Much Ado About Nothing Digital Study Guide

Study Guide written by Luisa Appolloni, Education Associate- Enrichment Focus, Education Department, Stratford Festival

INTRODUCTION TO THE GUIDE

"Sigh no more, ladies, sigh no more,
Men were deceivers ever,
One foot in sea, and one on shore,
To one thing constant never."
- Balthasar, Much Ado About Nothing, (singing) Act 2, scene 3

This delightfully comic and warm-hearted play has much to offer audiences young and old. The first clue about this merry romp is in its title, which contains a pun. Both "no-thing" and "noting" are recurring themes throughout the play, in which nothing seems to be as it appears and in which some characters "note," or notice, people and situations in a certain way. (Others use "no-thing" as a sexually suggestive double-entendre.) In addition, malapropisms (words that are mangled, misused or distorted) are widely used by certain characters to great comic effect. But the play also delves into such darker issues as the nature and consequences of gossip and rumour. It also examines the treatment of women. Much Ado About Nothing was written at a time when women had few legal rights and little independence. Elizabethan society was based on patriarchy and the importance of male honour. The play explores and challenges some of these attitudes and provides us an opportunity to view these issues with a more critical and discerning eye. Students will recognize and be able to examine the moral implications of spreading unfounded rumours, the effects of patriarchy and the power of words, and how these issues resonate in the twenty-first century.

Content Advisory for Students

Deals with mature themes and contains some sexual innuendo.

Curriculum Connections

Grades 6 +

Themes

• Love, courtship and marriage
• Lies and deception
• Honour
• Jealousy, slander and humiliation
• Power and gender
• Battle of wits
• Perception and reality
• Language and communication
• Respect and reputation
• Social graces
• Mistaken identity
• Pride
• Maturity and transformation

Three key figures to look for in Much Ado About Nothing

A Perspective on the Piece from the Director
With Chris Abraham

What excites you about directing this piece?

It has so much to offer to a discussion about men and women, gender, power, patriarchy - and, of course, love. The play is one of Shakespeare's finest, and it's rare to have a cast and creative team so deeply involved in the core thematic explorations of a piece so early in the process. The entire creative team have a deep love and respect for Shakespeare's aims, but also hope to make certain aspects of the play more visible for a contemporary audience.

Could you share a little bit about your artistic vision for the production?
 
The production will hew close to an early modern staging of the piece, with the period setting an early seventeenth-century southern Italian milieu. This, however, doesn't capture the focus of the production, which will aim to examine the gender politics of the play with candor. In an early modern context, the word nothing in the title of the play, would have been clearly understood as slang for the female sex organ. Therefore the "nothing" of the play's title would prompt an early modern audience to think about the play's pre-occupation with Hero's virginity. This underscores Shakespeare's interest in examining his society's relationship with chastity, the honour code and the patriarchy. The play is, of course, bound by its time and place in terms of how it grapples with these issues, but our production hopes to mine the play and expand on Shakespeare's prescient investigation of these issues.

The shaming of Hero in the wedding scene is arguably a turning point in the play. How do you hope audiences will react?

I hope that audiences are as disturbed and upset by it as Shakespeare intended them to be.

What do you hope a student audience will take away from the multilayered relationship between Beatrice and Benedick?

I hope that they see two adults grappling with feelings of love, and the requirement that both have to surrender some control and power to their other one in order to have love. I think Benedick is also a character who has to sacrifice some of the bonds of honour and loyalty with other men in order to earn the love and respect of the woman he loves. Beatrice has to risk a great deal in order to open herself up to the possibility of love. She has to risk her power, her independence, her sense of self - which means Benedick has to earn her trust.

Are there aspects of this play, and of your particular production, that will resonate with things in the world today that we are maybe not seeing or that we need to re-examine?

I think the play asks us to look squarely at the lingering cultural obsession over female chastity. It asks us to look at the problems of the patriarchy and of how this shapes the way we look at women.

