How Would a Contemporary Audience of Much Ado About Nothing Know that it was a Comic Play?

Elizabethan comedy was a big part of the culture. When Elizabeth came to the throne, she reinstated Protestantism as the country’s religion. Many disliked these ideas, many wanted to be Catholic. But she did amazing things. She beat the Spanish Armada. People rejoiced and enjoyed being English, many children were born soon after and many people started to write and entertain this new generation. And soon in 1590, Shakespeare wrote his first play. He wrote Much Ado About Nothing about the same time the Globe Theatre was built, in 1599. He had written a few comedies before, all having similar features. Much Ado About Nothing and Twelfth Night both end in two marriages, involve disguises, lower-class characters as comic relief and involve courtly love. Other than comedy Shakespeare wrote tragedies, probably more famous than his comedies. They were very different, for example Othello, (some say the tragic re-work of Much Ado About Nothing), involves many deaths, credible villains and hatred.

Shakespeare very typically uses two young lovers, the courtly love relationship and another more odd couple. There are lower class individuals adding to the comedy. But Shakespeare didn’t just write comedy for the laughs. Many characters symbolise certain things, for example Hero represents innocence. Comedies were also scene as moral messages. In a comedy everything is overcome and it teaches the audience to smite evil. Also it shows the audience that love can come in many different ways and you just have to look for it. An audience of Shakespeare’s might have just gone to see Much Ado About Nothing to watch its problems being overcome. The moral message the play portrays is that life is good and love is wherever you find it. It’s like a feel-good movie we get nowadays. Shakespeare’s comedy were loved a lot more since they seemed to relate to common people a lot more than his tragedies.

In I.i we are introduced to many characters. Women at this time would act very differently to women nowadays. Women were expected to be seen and not heard. They were expected to nod and agree. But Shakespeare introduces a very outspoken character: Beatrice, “I pray you, is Signor Mountanto returned from the wars or no?” Mountanto meaning stuck up. Shakespeare’s audience would find Beatrice an amusing character, since you would rarely find a woman like this. Through this character the audience know this is a comedy, because in a tragedy it would be likely that she would be punished for her rudeness.

Also the word Mountanto comes from a stance in fencing. When the two opponents start, they start with their epee’s up, known as Mountanto. Shakespeare may be suggesting a sexual innuendo. This sexual innuendo is used in a more modern film, Die Another Day, where when James Bond is asked about his fencing skills he replies, “I always like to keep my tip up.” Beatrice may be using the word Mountanto to suggest that Benedick doesn’t fall in love, but wants love. She uses this innuendo a lot more subtly then Die Another Day, but a sexual innuendo normally is said by someone who wants sex. This is a subtle and early sign from Shakespeare that Benedick and Beatrice could end up together. Also a sexual innuendo used by a woman would hilariously inappropriate at Shakespeare’s time.

Also in I.i we meet Benedick. Who seems to hate all form of love and marriage. “[Shall die] with anger, with sickness, or with hunger my lord; not with love.” Many Shakespearian comedies end in two marriages. Firstly there is the courtly love marriage, and secondly the oddball marriage. Because Benedick hates marriage and so does Beatrice, the audience are lead to believe that it is likely they will end up married to add to the comedy. In a tragedy nobody gets married, so already an audience can tell this is a comedy. Here Shakespeare uses wit as verbal comedy in this funny reconciliation.

Another character is Claudio. He is a typical Elizabethan character, who instantly falls in love with Hero. They are the two characters that are the sort of Courtly love relationship. “All prompting how fair young Hero is,” so instantly we get this love between Hero and Claudio. But another feature of the comedy is the dissuasion from the Benedick and Beatrice. Benedick tries to dissuade Claudio from marrying saying she is not good enough, while Beatrice later just says how pathetic men are.

