Mr_Shank

In this Section I am going to look at Petruchio.  Petruchio is a wealthy and very arrogant man who has come to Padua from Verona to find a wife.  So two suitors of a girl named Bianca, who cannot marry until her sister, Katherine, is married, convinces him to court “Kate”.  Kate is a very strong willed woman who many refer to as a shrew.  During this time period shrews were looked down upon harshly, and people did not even like to be in the same room with them much less talk to them.  So Pertruchio goes to speak with Kate’s father to ask to court her.  He agreed, and had her meet him.  The only reason that Petruchio wishes to marry Kate is because he wants a wife with a large sum of money coming her way, and she fits the bill.  Petrucio is very hard headed, and has a temper just as short if not worse than Kate’s.

My question is do you think that Pertruchio will succeed to tame Kate?  Or do you think that she might tame him in a way? Please support your answers with quotes and facts from the story.

-Kody

This is a great book, and a very simple one at that.  This story is timeless because you can connect a lot of events and things to it, such as high school.  In a common high school you have the popular girls (Hero & Beatrice), the jocks (Don Pedro, Don John, Claudio), the clowns (Benedick), the nerds (Beatrice), and of course the regular crowd who can fit in with anyone…  This story reminds of a regular high school because the drama is so innocent and child-like except it is on a grander scale.  The way Benedick and Beatrice feel about each other is kept secret because in reality it seems like they hate on another when actually they are longing to be together but they both think that the other person does not like them.  The whole situation with Don Pedro being a middle man in this play is quite funny because he not only assists Claudio and Hero in their marriage but Beatrice and Benedick in theirs.  We have all probably pushed a friend or had a friend push you to go out with someone either in high school middle school or even elementary school.  All of us know how the middle man thing works and that is why this story can be related to so many things, because this situation has happened in so many forms and seen in so many ways through multiple types of media.  I have a feeling that Don John the Bastard is not going to get far in this little love tale…

Do you guys think it is strange that Hero can cause so much drama and she hardly says anything in this entire play so far?

I also just want to add that Messina is a town in Italy and the gaol is the jail.

I blogged this before but for some reason I can’t find it on the hompage? Sorry if there is two…

-Rebecca Krick

Here is a passage from the very beginning of the story:

The questions for you are as follows:

1.  Do you feel that the above conversation is an appropriate start for a comedy? Explain your reasoning please.

2.  Why do you think Shakespeare started out with this conversation?

3.  Can you relate this situation with any of the books that we have read in Mr. Shank’s class? Are there any connections that you found to Romeo and Juliet?

Much Ado About Nothing seems to be a simple love story.  We also know that it is a Shakespearean comedy.  This is set up through act 1 and 2 by Benedick and Beatrice.  Also another important part to the story is the party, which is directly connected to Romeo and Juliet.  What we need to do is analyze the first 2 acts of this comedy.

We see that the story takes place in a small town called Messina.  Leonato is the leader of the people and he is very grateful for the army to come back.  It consists of Don Pedro, Claudio, and Benedick.  When they arrive in Messina they are warmly welcomed by the citizens of Messina.  Also it was love at first sight as Claudio laid his eyes on Hero, Leonato’s daughter.  Do you believe in love at first sight?  I think that Hero may be very beautiful, which would make everybody like her at first sight.  I do not believe that love can exist in first sight, because love is more than just seeing.  Now, we see that a big ball is going to occur later, so a mixed identity is going to happen.  Don Pedro and Claudio are switching places so that “Claudio” can win over Hero.  I feel this is wrong, because it could cause problems and if she likes you, she should like you for who you are not for who you are not.

In the opening scenes of act 2 we see that this plan may backfire because everybody thinks Don likes Hero.  Once again mixed identities seems to be an important part to this play.  Also in this act they seem to be tricking Benedick into liking Beatrice.  They set him up which in my mind does bot seem like a good idea.  All this lieing could really effect a lot of people.  What do you think of the matter?  While all of this is occurring Don John is setting up an evil plot to mess up all of these love plans.  Don John is also the brother to Prince Don Pedro.  So we see that loyalty is also a theme throughout these first couple scenes, which in my mind I would all ways be loyal to my friends and family.  Why would Don John do such a thing?  In my mind he is jealous of how his brother is prince.  It was not very clear how he became prince though.

