Much Ado about Nothing Review

     My class and I went to see Much Ado about Nothing in the CSC Theater. I haven’t read or seen much Ado about Nothing before, so I thought this play would be confusing.  This was not the case. This play was easy to understand and also very entertaining. They follow the original dialogue, but put their own twist on the story. This twist, along with their stellar acting and amazing effects made this a spectacular show.

     The play is the same as the original, but the twist they added made the show magnificent. Instead of performing in a 1500’s scene, they choose a 1920’s scene. They made changes to the play to fit the scene such as changing costumes. Instead of having old fashion dresses and suits, the soldiers were dressed in a modern army uniform and the women were dressed in more modern dresses. They also wore suits that were up to date. This updated version of Much Ado about Nothing was a creative idea that was performed well.

     Other aspects of the play made it amazing. The actors did an excellent job performing. They spoke clearly and did well in dramatizing their lines. An example was the actor acting out Don Jon. He used props to express his anger. The effects in the play helped create a mood. They used lighting to help the mood. They used more light at a time, or less, and sometimes even used a different color of lighting that helped a lot. Also, they used music as well. Because this is a modern version of the play, they used Jazz music. They used music to help enhance the mood.  For example, in some parts, very uplifting music was played to show a feeling of happiness.

     This play was excellent and very entertaining. The plot was engaging, the acting was amazing, and the effects were spectacular. I would recommend this play to anyone.

Irony in Romeo and Juliet

     Irony is an outcome of an event that is not expected. Irony is a literary technique that is used a lot in Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. In this play, the irony he used is not only enjoyable, but it also helps with the plot. In some cases, one ironic event led to another ironic event.

     One example of irony is in Act 1 Scene 2. The ironic event is between Capulet and the Serving man. Capulet gives the Serving man a list of names of people that are invited to his party. Capulet instructs the Serving man to tell the people on the list to come to his party. The irony is that Capulet doesn’t know that the Serving man is illiterate. The Serving man can’t read, so he can’t tell anyone on the list about the party. This ironic event actually leads to another ironic event.

      The event is in the same act and scene. The Serving man doesn’t know what to do. He has to give the list to someone who can read and have him or her read it to him. That is when Romeo and Benvolio stroll in. In desperate need of help, the Serving man gives them the list. The irony is that Romeo is a Montague, an enemy of the Capulets. This event also helps to progress the story. Romeo finds out that Rosaline, his one true love is going to attend that party. So he decides to crash the party in order to meet her. Irony is being used as a way to progress the story.

     Finally, one ironic event that is very important to the plot of the book is in Act 1 Scene 5. In this scene, Romeo falls in love with Juliet when he first sees her. The irony is that he came her to see his “true love” Rosaline, yet he fell in love with another girl. Also, Romeo says many times that Rosaline would be his only love, yet on line 60, he complete disregards his love for Rosaline. He says,” For I ne’er saw true beauty till this night.” He’s saying that he has not seen true beauty before, until he saw Juliet. This is also an important event because this is where Romeo and Juliet’s relationship starts.

     This is not all the irony in this book. This book is rich with ironic events and ironic dialogue. Shakespeare uses this as a way to entertain his audience. People are interested to find out what happens because of theses events.

My Favorite Character in Romeo and Juliet

     In Romeo and Juliet, there is a numerous amount of characters, all of which vary in personality. You have Romeo, the emotionally charged lover, willing to do anything for the girl he loves. Then there are people like Sampson who are disgusting. In Romeo and Juliet, my favorite character would be Capulet because of his actions. He is a good father, and a good person that cares about his daughter.

      He shows concern for Juliet when Paris asks for Juliet’s hand in marriage. He shows his concern on line 13 of Act 1 Scene 2. He says “And too son marred are those so early made”. This line means girls who get married too soon grow up too soon. In the play, Juliet is only thirteen, so Capulet is worried about her. He doesn’t want her to get married because he thinks she’s too young.  He also doesn’t want her to grow up so fast.  Capulet is a caring and protective father.

      Capulet also has good morals. An example is when he is talking with Tybalt on lines 72 to 99. Tybalt points out that Romeo was at the party. Romeo is a Montague, the enemy of the Capulets. Instead of getting angry for Romeo being there, he gets angry at Tybalt for getting so upset. He says that Romeo is a dignified gentleman with a good reputation. He puts his hatred for the Montagues aside and allows Romeo to stay. Capulet shows that he is willing to allow someone from a family of people that he hates to his party out of respect. Capulet has morals that make him someone to look up to.

     Capulet is a character that anyone can look up to. He is a caring father and has morals that make him respectable. He is a shining star amongst the other characters in the play.  

Dear Friend

Dear Friend,

     From what I know, this will not be a good ending for Romeo and Juliet. After seeing how their families responded to seeing each other, you can tell that the there is some bad blood between them. They seem to be very volatile, drawing their weapons at the sight of each other.  They also seem to have personalities that seem rather disturbing. Sampson for one is very short tempered. If this wasn’t bad enough, he is a complete pervert, making sexual innuendos for a good chunk of his dialogue.

     I’m not having much trouble reading Shakespearean language because I have read another of his amazing plays. When I read Macbeth for the first time, I was fairly confused.  But after reading over and over again, I learned what it meant. If your having trouble I would recommend reading the passage over and over again.  You can also use a Shakespearean dictionary to understand something if you need more help.

     After seeing the reactions of the Capulets and the Montagues from just seeing each other, I can tell that Romeo and Juliet are going to have to overcome many obstacles. From the first scene you can tell that Romeo is deeply in love with this girl and that he wishes that he could have her. But there something that stops Romeo causing his depression because all he wants is this girl and he can’t have her.