Study Guide for Much Ado About Nothing

Jobsite Theatre Study Guide - Much Ado About Nothing 2013- Tierra Bonser
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Jobsite Theatre
Presents:
By William Shakespeare
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Jobsite Theatre Study Guide - Much Ado About Nothing 2013- Tierra Bonser
The Household
Leonato
The Cast
Governor of Messina
Father of Hero
Uncle of Beatrice
Antonio
Brother of Leonato
Uncle to Hero
Hero
Leonato’s daughter
Beatrice’s Cousin
Beatrice
Ned Averill-Snell
Benedick
Jason Evans
Borachio/Antonio
Matt Lunsford
Don Pedro/Verges
Leonato’s Niece
Hero’s Cousin
Margaret
Beatrice and Hero’s attending
gentlewoman
The Officers
Don Pedro
Prince of Arragon and the
commander of his battalion.
Don John
Betty-Jane Parks
Hero/Watchman
Roxanne Fay
Beatrice
Michael C. McGreevy
Don John/Watchman
Bastard brother on Don Pedro
Balthasar
Attendant on Don Pedro
Benedick
A young Lord of Padua, soldier in
Don Pedro’s battalion.
Claudio
A young Lord of Florence, soldier in
Don Pedro’s battalion.
The Locals
Borachio
A follower of Don John.
Alvin Jenkins
Leonato/Watchman/
Sexton
Katrina Stevenson
Spencer MeyersMargaret/Watchman Balthasar/Dogberry/Friar
Francis
Conrade
A follower of Don John.
Dogberry
A Constable
Friar Francis
Jonathan Cho
Claudio/ Conrade
A Friar
Verges
Helps Dogberry interrogate
Sexton
Helps Dogberry & Verges interrogate
Watchman 1 & 2
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Jobsite Theatre Study Guide - Much Ado About Nothing 2013- Tierra Bonser
Character Functions
…what they do in the play…
Don Pedro: Prince of Arragon, recently victorious in battle against Don John, accepts Leonato's invitation
to sojourn for a month.
Don John: bastard brother of Don Pedro, jealous of war hero Claudio and schemes to destroy his wedding plans.
Claudio: a young lord of Florence, falling in love with Leonato's daughter Hero and marries her.
Benedick: a young lord of Padua, he initially claims he will never fall in love or marry, although he falls in
love with Leonato's "adopted" niece, Beatrice.
Leonato: Governor of Messina, has an "adopted niece," Beatrice, but hints she might be his illegitimate daughter;
he is overcome with rage when Claudio suddenly refuses to marry his daughter, Hero, on grounds of infidelity.
Antonio: he tries to comfort Leonato, his brother.
Balthasar: attendant on Don Pedro.
Conrade: follower of Don John, he and Borachio are arrested
and forced to confess.
Borachio: follower of Don John.
Friar Francis: when Hero is accused of infidelity he arranges for her to
appear to have died so that Claudio will realize his false accusation.
Dogberry: constable, he manages to uncover Don John's plot.
Verges: helps Dogberry interrogate Borachio and Conrade.
Figure 1. Boyd, A.S. Scenes from Much Ado
About Nothing.
A Sexton: joins Dogberry and Verges in the interrogation.
Hero: Daughter of Leonato, she is wrongly accused of "savage sensuality" and disloyalty because of the
machinations of Don John, but in the end marries Claudio.
Beatrice: An orphan niece to Leonateo, quick witted and likes to banter.
Margaret: Gentlewoman attending on Hero wrongly accused of helping Don John dupe Claudio.
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Jobsite Theatre Study Guide - Much Ado About Nothing 2013- Tierra Bonser
Scene Breakdowns
*Act I
Scene I
The army of Don Pedro of Aragon arrives in Messina and is welcomed by Leonato, Messina’s governor. Benedick
of Padua, a soldier in Don Pedro’s army, proclaims his enmity to love and engages in a skirmish of wits with Leonato’s
niece, Beatrice. Count Claudio, the hero of Don Pedro’s just-ended war, falls in love with Leonato’s daughter Hero and
confesses his love to Don Pedro, who decides to woo Hero for Claudio.
