Gossip And Pride In Much Ado About Nothing

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Pride and Gossip in "Much Ado About Nothing”

The play "Much Ado About Nothing” was written by the English writer William Shakespeare according to some sources in the years 1598 - 1599 and is still considered one of the most varied and because of it Love story most authentic pieces by this author. This is a famous play by Shakespeare. Like most Shakespearean dramas, and “Much Ado About Nothing” is based on a set of two completely different subjects. The story of the girl slandered by staging a girl’s love affair and her feigned death as a means of restoring her pride, which forms the main plot basis of the comedy. Pride and the theme of gossip are overshadowing in Shakespeare’s play.

Pride is quality, property or arrogance. To be proud, to be foolish. God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. In wretched pride the devil is joy. There is a lot of joy in all pride. Humility is more than pride. There is another meaning of this word pride. It is a feeling of joy, deep satisfaction that they experience when they see someone or their own successes, achievements in any field, realize the exceptional virtues, talents, positive qualities inherent in someone. The theme of pride is everywhere in this drama but this pride is not in sense of pridefulness but it is strange as character shows suspectable behavior after their pride hurts. As Benedick says, “tis is no such matter, then you do not love me?”( (Shakespeare5:3)

Pride is wounded and preyed in this play and exaggerated over and over. Beatrice and Benedick both are encouraged over their love, but they were accused of their pride .When hero was disloyal , Claudio started defaming hero to save his pride. However pride is not an obvious drive, it’s an influential force that impacts their actions and feelings. The second storyline, the story of Benedict and Beatrice, whose characters are, by the way, the most individualized in the play, is quite original by Shakespeare's main plot. And to this we must also add the superbly developed and almost self-developed episode with two policemen . The second love line - Benedict and Beatrice, was completely invented by Shakespeare. However, Beatrice and Benedick in fact prideful by love but their sudden love may cause their own wounded pride. Claudio publicly embarrass Hero to reinstate his pride, which was publicly wounded by her obvious unfaithfulness.

Language is always an important part of any play and same as gossip. Gossip is another theme that is very clear in this play and also in the title of this play other than many themes/ schemes. The feelings of characters and their hidden intensions discussed through gossip. It is not wrong to say that , “Much Ado About Nothing” is mainly a play about gossip. Certainly, the title means a big trouble about a trifle, and by the end, this is accurately what occurs. All allegations will go wrong, triggering the play to close the same mode as if they not ever happened at all.

Shakespeare vividly plays on the connotations of nothing in this play. The word "nothing" pronounced as “noting “in this play that means worthless or a person having no worth. It also mean all, in sense of that much ado is made about everything . throughout the play, the plot move with characters snooping on a dialog and moreover confusion what they eavesdrop or being step out by gossip. Gossip in Much Ado About Nothing is a stylish theme all over the play. Each character is embarrassed due to dispersal of gossip no matter it is for good or bad cause like Claudio gossip about Hero to defame his personality. Same as Don Pedro did with negative intensions. “And I’11 be sworn upon’t that he loves her”( (Shakespeare5:3)

Concludingly, Shakespeare’s play "Much Ado About Nothing” is a serious comedy and the two prevailing themes are pride and gossip. Both the themes overshadowing the entire play in different acts and scenes.

Works cited

Shakespeare, William. Much ado about nothing. Vol. 2. Cambridge University Press, 1997.