Explore Shakespeares presentation of the Courtly World of Messina in the plays opening acts. Evaluate how the setting might be regarded as typical for its time and analyse how modern audiences could feel alienated by the cultural values on display.

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Explore Shakespeare’s presentation of the Courtly World of Messina in the play’s opening acts. Evaluate how the setting might be regarded as typical for its time and analyse how modern audiences could feel alienated by the cultural values on display.

The concept of the courtly world goes beyond the mere setting of the royal court and is largely presented as a life style, especially with regards to romance. This idea has transcended time, with Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales depicting a similar courtly world in the Knight’s tale, a story that possessed broadly similar features to Much Ado About Nothing. This world is set firmly in a period where the monarchy was the centre of English life. This, perhaps, explains why some aspects, especially the apparent degradation of women until they become objects, are somewhat uncomfortable for modern readers as our liberal society views this as sexist, far from a Victorian audience’s view that this was normal life.

The structure of the play is instrumental in establishing the recurring themes of a courtly world, most notably the hierarchical and patriarchal structures that operate in this setting. This is most obvious from the dramatis personae, with its order beginning with men at the top and women at the bottom highlighting the gender roles within the courtly world and love itself as it is men who essentially do the courting. This idea is alluded to in the war-like scenes of ‘take her hearing prisoner’ as war is usually the domain of men and by referring to love as a battlefield, it is therefore inferred that love is the domain of men, with the reference to a woman as a ‘prisoner’ reinforcing the passive, helpless female role. This point is further emphasized by the fact that most scenes are initiated by a male as this establishes the idea that men come first and are the dominant presence, a concept that is perpetuated through this courtly world.

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The form is repeatedly used to reinforce the features of the courtly world to the audience. Being a play, the dominant role of men is highly apparent though their overrepresentation in the dialogue, nowhere more so than in conversations with Hero. Her lack of a response to ‘Speak, cousin; or if you cannot, stop his mouth with a kiss’ encapsulates the idea that women weren’t valued for their opinions, but merely their sexuality as a wife and childbearer as the ‘kiss’ suggests - Hero can only communicate with men though sexual appeal rather than her intelligence or personality. Ironically, despite ...

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