"Much Ado about Nothing"

Paper Summary:

The paper relates that there are no real events in Shakespeare's "Much Ado about Nothing", or any real action; nothing happened in the play although many tragic things might have. The paper shows how the play can be considered tragic because the characters simulate and dissimulate, manufacture plots out of "nothing" and play with reality in a dangerous way that could have serious consequences for everyone.

From the Paper:

"Shakespeare's play Much Ado about Nothing effectively combines the comic and tragic elements in its structure. The title is the point where the reading should begin: Shakespeare himself indicates that the play is about "nothing", that is, there are no real events in the text, no real action, only deceiving and misprision. The plot focuses on the two couples that are the main protagonists: Berenice and Benedick, Hero and Claudio. The dissembling, deceiving and misprisions in the play seem endless and are directly related to the tragic undertones of the text."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Dobransky, Stephen R. "Children of the Mind: Miscarried Narratives in Much Ado about Nothing," Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900, Vol. 38, No. 2, 1998, pp. 233-50.
• Shakespeare, William. Much Ado about Nothing. London: Oxford University Press, 1972.

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