Monday, 1/5 - Much Ado about Don John

• 
• Welcome back! 
• Peruse your new poem for memorization for quarter 3: Shakespeare's Sonnet 116: Let me not to the marriage of true minds. The link is also available on the right hand column of the blog under "Memorization and Recitation"
• 3PO

I decided that rather than toss you into the tar pit of Milton's Paradise Lost to kick off the semester, we would first look at the Satan character from Shakespeare's comedy Much Ado about Nothing. I also didn't want to expose you to the noxious fumes of a Shakespearean tragedy (Hamlet) without reviving you with the delicious air of one of his comedies (Much Ado). I also want to give you a chance either to formally rewrite your Hamlet essay or write a new one using Much Ado. 

Before we begin, I have a few questions for you to ponder: have you ever wasted time worrying about something you feared might happen but didn't? Have you ever done something foolish based on what you thought was true but wasn't? It seems only human. 

To properly understand our play's title, it should be "noted" that the Elizabethan pronunciation of "nothing" sounded like the word "noting," he title sounding like Much Ado about Noting. To note something is to listen intently to and remember it. Thus, Shakespeare's punny title means that big mix-ups happen, lots of fuss is created when people note (listen to and act upon) no-thing (hear-say, rumors, or LIES). We might say that paying attention to what really is nothing oftentimes creates something. Another way to say it is listening to lies creates drama, potential tragedy. 

Consider the ways this comedy addresses how lies create pain and how goodly trickery creates joy.

• Although we will watch a film version of the play, here is a link to the text: Much Ado about Nothing
• Also, go to GC (Google Classroom) and snag the Much Ado Study Guide to fill out while you watch the video.