...How far does the humour in Much Ado About Nothing derive from Shakespeare’s presentation of gender? Much ado about nothing is one of the most famous comedies written by Shakespeare. It is written in the modern style, and is mainly in prose form. It was written for the audience in the Elizabethan era of England, which was the age when females were considered significantly inferior to their male counterparts. Shakespeare has used this concept of gender for creating humour in his play. The characters Benedict and Beatrice are involved in a complex relationship which contrasts between love and hate. Both Beatrice and Benedict are strong willed, intelligent characters, who fear that falling in love will lead to a loss of freedom and eventually heartbreak. Various theories have been proposed which govern humour and comedy. The superiority theory proposed by Plato describes the darker side of comedy that Is often laughed at over unfortunate situations and social standings. Infirmity in others as compared to our own is often laughed at. These same principles has been applied to the story of the play, and the inferiority of females has been used as the basis for creating humour. [quick quote & example to back this up?] The characters Shakespeare's “Much Ado about Nothing” contribute to build the humorous essence of play through their roles. Several characters of the play presented comical language and gestures such as Benedick and Beatrice’s unromantic backbiting...
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...two plays Romeo and Juliet and Much Ado about Nothing. These plays are presented in the 16th Century. Romeo and Juliet is about 2 lovers who meet but they are from rival families. At the end of the play they both kill each other, it ends in a tragedy. Much Ado about Nothing is about lovers who meet but Claudio thinks that Hero cheated him but at the end of the play it ends and all the couple marries and live happily ever after, this play is a comedy. At the start of the play Lord Capulet seems loving towards his daughter by saying “My child is yet a stranger in the world. She hath not seen the change of fourteen years. Let there be 2 more summers wither in their pride Ere we may think her ripe to be a bride”. This suggests that that Capulet wants her daughter to wait 2 more summers and wait for her to grow up and be a bride. The word “stranger” implies that her daughter is innocent and she doesn’t know the world yet. In a similar way at the start of Much Ado about Nothing, Leonato shows that he loves his daughter Hero by saying “But will acquaint my daughter withal, that she may be the better prepared for an answer if peradventure this be true”. This makes me think that Leonato is a soft person and he will let his daughter have a choice to marry or not. The word “acquaint” suggests that Leonato is soft and not forceful towards his daughter. In Act 3 scene 1 the relationship between Lord Capulet and Juliet worsens by saying “How, how, how, how? Chopped Logic! What is this?”...
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...character of Blanche who is very frantic and hysterical. William Shakespeare lived through the time of change - England was a proud nation and full of power. This reflects through the male, dominating characters and the way women are submissive such as Hero and Claudio. Beatrice and Benedick, however, contrasts the typical relationship of that time as Beatrice doesn’t necessarily conform to the way a woman should behave, signifying a time of change. In both of these plays, we can see that men dominate and females are usually submissive to them. However, there are exceptions which are clearly shown through Beatrice in ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ who has little regard for what is considered proper and is very outspoken and witty and rarely conforms to what is expected of her. This is also shown in ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ through Blanche, who holds herself very high and thinks of herself above men. Both Blanche and Beatrice insult the men around them. It suggests that this is considered normal of both of these different times and as a result, men appear to hold higher power and importance over women, leaving them as conforming to what the men want. In Act 1, Scene 1 in ‘Much Ado About Nothing’, Beatrice interrupts her Uncle, Leonato, and Messenger in the middle of their conversation which immediately juxtaposes her cousin, Hero. In this scene and throughout the play, Hero hardly contributes and is only seen talking when spoken to. This interruption reflects...
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...William Shakespeare is typically known for his comedies, histories, and tragedies. For example, his most famous tragedies would be Romeo and Juliet. In this case the story is a romantic comedy called, Much Ado About Nothing. This story consists of two love stories, one between Hero and claudio, and another between Beatrice and Benedick. The plot thickens when the Don John, Brother of Don Pedro, attempts to intervene. Trickery and deceit are central themes and somehow leads to love and romance. Trickery is a large theme in this story. Trickery meaning the practice of deception. Trickery can come in multiple types of form. Whether the intent is in a good or bad manner. In this case Don Pedro and Claudio come up with a plan. The plan was to trick Benedick into falling for Beatrice and vice versa for Beatrice. This act is suppose to be difficult, because Benedick is the type of guy who doesn't believe in marriage and is a bachelor. Coincidentally Beatrice has a similar mind set on marriage. Don Pedro and Claudio were able to achieve this by using leonarto as bait. For example, Then Benedick says, “ I should think this a gull but that the white-bearded fellow speaks it. Knavery cannot, sure, hide himself in such reverence” (2.3.126-128). This quote means if the...
