Molto rumore per nulla

Lodo Guenzi e Sara Putignano 

"Molto rumore per nulla", one of the best works of Shakespeare, written between 1598 and 1599,is characterized by the presence of countless plays on words and a brilliant interpretation of gender roles. Much of this tragicomedy revolves around writing secret messages, spying and eavesdropping on confidential conversations. People constantly pretend to be other than what they are, are mistaken for other people or are constantly deceived. Within the work, action depends mainly on the word and each character of "Molto rumore per nulla" has his own way to play, elaborate or abuse language. The two protagonists of the work are Beatrice and Benedetto, they have linguistic tendencies that define them. Beatrice is seen - in the prejudice of the time - as "vixen" because of her "sharp tongue". Whereas the metaphorical style of conversation of Benedict is what leads Don Pedro to define it "from the top of the head to the sole of the foot all joy". This is undoubtedly also what lies behind the line of Beatrice who calls Benedict "the prince’s jester". "Much noise for nothing" is characterized by an ironic and effective comedy, but in the text there are also much more complex reflections: how men and women are treated differently within society. The difference between opposite and equal sex relations are at the heart of Shakespeare’s play which, for some themes such as violent language and misleading plot, seems to swing in certain moments towards the tragic.