Much Ado About NothingPERHAPS it was that school outing to the cinema at a tender age to see Laurence Olivier in ‘Hamlet’ that did it for me.
This black and white film, dimly lit as I recall, with dialogue I couldn’t understand, put Shakespeare well and truly on the back burner. And 50-plus years later, it’s stayed there ever since.
Any mention of the Bard, his works on television, features in newspapers, local productions, and I avoid them like the proverbial plague.
So when Penguin selected ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ from their Shakespeare range for me to review for their new blog, my heart sank like a stone. Why this out of the hundreds on their back catalogue of classics? What’s wrong with a meaty Steinbeck, Greene or Orwell?
Plucking up the courage to flip through the pages didn’t improve things. First you encounter a general introduction which goes on for ages and pages. And then, after a chronology of Shakespeare’s works (presumably to put this play in the context of his output), there’s another introduction, which is even longer than the first!
Eventually we come to the ‘script’, or should I say play. To me, the language is completely unfamiliar and after a page or three I’m trudging through what could just as well be knitting patterns. Forsooth, there are all those ‘exeunts,’ ‘troths,’ ‘doths’ and ‘ne’ers’ to wade through.
Of course, Shakespeare fans will love this concise volume. For them it’ll be the perfect accompaniment to the play they’ve no doubt seen many, many times. But for me it’s a case of where’s there’s a Will there’s no way.
After this, I’ll probably be barred (!) in the playwright’s birthplace, Stratford-upon-Avon, so I’d better make a hasty exeunt. Whatever that is.
I found reading Shakespeare for the first time a bit like learning a foreign language - I started with As You Like It, which I'd already seen on stage, and armed myself with the Penguin edition of the day, and a couple of study guides. I worked my way through each scene slowly, line by line, and after a while I found it was all becoming easier to understand. I found it quite fun once I got into it, there's a lot more to the language than is evident on first hearing onstage.
Posted at 12:33 - 10.08.07 by Minniemoll
This review does not do this great peice of drama justice. This is a supreme example of the original Rom Com drama - Boy and girl hate each other- boy and girl are tricked by their friends into getting together etc etc, along with a devious villain and a range of plots and sub plots.
The language is extremely accessible, more so if read as a complement to the Kenneth Branagh version of the film. Shakespeare, after all, created his plays to be watched not read. A Green - watch the film and then try it again - it will all fall into place, I promise!
Posted at 23:18 - 10.08.07 by gabix106
I've loved Shakespeare since reading Lamb's Tales at an early age - they made mincemeat out of tortured plots, forsooth. However, I can't remember anything about Much Ado, but I absolutely loved the review. It made me laugh out loud, a rare feat these days. Thank you very much.
Posted at 01:20 - 11.08.07 by woofsmum
The review for this book in no way does it justice. Shakespeare is the world's greatest playwright. Just reading the words immediately place you as that character and the whole play falls neatly into place. A simple story of love, deception and jealousy becomes a comedy and to some degree a thriller. But as the title suggests, it's all Much Ado About Nothing, ( or a Storm In A Teacup).
Posted at 15:15 - 11.08.07 by martin
I have a lot of admiration for this criticism of Shakespeare, thank you!
Posted at 15:30 - 12.08.07 by moonteapot
Thank you for a very honest and concise review-of course, Shakespeare is not for everyone and I appreciate your honesty and efforts.
Posted at 20:38 - 12.08.07 by fleurdelys
So let me get this straight: you couldn't get into this play because there were a few relatively unfamiliar old words in it?
Posted at 12:11 - 13.08.07 by Hadrian-Wise
While it's fair enough to hack away at the language of the book it's a sad thing that there was no comment on the actual story.
Posted at 22:38 - 19.08.07 by Stewart
Exeunt - plural of exit
(I bet you knew that all along, you roguish old thing, you)
Posted at 15:33 - 18.09.07 by lindilou
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Shakespeare's works, like those of any other playwright, are far better watched than read. Even in modern language, I find reading a script can be hard work. However, with a little effort (and ideally a heavily annotated edition to explain all those archaic words and phrases) reading Shakespeare is totally worth doing. It helps to have studied a play or two in depth at school or university to get the hang of it and, possibly, to start with one you already know the storyline of like Romeo and Juliet, so you don't get too lost. It's not for everyone, but if you love language I heartily recommend giving Shakespeare another go.
Posted at 11:25 - 10.08.07 by mynameiskate