What do you hope audience members will feel during the show? What questions do you want them to leave with? Is there anything that you hope young people might be particularly engaged by?

I hope that the audience feels Shakespeare's progressive drive. I hope they are shocked by how a five-hundred-year-old play has so much to say to their experience of the world today.

PRE-SHOW DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Ask students:

• How would you define a comedy?
• What dramatic elements do you look for in a comedy? Why?
• In what ways have issues of gender equity changed since Shakespeare wrote this play? Are there still similarities in terms of gendered expectations and roles?
• What are the qualities of a good relationship?
• How would you define gossip? What might be some of the consequences of intentional and harmful gossip?
• What do you expect to see on stage at the Stratford Festival? Make a list of predictions, save it, and, after the trip, revisit it to see how your predictions compared to the actual production.
• How would you define a villain? Why?
• How would you define power, leadership and responsibility?
• Have you ever been in a situation where someone used an incorrect word in place of a similar-sounding one and it came out nonsensical? Why would that be considered humorous?
• Shakespeare introduces us to two prominent female characters in Much Ado About Nothing: Hero and Beatrice. He wrote this play four hundred years ago. Knowing this, in what ways do you imagine these characters might be portrayed? How has the role of women changed since then? What still needs to be done in order to achieve gender equality?

CLASSROOM ACTIVITY: Meet the Characters

1 class: approx. 45-60 minutes

Meet the Character cards

Directions:

1. Read the synopsis of Much Ado About Nothing to the class:
The villainous Don John, illegitimate brother of Don Pedro, Prince of Aragon, conspires to prevent the forthcoming marriage of Claudio, a Florentine lord, and Hero, the daughter of Leonato, Governor of Messina. Tricked by Don John into believing that Hero has been unfaithful to him, Claudio cruelly renounces her on their wedding day. Hero faints at the altar, and it is later given out that she has died.
Meanwhile, Hero's cousin Beatrice and Claudio's friend Benedick, old adversaries who have long waged a "merry war" of witty insults, have been brought by the helpful machinations of their friends to realize that they love each other. Beatrice calls on Benedick to prove his love - and avenge Hero's honour - by killing Claudio. With great reluctance, Benedick agrees and challenges Claudio to a duel.
Tragedy is averted, however, when the bumbling but persistent night watchman Dogberry overhears one of the parties to Don John's plot bragging about his role in it to one of his friends, and all ends happily with a surprise reunion and a double wedding.

2. Next, choose seventeen students to stand on one side of the class and randomly assign a character from the play to each student regardless of age, gender or race. (Note: The students are not to show the other students their cards or announce the name of their character.)

3. Each student will have been assigned a descriptive word (adjective), a line from the play, a brief description of who they are and finally the character's name. This group will be referred to as Team "A."

4. Then choose seventeen other students to stand on the other side of the class and give them each a character name to hold up in front of them for all to see. (Note: If there are not enough students to go around, then tape the names on the board for all to see.) These students will be referred to as Team "B."

5. Each student from Team A will create a frozen image that expresses the meaning of the adjective attached to their character, while saying that adjective aloud.

a. The rest of the students from either Team A or B are invited to take a stab at guessing who the character might be. (Note: You may choose to vote on this to further the idea of democracy.)

b. If they are successful, reveal the corresponding line of text and their character description. The student from Team B holding up the correct card name can then go and stand next to their corresponding Team A member.

c. If the students do not guess correctly, move on to the next step.

6. Each student in Team A will re-create their frozen image of their character (encourage them to fine-tune and improve upon their earlier image) then speak their character's line of text in the play.

a. The rest of the students will again try to guess who this character might be.

b. If they are successful, reveal the character description. The student from Team B holding up the correct card name can then go and stand next to their corresponding Team A member.

c. If the students do not guess correctly, move on to the next step.

