Analyse Act One Scene One Of ‘Much Ado About Nothing’Consider It’s Effectiveness As The Opening To The Play.

        Act One Scene One begins as a very relaxed setting, though when news of the return of the valiant Don Pedro and his army is heard the mood soon changes. Infact a complete contrast in moods takes place. The mood suddenly changes from a relaxed, steady atmosphere to a lively and excited atmosphere, the news of Don Pedro’s return causes complete chaos and rush. Characters have to prepare for the moment the army appears.

Act One Scene One also sets the divisions and conflicts in place. Ie – Don John vs Claudio and Beatrice vs  Benedick

The conflict of types of love is also evident. Romantic relationships and idealistic relationships. Love and cynicism and bawdiness. This is a long scene so it needed to be fast paced. The audience takes in a lot in Act One Scene One, Beatrice and Benedick have locked horns, Claudio is a hero figure and has fallen in love with Hero – a heroine and Don Pedro is to woo Hero on his behalf.

        The language of the play is very sophisticated, but does change throughout the play. Don Pedro, Claudio and Benedick love to demonstrate their friendship through banter and teasing. Attack and Counter –Attack appears in Act One Scene One between Beatrice and Benedick, in their merry war. Most of what Beatrice and Benedick say is in prose- this shows that they both are particularly intelligent characters. When the two characters first meet in Act One Scene One there is a sense of aggressive mockery in their speech.

Benedick – “God keep your ladyship still in that mind, so some gentlemen or other shall scape a predestine scratched face.”

Beatrice – “Scratching could not make it worse, and ‘twere such a face as yours were.”

Yet beneath the intensive mockery there is a more complex relationship. The scene is not so much filled with action as constant wit and plays upon words – the audience is bombarded with this. An audience in these days would appreciate the language how it is, though an audience of modern times may not. Tastes have changed over the years.

        When we get in to Act One Scene One we can see the main themes of the play developing. There is irony in the audience as they can see that there is a connection between Beatrice and Benedick although Beatrice and Benedick cannot yet see it.        Claudio tells Benedick of his love for Hero, Benedick doesn’t seem very impressed with Hero’s charms and is shocked Claudio is considering marriage. By now we can see one of the main themes of Much Ado About Nothing is based on love. The theme of deception is also introduced in Act One Scene One. The plot is initiated Don Pedro is to be in disguise at the masked ball. This looks ahead to further pretensions. Also we learn that Don John is also not to be what he seems, the audience wonders if they can actually trust him. And the audience also wonders if Leonato can be such a doting father when he shows signs of being a womaniser. Male dominance and power is very clear in Messina. Messina is a strict, patriarchal society, Women are supposed to be sub-serviant alike Hero; modest and sub missive. We see in Act One Scene One that Beatrice contradicts these conventions, this may shock the audience, she is not impressed by male bravery and valour and she is keen to put men down.

“…I pray you, how many hath he killed and eaten in these wars? But how many hath he killed? – for indeed I promised to eat all of his killing.” – here she is calling Benedick a coward.

Because Beatrice was something of a tomboy she was bound to provoke discussion. Shakespeare was writing about trivia / nothin.  The meaning of the title is taken ambiguous; the audience could take it two ways. It could mean Much Ado about Nothing, as in trivia, or it could be taken as if to mean ‘nothin’ which is an Elizabethan euphemism for female genitalia, therefore Shakespeare is mocking the fuss made of the male desires to gain control of the female ‘nothin’. The last main themes of Much Ado About Nothing are Jealousy and Honour. Honour is very important to the males in Messina; Claudio’s acquired “much honour” so other males may feel jealous or intimidated by this. Hero is a possession to Leonato so her disgrace of honour then becomes his. Benedick’s comment about ‘cuckolded’ foreshadows Claudio’s later jealousy.

“ Why I’faith, me thinks she’s to low for a high praise, to brown for a fair praise and to little for a great praise. Only this commendation I can afford her, that were she other than she is, she were unhandsome, and being no other, but as she is – I do not like her.”

There is also jealousy between Don Pedro and Don John. Don John is evidently jealous of Don Pedro, he is seen as the valiant army leader, unlike Don John, and also Don Pedro is next inline for the throne in the city of Arragon. Because Don John is his bastard brother he isn’t impressed that Don Pedro gets all of the attention.

        This scene sets up the basis for the rest of the play, its has set the main themes for the rest of the play. All the main characters have already been introduced and we have got an idea of what we think will become from the rest of the play, and what the characters will get up to.

        I feel this is quite an affective opening to Much Ado About Nothing, from the start it has an empowering affect upon the reader and indulges them to read more.