Shakespeare’s Mastery of Plot and Comedy in Much Ado About Nothing

Abstract

It is a well-known fact that WilliamShakespeare, just like many of hiscontemporaries, was influenced by earlierliterary and non-literary sources while he waswriting his plays. However, Shakespeare didnot remain true to the sources by which hewas inspired neither in terms of content norform. Much Ado About Nothing, which hewrote by making use of the features of NewComedy genre that had emerged in theAncient Greece, is undoubtedly an indicativeof his mastery of plot and comedy. Theplaywright, while utilizing the genre of NewComedy, brought novelties to the playshowing his genius and he knitted, so tospeak, the plot structure in a conscientiousmanner. This study aims to analyse themastery of Shakespeare in creating the plotstructure and comedy, to show the features ofthe New Comedy he made use of and toinvestigate the elements which are purelyShakespearean in Much Ado About Nothing.