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 very popular and famous playwright. He has lots of money (he buys his house). Loss of his son. Globe theatre opened.

Knowledge and interpretation

Issue of knowledge (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.

We turn the data we receive into knowledge (importance of interpretation). 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 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…

Title: Nothing vs Noting

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).

Characters: Beatrice and Hero

Two important female characters:

• 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 is perceived as worth nothing.

Setting and social structure

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

Act I: The messenger

From the very first scene there’s a messenger (he’ll be there in the 2nd and in 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 he’s good and clever, but he can’t say more (he’s maybe a limited knowledge!).

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

Beatrice: a particular character

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).

Benedick

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.

Social issues

• Men are talking seriously about a battle they had. She understands and mocks politics of warfare (she says she kills and eats 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 honour. It’s still the mentality of the woman belonging to 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.

Women as challenges

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 sexual encounter she doesn’t have (explanation of the title nothing).

Beatrice's views

(I had rather hear my dog … than a man swear he loves me) Beatrice rejects the world full of love.

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

Claudio

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, but Benedick doesn’t see anything in her and he says that even Beatrice is more beautiful. (each one sees the woman in different ways – relativity of knowledge and judgement)

References and themes

Reference to Cupid and Volcan: it’s a clear reference to cuckoldry. Ephestus, the god of smiths, and Ares, god of war, both love Athena but she went with Ares and Ephestus threw a net at him.