The first scene is composed of a gathering of men coming back from a war. The villagers of Messina are happy to meet the war hero’s especially the father’s of daughters who could marry some of these individuals. The light-heartedness of this scene and the fact that this scene is only placed to establish characters is a good sign of a comedy. In Macbeth the first scene is short, but instantly we see three evil witches planning and plotting. In Romeo and Juliet there is a fight scene between the two rich families. But in Macbeth they come back from war as well, how could an audience tell the difference? There are many reasons why the audience know it isn’t a tragedy, but one is that they win the battle without many losses, “LEONATO: How many Gentlemen have you lost…? MESSENGER: But few…” In Macbeth there is a bloody battle and many are lost, even though they win. Another reason is because that instantly we find that because of the war Macbeth has been promoted, an instant change to the story. But in Much Ado About Nothing the war changes nothing in Messina.

At the beginning of Act Two, there is a masked party. Shakespeare was also very fond of masked parties in his plays. They are in Romeo and Juliet also. They are often used to suggest love and relationships as in Romeo and Juliet. In Much Ado About Nothing masking is used so Don John can woo Hero for Claudio, but in Romeo and Juliet it is used so the Montague’s can get into a Capulet party so Romeo can meet a girl. The reason the contemporary audience know it is a comedy is because of the light-heartedness and seriousness lost in the next scene. It may not be comical, but a dance is very frequently shown in Shakespeare’s plays, especially comedies. A dance shows happiness or a get-together. People who dance have no cares or are trying to get themselves a partner. This certainly wouldn’t happen in a tragic setting.

At the beginning of this scene Beatrice, Hero and a few others are conversing. Near the beginning Beatrice says, “With a good leg and a good foot, Uncle, and enough money in his purse,” this is very bawdy humour. Shakespeare was quite unique, since many Elizabethan comics did not use euphemism in case of being badly reviewed. In this scene ‘leg’ and ‘foot’ mean the penis and ‘purse’ means vagina. Beatrice is suggesting that if a man was very sexually active, he could get any woman. This would be completely unacceptable for a woman to say in these times, so this also adds to the humour. Also nowadays an audience wouldn’t understand the euphemisms used, but a contemporary audience would. Also in Shakespeare’s time, unlike today, all came to watch plays. So Shakespeare had to amuse on all three levels of class. An upper class audience would nearly find Dogberry funny, while a lower class audience may find it insulting. Euphemisms appealed to all classes, especially lower.

Also in this scene, the audience would realise why Beatrice and Benedick detest each other so much. “[Referring and talking to Benedick] He is the Prince’s jester, a very dull fool,” this part of the scene is entertaining because she is actually talking to Benedick and telling him why she dislikes him so. The audience is lead to believe that she doesn’t know it is he, but is likely that she does and Shakespeare designed this part of the scene so that an actor (because only male actors were used in those times) could subtly mock Benedick. Both ways it is humorous. Shakespeare uses the confusion to make it comical.

In this scene there is a dance. In this scene many characters have short pieces of dialogue. Because of all the commotion that could occur, Shakespeare would probably expect some comedy from dancers getting in the way, or someone being lost trying to follow someone. As well as all the comedy, the dance can be used to make tension. When Don John tells Claudio that Don Pedro is wooing Hero for himself, the dancers could split and leave Claudio standing watching Don Pedro and Hero by themselves.

At the end of Act 2, there is a scene known as the gulling scene. Where in it Don Pedro, Claudio and Leonato are trying to make Benedick believe that Beatrice loves him. We know that they are only trying to fool him due to lines said by Claudio such as, “[aside] bait the hook well, this fish will bite.” The audience from this know that Beatrice doesn’t actually love him, but they are just fooling him. Another reason why this scene would be funny is because of the way it would be staged. In many stage versions, Benedick is seen attempting to follow the three around trying to hear every word. In certain versions physical comedy comes into play when maybe he has to climb over or under something. Shakespeare almost certainly would have included this in a version in his time.

