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GCSE: Much Ado About Nothing

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379 GCSE Much Ado About Nothing essays

  • Marked by Teachers essays 4
  • Peer Reviewed essays 10
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  1. Marked by a teacher

    Much Ado About Nothing

    4 star(s)

    Overall a good empathic response showing understanding of Beatrice's character and "voice". Also, there are good points made about other characters and the theme of honour, and links to…

    • Essay length: 1203 words
    • Submitted: 21/03/2011
    • Marked by teacher: (?) Lynne Jung 07/04/2012
  2. Marked by a teacher

    Shakespeare(TM)s Much Ado about Nothing Directors Essay: What advice would you give to Beatrice when responding to Benedick?

    3 star(s)

    Although short, this is an entertaining and well written response, which shows a knowledge of the text and a confidence when handling decisions based on staging and audience response. ***…

    • Essay length: 730 words
    • Submitted: 17/02/2009
    • Marked by teacher: (?) Karen Reader 23/04/2012
  3. Marked by a teacher

    How Important to 'Much Ado About Nothing' is Act 3 Scene 4?

    3 star(s)

    The writer shows a good knowledge of the events of this scene, but should take care to avoid overgeneralising about characters or gender roles. It would have been effective to…

    • Essay length: 1067 words
    • Submitted: 01/04/2008
    • Marked by teacher: (?) Karen Reader 23/04/2012
  4. Marked by a teacher

    much ado about nothing critique

    3 star(s)

    Shows some understanding of the two relationships, but lacking depth and development. There are a lot of disjointed points that need to be linked. Also, many of the quotations do…

    • Essay length: 1841 words
    • Submitted: 24/11/2007
    • Marked by teacher: (?) Lynne Jung 07/04/2012
  5. Peer reviewed

    Much Ado is a play of wit, deception and slander. Although the play consists of many other themes, nature is probably

    5 star(s)

    This question focuses on the prevalent motif of nature (and human nature) in William Shakespeare's 'Much Ado About Nothing'. There is an exceptional focus displayed in analysing the play and…

    • Essay length: 1423 words
    • Submitted: 01/03/2007
    • Reviewed by: (?) sydneyhopcroft 07/03/2012
  6. Peer reviewed

    How does Shakespeare present the developing relationships of the lovers in the play?

    5 star(s)

    This is a response to a question asking candidates to consider how Shakespeare presents the relationships between Benedick & Beatrice and Claudio & Hero. In the answer, there is a…

    • Essay length: 1852 words
    • Submitted: 23/01/2007
    • Reviewed by: (?) sydneyhopcroft 13/03/2012
  7. Peer reviewed

    How does Shakespeare challenge the conventional role of women within the patriarchal society of Much Ado About Nothing.

    5 star(s)

    This question asks candidates to analyse how Shakespeare challenges the accepted behaviour of women at the time to play was written. The candidate correctly identifies the characters that require analysis…

    • Essay length: 1698 words
    • Submitted: 17/10/2006
    • Reviewed by: (?) sydneyhopcroft 21/02/2012
  8. Peer reviewed

    The Title In Much Ado About Nothing

    5 star(s)

    This essay meets - and quite often far exceeds - the expectations of high quality GCSE essay. The candidates shows an excellent appraisal of the title of 'Much Ado About…

    • Essay length: 762 words
    • Submitted: 02/02/2005
    • Reviewed by: (?) 26/08/2012
  9. Peer reviewed

    What are the different forms of deception that occur in the play and what is their effect?

    4 star(s)

    This essay provides a great insight into the role of deception in the play much ado about nothing. The response covers many of the key points and plots within the…

    • Essay length: 650 words
    • Submitted: 21/09/2008
    • Reviewed by: (?) cheekymokeyxxx 10/02/2012
  10. Peer reviewed

    Discuss Shakespeare's treatment of courtship and marriage in "Much Ado About Nothing". In your essay you should refer to modern interpretations of the play and consider the context in which they were produced as well as the context of the original play.