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...comedy is all about pleasure and merrymaking. How do you react to this idea in your study of Much Ado About Nothing? Much Ado About Nothing is heavily influenced by the inclusion of C.L. Barber’s viewpoint on comedy, that pleasure and merrymaking should be a focal point in festive comedy. Shakespeare utilizes witty mockery, satirical conversations and the Saturnalian reversal of roles to emphasize festivity and merrymaking as a main theme in his comedy as this ensures the audience can make fun and laugh at the situations displayed. But, as the audience we cannot forget that Shakespeare used this idea of pleasurable entertainment to disguise the underlying Machevellian plots of Don John and Borachio to disrupt the fairy tale type of tenor the characters could have led. Therefore, further into Much Ado About Nothing, discussions about whether Shakespeares play conforms to C.L. Barber’s argument or to what extent is C.L. Barber’s perspective disputed are risen. Initially, from reading the script of Much Ado About Nothing, the reader can respond to C.L. Barber’s argument with firm disagreement as many other genres are used to heighten the effect of comedy in the play, although C.L. Barber’s argument was specifically aimed at comedies, whilst Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing is classed as a dramatic comedy, where tragedy is also hung in the balance in the climactic parts of the play. The purpose of Shakespeare’s plays in general and especially Much Ado About Nothing, is to expose...
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...Compare and contrast the way in which Shakespeare presents the themes of love and rebellion in Romeo and Juliet and Much Ado about Nothing. In Romeo and Juliet and Much Ado about Nothing, Shakespeare presents the themes of love and rebellion by the way he presents the characters Juliet and Beatrice. He also does this by using different language and poetic devices such as rhyming couplets and animal imagery. In addition he links in the two plays to comedy and tragedy which helps the reader understand how love and rebellion effects one character more than the other. Furthermore, Shakespeare uses the role of stereotypical women in the Elizabethan Era and how it links into the plays theme of love and rebellion. For example, how Juliet and Beatrice deal with the arranged marriage laws. In both plays, Juliet and Beatrice show a similarity towards love as they are stubborn and independent when it comes to love and marriage. However they show these traits in different ways. For example, in Romeo and Juliet, Juliet is fighting for love as her parents want her to marry Paris even though her heart only desires Romeo. Juliet shows more determination and desperation in declaring her love compared to Beatrice. This is due to her parents controlling her future and Romeo being their family’s enemy therefore they are against their marriage. I know this because of when Juliet speaks to her parents and says, “I will not marry yet! And when I do, I swear, it shall be Romeo”. This quote tells...
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...for a lack of seriousness’. To what extent do you believe this to be the case in the play ‘Much Ado About Nothing’? ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ contains comedy throughout but it could be argued that seriousness is present in equal measure. They are portrayed simultaneously by Shakespeare in his play: where one scene is comedic to one part of the audience, seriousness could be interpreted by others. The writer uses comedy not only to entertain but to portray and challenge concepts of gender, class and other norms dominant in Shakespearean times but also remain evident in contemporary society. He also uses a leading male and female character to construct this gender challenge, with a woman who will not marry until ‘God make men of some other metal than earth’ and a man she refers to as ‘no less than a stuffed man’. The forwardness with these lines are delivered in contrast with the passive expectations an Elizabethan audience would expect from the leading female, however comedy remains as the moment is unexpected. Furthermore, class and status issues can be identified in the play, an obvious example being the Prince’s brother a ‘bastard’, marginalised from society because of who he is, and a ‘watchman’ who is described as an ‘ass’. Through their comedic interchange of insults, two of Shakespeare’s main characters demonstrate the negative impact of gender issues in Elizabethan times. Benedick and Beatrice are constantly sparring with each other, starting from Act 1, Scene 1. It could...
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...The Different Flavors of Love Presented By Shakespeare Madhumeta Ganesh @30024 We believe love to be a pure and sweet emotion/virtue shared between two or more creatures; compassion, self-sacrifice and a strong connection between a couple represent the love involved in a relationship. However, in the plays Much Ado About Nothing and Antony and Cleopatra, Shakespeare shows that either man uses love to achieve his own goals (like Claudio who wants to marry Hero as she is the perfect Elizabethan woman) or love is influenced in man by other people (like Beatrice and Benedick) or the intensity of love even brings about the death of lovers (as in Antony and Cleopatra). In addition, some characters explain their actions by professing or implying that they did them out of love (or heart-break due to lost love) when that is not actually the case. A key scene in Much Ado About Nothing occurs when Claudio publicly declares Hero to be sexually promiscuous just because he apparently saw her speaking to a man outside her bedroom window; Claudio’s tries to redeem his honor in the eyes of the public while giving people the impression that he is a betrayed and heart-broken lover who is shaming Hero. Similarly, in the Battle of Actium which takes place in Antony and Cleopatra, we see Caesar making a grave mistake of following Cleopatra when she sails away mid-battle. “Egypt, thou knew’st too well My heart was to thy rudder tied by th’ strings, And thou shouldst tow me after.” (3.12.60 – 62) ...