A stage at Shakespeare’s time was very different to one nowadays. Nearly all of Shakespeare’s plays after Much Ado About Nothing were performed at the Globe Theatre. It was a very different stage composed of a balcony above and a main stage below with a large exit at the back and two smaller ones. During the first gulling scene with Benedick Claudio, Don Pedro and Leonato would move around the stage a lot so physical Benedick could perform comedy. Because of the nature of this scene, we can be lead to believe the three characters fooling Benedick may leave at some points and re-enter using different exits to make the physical comedy in a more entertaining manner. This would also make it more unpredictable. Another thing with this scene because we believe it is set outside due to Benedick saying, “bring it hither to me in the orchard,” so it would be likely obstacles such as plants would be used onstage. This would make Benedick’s struggle to hear more humorous. But what we can be sure of is that there were columns at the Globe Theatre. The columns held up the balcony or normally some sort of roofing. If plants or other obstacles were not present it would be likely that Benedick would hide behind the columns in this scene.

Another reason why this is a comedy is because Benedick believes them and the instantly falls in love with Beatrice, “for I will be horribly in love with her.” Again this shows there is even more chance of a marriage. Also if someone hears something they want to believe they’ll believe it. So Benedick was probably in love with Beatrice all along.

Also Benedick’s little soliloquy is quite entertaining. He seems to be weighing up the pros and cons of a relationship with Beatrice. He actually realises his love for her by realising she is modest and beautiful, “They say the Lady is fair… and virtuous.” He also seems to think that when Beatrice callas him in for dinner that she is pretending not to love him. ” ‘Against my will I am sent to bid you come to dinner’ – there’s a double meaning in that.” It is funny for the audience because he believes that he loves her and can’t even realise that she doesn’t because he loves her so much. It is comic irony.

Another way a director could make Benedick’s scene entertaining would be by making him use the whole stage, walking one way when forming his opinion for love of Beatrice and walking another when he summing up the cons of a relationship. This would be entertaining, since he would be constantly moving backwards and forwards, quite suddenly.

At the beginning of Act Three there is a very similar incident. Another gulling scene, though this time Ursula and Hero are fooling Beatrice. So by the end of this scene both Beatrice and Benedick believe the other one loves them, and they love each other back, just because they thought they loved each other first. Through this we know it isn’t a tragedy because there is once again more love and the fact love came about by some made up rumours for friends trying to entertain themselves. Again Beatrice could hide behind the columns, like Benedick, to add to the physical comedy.

This odd couple brought in the comedy. In Twelfth Night there is an odd relationship when Olivia disguised as Cesario serves Lady Olivia who falls in love with her. This odd relationship brings in the comedy through the awkwardness; the comedy in Much Ado About Nothing is more focussed on when their true feelings shine through.

As well as the comedy from love and the upper classes we also find the lower classes have their time to shine to in the comic sub-plot. The two main characters in the comic sub-plot are Dogberry and Verges. Dogberry is a lower-class constable. In Elizabethan times, the lower classes were always seen as idiots. Shakespeare uses them in comedies as comic relief. They are also funny due to their physical and verbal states. In the first scene with Dogberry and Verges they are telling the watchmen to watch for drunks. A very common feature of Dogberry is his use of malapropisms, “You are thought here to be the most senseless [he means sensible] and fit man for the job.” Shakespeare uses this to show to the audience that he is very bright, but he also uses it for humour. In Shakespearian tragedies, you rarely find the lower classes, because Shakespeare only ever used them in comedies.

Dogberry and Verges are also funny for other reasons. Because they are lower class characters, there movement could be tainted in someway to amuse the audience. For example a typical idea for them would be to act drunk. Another idea would be for them to bump into each other a lot. There many other ways to add physical comedy to these parts, but because of the idiotic, nearly slapstick, physical comedy, and the audience would know they are lower class and therefore know it is a comedy. Also they would know because they would be laughing at the physical comedy.

