Demonstrate your knowledge of the cultural and linguistic differences between our era and Shakespeare′s era. To do this, choose one specific scene from the text of Much Ado About Nothing and discuss one example of a cultural difference and another example of a linguistic difference. To get full credit, your answer must State the specific scene you will discuss by Act, scene, and line numbers Identify one cultural difference and explain it fully, including a ″translation″ into modern English Identify one linguistic difference and explain it fully, including a ″translation″ into modern English. For this question, you may choose the scene you worked on with your group but you are not required to do so. You may choose any scene that you can discuss using two examples. 2. Compare the relationship of Beatrice and Benedick in Shakespeare′s Much Ado About Nothing (the text of the play itself) with a modern fiction of any type (movie, play, novel, short story) in terms of the representation of courtship and its stages or rituals. (″Courtship″ specifically refers to a stage on the route to marriage rather than ″dating″ which may be done for its own sake.) To get full credit, your essay must: Identify the full title of the fiction, its genre (type, ie. whether movie or novel) and the author or director. Give a 1-3 sentence overview of the main action and the two characters you will discuss in this fiction. Do not write your entire essay summarizing the fiction. Rather, give me enough information that I can look it up. Explain a similarity to a character, action, problem, or stage of courtship by giving at least two quotations from the text of Much Ado About Nothing (Shakespeare′s play, not the Branagh movie or a stage play). 3. Compare Shakespeare′s Much Ado About Nothing (the text of the play itself) with a modern fiction of any type (movie, play, novel, short story) in terms of the way ″watching others″ or ″noting″ others contributes to the action. Recall that the word ″nothing″ was pronounced ″noting″ in Shakespeare′s day. Other words for this kind of ″noting″ are eavesdropping, spying, overhearing. To get full credit, your essay must: Identify the full title of the fiction, its genre (type, ie. whether movie or novel), and the author or director. Give a 1-3 sentence overview of the main action and the characters you will discuss in this fiction. Do not write your entire essay summarizing the fiction. Rather, give me enough information that I can look it up. Explain a similarity of this fiction to a scene of watching, overhearing, spying, misinterpreting by giving at least two quotations from the text of Much Ado About Nothing (Shakespeare′s play, not the Branagh movie or a stage play). Evaluation Criteria –answers the question –provides the information requested –level of detail –knowledge of Shakespeare′s play –knowledge of topics covered in class and in the reading –expression, articulation, and composition
