Possible Questions:
Q1. The ending of Much Ado About Nothing can only be viewed as 'not what the audience wants'; this is not resduction at all?
Q2. Does Much Ado About Nothing expose courtly love as ridiculous or problematic?
Q3. Walter N.King claims that 'the proper genre' of Much Ado About Nothing is 'comedy of manners'. Does the play fit into this category?
Thursday, 31 October 2013
Last Lesson 31/10/13
Last Lesson:
Last lesson we read through more of Act 4 Scenes 1 and 2 and I learnt more about Leonato being a comedic character that he is. For example he goes from believing Don John and Don Pedro in the fact his daughter has been unfaithful and saying that she would be better off if she was dead, to then saying that Don John and Don Pedro are lying and that he will kill them if what they say is untrue. This shows him in a comedic manner as it is almost comedic in the way he just can instantly change his mind when it comes to such a big deal.
We learnt that in Act 4 Scene 2 there are:
Last lesson we read through more of Act 4 Scenes 1 and 2 and I learnt more about Leonato being a comedic character that he is. For example he goes from believing Don John and Don Pedro in the fact his daughter has been unfaithful and saying that she would be better off if she was dead, to then saying that Don John and Don Pedro are lying and that he will kill them if what they say is untrue. This shows him in a comedic manner as it is almost comedic in the way he just can instantly change his mind when it comes to such a big deal.
We learnt that in Act 4 Scene 2 there are:
- Malapropisms- the wrong word used at the wrong time.
- Misunderstandings- when two characters have a misunderstanding it is simply as they do not understand eachother.
- Farce- over the top situations/language that can be seen as silly.
Last Lesson 30/10/13
Last Lesson:
We learnt a lot about Dogberry's malapropisms that made him seem extremely idiotic to the audience. He does this a lot to in a way keep up with Verges when he acts big headed, as if he acts big headed then to the audience he will seem smart. However, as he uses so many malapropisms he just seems to the audience to be even less intelligent than he actually is.
We also learnt about Pathos, Bathos and Peripetia.
Pathos is a great emotional scene, for example in Act 4 Scene 1 there is a part where Benedick and Beatrice have a heated conversation, this would be pathos as during it love is confronted by the characters, but it is not too over the top that it would not be believed by the audience.
Bathos on the other hand is the opposite and would be described as mellowdramatic, it is when the conversation/scene is completely over the top, this is to the point where the audience can tell that it cannot be believed. An example of this is Leonato when he describes that his daughter should be left to die because of the rumour that she has been unfaithful, and it would be better for her to die as she would be more at peace.
Peripetia is completely different as it is an unfunny character flaw that will eventually lead to the characters downfall within the play, for example Hero's flaw is that she cannot speak unless spoken to as it would be 'against social convention'. This leads to her downfall as it overall means she cannot stand up for herself when accused of being unfaithful, this is bad as many saw it as a sign of her guilt.
We learnt a lot about Dogberry's malapropisms that made him seem extremely idiotic to the audience. He does this a lot to in a way keep up with Verges when he acts big headed, as if he acts big headed then to the audience he will seem smart. However, as he uses so many malapropisms he just seems to the audience to be even less intelligent than he actually is.
We also learnt about Pathos, Bathos and Peripetia.
Pathos is a great emotional scene, for example in Act 4 Scene 1 there is a part where Benedick and Beatrice have a heated conversation, this would be pathos as during it love is confronted by the characters, but it is not too over the top that it would not be believed by the audience.
Bathos on the other hand is the opposite and would be described as mellowdramatic, it is when the conversation/scene is completely over the top, this is to the point where the audience can tell that it cannot be believed. An example of this is Leonato when he describes that his daughter should be left to die because of the rumour that she has been unfaithful, and it would be better for her to die as she would be more at peace.
Peripetia is completely different as it is an unfunny character flaw that will eventually lead to the characters downfall within the play, for example Hero's flaw is that she cannot speak unless spoken to as it would be 'against social convention'. This leads to her downfall as it overall means she cannot stand up for herself when accused of being unfaithful, this is bad as many saw it as a sign of her guilt.
Thursday, 17 October 2013
How are the watchmen able to discover what Borachio has done? How much do they understand of what they have found?
The watchmen are only to see what they have found in the case of Borachio by luck more than judgement, this is shown in the line 'a goes up and down like a gentlemen; I remember his name'. This shows the watchman was lucky to hear anything after this because Borachio could hear the watchman speak, this is shown in the line 'Didst thou not hear somebody?'. This shows the watchmen at the time were portrayed to be idiotic, as they were almost caught out in trying to catch a criminal. Camille Wells Slights says in a play 'language is power' this begs the question that do the watchmen actually know anything, as it seems that they have no power whatsoever in this scene, due to the fact that they are hiding from the men they potentially want to capture. At the time for the watchmen to be able to arrest Borachio and Conrade would almost be inaccurate historically as even Dogberry said 'it is an offence to stay a man against his will' this means that in Dogberrys eyes it is not acceptable to arrest a man who doesn't want to be arrested, moreover meaning there is overall no point in Dogberry or the watchmen being there. Overall, I believe the watchman knew that Borachio and Conrade were up to not good just not to the extent they were, I believe this as throughout Act 3 Scene 3 they have seemingly had no idea what to do, so why should now be any different. This outlines the fact that Shakespeare was trying to make as in watchmen at the time were not capable to look after the country, but most importantly they were not at all educated men.