Another key scene with these characters in is IV.ii where Borachio and Conrade are up on trial. The first line uttered is by Dogberry, “is our whole dissembly appeared?” He actually means assembly, he uses another malapropism. But actually he could be correct. An assembly is a group of people, but when you put un or dis in front of a word you normally get an opposite. By putting dis in front of assembly you get the opposite. Shakespeare uses this antonym prefix to suggest that Dogberry and Verges aren’t bright enough to be an assembly so they must be the opposite a “dissembly.”

During this scene Dogberry is trying to be clever, but just delaying the trial. “And write God first, for God defend but God should go before such villains.” What he is saying does not make much sense and in a tragedy Shakespeare wouldn’t have put in pathetic ramblings, since an audience would find this funny. As well as this Dogberry believes he is so important that Conrade should be punished further for calling him an ass, “O that he were here to write me down an ass!” The exclamation mark also suggests Dogberry is somehow emotional by this, probably excited. His physical movement and tone because of this would entertain an audience fully.

Comical irony is used towards the end of the play, when the stupid, lower class characters save the day. Dogberry managed to catch the villains, even though Leonato did not understand him. The trial was also delayed because of his incompetence. But if he had been more intelligent, maybe Don John would have been foiled earlier. But then the audience wouldn’t as interested since the small drama in V.i would be lost and less comedy would come out of it.

Another thing that an audience would pick up on easily is the fact there was no conflicts or deaths early on. In Macbeth the first scene is a lot of witches conjuring up evil spirits. Also slightly later on we find that Macbeth kills the king. All three of those things would make the audience believe it was a tragedy. Also in Romeo and Juliet we find that there are to rival gangs that hate each other very much. All these things in both plays do not occur anywhere in Much Ado About Nothing.

Although this is a comedy there is a villain in it. So even though there is a villain how do we know this is a comedy?

Don John is not a very clever villain. In I.iii he plans to try to stop Claudio and Hero from marrying. He doesn’t even come up with the plan himself! He also tells the audience he is a villain, “I am a plain-delaing villain.” This will instantly make the audience dislike him. He must not be very credible if he tells the audience this almost instantly. Whilst in Othello the villain Iago is a lot more credible and likeable. Iago persuades the audience, “[Othello II.iii] When this advice is free I give and honest.” Here he tells the audience he is only being truthful, he is trying to make the audience believe him and favour him above Othello. He also features a lot more. In this play Don John only appears in four or five scenes. His first plan it is foiled very easily. Borachio tells Claudio “he [Don Pedro] swore he would marry her tonight.” But when Claudio confronts Don Pedro, he is told Hero is all his.

In a way Don John is more of a comical villain, like a pantomime villain. In many pantomimes the audience are introduced to the villain in the first scene casting evil. The audience get a bad impression of him instantly, as he almost provokes them to boo and jeer him. Also a pantomime villain tricks the hero into believing him. Normally the first attempt fails, but the second attempt comes very close to working. Don John is plotting he admits to being a villain, just as bad as a pantomime villain. A pantomime villains steps are almost identical to the ones that Don John make in Much Ado About Nothing. And everyone knows that a pantomime villain ends up in jail or working for the hero.

When Don John hears this plan fail he and Borachio conjure up a slightly cleverer plan. “Tell them [Don Pedro and Claudio] that you know Hero loves me [Borachio]…to see me at her chamber window, hear me call Margaret Hero.” This time the plan works and Claudio believes what he sees. This makes the audience believe that Claudio could actually not marry Hero. But so many facts points to the fact it is a comedy, so the audience should believe that it can be overcome. The audience believes this because they not that he can be overcome because he was foiled in his last attempt. If Don john was never foiled it would suggest that he was intelligent enough to stop marriage. Shakespeare added these bits to his plays to make them more interesting. Another point is that Don John never actually invented a plan. Borachio seemed to come up with all the ideas. From this the audience would know this is a comedy. In Othello, Iago often talks to the audience, he also acts alone. Also Iago appears more throughout Othello and seems to be on good terms with Othello in the play. In Much Ado About Nothing, the other characters don’t take to him as well as his brother.

