GCSE English Literature · key term

Noting

Definition

Observing or paying attention. In Much Ado About Nothing, watching, listening and interpreting other people repeatedly drive the action.

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Paper 1

Observing, listening to or taking notice of something; its similar sound to ‘nothing’ contributes to the wordplay in the play’s title.
The title means a great fuss about ‘nothing’, but ‘nothing’ and ‘noting’ sounded similar in Shakespeare’s time. Noting means paying attention, observing or listening. Much of the action depends on gossip, overhearing and interpreting what seems to have been seen.
Revise: Context
Observing or paying attention. In the play, watching and overhearing repeatedly lead characters to interpret appearances incorrectly.
Revise: Act 2

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Paper 1

Observing, listening or taking notice; its similar sound to ‘nothing’ contributes to the play’s title pun.
The title plays on “nothing” and “noting”, which sounded similar. Noting means observing or taking notice and includes the listening, overhearing and gossip that drive the action. Claudio misreads what he sees; Beatrice and Benedick believe staged conversations; the watch overhears a real confession.
Revise: Context
Noticing, observing or listening to something. In Much Ado About Nothing, characters often misunderstand what they have noted.
Revise: Act 2
Observing or paying attention. In Much Ado About Nothing, it includes listening, overhearing and interpreting appearances.
Revise: Deception and appearances

Paper 2

Observing, noticing or listening attentively; in Much Ado About Nothing, characters' interpretations of what they note drive the action.
In Elizabethan pronunciation, ‘nothing’ could sound like ‘noting’: observing or listening. Much of the action grows out of characters noting one another, often incorrectly. Hero's supposed infidelity is ‘nothing’ in the sense that it never happened, but the suffering caused by the accusation is very real.
Revise: Deception and appearances