A research question for a piece of literature must be a question that you have to research to find the answer to; in other words, not a question that requires personal reflection, evaluation, or analysis of the work. It could be, for example, a historical question or a linguistic question, because there is literature available where you can find information about history and the development of the language. There have been a lot of Shakespearean scholars over the centuries since Shakespeare's death, so another research question could lead you to research some of their theories and data about Shakespeare or his plays. When choosing a research question, you should think of a question you have asked yourself while reading or watching the play; something you are actually curious about.
One possibility would be to look at the setting of Much Ado about Nothing. This play is set in Messina, Sicily, and was written in around 1598. If you were going to produce this play, you might want to research what houses and fashion were like in the late 1500s in Sicily. So a research question would be, "What did residential architecture and fashion look like in Sicily at the end of the 16th century?" Maybe you would like to know more about the customs, as this would help you understand the characters and their motivations better. Then a good research question might be, "What were some cultural customs and traditions in Sicily in the late 16th century?"
Another aspect of the play you could look at in your research assignment would be themes. One main theme in Much Ado about Nothing is men vs. women, and another is love and marriage. If you're curious about whether the constant battles between Beatrice and Benedick are indicative of life for nobles in Shakespeare's time, you might ask a research question like, "What were attitudes towards male and female roles in Shakespeare's time?" You can choose to make this question specifically about Sicily, or, alternately, about England, since that is where Shakespeare lived when he wrote and performed his plays and that's where his audience was. You also might want to find out more information about marriage in Shakespeare's time: "What were some marriage traditions and customs in Shakespeare's England?" These types of questions would help you understand the play better.
One interesting thing about the play is the wordplay in the title. "Much ado," we know, means a lot of trouble, and when we read the title, we understand it to mean "A lot of trouble about nothing." In Shakespeare's England, the word "nothing" had the same pronunciation as the word "noting," so the title of the play is a wordplay on the words nothing/noting. The title alternately means "A lot of trouble about paying attention to others, or eavesdropping." Most of the trouble in Much Ado is caused by misunderstandings, characters gossiping, and characters meddling into each other's affairs. For example, during the masquerade, Benedick wears a mask to hide his identity and then listens to Beatrice badmouth him. As far as he knows, she is unaware that the masked dancer is him, so he thinks she is saying how she really feels. However, Beatrice does know she is dancing with Benedick, so she is saying mean things about him to tease him and she may not really mean them. This is an example of eavesdropping and misunderstanding, or 'noting,' which causes a lot of trouble. If you are interested in word play, you can ask the research question, "What are some more examples of puns and wordplay in Much Ado about Nothing?" A little research into scholarly analysis and word etymology will help you discover the clever puns that made Shakespeare's plays so entertaining to his audience.
Finally, you might be curious after reading Much Ado about Nothing to find out more about Shakespeare himself. You could ask a question like, "What were the main events in Shakespeare's life that may have given him inspiration for his plays?"
If you want to find out more about the setting, themes, or scholarly analysis before you decide on your research question, you can to read all about Much Ado about Nothing .
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