On the 20th of March, we saw a 90 minute version of Much Ado About Nothing performed at The Globe. The experience itself was very exciting as we were standing, and I found myself very immersed in the production as it virtually unfolded around me, with moments of audience interaction.
I thought the acting was great and was strong across the board, not just with the main lead actors but the ensemble actors as well - the fact that I always knew what was going on substantiated this. As a Deutsche Bank production with the aim to educate visiting schools, I think this is an obvious strength of the cast clearly motivated for this purpose, and the production itself really makes Shakespeare enjoyable and exciting, especially for younger audiences. Moreover, they had a lot of energy and were committed, although I would argue I think all the actors progressed in this way as the production progressed - it seemed as though some of them were just warming up at the beginning.
While I think they definitely found the lighthearted comedic moments within the piece, through jigs, dancing, singing and the general witty and fast paced sentiment of the play, I would still argue that the play in doing this glossed over the subtlely tragic elements of the play. It sometimes sifted into a more melodramatic portrayal of the serious themes present in the play, such as commentaries on social justice, social norms and what happens when we defer from society's norms and values, and I think sometimes this took away from the more poignant meaning of the piece, nevertheless it was an enjoyable version of Much Ado About Nothing and the acting was inspiring to watch.
IDEAS EXPLORED IN THE PLAY: SHAKESPEARE'S INFLUENCES
Reference:
https://www.bl.uk/shakespeare
Ludovico Ariosto's Italian epic poem Orlando Furioso written in 1591 is considered a key source for the Hero-Claudio plot in Much Ado About Nothing, as well as other themes within the plot.
WOMEN
In the poem, the Duke Polynesso has
tried to woo the Princess Genevra for
himself but has been rejected. As
revenge, Polynesso tries to sabotage
Genevra's relationship with her lover
Ariodante by making her seem
unfaithful. He persuades her maid
Dalinda to impersonate her in a loving
rendezvous at her mistress’s window.
The tale of wrongly slandered women was a hugely popular theme in the drama, prose and verse of Renaissance Europe.
CLASS
Like Margaret (one of Hero's waiting women), Dalinda appears at her mistress's window wearing her clothes, jewels and hairstyle. This scene is staged deliberately by the villainous Polynesso to be witnessed by Ariodante and his brother Lurcanio. Similarly, Don John ensures that Don Pedro and Claudio witness Margaret's performance in 'Hero's garments', wooing Borachio at her 'chamber window'. In both these works, the theme of cross-class disguise and visual proof is deception is crucial to the story. This also links to the rigid class divisions at the time and the stigma behind the integration of classes. Importantly, in Shakespeare's play, this scene is only described in words and isn't depicted directly.
MALE HONOUR/COMBAT
Furthermore, Shakespeare preserves elements of male combat, honour and chivalry from Ariosto's romance. When Ariodante is rumoured to be drowned, Genevra is accused by Lurcanio of causing his suicide with her behaviour. The King feels duty bound by hard scottish law to sentence his own daughter to death, unless a warrior can be found to kill her accuser and defend her innocence. Similarly, Leonato initially assumes Hero is guilty and resolves to 'let her die' but is eventually persuaded by the Friar to question those who 'wrong her honor'. Beatrice, contrastingly is convinced of her cousin's purity and demands that Benedick should kill Claudio for slandering Hero.
In Ariosto's tale, Ariodante is still alive and returns disguised in black armour to fight his brother Lurcanio. The combat is averted when the heroic knight, Renaldo arrives. Genevra is revealed to be innocent, like Hero, and is reunited with Ariodante, while Polynesso is killed in combat and Dalinda is sent to a nunnery. As in Much Ado About Nothing, a comedic ending dispels the threat of tragedy.
Therefore, Shakespeare's Italian influence from Ariosto are very clear.
GENDER POLITICS/MARRIAGE
In Elizabethan England, as a patriarchal society, marriage was widely viewed as a social and spiritual necessity, offering men and women support and companionship (more about this on my blog spot on
historical context of the Elizabethan Era). There was even a genre of self help guides for men on how to cope with the failings of women and the burdens of marriage. Women were often depicted as manipulative and immoral, deceptive and superficial, hiding their sins beneath a show of virtue. They were even accused of being witches.
In 16th century Italy in particular, there were complex restricting rules which ensured the specific clothing of women before and after marriage. Before and after they took their wedding vows, Venetian brides were permitted to leave their father's houses, carefully chaperoned and wearing a black silk veil.
Romantic comedy in the Elizabethan era was a genre mainly consumed by and directed towards men. While in alot of Shakespeare's plays, ultimately male-female relationships are endorsed, Shakespeare also presents male bonding. The wooing of Hero becomes a negotiation between Claudio, Don Pedro and Leonato, and Hero is relatively in the dark - even Don Pedro tells Claudio that he will woo Hero on his behalf, and this is part of the play's pattern of substituting male-male relationships for male-female relationships. Don John pretends that his brother has been unfaithful and that 'the prince woos for himself', but he follows this quickly with the reassurance that the Prince's double dealing is not his fault but Hero's, even though she's done nothing.
