Untitled Essay, Research Paper

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Much Ado About Nothing

It is a beautiful spring afternoon. The air is full of the radiance of freshly

bloomed daisies and the energizing chill of the periodic spring breeze. Puffy

large cumulus clouds fill the azure sky with gray thunderheads looming off

in the distance. Looking down from the clouds, one can see a gathering of

finely dressed people. Birds flying overhead hear the murmurs of the crowd

gathered for a wedding of gentry.

Shakespeare could never have planned the first scene of Act IV in Much Ado

About Nothing so well. The serene sky overhead symbolizing the beauty and

joviality of the occasion; dark rain clouds looming in the distance foreshadowing

the mischief to come. Despite his inability to control weather patterns,

Shakespeare developed marvelous scenes which he displayed in his own theater,

The Globe. How did Shakespeare portray the emotional aspects of his characters

and their strife to his audience? How did he direct the actors and what did

the open air stage of The Globe look like?

Imagine yourself in London circa 1600, a short year after the completion

of the Globe Theater and perhaps a few months after the completion of the

play Much Ado About Nothing, Act IV has just begun. Claudio and Hero are

facing each other in front of a simple, yet anciently beautiful altar, garbed

in Elizabethan costume fit for the occasion. Hero is wearing a long white

dress with trailer and high neck which is adorned according to the fashion

trends of the time. Claudio has donned a royal looking doublet with silver

trim and hose to equally as majestic. Sitting on either side of the couple

in ancient pews, shrouded in solemn silence, are Don Pedro the Prince of

Aragon, Don John the Bastard, Leonato, Benedick, Beatrice and the attendants

of Beatrice and Hero. Facing the couple, positioned in between them so the

audience may hear him, is Friar Francis wearing a simple white robe and golden

cross, his only posessions. Don Pedro wears a doublet ornately embroidered

with golden designs. He is the only person on stage looking finer than Claudio,

marking his royal blood to all. The others wear fine doublets and dresses,

although not decorated elaborately, to show their respect for the wedding

pair.

Scene IV actually begins when Leonato stands and makes his brave but respectful

request to the Friar to be brief with the ceremonies (IV i,l1). Knowing his

duties, the Friar continues square-faced with the wedding by asking Claudio

of his intentions to marry Hero (IV i,l5). Without hesitation Claudio responds,

“No.” (IV i,l6) He means that he does not intend to marry Hero. The audience

and the attendants of the wedding are slightly shocked. Murmurs run through

the crowd of people standing on the floor of the theater asking whether they

heard correctly or not. Leonato stands up from his seat meaning to correct

the Friar by informing him that the Lady is to be married to the Count, and

not vice versa (IV i,l7). As relief spreads through the audience, the tension

is cleared. The audience knows of Don John’s plan to ruin the ceremonies

of the day, but they hope his schemings do not come to fruition. As the audience

contemplates the possibilities, building up more tension than was washed

away merely seconds ago, Hero continues the scene with the affirmation that

she has come to be married to Claudio (IV i,l10). She bows her head in humility

and gives her response to the Friar’s question, deeply aware of its meanig,

her voice soft with love and compassion. The audience is now waiting for

the Friar to continue. They wish that Friar Francis would hurry and be brief

as instructed by Leonato, even though he speaks no slower or faster than

anyone normally does. Francis goes on telling the couple to speak of any

reasons that they should not be married, or risk their souls to eternal damnation

(IV i,ll11-3). Claudio quickly responds in a cynical voice by asking Hero

if she knows of any such reasons not to be wed(IV i,l14). His quick jabbing

remark sets the audience on edge once again. Perhaps Don John succeeded in

his vile plot to foul the wedding! Conrade and Borachio may not have been

simple drunkards confessing fictitious stories to one another in a dark alley.

The tension has mounted and Hero’s negative answer to the Count’s inquiry

cannot cut it back. Friar Francis’ repitition of the question, directed at

Claudio brings the tension to a peak in the play. When Leonato stands again

and boldly intercedes he only succeeds in holding the tension at its current

level. The audience is curious what his remark could bode for the characters

being wed. The play is at its climax and everyone feels the need to know

how the scene will close.

Claudio turns on his host crying, “O, what men dare do! … What men daily

do, not knowing what they do!” (IV i,l18-9) Referring to Leonato’s recent

remarks. The wedding attendants all jump to attention, frantically looking

around to see if they are not having nightmares. Benedick tries to save the

situation with a jest but even his remarkable wit cannot rescue the situation.

Claudio’s idignance has surfaced and his iron will has turned to boiling

water fitfully puffing into the air. Asking the Friar to stand aside so that

he may confront Leonato as the father of the bride, Claudio lashes out at

Hero. “There, Leonato, take her back again. Give not this rotten orange to

your friend. She’s but the sign and semblance of her honor. . .” (IV i,ll30-3)

Turning to the audience to continue his defilation of Hero, Claudio unleashes

the vile plans of Don John, to run loose among his companions and the audience.

Shocked, the audience can only listen more eagerly to the deliberations of

Claudio, Leonato and Claudio’s would-be bride, Hero. Leonato faces not only

his daughter’s shame, but the shame she has brought upon his house. Valiantly

he persists in defending his daughter until he is forced to capitulate to

the sheer immensity of fact supproted by evidence.

Very little scenery is present on stage, but one feels the immense emotional

tension and confusion that is present in the play. Even the costumes are

unimportant, because the actions and the words of the actors are the meat

of the scene. Indignant voices, hands thrown into the air and violent wheeling

around are all examples of the actions that could be made by the actors.

The vital characteristics of this scene are the characters themselves. If

the actors remain unseen throughout the scene, and only the characters shine

through, the true emotions and thoughts of the scene must be felt by the

audience.

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