This play is classified as a comedy, and this is showed by both Beatrice and Benedick.  This can be said because every time they talk to one another they start fighting by calling each other names.  Very funny?  Yeah it is because they are a bunch of mature people fighting like little kids.  What do you think of the name calling?

The last thing that needs to be talked about is what is your thoughts on what should be changes?  I think that it should be the mixed identity thing.  I know that Shakespeare is thickening the plot, but I would like to see if Hero would like him for himself.  We already know that Hero like “Claudio” but is it for real?  What would you guys change in this enjoyable comedy.

-Alex

Blog 1 guys! On MAY 9th. . .

Act One, Scene 1
     To start the scene; a messenger arrives in Messina to tell the governor, Leonato, that Don Pedro and his army are coming to town. His daughter, Beatrice, asks about someone named Benedick, and then mocks him and says nasty things about him.
     Later, Don Pedro arrives with a few of his partners, Claudio, Benedick, Balthasar, and Don John. The Two speak, meanwhile Beatrice and Benedick argue. Don Pedro then says that Leonardo has offered to them to stay at his place for a month.
     Meanwhile, after everyone has left room, Claudio and Benedick talk about Leonardo’s other daughter, Hero. It is obvious that Claudio has some feelings for her. Don Pedro comes into the room and hears this. He agrees they would make a good couple. He tells Claudio that there is going to be a masked ball that night, and that he will pretend he is Claudio and tell Hero he loves her, because Claudio is too afraid to do it himself.

Act One, Scene Two
     Antonio, Leonardo’s older brother, tells Leonardo that one of his servants had overheard Don Pedro and Claudio talking in the peach orchard and heard that Claudio loves Hero. He also hears his plans for the night at the masked ball. Leonardo is excited about this, and only tells Hero so she can prepare an answer for Claudio (Don Pedro disguised as him).

Act One, Scene Three
     Conrad, another one of Don Pedro’s, had noticed Don John being particularly sad. He asks him why and he says he likes the way he is, and he is not going to change just because he is reconciled with Don Pedro.
      Borachio tells Don John that he had also overheard Don Pedro and Claudio talking in the orchard. This seems to anger Don John, and he tells them to help him think of a plan to make Claudio’s plans fail.

Act Two, Scene One
      They all sit down to dinner, except for Don John. Hero says that he is sad, and Beatrice makes a mean remark about him. Leonardo orders Hero to say yes to the prince if he were to offer her something. Beatrice again makes another comment. 
      Soon later, Don Pedro and the others arrive all wearing masks. As soon as they get there, Don Pedro asks Hero to dance. Some of the other men also meet up with ladies and start dancing. Don John and Borachio come up to Claudio and ask him if he is Benedick, even though they know he is Claudio. Don John says that they should break up Don Pedro and Hero. Borachio then says that he had overheard Don Pedro talking and his plans of marrying Hero that night. 
      When Claudio is alone again Benedick comes up to him and tells him that he is sorry for having Don Pedro steal Hero. Depressed, Claudio agrees. Then Don Pedro comes up and Benedick yells at him and accuses him of stealing her. Don Pedro, confused, says that he was just doing what he said he was going to do to help the two.
      Benedick, still unhappy of what Beatrice had said to him, tries to tell Don Pedro this. Then Beatrice, Hero, Leonardo and Claudio arrive, and Benedick scatters.
     Don Pedro had told Claudio that their plan had worked and that they are able to get married now (meaning Claudio and Hero). Neither Claudio nor Hero could speak at the thought of this because they were in such shock (this is a good thing).
     Beatrice then gets angry and leaves after Leonardo has sent her away, after she realizes that everyone is getting married except for her. The wedding is to be planned for a week from now. They also decide that they are going to try to make Benedick and Beatrice fall in love.

