Instant Access To 100,000+ Essays!

Just about everything in Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing can be compared to the form of comedy called “Commedia dell Arte,” which is a form of comedy that was performed by traveling groups in the 17th century. “Commedia,” which is also called the Italian Comedy, featured stock characters which later became known as “masks,” because all the characters wore masks. There were characters like Arlechino, who was the clever clown and there were the young lovers, who must face difficulties before they can be together. The characters in “Much Ado” fall well into the descriptions of all the stock characters. Even the plot falls into this form of comedy. In “Much Ado” there are two pairs of young lovers; one set the typical pair and the other, the reluctant lovers. Hero and Claudio, must overcome betrayal and deceit before they come together, much like ‘Inamorata and Inamorato’ from ‘Commedia.” The second set of lovers, Beatrice and Benedict