Scene II
Leonato is given a garbled account of the conversation
between Don Pedro and Claudio, and is led to believe Don Pedro
wishes to marry Hero.
Scene III
Don John, Don Pedro’s (bastard) brother, receives a true
account of Don Pedro’s plan to woo Hero for Claudio. Resentful of
both Don Pedro and Claudio, who have defeated him in the justended war, Don John hopes to find a way to block the marriage.
Act II
Figure 2 Artist unknown
Scene I
Don Pedro and his soldiers, disguised in masks, dance with the ladies of Leonato’s household. While Don Pedro
woos Hero, Beatrice mocks Benedick. After the dance, Don John distresses Claudio by telling him that Don Pedro has
won Hero’s love. When Claudio learns that Hero has been won in his name, he wants to marry her immediately. Leonato
insists that at least a week is needed to prepare for the wedding. Don Pedro proposes that the intervening time be used to
trick Benedick and Beatrice into falling in love.
Scene II
Don John and his henchman Borachio agree on a plan to disrupt the coming marriage: Borachio will convince
Claudio that Hero is unfaithful by staging a meeting with Margaret, Hero’s waiting gentlewoman. Margaret will be
dressed in Hero’s clothes, and Claudio will think that Borachio is Hero’s lover.
Scene III
Leonato, Claudio, and Don Pedro stage a conversation for Benedick to overhear. They talk about Beatrice’s
desperate love for Benedick, about their fears that her suffering will destroy her, and about how Benedick would mock
Beatrice if he knew of her love. Benedick decides that he must love Beatrice in return.
Jobsite Theatre Study Guide - Much Ado About Nothing 2013- Tierra Bonser
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Act III
Scene I
Beatrice is lured into overhearing a staged conversation between Hero and Ursula, a waiting gentlewoman, who
talk about Benedick’s desperate love for Beatrice and about Beatrice’s arrogance. Beatrice decides that she must return
Benedick’s love.
Scene II
Benedick appears with his beard shaved off and showing other signs of having fallen in love. When he exits with
Leonato, Don John tells Don Pedro and Claudio that Hero is unfaithful and that he will show them a man entering her
chamber window that very night, the night before the wedding.
Scene III
That night, Messina’s master constable, Dogberry, and his assistant, Verges, set the night watch, telling the
watchmen to pay particular attention to any activity around Leonato’s house. Borachio enters, telling his companion,
Conrade, about the charade that made Claudio and Don Pedro think that Hero had just allowed him to enter her chamber.
Borachio and Conrade are arrested by the watch.
Scene IV
Early the next morning, Hero prepares for the wedding. Beatrice enters, suffering, she says, from a bad cold, but
Hero and Margaret tease her about being in love with Benedick.
Scene V
Dogberry and Verges try to tell Leonato about the arrest of Borachio and Conrade, but they are so unintelligible
that Leonato impatiently dismisses them, telling them to examine the prisoners. He leaves for the wedding.
Act IV
Scene I
At the wedding, Claudio publicly denounces Hero as a lewd woman. He is supported in his story by Don Pedro
and Don John. Hero faints and her accusers depart. The Friar believes in her innocence and proposes that Leonato
announce that she has died. This news, the Friar thinks, will make Claudio remember his love for her. After the others
depart, Benedick and Beatrice admit they love each other, and Benedick reluctantly agrees to challenge Claudio to a duel.
Scene II
Dogberry ineptly questions Borachio and Conrade about the deception of Claudio and Don Pedro. The Sexton has
Borachio and Conrade bound and orders them taken to Leonato.
Jobsite Theatre Study Guide - Much Ado About Nothing 2013- Tierra Bonser
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Act V
Scene I
Leonato and his brother tell Claudio and don Pedro of Hero’s death, and attempt to challenge them to a duel.
Benedick succeeds in issuing his challenge to Claudio. Dogberry and the prisoners enter, and Claudio and Don Pedro
learn about the trick that was played on them. They also learn that Don John has fled from Messina. Having been
convinced of Hero’s innocence, Claudio begs Leonato’s forgiveness and is told that he must sing an epitaph at Hero’s
tomb that night. The next morning, he is to marry Leonato’s “niece.”
