More Much Ado
and funny literary insults
Hello Readers,
Happy Feast of the Epiphany! Christmas is coming to an end and it has been a lovely time for our family and I hope it has been for yours too. While I am sad that the holidays are ending and we all have to go back to work and school next week, I also think it will be good to get back into a routine and some normalcy in the New year. I had grand plans of reading all the books over break and then I realized that I probably have less, not more, time to read over breaks than I do in my normal routine. So I am excited to get back to reading all the books. Which is actually encouraging that I read more within the time constraints of normal life than in the vast expanse of open time that is “break” as a mother.
My current literary kid story is actually a (quite funny) problem. They recently finished listening to Peter Pan in the car. Which is not itself the problem. If you’ve ever seen the old Disney movie of Peter Pan you might remember that Tinker Bell doesn’t talk. So you may assume that she doesn’t talk in the book either…you would be wrong. She actually has a lot of lines in the book and she has a bit of a potty mouth. I am now thinking that her bells in the movie are actually a funny reference to being “bleeped out” because the movie couldn’t be rated G if she had her real lines. Her favorite insult is “silly ass” which is very funny and sophisticated when said in a British accent. And now I am sure you see my problem. My children have adopted this as their new favorite insult and if they are really mad they will upgrade to “stupid ass.” I find this hilarious and they even use a British accent most of the time which only adds to the humor. But, alas, I also cannot have my kids going to Sunday School and calling people these names (I think they only reserve it for each other, but just in case). So my solution is in theme for this month’s reading. If you would like to insult someone in the Hartley house you now must do it in the language of Shakespeare. And Beatrice and Benedick’s banter is a great place to start! I heard another mom do this, but it was years ago and I have no idea who it was! I have also decided that I will also accept Wodehouse, Austen, or Dickens as well. I don’t deny that it will still be mean, but at least I will be laughing (and maybe most people won’t realize how mean it really is when cloaked in such beautiful language?). I will update if this leads to any new hilarity. Now I think we need to start listening to Shakespeare audio in the car to implement this rule….
Now onto business…
If you haven’t bought your copy of Much Ado About Nothing yet, it is not too late! It should only take a few hours to read (if that) since it is a play. Even if you are going to listen or watch (or all of the above) it is still important to have a physical copy of the play in front of you to see what they are changing from the original text.
My personal plan of action for Much Ado is to listen to the audio drama with my text open (and pausing to read anything they skip). Between each Act I’ll listen to the The Play’s the Thing Podcast for that Act. Then go back and reread some favorite scenes and lines because the language is so fun! Then I intend to watch both movies (linked in last week’s post) hopefully with the text open as well, but we shall see how late at night it is when this happens. Feel free to do what works for you, but I wanted to share what is working for me in case it helps anyone!
I cannot recommend the podcasts enough! They are so enlightening and funny too. Speaking of Shakespearean insults, they do plenty of it in jest on the podcast. The beginning of the Act One podcast may be one of the nerdiest and funniest banter sessions about the Olympics using Shakespeare lines. Who knew?
Some Musings and Quotes
They mention in the podcast and in the introduction to the audio I am listening to that nothing would be pronounced “noting” when Shakespeare was writing this. So be sure to notice all the references to music, notes, and harmony. I specifically noticed this in Act 2 Scene 3 before the song is sung (which is also about constancy, see below.)
I love the Beatrice and Benedick flirting scenes. They are filled with witty insults, but also acting like middle schoolers that love to hate each other.
Benedick’s list of qualities his perfect woman would possess is hilarious. And a funny thing for a man to do who never intends to fall in love (Act 2 Scene 3).
“till all graces be in one woman, one woman shall not come in my grace…”
Notice how much of the plot turns on overhearing conversations (and not actually witnessing events themselves.
The themes of constancy of men and women…the podcast spoke to this a lot.
“…that jealousy shall be called assurance..”
I love the Prince’s plan to make Benedick and Beatrice fall in love…and how quickly it works!
This foreshadowing quote from Benedick…and then his blindness in applying it to Claudio instead of himself…
“I do much wonder that one man, seeing how much another man is a fool when he dedicates his behaviors to love, will, after he hath laughed at such shallow follies in others, become the argument of his own scorn by falling in love- and such a man is Claudio.”
And then the shift by the end of the scene….
“When I said I would die a bachelor, I did not think I should live till I were married.”
I am excited to see how this happens with Beatrice in Act 3….
Some More Shakespeare Resources
I found the David Tennant version of Much Ado as an audio recording (free on Librivox). I would still like to watch it, but this is a good second best plan. Even if you don’t listen to the whole drama, the introduction at the beginning is worth the price of admission (which is free).
I have been reading Shakespeare: The World is Stage by Bill Bryson on Tim Macintosh’s recommendation from one of the
end of the year conversations and it has been a really fun read. It is pretty short and very readable (and I am not a huge biography person….a literary gap I am attempting to start to remedy this year). It is focused on all that we don’t know about Shakespeare (which is admittedly a lot) while still building the world in which he lived in the reader’s imagination. I fully recommend!
The Literary Life Podcast did an Introduction to Shakespeare Podcast before they read A Midsummer Night’s Dream and it was very helpful (and still relevant even though we are doing a different comedy. If you have read Midsummer already (and have already listened to all the podcasts about Much Ado) you may want to keep listening to their series as it is very good!
Don’t forget to see the post from earlier this week for a lot of podcast and movie links and also go read ’s essay Why Read Shakespeare?
Other Literary Thoughts from around the Internet
This is a funny essay by Alan Jacobs (of The Pleasures of Reading from September 2022) on The Real Value of Catholic Modernity in defeating Dracula (from October 2022).
The Literary Life Podcast posted their plans for the 2024 year and it is worth a listen if you are planning to follow along (or want to expand your reading horizons at all).
I really enjoyed another of Alan Jacob’s posts from this week called Who's Counting. It is a different perspective on end of the year posts and planning your reading. From someone who did post a reflection on my year in reading I appreciate.
- is doing Kristin Lavransdatter (make sure you have the Tiina Nunelly translation, trust me) on their subscriber only podcast. They aren’t too far into it if you missed it when we did it in 2020 and want to know what all the fuss is about (or if you did read it and want to listen to very smart people talk about it). I started subscribing again just to hear them wax eloquent about my favorite book (or is it Brideshead? I can never decide).
Here’s a helpful article on How to Cull a Library from
(if you are needing a little bit of advice for the New Year decluttering spirit for your books).
Well that is all from me this morning. I hope you found these thoughts and resources helpful as you continue your reading journey. I am excited to chat about Much Ado in the coming days and weeks and I hope you are all enjoying your yearly dive into Shakespeare with us!
Enjoy your reading till we meet again!
“You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you odd.”
-Flannery O’Connor (Mystery and Manners)…our 2022 Book About Books
A Few Reminders
Next up for February and March is Middlemarch and then The Innocence of Father Brown in April.
If you found your way here and are not part of an in person book club, welcome! We would love you to read along with us. But, in person literary community is a beautiful thing. So please contact me if you’d like to join or start a group!
If you are part of a group, but you’re not on our Slack page, please contact me. That is where people share thoughts and logistics for each in person group.
Book lists from previous years can be found here.
We are now on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter (with links to Substack) in order to hopefully spread the reading life to more people...if you want to like or share with any friends that want to start their own groups (or follow along virtually) please do!
*As always, some of the links are affiliate links. The few cents(literally) earned with each purchase you make after clicking links (at no extra cost to you) go toward the time and effort it takes to keep Literature Book Club running and I appreciate it!