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Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Much Ado About Nothing reveals many stereotypes that were common beliefs at the time this was written. Balthasar sings, "Sigh no more ladies, sigh no more,/ Men were deceivers ever (II.3.57-58). A stereotype about men was that they all cheated, but that was a stereotype about women too, and that was one of the reasons that Benedick didn't want to get married. Benedick asked Claudio, "In faith, hath not the world one man but/he will wear his cap with suspicion?" (I.1.154-155). What Benedick asked means, Aren't there any men who will suspect that all women cheat? So it is a stereotype that both sexes hold that their spouses will commit adultry. This was probably common in Shakespeare's day, and he is just reflecting that in his play. This fear of the people shapes the book through Benedick's hesitance to marry, and Claudio suspecting Hero. Another stereotype, is that being colored is worse than being fair-skinned. Although Denzel Washington is The Prince in the movie, I don't believe that Don Pedro is black in the play. Before Claudio sees his future wife he says, "I'll hold my mind were she an Ethiope" (V.4.38). He says that he would marry her even if she was a black woman like it was some extreme thing. Once again, I believe that this is a result of the world Shakespeare lived in. When he was alive, slavery was still legal. The mindset of the people was different. Despite these stereotypes, Much Ado About Nothing can still be read by a modern reader without troubling them too much.