MAAN & Stereotypes

In the play Much Ado About Nothing, William Shakespeare shows a reoccurrence of stereotypes. Two of the main stereotypes in this play were gender and class. Women are clearly not as important as men and get treated differently. The separation of the social classes was shown as well. One will not see someone rich interacting with someone poor. The stereotypes about gender effected my interpretation of the play by making the main focus be on the men. The main men; Leonato, the prince, Don John, Benedick, Claudio, Borachio, and Antonio greatly out number the women; Hero, Ursula, Margaret, and Beatrice. It seemed as though it was more important for the men to find love, rather than the women. The stereotypes about social classes effected my interpretation of the play by creating that controversy between classes. Leonato would make fun of Dogberry because of his social class. It was different to see because now, no one judges people on their social status. The play allowed me to see that people used to be treated differently depending on their class.

I think Shakespeare both believed in the stereotypes and wanted to teach a lesson. Back when this play was written, that’s how things were. Women were not as important and social classes made a difference. I think Shakespeare just wrote about what was going on when he created the play and was influenced by the world then. I also feel like he was trying to teach a lesson because he did add some important woman roles. Beatrice and Hero were both portrayed as strong women that were allowed to speak their minds. Therefore I think he was trying to change the way women were viewed back then. Also, with social classes, William Shakespeare had Leonato give Dogberry money to support him. This reveals that William was trying to show that everyone could help each other out and show compassion. Being rich or poor does not make you a better person. I think that William Shakespeare was trying to change society’s' views about common stereotypes in this play.