We studied the first scenes of Act II during today's session. Again, I noted motifs that Shakespeare later incorporated into his tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. We further discussed how the "disorder" in a comedy is not cosmic but lighthearted as the audience is in on the joke. Last, I noted certain relevant aspects of Elizabethan culture that appear in the play such as the popularity of the masked ball and the almost obsession with adultery in marriage.
I provided instruction on Shakespearean comedy and discussed how the play, Much Ado, in many ways is a forerunner of later tragedies. Specifically , the character Don John is an early incarnation of Iago in Othello and portions of the plot mirror Romeo and Juliet.However, as this play is a comedy, tragedy does not ensue. Instead ,order is restored in marriage. We then read and studied Act I of the play,Much Ado ,noting the witty character traits of the two famous characters, Benedict and Beatrice. I further noted how the play is unusual for Shakespeare as it is almost entirely in prose rather than iambic pentameter.