Furthermore, Don John is sometimes seen as a representation of destructive sexual jealousy. He seems incapable of dissumulation (concealing his thought) and therefore his conduct is clear throughout the play, yet he is continuously believed by the other men. When he fails to spite Claudio at the ball, he then orchestrates another trick to show Hero's infidelity at her window. When Don Pedro agrees for Claudio to humiliate Hero at her wedding, this is another hint at male-male bonding, and how ultimately Claudio and Hero's relationship is ruled by two men.
The fact that Shakespeare leaves out the scene showing infidelity at Hero's window doesn't allow his audience to see the spectacle of Hero's apparent wrongdoing. By leaving it out, it can perhaps be suggested that the men have already made up their minds - even Hero's father believes her wrongdoing, saying that he wishes his daughter had never been born. Only Beatrice is utterly loyal to her cousin, and to prove himself to her Benedick has to align himself with her and go against the male norm. Benedick and Beatrice propose an unconventional declaration of love, which almost insinuates that male bonds are incompatible with male partnership.
In Shakespeare's original 1600 quarto, as mentioned earlier, Shakespeare details Innogen, Leonato's wife, as a ghost character. Shakespeare found a maternal figure active in recuperating her daughter's slandered reputation, but this ghost character was later dismissed and edited out of the play - this almost shows further gendered isolation between Hero and Beatrice against the other unforgiving men in the patriarchal society of Messina.
MASKS
Masks are also integral to Much Ado About Nothing. They were a common feature of popular entertainment and everyday life in early modern Italy and other parts of Europe. Travelling troupes of masked commedia dell' arte players performed stylised bawdy scenes at carnival time in Venice, much like the masquers and torchbearers in Act 2, Scene 1 of Much Ado about Nothing.
The Flemish oil painting 'Monkeys and Cats at a Masked Ball' is 1632 (left) may depict the confusing wooing scene at the masked ball in Act 2, Scene One where Don Pedro woos Hero on Claudio's behalf.
'NOTHING' - WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
The word 'nothing' in Shakespeare's England had contradictory meanings. It could mean the absence of anything, the nothingness of death, but was also a bawdy euphemism for female genitalia. At the time, it was pronouced the same as 'noting'. The broadside ballad in 'praise of nothing' plays with some of these different connotations, as Shakespeare does in Much Ado.
'The Praise of Nothing' is a 17th century ballad which takes on the paradoxical task of making something out of nothing, like Much Ado About Nothing. This gives us an insight into the recurrent use of the word in Hamlet, King Lear and Much Ado Nothing.
The title of Much Ado About Nothing, for example, suggests an unnecessary fuss about something unimportant. The whole plot revolves around misconceptions and misplaced reactions to something that never happened: Hero's infidelity. The title also perhaps has sexual connotations, as there is 'much ado' over women's sexuality, as it becomes the focus of male desire, revulsion and suspicion. Because 'noting' and 'nothing' were pronouced the same, it could also allude to the play's obsession with noting, or eavesdropping. This highlights the Elizabeth need to distinguish between appearence and reality, performance and genuineity, but through this it also shows deception and misunderstanding.
POLICE IN THE ELIZABETHAN ERA
Before the formation of a professional police force, each province of a city was policed by ordinary citizens - generally uneducated men who patrolled the neighbourhood in a group called 'The Watch' and arrested people. The chief civil officer of the parish was the Master Constable, an unpaid volunteer. The constable and watchmen were often mocked at this time for their pompous self importance.
DANCING
Like other Shakespearian comedies, Much Ado ends with a dance to signal restored order and harmony. Dancing enabled close but highly controlled encounters between the sexes. It also suggests some of the entertainment prevalent in the Elizabethan era, as dancing was commonplace.
'BASTARDS'
This theme is referred to a lot in the play and refers to children conceived outside of marriage and born 'out of wedlock'. They were common figures in early modern Europe where male infidelity was often accepted. Bastards had a precarious role outside the family since they were denied inheritance rights of legitimate children. As a result, Shakespeare, especially in Much Ado but also in King Lear (Edmund), paints bastards as scheming villainous figures. Shakespeare's first audiences could have made a link between the fictional Don John and the real Don John of Austria, who was a 'bastard' son of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V.
'CUCKOLDS'
These were men depicted with animal horns as a shameful sign that their wives had been unfaithful - this became a running joke in many early modern ballads, pamphlets and plays like Much Ado About Nothing.
'HARPY'
This is a mythical monster of Greek and Roman origin, with the head of a human and the wings and claws of a bird. Metaphorically, this term was used to refer to an annoying, unscrupulous woman, as in Much Ado, when Benedick sees Beatrice approaching and exclaims to Don Pedro that he would go to 'the world's end... rather than hold three words' conference with this harpy'.
SWORDS
In early modern Europe, ornate rapiers or thin sharp swords were worn as weapons and as signs of male honour, status and fashion. In Much Ado, swords become very metaphorical between Benedick and Beatrice - later Benedick challenges Claudio to a duel to defend Hero's honour with a sword too.
