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Date:
Much Ado About Nothing: Notes

There are many balances in the play, positives and negatives that seem to equal each out. List at least five
examples you find in the text and discuss what comment is being made.
Positive: Negative: Comment:
1. Title: “Much” is abundance Title: “Nothing” is absence The title suggests a balance in the
play, opposites
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Choose two characters in the play and explain how they balance one another. How are they opposites?

What does this “character balance” do for the play? How is the audience to receive the characters and their
relationship?

List at least five Deceits you see in the play. Determine the character’s motive for such deceit, the expected
outcome/consequence and the actual outcome. Is this deceit ethical? What does it add to the play.
Deceit Motive Expected Actual Ethical? Comment/Addition to Play
Outcome Outcome
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So many deceits in the play give a high sense of anxiety in that so much can go wrong at so many times.
Why does humor/comedy succeed or win in the play? Why does the play not end in tragedy?

What comment does the play make about love, marriage, and relationships?

What areas/elements of Shakespeare’s life are revealed, shown in the play? Where can we “see”
Shakespeare in the play? Give a specific example, referring to your history notes if need be.

What connections do you see in this play with other Shakespearean plays? Plots, characters, deceits,
dilemmas, etc. List at least three shared elements/device. How did the element work in the other play?
How did it turn out? How is that similar or contrasting to this play? Why do you think Shakespeare did
this?
Element/Device Outcome in other Play Outcome in this Play Why Shakespeare reused device?
(What Play)
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