Double Marriage In William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing

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There are many reasons why a novel or play can be successful. Some of these reasons might be that the story was inspirational or that the characters were unique. One reason that can also make a novel successful is a clever plot construction. Even though the story might not be extraordinary, a careful plot construction can turn an ordinary novel or play into a very successful one. In William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, plot construction is one of the main reasons why this play is so popular and artistically successful. Throughout this play, Shakespeare is able to use simple patterns and clever arrangement of scenes to produce one of his most famous comedies. The focus of the play constantly switches between the love story of Claudio…show more content…
After developing each love story separately throughout the play, Shakespeare combines the both of them at the end of his play: “Come, come, we are friends. Let’s have a dance ere we are married, that we may lighten our own hearts and our wives’ heels” (Shakespeare 5.4.121-123). This simple entwining of both marriages into one creates an elevated atmosphere of romance. Shakespeare turns an ordinary clichéd marriage into one that most people have not seen or heard of: a joyous double wedding. Thus Shakespeare is able to combine both weddings to create one fabulous and cheerful marriage to end on his most romantic…show more content…
Without these two scenes, one might mistakenly think that Much Ado about Nothing is not a comedy. The first scene that lightens the mood is right after Don John tells the Prince and Claudio of Hero’s disloyalty. In this scene, constable Dogberry elicits laughter and merriment from the audience because of his malapropism: “…for the watch to babble and to talk is most tolerable” (Shakespeare 3.3.35). Here, Dogberry uses the word “tolerable” when he really meant “intolerable”. The next scene that alleviates the situation is right after Claudio insults Hero. This comedic scene is placed here in order to prevent the play from becoming too serious and tragic. Again, Dogberry is able to bring joy and laughter with his malapropism and funny dialogues. Thus Shakespeare is able to uphold the genre of comedy with these two scenes of

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