Reading Response: Much Ado About Nothing Article Review Sample

Many of the classic mistaken-identity comedies that entertain us owe their origins to plays like Much Ado About Nothing. One of my favorite episodes of the sitcome Frasier, for example, involves a trip to a ski lodge. The characters are Frasier, his brother Niles, their father Martin, Martin’s nurse Daphne, Daphne’s friend, and the ski instructor Guy. Niles is interested in Daphne; Daphne’s friend is interested in Guy; Frasier is interested in Daphne’s friend; Guy is interested in Niles. The set for this episode features all of the bedroom doors opening. Double and triple entendres fly back and forth as the love pentagon spins, building to a climax of hilarity.
This same sort of mistaken identity takes place in Much Ado About Nothing, as people constantly imitate others or are just mistaken for other people. The example of this that stands out the most to me is Margaret being mistaken for Hero, leading to Hero’s own disgrace. This isn’t the only example, of course – there is a masked ball in which Beatrice complains about Benedick to a man with a mask. Of course, the man behind the mask is Benedick. At the same party, Don Pedro pretends that he is Claudio and works on courting Hero for Claudio. When it turns out that Hero is pronounced “dead,” because of the damage to her heart done by the accusation of infidelity, Claudio is only too willing to take Leonato’s sentence, which is to marry his “niece.” When the “niece” is unveiled, though, it turns out to be Hero, so all ends well. The comedy that mistaken identity adds to the story was my favorite part of the play.