Scene II
Benedick tells Beatrice that he has challenged Claudio. They are summoned to Leonato’s house with the news that
Hero’s innocence has been proved.
Scene III
Claudio appears at Leonato’s family tomb, has a song sung for Hero, and hangs a scroll on the tomb.
Scene IV
Claudio and Don Pedro appear for the second wedding. The women enter masked. When Claudio takes the hand of
Leonato’s “niece,” agreeing to marry her, she unmasks and he learns that she is Hero. Benedick and Beatrice agree to
marry, but only out of pity for each other. Love poems each has written to the other are produced to prove that they do, in
fact, love each other. Claudio is forgiven by all and a double wedding is set to follow the closing dance.
* Breakdowns taken from: Shakespeare, William. Much Ado About Nothing: Folger Shakespeare Library. Eds. Mowat,
Barbara A. and Paul Werstine. Simon and Schuster Paperbacks: New York, 2009. Print.
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Classical Comedy
Most classical comedies have
similarities in their structure, tone, purpose and atmosphere. In an apt summation, author David Rush says that, “tragedy is
what happens to me while comedy is what happens to you.” In other words, a tragedy involves us, the audience, in an
event that we empathize with; we must involve ourselves more deeply on an emotional level with the plot. Meanwhile a
classical comedy requires that the audience maintain a certain amount of emotional reticence, or un-involvement, and
observe from a strictly spectator perspective. Usually comedies carry a mood of delight, optimism, hope and/or joy and
have a positive or ‘happy’ ending. As in all plays and stories, comedies have a major conflict and it is usually one that
exists between a person and their society. This often comes to life where a character is living in a society with a specific
set of rules that are oppressive and prevent that character from getting what he/she wants and, through the course of the
play, these rules are changed to result in the happy ending. Much Ado About Nothing falls in the category of a comedy of
manners. This genre is characterized as a play that takes place in a wealthy, sophisticated and leisurely world where smart
and witty groups of people poke fun at others in clever world play; there is also usually a love chase with a seduction as
the ultimate goal.
Shakespeare's Comedies
Shakespeare’s comedies, however, do not always subscribe to the general guidelines listed above. His comedies
focus on larger frames of reference like the family, the community or the society and, whereas tragedies bring our
focus onto death, reality and finality, Shakespeare’s comedies direct our focus to rebirth and life and its cyclical
hopefulness. These comedies are usually characterized by conditional happiness and present life as ongoing and
renewed through love and marriage where romantic couples reassure us that love yields hope in the perpetuation of life
beyond the individual and into future generations (Essential Shakespeare Handbook, 155.)
Love and Search for Identity
Particularly in Much Ado About Nothing, we see a
common component of Shakespeare’s comedies in operation.
The central thread of the play follows a pair or pairs of lovers
(Claudio and Hero/ Beatrice and Benedick) as they overcome
tests of love and gain awareness of themselves and their
lovers. These tests often come in the shape of disguises or
ruses that result in mistaken identity and great
miscommunications, but generally Shakespeare works
everything out in the end and most wounds are healed with a
final celebration scene (the double wedding) that reunites
familial and social bonds.
Jobsite Theatre Study Guide - Much Ado About Nothing 2013- Tierra Bonser
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Much Ado About Nothing
Much Ado, written between 1598-99, was officially staged in 1613 twice at court for Princess Elizabeth’s
engagement to Elector Palatine. Reportedly the princess so greatly enjoyed the scenes between Beatrice and Benedick that
on her own copy of the script she scratched out the title and wrote “Beatrice and Benedicke.” Interestingly, although
Beatrice and Benedick are the not the protagonists of the story and their plot line is truly meant to be in second place to
the main plot line of Claudio and Hero, many people have taken a great liking to the quarreling, quipping couple and made
them the main focus of the play and future adaptations of the script. Hector Berlioz wrote an opera of the play in the late
nineteenth century that he titled Béatrice et Bénédicte (follow the link to listen to the overture) and many have taken to
viewing the play from the perspective of these two witty lovers. Shakespeare can take all the credit for these two beloved
characters, because they are all his creation, but the plot of Hero and Claudio was most likely inspired by and pulled from
a novella by Italian Matteo Bendello and an English play called Fadele and Fortunio written in 1584.
