mirror effects in much ado...

[fenchguy]

Hi everyone, I'm french so I'm not very good in English. My teacher has asked me to work on "specularity in Much Ado About Nothing". I assume you understand my problem there... Please help me!

[Beewulf]

Hi everyone, I'm french so I'm not very good in English. My teacher has asked me to work on "specularity in Much Ado About Nothing". I assume you understand my problem there... Please help me!

It’s difficult to discuss the topic proposed by your instructor without knowing something about the context in which you’ve been discussing Much Ado, but here’s something . . .

“Specularity” is a term used by some critics to describe a play’s ability to reveal more than the literal meaning of its words and actions. For example, it could be said that Macbeth is literally about a fight for power in medieval Scotland; on the other hand, it also reflects attitudes towards ambition, witchcraft, and kingship that are inspired by events in early 17th century England.

Specularity is also used to describe how readers or audience members can see something of themselves in the lives of the characters, e.g., “I had someone I trusted turn against me once—just like Macbeth turned against Duncan.” It’s fairly common for Shakespeare’s characters to refer to the specular nature of theatre. Recall, for example, that Hamlet speaks of theatre as holding a mirror up to nature in order to, among other things, “show virtue her own feature, scorn her own image, and the very age and body of the time his form and pressure” (Act 3, scene ii). In other words, Hamlet describes theatre as a metaphorical mirror that reflects essential truths and knowledge beyond what one could perceive from immediate lived experience.

Essential to the notion of specularity is the idea that we cannot see ourselves directly; rather, we can only see what other people think of us. For example, I might think that I am handsome and appealing, but the truth of my appearance isn’t found in what I think, but in what other people see when they look at me. Thus, if you want to know who you really are, pay attention to those who reflect your image back to you. In their reflections can be found the truth of who you really are— or so the specular theory goes.

In Much Ado About Nothing, Beatrice and Benedict begin the play with a cloudy view of who they really are. Both characters, however, are put into situations in which they see themselves through the eyes of other people. This is a humbling and life-changing experience for them both. For your paper, I suggest you focus on those scenes in Much Ado in which Beatrice and Benedict are forced to confront the often unpleasant reflections of themselves as mirrored in the words and actions of others.