Exploring English:
Shakespeare

WEEK 4: MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING

STEP 4.5: MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING AS A COMEDY

TRANSCRIPT
ANTHONY So what makes Much Ado About Nothing a comedy? Well, there are jokes
and word play, especially when Beatrice and Benedick insult each other in funny ways.
For example, Beatrice tells Benedick that because he talks rubbish, he probably also has
bad smelly breath. She says:
Foul words is but foul wind, and foul wind is but foul breath, and foul breath is
noisome.
(ʻNoisomeʼ is an old word meaning ʻdisgustingʼ.)
Another element of Shakespeareʼs comedy is mistaken identity, in other words when the
characters donʼt know who the other people actually are. This happens several times in
Much Ado About Nothing, for example when Claudio is in the garden and thinks he is
seeing his girlfriend, Hero, in the bedroom with another man. But in fact, it isnʼt Hero at
all.
Shakespearean comedies also often feature plot twists. This is when something happens
that either the audience donʼt expect, or that a character doesnʼt expect. In Much Ado
About Nothing, Claudio believes that his girlfriend, Hero, is dead. So he certainly doesnʼt
expect her to turn up at his wedding – as his bride! Also, several of the characters are
lied to, and believe these lies. For example, Beatrice is told by her friends that Benedick
loves her. And Benedick is told by his friends that Beatrice loves him. They both get very
excited about this news, but really, theyʼre getting excited about nothing, because their
friends have lied to them. So itʼs much ado about nothing.

 
 

Exploring English: Shakespeare

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