ABSTRACT
Shakespeare incorporates elements from literature and commedia dell'arte in Much Ado About Nothing. Novelle by Matteo Maria Boiado, Lodovico Ariosto, and Matteo Bandello undergird the lover's quest and madness at betrayal in Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing. In Much Ado, Shakespeare downplayed the calumniation of Hero's reputation to emphasize Beatrice and Benedick's merry war. The Italian characters in Much Ado About Nothing live liminally between England and Italy. Beatrice and Benedick rank lower than Claudio and Hero. Count Claudio's high status and gullibility save him from Bertram's fate as quintessential cad. Don John is more difficult to align with a particular commedia dell'arte character than other characters in Much Ado About Nothing. Borachio is perhaps the best example of a bravo in Shakespeare's comedies and tragicomedies with Italian characters. The staged readings of Much Ado About Nothing with the Curtain Call Ensemble at the University of Madras and undergraduates at Stawa University in Kampala, Uganda.
