Much Ado About
Nothing
By
William Shakespeare
Much Ado About Nothing
 Was
written by William Shakespeare
sometime between 1596-1599
 It is a comedy. What does this mean?
Discuss with a partner…
 In dramatic terms: a comedy is a play
with a happy ending in which things
could possibly turn tragically wrong but
don’t. There will be some humour in a
comedy
In fact Much Ado About Nothing
is a Romantic Comedy
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Romantic comedies are very popular films
today, here are a few examples of Romantic
Comedies:
Just Like Heaven
10 Things I Hate About You
Four Weddings and a Funeral
Notting Hill
Can you think of any more similar films which
you would call a Romantic Comedy?
Romantic Comedies
What
are the things that you
expect… the conventions… of
Romantic Comedies?
Pre-reading Speaking and
Listening activity…
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In groups of roughly 4 persons, write a brief
play script. The scenario is: a group of
friends meet. Two of the friends used to ‘go
out with’ each other, the girl is called
Beatrice and the boy is called Benedick. They
actually still have feelings for each other but
try to pretend that they hate each other.
They are rude and insulting to each other and
try to get the better of each other all of the
time…
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How do we lay out a play script??????
Drama Skills
Now you have written your play scripts, you
should now rehearse. You must concentrate
on:
 Speaking clearly and confidently
 Using gesture and voice intonation to express
yourself
 Using body language to express yourself
 Using facial expressions to express yourself
 Don’t turn your back to the audience at any
time
 Make eye contact with the other actors
The SATs Shakespeare Paper
The paper is 45 minutes long. It assesses your reading.
You will have one task to respond to which will be on
one or both of your set extracts from your set
scenes: Act 1, Scene 1 – lines 1-123 and Act 2,
Scene 1 – lines 183-end.
You will need to know the scenes well and to plan your
answer. The question could focus on the following:
text in performance
character and motivation
language of the text
ideas, themes and issues
Watching the Film of Much Ado
About Nothing
The Characters…
 Don
John the villain
 Don
Pedro, the Prince of Aragon
 Claudio,
Hero
 Hero
the young Florentine who loves
Watching the Film of Much Ado
About Nothing
The Characters…
 Benedick
and Beatrice
Fill in the gaps plot summary
based on watching the film
Complete attached worksheet
Women in the 1500’s
Women had very few rights during this time. Society in
both England and Italy was very patriarchal – this means
that society was dominated by men: girls had to obey
their fathers and then their husbands. For daughters of
noblemen (such as Leonato) their marriages were often
arranged. Most importantly, a woman MUST be a virgin
when she is married.
The fact that Claudio believed (wrongly) that Hero was not
a virgin; A belief which caused him to publicly humiliate
Hero on her wedding day; was, during the 1500’s a
perfectly acceptable reaction. The fact that Leonato was
so angry and violent towards Hero when she was
declared a ‘loose’ woman was, again, a perfectly
acceptable reaction in the 1500’s.
This is why Don John’s evil plan was such a good one!
The Film
What
film?
did you think of the
Reading the Play
Your first Set SATs Scene for 2007 is
Act 1, Scene 1: lines 1-123 (‘I learn in
this letter…’ to …’You always end…of
old’)
Lines 1-24
In pairs, read these lines and answer the
questions on the attached worksheet.
Reading Lines 1-24
As a class read the
lines 1-24
 Write a summary of
what has happened
as a class
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How are the audience
introduced to Leonato
in William
Shakespeare’s Much
Ado About Nothing?
Writing a response…
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You are writing a response to the Leonato question on
your ‘Writing a Response’ Sheet - Leonato:
Each arm on your brainstorm will become a small
paragraph in your response
You must add on an introduction at the start
You must add on a conclusion at the end
You must use at least 1 quote per paragraph
You must refer back to the question at least once per
paragraph
You must use ‘connectives’ (see your connectives sheet)
at the beginning of paragraphs and sentences + in the
middle of sentences – follow your connective with a
comma
Sample Introduction
Much Ado About Nothing is a comedy
written by William Shakespeare. It is set
in Messina, Italy in the sixteenth century.
In lines 1-24 (Act 1, Scene 1) the audience
learn that the Prince of Aragon is coming
to Messina and that Claudio fought well in
the recent battle.
Sample Paragraph
In the first twenty four lines of Much Ado About
Nothing, the audience learn that Leonato is a
wise man who has fought in wars,
‘A victory is twice itself when the achiever brings
home full numbers.’
This quote suggests that Leonato knows what a
war is and knows how wonderful it is not to lose
too many soldiers. It also suggests that he
knows exactly what it is like to lose many men in
fighting.
Claudio
Lines 1-24
What does each quote below reveal about
Claudio?
 ‘young florentine’
 Don Pedro has ‘bestowed much honour on him’
 ‘He hath borne himself beyond the promise of
his age..’
 ‘doing in the figure of a lamb the feats of a
lion’
 ‘He hath an uncle here in Messina’
‘As pleasant as he ever was’
The messenger says
this of Signior Benedick
of Padua.
What does this tell
you about him?
Go to worksheets on lines 30-78
Beatrice
her first words on Benedick
‘He set up his bills here in Messina and challenged
Cupid at the flight; and my uncle’s fool, reading the
Challenge, subscribed for Cupid, and challenged him at
The bird-bolt’
She says:
Benedick has challenged all in Messina by saying that he WILL NOT
fall in love with any woman. Leonato, Beatrice’s uncle, has set out
to prove Benedick wrong
What impression do the audience get of Benedick now?