What is the serious social problem underlying the satire on Dogberry and his all-volunteer watch?
The serious social problem underlying the satire on Dogberry and his all-volunteer watch is peoples inability to question the higher authorities or the male gender at the time, even when the authorities are considered by many to be completely inadequate. This is shown through the use of malaprops when Dogberry speaks within the play, for example 'You shall also make no noise in the streets, for for the watch to babble is most tolerable, and not to be endured'. This shows that the authorities at the time were unintelligent, as Dogberry acts to be smart by being self deceptive as he says not to talk, but that talking is 'tolerable'. This part of the play would be criticised by Camille Wells Slights as she says 'the play is centrally concerned with the social nature and language'. However, it is shown in this part of the play that the language within is being used to make a mockery of policing at the time, by calling them idiotic. At the time of Shakespeare, to mock watchmen etc. would be considered as immoral. This is because almost like nowadays the law are not to be stood up to, at the time of the play the Puritans were in charge and to argue against them even if they are wrong would be an awful decision to make. Overall, within Act 3 Scene 3 the watchmen are mocked with language by Shakespeare, this shows that the social problem with Dogberry and his all-volunteer watch is overall that they are not feared, but most importantly that they are not really needed because they are shown as incompetent.
Wednesday, 16 October 2013
Last English Lesson 16/10/13
Bendictus- This in short is to show how Beatrice acts now she has realised she is in love with Benedick, it shows through her nevousness within the name of Benedick and every time something like his name is said after a certain point in the play.
Tuesday, 15 October 2013
Last Lesson in English 15/10/13.
Last Lesson We:
During our last lesson we looked at Transformation, this is when a character changes clearly throughout a play/novel to become something which they were not at the start. This is used for comedic effect during 'Much Ado About Nothing' as for example Benedick vows to never love Beatrice, however nearing the end of the play he has clearly changed to fit what Beatrice looks for in a man e.g. clean shaven, overall proving he is in love with Beatrice as if he wasn't he would not have undergone such a transformation just to please her. The transformation of Benedick is shown throughout Act 3 Scene 2 as for example Don Pedro says he is 'a Dutchman today, a Frenchman tomorrow'. This is Don Pedro saying that Benedick changes as if with the wind for whatever the reason and in this case it is to do what he said he never woul, love a woman.
We also took a short look at malapropism, this is the use of an incorrect work incorrectly within a sentence. For example, 'That was devicive' instead of the true meaning, which is 'That was devine'. These kind of malapropisms are shown throughout Act 3 Secene 3 as it is the part of the play which has the watchmen in, so in order to be funny there must be something which shows that the authorities are in truth idiotic, despite everyone trusting their judgement/views within society.
We also learnt more about the 'Assessment Objectives' which are:
AO1- Clarity
AO2- Language, Form and Structure
A03- Critical Interpretation
AO4- Historical Content
These should be in every good answer.
Finally, I learnt eventually how to do a good introduction. In an introduction I should not start with 'In this essay' or 'During my answer' as this is contrary to what I should be doing. Instead, I should start my essay/answer with the question within the title, for example 'The serious social problem underlying the satire of Dogberry and his all-volunteer watch is....'. This will get me more marks and achieve me a better grade.
During our last lesson we looked at Transformation, this is when a character changes clearly throughout a play/novel to become something which they were not at the start. This is used for comedic effect during 'Much Ado About Nothing' as for example Benedick vows to never love Beatrice, however nearing the end of the play he has clearly changed to fit what Beatrice looks for in a man e.g. clean shaven, overall proving he is in love with Beatrice as if he wasn't he would not have undergone such a transformation just to please her. The transformation of Benedick is shown throughout Act 3 Scene 2 as for example Don Pedro says he is 'a Dutchman today, a Frenchman tomorrow'. This is Don Pedro saying that Benedick changes as if with the wind for whatever the reason and in this case it is to do what he said he never woul, love a woman.
We also took a short look at malapropism, this is the use of an incorrect work incorrectly within a sentence. For example, 'That was devicive' instead of the true meaning, which is 'That was devine'. These kind of malapropisms are shown throughout Act 3 Secene 3 as it is the part of the play which has the watchmen in, so in order to be funny there must be something which shows that the authorities are in truth idiotic, despite everyone trusting their judgement/views within society.
We also learnt more about the 'Assessment Objectives' which are:
AO1- Clarity
AO2- Language, Form and Structure
A03- Critical Interpretation
AO4- Historical Content
These should be in every good answer.
Finally, I learnt eventually how to do a good introduction. In an introduction I should not start with 'In this essay' or 'During my answer' as this is contrary to what I should be doing. Instead, I should start my essay/answer with the question within the title, for example 'The serious social problem underlying the satire of Dogberry and his all-volunteer watch is....'. This will get me more marks and achieve me a better grade.
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