    4 star(s)

    This answer focuses extremely well on the proposed question about how Shakespeare presents the relationships between the two pairs of lovers in 'Much Ado About Nothing'. The answer is consistent,…

    • Essay length: 963 words
    • Submitted: 28/12/2006
    • Reviewed by: (?) sydneyhopcroft 06/04/2012
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The main characters in 'Much Ado About Nothing'

  1. 1 Beatrice is the niece of Leonato and cousin of Hero. She is extremely quick-witted and verbally adept and amuses her relatives and friends with stories and jokes. Although she is generous and good-hearted, she often uses her wit to mock and tease other people, especially Benedick.
  2. 2 Benedick is a gentleman and soldier who has recently been fighting with Don Pedro and Claudio. Like Beatrice, Benedick is witty and enjoys mocking other people. He swears he will never marry as he is very critical of women and does not trust them.
  3. 3 Claudio is a young soldier who has won great acclaim fighting with Don Pedro in the recent wars. When Claudio returns to Messina he falls in love with Hero. He is brave and loving but is too easily led by others and is too quick to believe the rumours about Hero.
  4. 4 Don Pedro is an important nobleman from Aragon. He is a long-time friend of Leonato and is close to Benedick and Claudio. He is generous, courteous and loving to his friends, but is also quick to believe the evil Don John, and is quick to take revenge.
  5. 5 Don John is Don Pedro’s illegitimate half brother and is often referred to as Don John, the Bastard. He is miserable and sullen by nature and is jealous of Don Pedro’s success and position as the rightful Prince of Aragon. He creates the illusion of Hero being unfaithful so that he can ruin the happiness of Hero and Claudio and hurt Don Pedro.

Background information on the play

  1. 1 Shakespeare wrote Much Ado about Nothing in 1600 and its dramatic impact and characterisation are much more sophisticated than his earlier successful plays of Romeo and Juliet and A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
  2. 2 Much Ado about Nothing is set in Messina, a port on the island of Sicily. Sicily was ruled by Aragon at the time the play was set. The action of the play takes place mainly at the home and on the grounds of Leonato's estate.
  3. 3 The play is one of the few in the Shakespeare canon where the majority of the text is written in prose and not in verse.
  4. 4 Shakespeare took the idea of the young lover falsely accused of infidelity from several different sources, including the Italian writers Bandello in his book Novelle and Aristo in Orlando Furioso
  5. 5 The basic structure of the play is three different plot lines which are intertwined: Claudio and Hero - the conventional young lovers who have a crisis in their relationship and then are reunited at the end of the play; Dogberry - a bumbling amateur policeman, who with his associates, the volunteer watchmen, figure in the action when they catch the villains; Beatrice and Benedick - two battling, witty lovers who begin the play hating each other and end up in a loving relationship.

The importance of 'honour' in Shakespere's time

  1. 1 A woman’s honour was based upon her virginity and her innocent behaviour. If a woman lost her honour by having a sexual relationship before marriage it was a disaster that would damage her whole family’s reputation.
  2. 2 A man’s honour was different as it depended on friendship and reputation in society. A man would defend his honour by fighting a battle or having a duel. An example of this honour in the play is when Beatrice urges Benedick to duel with Claudio, on her behalf, in order to avenge Hero’s honour.
  3. 3 When Leonato is told that Hero has lost her honour, he believes the word of Don Pedro over his own daughter and is so ashamed that he says they should let her die. Hero’s dishonour would mean that he would not be able to find another husband for her as no one would want to marry a woman who had been with another man.
  4. 4 Don Pedro believes that his honour and reputation have been affected because he helped to woo Hero for Claudio so he is also shamed and dishonoured by Hero’s infidelity.
  5. 5 The climax of the play is when Claudio rejects Hero at the wedding, shaming her in front of her father. Claudio is more concerned about his honour and reputation than whether Hero is innocent. This questions his love for Hero because he is more concerned about himself and his own reputation.

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