Why might Beatrice say this about him?
Go to worksheets on lines 30-78
Beatrice…her first words on Benedick continued…
…how many hath he killed and eaten in these wars…For indeed I
promised to eat all of his killing…
The fact that Benedick killed and ate whom he killed tells you what
about how Beatrice sees Benedick?
Why too might she promise to eat all of his killing?
He is a very valiant trencher-man’
Beatrice says that Benedick eats a lot, in other words that he is
greedy…
These activities are on the ‘Beatrice…her first words on Benedick’
worksheets.
‘He’ll be meet with you, I doubt it
not’
 Leonato
says that: ‘he is quite sure
that Benedick will get even with
Beatrice for all of the mean things
that she is saying about him’
 What
does this tell you about the
relationship between Beatrice and
Benedick?
Go to worksheets on lines 30-78
There is kind of merry war
betwixt Signior Benedick and
her…
They never meet but there is a skirmish
of wit between them…
What does this tell you about the
relationship between Beatrice and
Benedick?
Go to worksheets on lines 30-78
Beatrice on Benedick…
In our last conflict four of his five wits went
halting off…Who is his companion now? He
hath every month a new sworn brother.’
Beatrice says of Benedick that he is ‘a sandwich
short of a picnic and
That each month he has a new best friend
What does this tell you about how she sees him?
Go to worksheets on lines 30-78
In lines 30-78 what do the audience
learn about the relationship
between Beatrice and Benedick?
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Use the activities on your Worksheets to help you with your
brainstorm for this assignment – each arm on the brainstorm
becomes a paragraph
Add on an introduction (look back at your previous introduction)
Add on a conclusion: a paragraph at the end which sums up all that
you have learnt about Beatrice and her relationship with Benedick
Use connectives
Use one quote per paragraph
Make a point, use evidence to back it up, explain how the evidence
helps to back up the point you have made (see attached example)
Refer back to the question at least once per paragraph
Go to the Beatrice and Benedick essay and plan
P E E
Beatrice clearly has little faith in Benedick’s ability to fight
like a brave man and a strong soldier. (This is the point.)
‘But how many hat he killed? For
indeed I Promised to eat all of his killing.’ (This is the
evidence.)
This quote clearly reveals that Beatrice does not think very
highly of Benedick as it shows her doubting the number
of men he could kill and it shows her being sarcastic.
For if she offered to eat all of the men that he killed she
cannot think he would kill very many. Hence, it clearly
shows the audience that Beatrice does not hold Signior
Benedick in very high esteem. (This is the evidence
explained, clearly it links with the point.)
Lines 79-97
Don Pedro arrives: he is obviously pleased to see
Leonato and Leonato is likewise pleased to see
Don Pedro.
Bendick jokes with Leonato about whether he
doubted that he was Hero’s father: ‘Were
you in doubt sir, that you asked her?’
This joking makes Benedick out as a joker,
someone who teases, someone who doesn’t
take life seriously and someone who doesn’t
believe that women are honest…
Lines 98-123
Beatrice and Benedick talk to one another
and insult each other. They try to get the
better of one another.
Match the translation to the Shakespearean version using the cut up
lines
Then, using the worksheet, write your response to the relationship
between Beatrice and Benedick in these lines
Summary Act 1, Scene 1
Key Scene
Lines 1-123
Leonato learns that Don Pedro, victorious
in the recent wars, is coming to Messina
that night. Claudio has fought well in
the war. Benedick is coming too.
Beatrice teases the messenger about
Benedick. The soldiers arrive and
Benedick and Beatrice insult each other.
Summary of the remainder of Act 1,
Scene 1
After Beatrice’s and Benedick’s exchange of insults, all
of the characters go into Leonato’s house. Claudio
and Benedick remain behind. Claudio tells Benedick
that he has fallen in love with Hero. Benedick laughs
at Claudio’s falling in love so suddenly and tells Don
Pedro all about it. Benedick has a very negative view
of love and marriage and both Claudio and Don Pedro
side with each other against Benedick. Both Claudio
and Don Pedro have a positive attitude towards love
and marriage. In private, Claudio asks Don Pedro for
his help in wooing Hero. Don Pedro approves such a
match as the one between Claudio and Hero. Don
Pedro offers to woo Hero for Claudio and he offers
to obtain permission from Leonato for Claudio to
court and to marry his daughter Hero.
Summary of the rest of Act 1 (up
until your next key scene)
Act 1, Scene 2: Leonato’s servant incorrectly tells him
that Don Pedro is in love with Hero. Leonato is
pleased but decides to wait and see what happens
between Don Pedro and his daughter.
Act 1, Scene 3: Don Pedro tells his friend Conrade that
he is unhappy about the reconciliation with his half
brother (Don Pedro). Borachio tells Conrade and Don
John about Claudio’s intention to marry Hero. Don
John, a villain, immediately begins thinking of ways to
ruin Claudio’s happiness.
Summary of Act 2, Scene 1 up
until your key section
There is a masked ball at Leonato’s house.
Beatrice insults a masked Benedick and
upsets him. Claudio becomes very upset
when he is told by Benedick who was
told by Don John that Don Pedro is
wooing Hero for himself…
Act 2, Scene 1
Lines 183 to the end
Patriarchy, willow trees and
birds…
Go to the worksheets on this section
Practice SATs Questions
Go to the worksheets on
this section……
SATs
2008
Watch this space……