Act Two, Scene Two
     Don John is furious that Claudio and Hero are going to get married. Borachio says that he is a good friend with a servant of Hero’s, and he can try to ruin their marriage. Don John says that he will meet her servant in Hero’s room and at the same time tell Claudio and Don Pedro to watch into Hero’s window. That way they will both think Hero has another lover.

Act Two, Scene Three
     Benedick was thinking in the garden and sees Don Pedro and Claudio coming. He hides so he can overhear them. Don Pedro knows that Benedick had hid, and asks Claudio and Leonardo if they knew where. Don Pedro then purposely asks if Beatrice is in love with Benedick. Leonardo says it is hard to say that knowing the way that she treats him. They then continue to say thinks that suggest Beatrice loves Benedick, and Benedick then believes it thinking it has to be true. Claudio says that he thinks Beatrice would die before she confessed her love.
     The men then leave and decide that the women need to do the same to Beatrice. Beatrice then later invites Benedick to dinner, without knowing any of this. It is so hard for Benedick to be nice to Beatrice due to her manner.

Wooooooof.
-Leah Sevco

Sorry if this fonts really small… I don’t know how it got like this and it won’t let me change it.

Well, in the first two introductions of the play it is kind of hard to follow along due to both the akward wording of some of what the characters say, and also because in the beginning, not all of the characters were introduced at the same time, so forgive me if there are some mistakes, you can just comment on them in your responses to this initial blog.

Well, in the introduction, We see the first glimpse of Sly as the person that he truly was, not the wealthy lord that the lord, the huntsmen, and the player. This is interesting because it shows us that something had gone really sour somwhere along the course of his life. The fact that he had such a bad life before could be one of the reasons why he was so reluctant to accept his new life as a lord. Because, if you were homeless and someone told you that you were a lord, wouldn’t you join them? It makes sense that he wouldn’t really care much for his old life full of liquor and, well, more liquor, and not really fret over the part of his life that he was losing. So my question for you is as follows. If you were in the same position you were now, and then someone came along offering you a “better” life as a royal, would you take it? Please keep in mind that in my question, when you were to start a new life you would have to leave back every last sliver of your old life and be completely enveloped in your new life.

Now, to get to another important character, Tranio. When we first see Tranio walk in on stage with Lucentio he seems to be an extremely loyal and obedient servingman, and he stays that way in the first two scenes. With his master’s orders he even gave into masquerading as him, even though there would be much noise made if their little ruse was found out. So my question for you is as follows. If you were a servingman/woman, do you think that you would be as loyal and faithful as Tranio was with Lucentio? And since there really is nothing else to say about Tranio, I shall move onto Lucentio.

 When we first see Lucentio appear in the play he is telling his man-slave Tranio how he shall continue to study the arts, philosophy, etc. because his father had already made so many advances in those fields he thought that since he was his father’s son he should help to build onto his glory. This shows that Lucentio is not one of the characters that doesn’t follow the social norm. What is meant by this is that in those times heritage was a major role in who you were, even more so than today, so by caring so much about his father’s legacy he was following the social norm and not making a name for himself. So my question for you is as follows. Do you think heritage is really that important, even more so, do you think that you would be the same person if you had been born into a different family?

And due to the fact that both Hortensio and Grumio are similar as we have seen them so far, and also due to the fact that I’m tired of typing, I shall lump these two together in one eloquent paragraph. So when we first meet these to they are being begged by Baptista to marry his older daughter Katharina. Then we find out something really interesting when they refuse to marry Katharina. We find out that both Hortensio and Grumio, so far, seem to not be quite as weighted down by social norms than some other characters like Lucentio and Biondello. What is meant by this is that when Hortensio tells his friend Biondello of his plan to get to Bianca by getting Katharina married, Biondello says that he will marry her because of the state of his monetary conditions. Then we also see that these characters are also cunning and will do what they have to, to get what they want. So my question for you is as follows. If you were in the same situation as Hortensio or Grumio would you react the same way, or do you have a better way that they could have reacted?

I do realize that some of my questions are hidden, but do please try to answer them all. I would like to thank you in advance.