Opinions of Much Ado About Nothing, Then and Now

We can tell a lot about a time period based on individual interpretations of texts that have been present over a long period of time. Many Shakespeare plays have been made into films in ways that the modern era is more likely to enjoy. For example, director Baz Luhrmann created a film adaptation of Romeo and Juliet that retained most of Shakespeare's original script, while changing the meaning of it based on locations and the character's actions.

More recently, BBC One made a film adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing that changed Shakespeare's script but mimicked the plot of his play. Shakespeare's original work, in addition to film adaptations of it before the new millennium, captured the plot in a way that would best please a more conservative crowd. To create a happy ending in his play, Shakespeare made it so Hero would be able to marry Claudio despite the scandal that occurred. However, in the more recent film version of Much Ado About Nothing, Hero chose not to marry Claude for his mistrust. As a woman living in modern times, the ending of the more recent film had a more satisfactory ending; when reading Shakespeare's play, it's difficult to process the fact that that a woman would still marry man who had more trust in someone with an ill reputation than in his own fiance.

Since what is considered a "happy ending" can change based on the social movements of a time period, its important to consider the role of women in the Elizabethan era to truly understand Shakespeare's work.