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...Beatrice is a strong-willed, independent woman. How far do you agree with this statement? I would agree for the most part with this statement. Beatrice is indeed strong-willed, but her independence has its limitations. As with many Shakespearean characters, appearance can be deceptive, and what we see is only a facade, a mask to hide their true character or feelings. I believe that Beatrice uses her cleverness and quick wit to hide her real feelings, and that although she is independent to a certain extent, she is aware that she has limitations because of her gender. Although Beatrice states ‘I would rather hear my dog bark at a crow than hear a man swear he loves me’ she is ultimately fooled into believing that Benedick loves her. The fact that she is tricked so easily, and subsequently admits her reciprocal love, tells us that she views marriage in a more favourable light than she had previously led us to believe. Whether she gave in to the ‘social construct’ demanded by the patriarchal society in which she lived is questionable. What we do know is that Shakespeare has presented her as a wilful, self-confident, autonomous woman who appears to revel in her single status. In contrast we have Hero, the antithesis of Beatrice. She is meek, obedient and completely dominated by the men in her life. She is the perfect foil for Beatrice, her willingness to please further enhancing Beatrice’s character. It is clear from the start of the play that Beatrice is not an...
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...women. THCM is written in 17th Century and the poem depicts a man's urges to will a woman into bed with him. The poem has a light tone and humorous aspects throughout. In contrast MLD which is written in 19th Century has a much darker and menacing tone; it is about a controlling Duke and his previous duchess and unravels the dark story behind them. PL is a Victorian poem, the poem is gothic, crude and perverted in parrts with a man's strange insane intentions. However all these poems are linked by the idea of the male possessing and controlling a woman. H on the other hand is a woman's interpretation of a 19th century fictional character and how this character is left with feelings of violent hatred after being let down in marriage by her fiancé who has wed her to gain some of her riches. The theme of the poem is violent and confrontation but does compare and contrast with PL with the gothic nature. These four dramatic monologues do vary in storyline and tone however he same themes are made apparent in all of them and is what gives these poems a link and comparisons. Desire, death, domination and obsession as well as the balance of control between men and women over the past four hundred years are all explores. In Shakespeare's play "Much Ado about Nothing" we are also resented with these evident themes through two very different kinds of women with diametrically opposed attitudes to love and marriage. The position of Women has vacillated throughout history and from the 16th...
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... Wall of Text Wl o Tx al f et 04.08 05.08 06.08 07.08 08.08 09.08 11.08 01.09 03.09 06.09 07.09 08.09 09.09 10.09 12.09 01.10 02.10 03.10 04.10 05.10 08.10 09.10 10.10 12.10 02.11 03.11 06.11 09.11 02.12 Much Ado About Nothing I suppose it is time. Wednesday, February 22, 2012 Since October 1. Hum. Well, I briefly dated/flinged‐‐flung?‐‐a girl named Belle. Basically the first date went fantastic, which introduced super high expectations, that were later not met. It's entirely possible they were impossible to meet. Belle and I are still friends, though it took a couple months. In the last couple days in Rwanda, we headed back toward the airport. On the way, we visited some orphans and widows, doing missionary work like a cop eats a doughnut. The woman my group met with was 51 years old and had an amazing, tragic story. Her husband was a fisherman and died drowning when she was in her early twenties. By then she had two kids, but her parents and parents‐in‐law disowned her. She couldn't afford the house she was living in, and had no where to go, so she lived, quite literally, under a mat for ten years. The neighbors took pity on her kids some nights and gave them food, some of which they smuggled in their shirts, so that's how the woman survived. There was something about her owning the house they'd lived in, but not the land it was on, and the man who owned it refused to part with it. He was planning on leveling the house, but since it was government‐built, it was illegal. When we met with...
