but he can't say more (he's maybe a knowledge!)

The uncle reads the letter and starts weeping a lot : joy? Unhappiness? It depends on how you interpret those tears!

Beatrice's a very particular character. She's very witty and so clever that she's regarded as a threat, a challenge by men. She's always talking, while Hero is always silent. She had a love affair with Benedick in the past. She always tricks him, so there's always tension between them. She's a very dangerous woman because of the way she speaks (that's why the messenger doesn't contradict her) signior Montalto.

Benedick:

He’s got many lovers. Maybe he doesn’t understand her at all: so, he’s not in her favour! But then he also mocks her

Some of the speeches are very difficult in this play, because comic language is the most difficult in Shakespeare and it changes very quickly. It’s the language of the streets, idiom changes. While tragic language is more stable and more universal.

Men are talking seriously about a battle they had. She understands and mocks politics of warfare (she says she kills and eat enemies) and she tries, as always, to deconstruct and terrify everyone.

Fashion: to mould (plasmare), moda … multiple meanings!

Issue of cuckoldry: very important. It’s a double system: men can do whatever they want and like, but women can’t. if women had been promiscuous, there’d been a problem, but not for the love of the man: for his IT’S STILL THE MENTALITY OF THE WOMAN BELONGING TO honour.

THE MAN. It’s an issue that can create anxiety because they

could betray them and they’re afraid of this because their honour would be challenged.

Both the two women (Hero and Beatrice) are challenges because Hero doesn’t talk at all when expected and so we do not know… Beatrice is also deconstructing men’s views and makes fun of men and of their value system (ex. She doesn’t want to get married). Hero could do something, but she doesn’t want to. So, what’s going on in her head? Shakespeare plays upon a…nothing).

sexual encounter she doesn’t have (explanation of the title (I had rather hear my dog… than a man).

Beatrice rejects the world full of love swear he loves me).

Note: somebody who observes, who wears notes (ruolo importante).

Claudio: a stupid young man that relies on Benedick for his judgement. He likes Hero but he asks Benedick what he thinks of her, as a man or as his role. He’s attired to women, so does Claudio want to get married?

Claudio thinks Hero is the sweetest he looked on.

of money, otherwise he'd divide the money. He loves Hero but also her money! From prose to verse in Claudio's speech to underline they're talking about love. Claudio's going to delegate Pedro to talk with her father in order to gain her easier. It's MEDIATION again! How? A party. Pedro's dressing himself as Claudio and he'll court Hero counting his amorous tale. DISGUISE: not showing as you really are (sign detached from its referent and everything's mobile!) We always have to interpret signs: how do we know we're interpreting correctly. Everything can be interpreted in different ways. ambiguity→everywhere! Preparation for what Conrade has done in the past. let me be what I am: Don John: everybody disguises himself and he wants to show the feelings he's got inside himself. The way he appears doesn't correspond to what he's inside: he represents that there's no arbitrariness and signs correspond to reality., however

he's pretending to be friendly with his brother, but he won't be so.

Intelligence knowledge: bring mediated knowledge
Conversations out of the stage: there's a drape on the back of which some dialogues take place. So, people listen to other people, spying and observing, as they are talking. It's in this way that Borachio has known the plan of misunderstanding: Claudio and Don Pedro... but this can imply Borachio understands that Pedro will woo Hero for himself and not for Claudio.

of interpretation][problemAct II masculine view of the worldAlways in that world Beatrice would never find a husband (she speaks too much): no horns=no marriage. However even(beardBeatrice doesn't know how her "future" man should be or not?)ruleHero: her uncle (Beatrice's father) hopes her dad will her and that he'll obey your father obey your heart)choose her husband. (need to andRight of the woman to choose her own man. That's what Beatrice suggestsHero.

She has the right to say no, or however the right to say something! The right to say no. Beatrice suggests Hero that she has to that marriage. Why? Marriage is a way to domesticate women, their dignity and strength. She then says the marriage could be amusing in a certain way, but it becomes boring and boring when time passes by.

Dust/earth: according to the mythology of the classical world, we're made of Adam's earth and dust we'll turn again to them. All the are her brother, according to mythology, and it would be an incest to marry one of them.

We know the plan [Don Pedro's pretending to be Claudio and to woe Hero as Claudio], but there's been a misunderstanding by Borachio: he's understood knows what her answer that Don Pedro will woe Hero for himself... So she should be: and that's an order from her father because he's instructing her on how to set the proposal of Don Pedro!

Faces are NOT the signs of their Everybody puts on a mask (people's identity,

everyone hides his own real face) A VERY CONFUSINGSCENE BECAUSE SIGNS AND REFERENT DO NOT CORRESPOND TO ONEANOTHER! what does Hero thinks?Everyone has expressed his own opinion, but Shedoesn’t understand who is courting her and eventually for who.Ursula recognises Antonio by the waggling of his head, but he pretends heisn’t Antonio.Conversations between Ursula/Antonio, Don Pedro/Hero, Balthasar/Margaretcontinues aside and we do not know them.Benedick’ also pretending not to be Benedick, but Beatrice recognises himand takes the opportunity to mock him again.Claudio also is disguised but he’s recognis