7. Each student in Team A will once again re-create a frozen image of their character (encourage them once again to fine-tune and improve upon their earlier image) and read their character's description.

a. If the students are successful in matching the correct character, the student from Team B holding up the correct card name can then go and stand next to their corresponding Team A member.

b. If the students do not guess correctly, then the student with the card will reveal their character's name and the corresponding Team B member will go and stand beside them.

8. Afterwards, debrief with the students and ask them what they found most interesting about the story and the characters.

Debriefing Questions:
• Based on the quotations you have heard, what is your first impression of the play?
• What quotation really stood out and made a strong impression on you? Why?
• What do these quotations possibly suggest about the characters in Much Ado About Nothing?
• What questions do you have about the play?

CLASSROOM ACTIVITY: Gossip in Much Ado About Nothing

1 class: approx. 60 minutes

Gossip Lines

Directions:

PART 1
1. Gossip plays an important role in Much Ado About Nothing, and before you delve into the world of the play it's important to first have a discussion on the nature of gossip with your students. We suggest the following questions for students to ponder and discuss:

a. How would you define gossip?
b. What might be some of the consequences of intentional and harmful gossip?
c. Do people in your school gossip?
d. How do people react to gossip?
e. How do you think gossip affects those involved?
f. What kind of advice would you give to people who gossip?
g. What kind of advice would you give to people dealing with gossip?
h. What steps can your school take to prevent or stop gossip?

PART 2
2. Then let the students know that they will be exploring the role of gossip in Much Ado About Nothing. Certain characters in the play deal with it appropriately when it happens, don't believe it and let it go, while others will believe what is being said and not look at the consequences for others. Still other characters will be hurt by what is being done and said about them and cannot rise above the gossip.

3. The students will be examining certain gossip lines from the play using dramatic exploration (e.g., physicalizing this and using strong facial expressions) to understand the nature of gossip and how it may be perceived and received by other characters:

a. Working in pairs, each student will have a slip of paper with a line from Much Ado About Nothing.
b. The students will spend 2-3 minutes reading their lines to their partner and discussing what the lines mean.
c. Once they have examined their line and spoken it aloud several times to their partner, have them speak the lines with a point of view (e.g., they believe the line is funny or shocking, sad, scandalous, etc.) and then physicalize what they are saying with strong facial expressions and gestures.
d. Each pair will then be asked by the teacher to speak their lines, using physical movement and facial expression for the whole class to hear and see.

4. Bring all the students together and briefly discuss with them the following:

a. What did you hear?
b. What did you think or feel about what you heard?
c. What did you understand some lines to mean?
d. Can you translate your line into your own words?

PART 3
5. Next, have the students form a large circle with partners facing each other on opposite sides of the circle. Place two chairs in the circle back to back.

a. Ask for two volunteers: one will be known as "A" and the other will be known as "B." Give each volunteer the line "I wonder that you will still be talking: nobody marks you." They will take their seats in the circle. (Note: Let the students know this is a line spoken by Beatrice to Benedick.)
b. The teacher will cue a pair of students in the circle to begin. The partners will step into the circle together, keeping A and B between them. They will speak their lines to each other but clearly referring to either A or B.
c. Once A and B respond with their lines directed to the pair of students or to each other, the partners then return to the circle.
d. The next pair in the circle steps forward and repeats the above exercise until everyone in the circle has had their turn.

6. Bring all the students together and briefly discuss with them the following:

a. What was it like to speak these lines about someone?
b. What did you think or feel when A and B responded?
c. What did A and B think or feel when they heard the lines spoken about them?

PART 4
7. Now remove the two chairs in the centre, have A and B stand in the centre with the rest of the students forming a circle around them as above.

a. This time, A and B take some control and are free to move within the circle. The teacher will cue again a pair of students to enter the circle and speak their lines to either A or B.
b. Once the gossip line is delivered to either A or B, A or B will face their gossiper and respond with their line, "I wonder that you will still be talking: nobody marks you." However, this time while listening carefully to the gossiper, A and B are free to respond accordingly (e.g., they can laugh it off as a joke, or they can sincerely accept what is being said if they think the statement is true, or they may take offence at what is being said as a falsehood and deliver it as a rebuke, etc.).
(Hint: think of the characters in the play and those targeted for gossip: which ones are directed to or about Beatrice, or Benedick or Hero, or others in general?)