An audience would know not to take Don John seriously because before they even meet him. This is because he is a bastard. In Elizabethan times, a child born without a known father would be thrown out on the streets or put in an orphanage. Elizabethan’s believed thoroughly in the Bible and believed very much in God. The bible states that adultery is wrong and so in fear of being sent to Hell the mother would expel the child from the family. Don John was of high birth, so he wouldn’t have been disposed off. Instead he would be classed as a bastard, so people would know already that he’s not a good son.

To make Don John even less credible a director could stage him so he looked slightly pathetic. For example, Don John has a large bit of text in I.iii lines 25-34. A director could stage it so that he acts like it’s a big speech or soliloquy, but then Conrade interrupts and almost mocks him with the next line. There are many pieces of dialogue like this and a director could demean Don John a lot showing the audience that he is not credible in the slightest.

In VI.I, we see the wedding between Hero and Claudio about to take place. Unfortunately though Claudio proclaims he isn’t going to marry Hero because of her unfaithfulness, “What man was he talked with you yesternight… betwixt twelve and one?” The audience are afraid that Don John’s plan will work. It seems more and more likely that it will. Later in this scene a priest suggests to Hero that she shall pretend to be dead, “she dying, as it must be so maintained.” Like Romeo and Juliet a priest tells the heroine to pretend to be dead. The audience know this a comedy, so unlike Romeo and Juliet everything will turn out fine without any deaths. If the audience didn’t know that Don John had been foiled before or that they didn’t notice any comic elements in the play so far, they could well believe this could turn out as a tragedy.

The juxtaposition of scenes before and after II.ii, suggests to an audience that Don John is no threat. If a less comic scene was placed before and after the audience will feel threatened. Shakespeare’s positioning of scenes shows an audience that they shouldn’t take Don John or his plotting as seriously as they would normally.

All of Shakespeare’s comedies end with all loose ends tied. Before the final scene Leonato asks Claudio to marry his niece (Beatrice), for killing Hero, “And since you could not be my son-in-law. Be my nephew.” Of course the audience know that Hero isn’t dead and that Leonato will make sure that Claudio will marry Hero.

In the final scene, we see Claudio marrying a woman under a veil who he believes to be Beatrice, when in fact it is Hero, “Another Hero!” Also at the end Benedick confront Beatrice about their love, “Do not you love me?” Then they both refuse that they love each other and both realise that they were fooled, “They swore you were almost sick for me.” Beatrice then agrees to the marriage. The audience know now that this is definitely a comedy since there are going to be two marriages. Also Don John is captured, Margaret forgiven and then a big dance is performed. Dances were always at the end of Shakespearian comedies to symbolise unity.

Another final point is that when Don John is captured he isn’t visibly punished; this is because it is a comedy and any form of punishment in Elizabethan times would involve losing a part of the body. So any punishment on stage would make the audience not feel like this is a suitable ending to a comedy.

From this a contemporary audience would easily know this is a comedy. The main reason they would believe this is that at the end of a comedy there are marriages and everything is sorted out. If this were a tragedy it would be more likely for Claudio to have killed himself or others, like in Othello. Also the credibility of the villain would make an audience think about the type of play. Unlike this play, in Othello the villain almost persuades the audience he is right. Or in Macbeth, Macbeth is the protagonist and the antagonist. More evidence was the usage of comedy. Dogberry and Verges demonstrated a lot of the physical comedy. Whilst Benedick and Beatrice used verbal comedy. Could you see an Elizabethan theatre going bursting out laughing when Macbeth meets the Witches? Many people of Shakespeare’s time would make these connections and therefore realise that Much Ado About Nothing is a comic, not a tragic play.