Upon analyzing the play and its plots more closely, it becomes obvious that Shakespeare interweaves both lines
throughout the play to provide for a volcanic fourth act; and yet, it must be noted that if we were to remove the plot line of
Benedick and Beatrice, although it would be a much different play, the main story and the arc of the tale would still be
intact. Try the same with Claudio and Hero’s plot line and the play is in shambles. When reading or watching the play
take note of the careful balance between the serious and light layers and how the intrigue builds as characters overhear
conversations that usually contain misinformation meant to trick the eavesdropper (Essential Shakespeare Handbook
160). This notion has brought many to point out the double meaning of the play’s title, which, in Shakespeare’s time,
would have been interpreted as “much ado about noting,” as in taking note of something else, or listening to something.
Like most Shakespearean plays, there are also some inherent challenges in the script that do not always add up.
Scholars note the dead end of a potential third plot in Act II, scene i that, if it had continued, would have involved Don
Pedro’s love for Hero. At the top of the scene both Claudio and Leonato are convinced that Don Pedro is wooing Hero for
himself but the idea simply fizzles out and is disregarded throughout the remainder of the play.
Another mystery is a character that is often cut from the script altogether. Her name is Innogen and she is Hero’s
mother who remains silent throughout the entire play. Some directors see this as a great opportunity to cut an ‘unnecessary
character’ from their production, but it can change a crucial statement of the play. In a story that revolves so much around
gender relations and the roles of men and women in relationships and society, a mother figure who is seen and not heard
can be a condemning statement about women in society. This is even more especially poignant when we hear remarks like
those made in Act I, scene i where Leonato and Benedick joke about Hero’s mother having cuckolded Leonato, to which
she does not respond. Later when Hero is accused and passes out, her mother again stands by silently.
Do not, however, allow this to detract from the great joy and playfulness of the script! It is full of pun, wordplay,
clever and bawdy language, innuendo, and many visually hilarious scenes. Instead, try to find and investigate the fine line
in the play between the serious and the comedic and consider how these opposites enhance the meaning of the play as a
whole.
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Jobsite Theatre Study Guide - Much Ado About Nothing 2013- Tierra Bonser
Activities
Casting Shakespeare.
Shakespeare wrote many of his plays for
his theatre troupe, the Lord Chamberlin’s
Men and later the King’s Men, with
specific casting in mind, but today,
theatres must come up with new ways of
casting plays that have many more
characters than actors available. A great
way of doing this is cutting away some
characters that the play can do without
(although this isn’t ideal) and double
casting, where a single actor plays multiple
characters. This process needs to be
handled with great care and consideration
so that the meaning of the play isn’t
altered. For example, if we cast the same
actor as Claudio and Benedick, the play
would never work! But a subtler example
of casting that might work logistically, but
would change the meaning of the play,
would be, for example, to cast Leonato as
Hero’s mother and have Leonato played by
a woman. In a play where gender dynamics
and politics are so vital, the whole
landscape of the play is changed away
from Shakespeare’s original intent.
Talk about it: Talk about the double
casting of this production and what it
changes about the play. Are any roles
taken out entirely? What are the effects?
Style.
This production of Much Ado is set in a steam punk
style. What do you think are the reasons for choosing the
aesthetic? How does it change or not change the way we
experience the play?
Yipeekiayeee. Other directors have placed this same play
in the American southwest, the antebellum south, 1890’s Sicily,
1930’s Cuba, Edwardian England, post-Mutiny India and even
a 20th century tourist cruise ship. How would these locations
change how you see the play?
Enduring love?
Write a
scene in which Claudio and
Hero meet with Beatrice and
Benedick for their collective
10-year anniversary. What do
you think each couple’s
marriage looks like after ten
years?
Comedy.