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...Bloom’s Classic Critical Views W i l l ia m Sha k e Sp e a r e Bloom's Classic Critical Views alfred, lord Tennyson Benjamin Franklin The Brontës Charles Dickens edgar allan poe Geoffrey Chaucer George eliot George Gordon, lord Byron henry David Thoreau herman melville Jane austen John Donne and the metaphysical poets John milton Jonathan Swift mark Twain mary Shelley Nathaniel hawthorne Oscar Wilde percy Shelley ralph Waldo emerson robert Browning Samuel Taylor Coleridge Stephen Crane Walt Whitman William Blake William Shakespeare William Wordsworth Bloom’s Classic Critical Views W i l l ia m Sha k e Sp e a r e Edited and with an Introduction by Sterling professor of the humanities Yale University harold Bloom Bloom’s Classic Critical Views: William Shakespeare Copyright © 2010 Infobase Publishing Introduction © 2010 by Harold Bloom All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher. For more information contact: Bloom’s Literary Criticism An imprint of Infobase Publishing 132 West 31st Street New York NY 10001 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data William Shakespeare / edited and with an introduction by Harold Bloom : Neil Heims, volume editor. p. cm. — (Bloom’s classic critical views) Includes bibliographical references...
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...solely for classroom use with A First Look At Communication Theory provided such reproductions bear copyright notice, but may not be reproduced in any other form or for any other purpose without the prior written consent of The McGrawHill Companies, Inc., including, but not limited to, in any network or other electronic storage or transmission, or broadcast for distance learning. PREFACE Rationale We agreed to produce the instructor’s manual for the sixth edition of A First Look at Communication Theory because it’s a first-rate book and because we enjoy talking and writing about pedagogy. Yet when we recall the discussions we’ve had with colleagues about instructor’s manuals over the years, two unnerving comments stick with us: “I don’t find them much help”; and (even worse) “I never look at them.” And, if the truth be told, we were often the people making such points! With these statements in mind, we have done some serious soul-searching about the texts that so many teachers—ourselves included—frequently malign or ignore. As we have considered our quandary, we have come face-to-face with the central paradox that characterizes the genre: Teaching manuals tend to be distant, mechanical, impersonal, and lifeless, when in fact good teaching is immediate, flexible, personal, and lively. In this manual, therefore, we have attempted to communicate to fellow teachers...
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...Министерство образования и науки Республики Казахстан Кокшетауский государственный университет им. Ш. Уалиханова An Outline of British Literature (from tradition to post modernism) Кокшетау 2011 УДК 802.0 – 5:20 ББК 81:432.1-923 № 39 Рекомендовано к печати кафедрой английского языка и МП КГУ им. Ш. Уалиханова, Ученым Советом филологического факультета КГУ им. Ш. Уалиханова, УМС КГУ им. Ш. Уалиханова. Рецензенты: Баяндина С.Ж. доктор филологических наук, профессор, декан филологического факультета КГУ им. Ш. Уалиханова Батаева Ф.А. кандидат филологических наук, доцент кафедры «Переводческое дело» Кокшетауского университета им. А. Мырзахметова Кожанова К.Т. преподаватель английского языка кафедры гуманитарного цикла ИПК и ПРО Акмолинской области An Outline of British Literature from tradition to post modernism (on specialties 050119 – “Foreign Language: Two Foreign Languages”, 050205 – “Foreign Philology” and 050207 – “Translation”): Учебное пособие / Сост. Немченко Н.Ф. – Кокшетау: Типография КГУ им. Ш. Уалиханова, 2010 – 170 с. ISBN 9965-19-350-9 Пособие представляет собой краткие очерки, характеризующие английскую литературу Великобритании, ее основные направления и тенденции. Все известные направления в литературе иллюстрированы примерами жизни и творчества авторов, вошедших в мировую литературу благодаря...
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...abhorrer/M abhorring abhor/S abidance/MS abide/JGSR abider/M abiding/Y Abidjan/M Abie/M Abigael/M Abigail/M Abigale/M Abilene/M ability/IMES abjection/MS abjectness/SM abject/SGPDY abjuration/SM abjuratory abjurer/M abjure/ZGSRD ablate/VGNSDX ablation/M ablative/SY ablaze abler/E ables/E ablest able/U abloom ablution/MS Ab/M ABM/S abnegate/NGSDX abnegation/M Abner/M abnormality/SM abnormal/SY aboard abode/GMDS abolisher/M abolish/LZRSDG abolishment/MS abolitionism/SM abolitionist/SM abolition/SM abominable abominably abominate/XSDGN abomination/M aboriginal/YS aborigine/SM Aborigine/SM aborning abortionist/MS abortion/MS abortiveness/M abortive/PY abort/SRDVG Abo/SM! abound/GDS about/S aboveboard aboveground above/S abracadabra/S abrader/M abrade/SRDG...
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