8. Once everyone has completed their turn in the circle, bring all the students together and briefly discuss with them the following:

a. How did it feel to take control of the things said about you or to you? Was it a different experience to know that the line may be true or false?
b. Which lines did you think were directed at or about Beatrice? Which lines did you think were directed at or about Benedick? Which lines did you think were directed at or about Hero?
c. What did you notice about the nature of gossip in this play? Who do you think rises above the gossip and fares well? Who do you think is most hurt and misused? What words or phrases seem to indicate a more nasty tone?
d. Are the female characters treated differently from the male characters? Why or why not?

Act 2, scene 2 excerpt

POST-SHOW DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Ask students:
• Which character did you most admire and trust in the play? Why?
• What do you think Shakespeare is suggesting about the nature of love?
• What role does language, and how it is being used, play in the storyline? What does it tell us about the characters?
• Do the misunderstanding and misinterpretation of words and actions in the play resonate with us today?
• As authority figures, how would you rate the leadership qualities of Leonato, Don Pedro and Dogberry? What are some of their strengths and failings?
• To what extent and in what ways do the women in the play expose the men's shortfalls in handling power, leadership and responsibility?
• What were the key themes that stood out for you in this comedy? What do you think is the play's central message? What do you think the director is trying to say?
• Does this play resonate with today's gender issues? What are the similarities and differences?
• Are there differences in the portrayal of male and female honour in the play? If so, how are they treated?
• How did the production elements (costumes, lights, music and set) affect your experience?

CLASSROOM ACTIVITY: Beatrice and Benedick's war of words (Act 1, scene 1)

1 class (approx. 60 minutes)

Act 1, scene 1 excerpt

Directions:

1. Discuss with the class what they think is meant by "barbed" words.

2. Then give them the definition: a remark or joke that sometimes can be mean or hurtful.

3. Next, discuss what characters they know from television, film etc. who use such sarcastic, even antagonistic comments. Why do audiences find them entertaining?

4. Give each student a copy of the script excerpt. Read as a class aloud together (choral reading): half the class will read Beatrice's part and the other half will read Benedick's responses.

5. Working in pairs, students will read the script again and then get the scene up on their feet, sharing ideas on how they might use movement, levels, eye contact, indications of status (e.g., does one character behave dominantly over the other character?) etc.

6. The students then come together and perform their scenes for one another.

7. Afterwards, have the students share their findings.

8. Discuss with the class their findings.

Debriefing Questions:

• Who won the battle of wits? Why?

Please share your letters with the Stratford Festival! We would love to hear from you.
Attn: Education Department
Re: Much Ado About Nothing
PO Box 520
Stratford, ON N5A 6V2

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SOURCES & RESOURCES

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY FOR THE MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING STUDY GUIDE

SHAKESPEARE: HISTORY, CRITICISM and BIOGRAPHY

Beckerman, Bernard. Shakespeare and the Globe, 1599-1609. 1962.

Bentley, G.E. Shakespeare: A Biographical Handbook. 1951.

Boyce, Charles. Shakespeare A to Z. 1990.

Brown, Ivor. Shakespeare and the Actors. 1970.

Brown, John Russell. Shakespeare and his Theatre. 1993.

Burgess, Anthony. Shakespeare. 1970.

Campbell, Oscar James, ed. The Reader's Encyclopedia of Shakespeare. 1966.

Dobson, Michael, ed. The Oxford Companion to Shakespeare. 2001.

Epstein, Norrie. The Friendly Shakespeare. 1992.

Frye, R. M. Shakespeare's Life and Times: a Pictorial Record. 1968.

