Stereotypes In Much Ado About Nothing By William Shakespeare

Much Ado About Nothing is a play written by English writer William Shakespeare. Believed to have been written between 1598 and 1599, the story is likely taking place sometime in the 16th century, in the midst of the Italian Wars in Messina, with Shakespeare bringing the real-life issue in the play by having characters come from some of the regions at war (Florence, Aragon, Padua). This play is in fact set in Messina, which is a port in the island of Sicily (Italy). While Much Ado About Nothing could be considered a romance, it is intended to be (and generally is) a comedy. This is shown in the play through Shakespeare poking fun at the stereotypes of marriages (and love) from the time period he wrote it in, by making the characters argue in silly ways, making the play impossible to be taken seriously, whilst still having the play end with a happy ending. …show more content…
It was chosen because it is the opening to the play, therefore it is being used to introduce the major characters as well as the setting (we can deduce the era of the play through the specific clothing style worn by the characters, as can be seen in the image above). In this instance, Leonato talks about Don Pedro from a letter he is given by the messenger, and the arrival of soldiers from battle, whom he welcomes (see picture). The value and worthiness of soldiers will be the topic of an argument between Leonato and Beatrice, which gives the audience the first sight of the stubborn and argumentative mentality of Beatrice, serving as an introduction to herself as a