Everyone Died. The End.

Explain why the ending of the play proves that it is a comedy, and give specific examples from the play. What would have had to happen instead were this play a tragedy?

Much Ado About Nothing is a comedy, mostly because it ends on a happy note, but there are other reasons for it. For one, it ends with a celebration, a wedding, and the villain is punished, or about to be dealt with. 

In Act 6, Scene 4, Lines 115-17, Benedick says: "Come, come, we are friends. Let's have a dance ere we are married, that we may lighten our own hearts and our wives' heels." This shows that they were getting married and there was a celebration. 

A few lines later, 123-24, a Messenger comes in and tells Don Pedro: "My lord, your brother John is ta'en in flight, And brought with armèd men back to Messina." Benedick responds with: "Think not on him till tomorrow. I'll devise thee brave punishments for him" (5.4.125-26). This demonstrates that the villain is about to be dealt with. 

For Much Ado About Nothing to be a tragedy, someone/everyone would have had to have died. Hero would have died instead of fainting at the wedding, and then Benedick would have killed Claudio for Beatrice and ended up dying in the process, and then Beatrice would have killed herself because of Hero and Benedick. Leonardo would have probably have killed himself too, because of Hero and Beatrice, and then Don Pedro and Don John would have battled each other and both end up dying, leaving only the unimportant characters alive. 

Too Much Ado About Nothing?

What do you think that the theme of the play is? Remember, a theme is not just a word, it is a whole sentence that conveys the message that the author (Shakespeare) is trying to get across to the audience (you). Find three quotes from the play to support your assertion.

I think the theme of the play is that people make big deals out of nothing. Hence the title, Much Ado About Nothing. One example is of Beatrice and Benedict making BIG deals out of love and marriage. One quote, by Beatrice is in Act 1, Scene 1, Line 125-6. She tells Benedict that she "had rather hear [her] dog bark at a crow than a man swears he loves [her]." Oh, please. Tell that to yourself by the end of the play. 

Another exaggeration, by Benedick, is when he is arguing with Claudio over whether Hero is hot or not. In Act 1, Scene 1, 219-22, he says: "That I neither feel how she should be loved, nor know how she should be worthy, is the opinion that fire cannot melt out of me. I will die in it at the stake." He literally said that if he was burning to death, he would not think otherwise. Dramatic, much?

One last example of the much ado about nothing in this play is when Claudio slut shames Hero at their wedding. I understand that at that time it was a life-ruining thing if a woman was not a virgin before she was married, but he still made it a much bigger deal than necessary, especially with the fact that he did it in front of everyone. Leonato, Hero's dad says: "Death is the fairest cover for her shame that may be wished for" (Act 4, Scene 1, Line 114-5). Okay, really? Even if it was true, you'd rather your daughter be dead? Puh-lease.

Those are just three of the many examples of the exaggerations in Much Ado About Nothing. 

Bipolar Beatrice

Choose one central character and determine what kind of conflict s/he is experiencing. First of all, is it internal or external? Secondly, are there any other types of conflicts at play here (person vs. self, person vs. person, person vs. nature, person vs. society)? Explain your answer and provide an example from the play (meaning a quote).

I will be analyzing Beatrice, as I liked her character a lot. 

The conflict Beatrice is experiencing, in my opinion throughout the whole play, is the fact that she is so deeply in love with Benedick. It's an internal struggle.  She's fighting against herself, because she doesn't want to be in love with him. She's fighting against Benedick because she's trying to push him away to protect herself (and it also entertains her). She never honestly wanted to never get married, she just was afraid that no one would want to marry her; the same goes to liking Benedick. 

In Act 1, Scene 2, Lines 124-6, Beatrice says: "I would rather hear my dog bark at a crow than a man swear he loves me." Yet, in Act 4, Scene 1, Lines 267-8, Benedick says: "I do love nothing in the world so well as you. Is not that strange?" And then Beatrice, Lines 269-70, says: "As strange as the thing I know not. It were as possible for me to say I love nothing so well as you."

From those quotes, you can see how she has dramatically changed her opinion over the subject throughout the course of the play.