Much Ado about Nothing Context PPT and worksheet

A student-friendly, SEN-accessible PowerPoint that gets students up to speed on the context behind Much Ado about Nothing. Covers Shakespeare’s acting company and the comic actor who played Dogberry, the Italian stories Shakespeare borrowed from (and the characters he invented himself), Messina under Spanish rule, soldiers coming home from war, honour and reputation, marriage and money, the “chaste, silent and obedient” ideal woman, bastardy and Don John, cuckolds and horns, masked dances, the night watch, the church and the wedding, the pun hidden in the title, and how the play is put together (comedy conventions, prose and verse). Comes with a matching worksheet so you can check learning later or in the lesson.

16 slides, about an hour to get through, longer if you stop to actually discuss things, which is usually worth it.

Some commentary in notes to help discussion and get students asking questions.

Built for GCSE English Literature (AQA), where context is assessed under AO3. Works as a full classroom lesson or something to set for independent study.

Much Ado about Nothing, GCSE English Literature, AQA, Shakespeare, context, accessible, SEN, Elizabethan England, honour, reputation, patriarchy, marriage, women, bastardy, masque, comedy, genre, prose and verse, Beatrice, Benedick, Hero, Claudio, Don John, Dogberry, worksheet