Stereotypical Views Held About Women by Elizabethan Men in William Shak

Stereotypical Views Held About Women by Elizabethan Men in William Shakespeares Much Ado About Nothing Introduction ============ Much Ado About Nothing exemplifies a kind of deliberately puzzling title that seems to put up been popular in the late 1590s. Indeed, the play is about nothing it merely follows the relationships of Claudio and Hero, and in the end, the play culminates in the two other main characters falling in love, which, because it was an event that was quite predictable, proves to be much ado about nothing The pronunciation of the word nothing would, in the late 16th Century, have been noting, and so the title also apparently suggests a pun on the word, noting, and on the use of the word note as an expression of music. In II.3, Balthasar is encouraged to sing, further declines, saying, note this before my notes theres not a note of mine thats worth the noting. However, Don Pedro retorts, ?Note notes, forsooth, and nothing, playing on Bal thasars words, and also demanding that he pay aid to his music and nothing else. In addition, much of the play is dedicated to people noting (or observing) the actions of others (such as the trick played on Beatrice and Benedick by Leonato, Hero and Claudio). They practically observe and overhear one another, and consequently make a great deal out of very little. Furthermore, women were very oppressed and maltreated during the time, and their status in society was very low. Their names were tarnished with classes, such as Goddess, Adulterer, whore/wife and Shrew, and each woman was classed under those headings. They were classed as nothing and ... ... in Britain has been exploding over the last 50 years. Majority of the top jobs are performed by men, even though the percentage is slowly sliding downwards, as more women demand tolerable rights. ===================================================================== Another Hierarchy is that of socia l class - people were split up into the top class, people like the king and people who were rich, the middle-class, people who were not rich, alone not poor. Then, there was the poor class, who could not afford too much, and were very poor. In this play, not many people tell the truth. One of the only ones in the play who speaks the truth is Dogsberry - one of the poorest people in the play. He is adamant that the truth should prevail. This shows that even though he is a commoner, he is quiet down better than the upper-class.