Parts of this play
are highly tragic. What points
in the play made you laugh the
most? Which did you find to be
tragic or more serious? Name
some of your favorite modern
comedies and talk about the
differences and similarities with
classical Shakespearean
comedies like Much Ado About
Nothing.
Discussions:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Based on your knowledge of the play, discuss the past history of
Beatrice and Benedick and Claudio and Hero. Who do you think has
a stronger bond or a more serious relationship? Which couple do you
think is more likely to last in the long term? How is each couple’s
relationship put to the test and what does it reveal about each person?
Why are Don John and Don Pedro angry at one another?
How do you think Don Pedro feels toward Beatrice?
How much does Margaret know of her part in the plot against Hero?
Why do you think Borachio devised his plan against Hero and then
divulged it to Don John?
Did Dogberry and Verges do a good job at their posts or was it
‘dumb’ luck?
Trial.
Hold a trial for
Claudio for slandering
Hero and for Don John,
Borachio, and, if you
think it necessary,
Margaret, for their parts
in the insidious plot
against her. Using lines
from the play, how would
they defend themselves?
What would be their
verdicts? How should
each be punished?
Decoding.
Take a
portion of Dogberry’s
lines and try to extract
what he is trying to say in
comparison with what he
is saying. How does he
misuse common sayings?
Try to come up with a
modern adaptation of
some of your favorite
phrases of his.
Innogen.
The role
of Hero’s mother is a
silent one. If you were
Hero’s mother, would
you have spoken up
for her when she was
accused at her
wedding? What might
you have said? What
do you think would
have happened?
Jobsite Theatre Study Guide - Much Ado About Nothing 2013- Tierra Bonser
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Other Resources
Classroom Tools
Teacher’s Guide to Much Ado
McGlinn Jeanne M. and James E. McGlinn. A Teather’s Guide to the Signet Classic Edition of William Shakespeare’s
MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING. Web.
This fantastic study guide is geared for classroom use in analyzing the play before seeing a performance. It
includes character listings and breakdowns, scene breakdowns and a series of activities geared toward critical
analysis of the play. It also touches on language use in the play and offers an array of group activities as well.
Please see included PDF.
15 Minute Much Ado
15 minute Much Ado. Folger Shakespeare Library. Web.
Developed by the Folger Shakespeare Library’s education department for advancing knowledge and the arts, this
activity is a plot summary intermingled with lines from the play and is mean to introduce the play to students
before seeing a production of it. See included PDF.
Media
Folger Lesson Plans
www.folger.edu/lessonplans - Folger Education’s featured lesson plans are updated every month. Search “Lesson Plans
Archive” to the left for a complete listing of all lesson plans listed by play.
Animation
www.stratfordshakespearefestival.com/animations - Check out this Much Ado About Nothing
comic animation on the Stratford Shakespeare Festival’s website.
Film
Branagh, Kenneth. Much Ado About Nothing. British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), 1993.
Commentaries
Shakespeare’s Comedies
Evans, Bertrand. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1960.
Shakespeare After All: Marjorie Garber, Anchor, 2005.
For Fun
Klingon: Much Ado About Nothing: The Restored Klingon Text. Trans. Nick Nicholas. Wildside Press, 2003 – As part of
the Shakespeare Restoration Project, the Klingon Language Institute has translated Much Ado About Nothing into the
language spoken by Klingons in the film and television series Star Trek.
Jobsite Theatre Study Guide - Much Ado About Nothing 2013- Tierra Bonser
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Works Cited
Berghe, Ignatius Joseph. Much ado about nothing [IV, 1, Hero fainting at the church]. 1752-1824. Folger Shakespeare
Library Digital Collection. Web.
Boyd, A.S. Scenes from Much Ado About Nothing. 1854. Folger Shakespeare Library Digital Collection. Web.
Essential Shakespeare Handbook. Eds. Dunton-Downer, Leslie and Alan Riding. London: DK Publishing, 2004. Print.
Shakespeare, William. Much Ado About Nothing: Folger Shakespeare Library. Eds. Mowat, Barbara A. and Paul
Werstine. Simon and Schuster Paperbacks: New York, 2009. Print.
Rush, David. A Student Guide to Play Analysis. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 2005