Unit 3 English: William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing Character, Theme and Language Analysis Group Presentation Task TASK: In pairs or a group of three, develop an analysis of your allocated theme, character and question. Each section of your analysis must draw closely from the play, using key moments and quotations. Group 1: Theme: DISGUISES and TRICKERY Character: Benedick Group 2: Theme: The rules of courtship Character: Don Pedro Group 3: Theme: Using language to ridicule/self-ridicule Character: Beatrice Group 4: Theme: Warfare and Conflict Character: Don John Group 5: Theme: Marriage Character: Hero Group 6: Theme: Perception and Reality Character: Claudio Group 7: Theme: Freedom and Control Character: Leonato Use the following questions to guide your discussion. Character Analysis: Provide a brief character portrait or summary of your character – who are they, what is their relationship to key characters in the play and when is the audience forst introduced to them? What are the audience’s INITIAL impressions of your character? Why is (your character) vital to the play? What is the function of their character in BOTH dramatic and comedic terms? What they say v (in contrast) their actions. Explore what they are told versus what they understand/interpret? What are the audience’s FINAL impressions of your character? What is the reminder/warning/lesson that Shakespeare is communicating through this character to his Elizabethan audience? Theme Analysis: Select a key moment from EACH act that illustrates your allocated theme. For each moment/event, explain WHAT is happening, WHO is speaking and to WHOM. This detail provides the context of your analysis. TWO brief quotations (3 to 4 words) need to be selected that act as evidence of the theme. For each quotation, explain WHO is speaking and to WHOM. What is revealed about the theme through the moment and the quotation you have selected? What does the moment/quotation reveal about the world of the play? That is, the views and values that the play is expressing? What is Shakespeare attempting to communicate to his Elizabethan audience in relation to the theme? That is, what lesson/reminder/warning is he trying to convey? Language Analysis Select THREE examples of language (similes, foreshadowing, repetition, imagery, personification, characterisation, puns, metaphors, allusions, symbols) from three different scenes in the play that reveal a connection to your allocated theme. Present the Act and Scene number and context for each example and then offer an analysis of Shakespeare’s intention. For example: In Act 2 Scene 1, Beatrice comments on Don John’s demeanour, declaring “How tartly that gentleman looks, I never can see him but I am heart-burned an hour after.” Here, Beatrice’s use of the adverb “tartly” offers a perceptive insight into Don John’s character – he is bitter and causes suffering for other characters in the comedy.