International Youth Theater Network

Much Ado About Nothing

The 1993 film, “Much Ado About Nothing” which featured the all-star acting ensemble of Kenneth Branagh, Emma Thompson, Robert Sean Leonard, Denzel Washington, Keanu Reeves, Michael Keaton and Kate Beckinsale was actually the film version of a comedy written by William Shakespeare. The play centers on the romance of two couples, Claudio and Hero, the main protagonists and their comic counterparts, Benedick and Beatrice.

A common motif in “Much Ado About Nothing” is the use of the words “nothing” and “noting” which were homophones or words that were spoken in the same way during the time of Shakespeare. Double-entendre and some mild sexual innuendoes were also evident in some lines of the play. Interestingly, the word “nothing” was used by the playwright as a euphemism for female genitals. This led many to conclude that the play’s title could also mean “Much Ado about Female Genitalia.” A recurring theme in the story is the generic distrust of males in the fidelity of women. In the play, Don John, the lead antagonist, used Claudio’s fear of being cheated to dissuade the latter from marrying Hero in the first wedding scene. Regardless of its theme, motif and symbolism, this play continues to be one of the most enduring stage plays of the Bard of Avon.

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William Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew

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The “Taming of the Shrew”, one of William Shakespeare’s earlier plays, had been the subject of much criticism especially from feminists who perceive it as offensively discriminatory to the female gender. This comedy tells the story of Petruchio, a young man who did not seem to care about the appearance or the personality of the woman he will marry so long as she came with a rich dowry and Kate, the shrewish daughter of a wealthy merchant. The play centers on how Petruchio transformed Kate from a hot-tempered woman to a completely tame and obedient wife. At the end of the play, Kate delivers a monologue stating why wives should always obey their husbands.

Many assumed that this Shakespearean play was well received by the theater-loving public during his time. However, this was not exactly accurate. In fact, many in the society felt uncomfortable after witnessing the “Taming of the Shrew.” John Fletcher, a contemporary playwright of Shakespeare, felt the need to write a play as a response to Shakespeare’s Shrew. The sort of sequel to the latter’s comedy was entitled, “The Woman’s Prize, or The Tamer Tamed.” In this play, Kate died and Petruchio soon married his second wife, Maria. The story revolves on how Petruchio, once the tamer, was tamed by his new wife.

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A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Several of William Shakespeare’s plays are touted as among the best in the English language and in the Western literature. One of his critically acclaimed plays is “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” a romantic comedy. Through the years, this play had been widely performed all over the world.

Historians do not know for sure when this play was written. It was heavily speculated that this was written sometime between 1595 and 1596 for an aristocratic wedding, which was commonplace at that time. Some also speculated that “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” was written for the Queen of England as part of the celebration for the feast day of St. John.

The plot of this story centers on the escapades of four Athenian lovers, a band of amateur actors, and a fairy couple whose lives intermingled due to the wedding of Duke Theseus of Athens and Hippolyta, the Amazonian queen. This play was originally set in the realm of Fairyland. It was noted that some of the elements of its plot and characters are based on earlier literature. The story of Pyramus and Thisbe, for example, which was performed by the amateur actors within the play, came from “Metamorphoses”, Ovid’s masterpiece. Similarly, Apuleius also based the transformation of Nick Bottom, one of the play’s characters, into an ass on “The Golden Ass”.

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Shakespeare Through Life and Death

Shakespeare Through Life and Death

Success did not come easily for William Shakespeare, considered the world’s greatest English writer. He was plucked from obscurity when he came to London in 1588 where he established a successful career in acting and playwriting as part of the theater company, Lord Chamberlain’s Men. His experience in the theater made him a rich man. With his wealth, he acquired New Place, a three-story house in Stratford. He was able to purchase other properties when his fortunes increased.

It was in New Place that Shakespeare spent his last years. He died on the 23rd of April in 1616. Incidentally, April 23 was also the month and day that historians assigned as his birth date. The cause of Shakespeare’s death was a mystery but it was speculated that he caught fever after a night of drinking with friends and fellow playwrights, Ben Jonson and Michael Drayton. His wife, Anne Hathaway and two daughters, Susanna and Judith, survived him. Aside from bequeathing his estate and some belongings to his family, he also left money for the poor people of Stratford and for his friends in his theatrical company, Richard Burbage, John Heminges and Henry Condell. For posterity, Heminges and Condell collected and published the 36 plays written by Shakespeare in a folio edition. Later known as the First Folio, this categorized the plays into comedies, histories and tragedies.

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