Shakespeare and Urban Comedy

Shakespeare: Much Ado About Nothing

In this course, Professor John Lennard explores Shakespeare’s most urban comedy, Much Ado About Nothing. As we move through the course, we think about a number of issues, including: the setting of the play and its impact on the action; the potential meanings of “nothing” in the title; the characters of Beatrice and Benedick, their relationship with one another and what they reveal about the other older characters in the play; the mock death; and the characters of Don John and Dogberry.

Shakespeare and Urban Comedy

In this module, we think about Much Ado About Nothing’s status as an urban comedy —a setting that was highly traditional for Classical comedy, but unusual for Shakespeare. In particular, we think about the impact of the city-setting on the action in the play, not least in relation to the circulation of rumour and slander.