unit 1: much ado about nothing

MEETING 1: course introduction

Welcome. So glad you’ve decided to take this class. We’ll begin with what you know, and I’ll offer a few of my favorite things about the author whose name this course takes. Shakespeare: Who, What, Where, When, Why?

At the top of the course page, you’ll find 10 representative quotes from Shakespeare’s plays that I think encompass the core ideas his plays explore. You’ll also find 10 production stills that display the breadth of the human experience his plays dramatize. Let’s move through these. Which of the quotes and/or images remind you of Much Ado?

What’s strange about reading Much Ado? What was hard? What was easy?

Beatrice and Benedick / Hero and Claudio: What does each couple seem to teach us about the nature of love, according to Shakespeare? Why might it be hard to believe that anybody loves each other in this play?

Let’s watch a scene from the 2014 Royal Shakespeare Company production [41:30] and begin to discuss how modern performances work.

Homework:

(1) Familiarize yourself with the course website—this page, the Policies page, and the Writing Center. It’s up to you to know the resources you’ve available to you. Study these pages.

(2) Register on turnitin.com: Class ID: 44886889 Enrollment Password: magis

(3) [A] In your notebook, make a list of as many of the play’s moments of deception as you can. In each instance, who hides? What is hidden? Why? What is the effect of that moment of chicanery? Why do you think so many characters fail to show the others who they really are? [B] Explain the play’s title with a passage or two from the play.

MEETING 2: MUCH ADO’s comic tropes

Welcome back. Shakespeare: Who, What, Where, When, How?

Partner up. Work through the homework together. Share your list of the play’s moments of chicanery. Did you make any connections? And what about the significance of the play’s title? Share with each other what it was you thought about. While you work, I’ll come around and take a look at your summer work.

How do most Shakespeare comedies work? I’ll put a list up on the board.

Let’s watch a scene from the 2011 Globe production [54:15-1:06:36 or 1:07:20-1:14:20] and begin to discuss how performances work.

Homework:

(1) Go back and re-read 4.1. After you re-read it, watch the scene in the 2014 production. What do you notice in the performance? What stands out? It begins at 1:25:08. Recall the log-in credentials.

(2) Watch the actors who play Beatrice and Benedick discuss the scene below:

Act 4 Scene 1 (Copy)

Do you agree with their interpretation of the text, having read it yourself?

(3) Prepare for a reading quiz on Much Ado. It should last about 20 minutes.

MEETING 3: quiz / origins of drama / mimesis-diegesis / 4.1 / reflection assignment

After the quiz, we’ll briefly touch on the origins of drama and the main differences between drama and long-form narrative.

Let’s jump into the homework from Act 4, scene 1. What did you notice about the performance? Is it the scene itself that makes this part of the play so effective as a drama? What did you learn from the video with the two actors?

DC?

Homework:

(1) Bring Twelfth Night to our next class.

(2) Begin thinking about how you’ll approach your reflection assignment. Don’t wait until the last minute. Do yourself a favor, and start early.