Gurr, Andrew. The Shakespearean Stage, 1574-1642. 1980.

Hodges, C. Walter. Shakespeare and the Players. 1948.

Muir, Kenneth and Samuel Schoenbaum, eds. A New Companion to Shakespeare Studies, 1985.

Nagler, A. M. Shakespeare's Stage. 1985.

Schoenbaum, Samuel. William Shakespeare: A Documentary Life. 1975.

Taylor, Gary. Reinventing Shakespeare. 1989.

Thomson, Peter. Shakespeare's Theatre. 1983.

Tillyard, E. M. W. The Elizabethan World Picture. 1943.

Wells, Stanley, ed. The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare Studies. 1986.

TEACHING SHAKESPEARE

Asimov, Isaac. Asimov's Guide to Shakespeare. New York, 1970.

Edens, Walter, et al. Teaching Shakespeare. New Jersey: Princeton UP, 1977.

Gibson, Rex. Secondary School Shakespeare. Cambridge: 1990.

Gibson, Rex. Stepping into Shakespeare. Cambridge: 2000.

Gibson, Rex. Teaching Shakespeare. 1998.

Gibson, Rex and Field-Pickering, Janet. Discovering Shakespeare's Language. Cambridge: 1998.

O'Brien, Veronica. Teaching Shakespeare. London, 1982.

Stredder, James. The North Face of Shakespeare: Activities for Teaching the Plays. Cambridge, 2009.

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING

Shakespeare, William. Much Ado About Nothing. The Arden Shakespeare 2016.

Shakespeare, William. Much Ado About Nothing. Cambridge School Shakespeare. 2014.

Shakespeare, William. Much Ado About Nothing. The Folger Shakespeare Library, 2004.

Shakespeare, William. Much Ado About Nothing. Oxford University Press, 2010.

Shakespeare, William. Much Ado About Nothing. The Pelican Shakespeare (Penguin Random House), 2017.

Shakespeare, William. Much Ado About Nothing. The Royal Shakespeare Company (The Modern Library Classics), 2009.

ONLINE RESOURCES

BookRags.com Homepage  http://www.bookrags.com

MIT Global Shakespeares  http://globalshakespeares.mit.edu/europe/#

MIT Shakespeare Homepage: The Complete Works of William Shakespeare  http://shakespeare.mit.edu/

Shakespeare's Life and Times web.uvic.ca/shakespeare/Library/SLT/intro/introsubj.html

Shakespeare Online www.shakespeare-online.com

Movie Review Query Engine www.mrqe.com

Internet Movie Database, www.imdb.com

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING ON FILM, VIDEO and DVD

1967 (UK), Much Ado About Nothing. Directed by Alan Cooke; starring Robert Stephens, Maggie Smith and Derek Jacobi.

1973 (USA), Much Ado About Nothing. Directed by A.J. Antoon/Nick Havinga; starring Sam Waterston and Kathleen Widdoes.

1978 (UK), Much Ado About Nothing. Directed by Donald McWhinnie; starring Penelope Keith and Michael York.

1984 (UK-BBC), Much Ado About Nothing. Directed by Stuart Burge; starring Robert Lindsay and Cherie Lunghi.

1993 (UK/USA), Much Ado About Nothing. Directed by Kenneth Branaugh; starring Kenneth Branaugh, Emma Thompson, Denzel Washington, and Keanu Reaves.

2005 (UK-BBC), ShakespeaRe-Told: Much Ado About Nothing. Directed by Brian Percival; starring Sarah Parish, Damian Lewis, Tom Ellis and Billie Piper.

2011 (UK), Much Ado About Nothing. Directed by Robert Delamere; starring David Tennant, Catherine Tate and Tom Bateman.

2012 (USA), Much Ado About Nothing (a modern retelling). Directed by Joss Whedon; starring Amy Acker, Alexis Denisof, and Nathan Fillion.

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