Much Ado About Nothing

Much Ado About Nothing Acts I & II

Location: Messina, Italy. Messina is part of Sicily, not the main land (it is colored below in red).

Characters:

From Messina:

• Leonato: Governor of Messina

• Hero: Leonato's daughter

• Beatrice: Leonato's niece

• Antonio: Leonato's brother

• Margaret: Hero's gentlewoman

• Ursula: One of Hero's waiting women

• Balthasar: A waiting man in Leonato's household

The Outsiders:

• Don Pedro: Prince of Aragon (located in Spain)

• Don John: the bastard brother of Don Pedro

• Claudio: a soldier from Florence

• Benedick: a soldier from Padua

• Conrad: An associate of Don John

• Borachio: An associate of Don John; Margaret's lover 

 Servants/Lower Class*:

• Dogberry: The constable (a position that is not highly desired at the time)

• Verges: a watchman

*These characters do not speak properly, and are used as comic relief, but they are essential to the plot. They also help make the play a comedy and not a tragedy*

 Interesting things to note about some characters' names:

Hero: This is a term we generally associate with war and masculinity as someone who is victorious in war or rescues others. Hero is also the name of a character from the myth Hero and Leander. In this myth, Hero and Leander fall in love, he takes her virginity, and each night she lights a lantern to help him swim across the sea to her home. On a stormy night, he lamp blew out, he lost his way, he drowned, and she threw herself from the tower to kill herself. It's possible that Shakespeare is using this term to ironically allude to this story.

Beatrice: her name means blessed

Benedick: his name is a spoken blessing

 What is in a name?

The title of the play can have multiple interpretations. They are:

• Ado by definition means a fuss or a commotion, so the play means there is a big fuss, a big to do, or a lot of commotion over something that turns out to be nothing.

• Nothing in Shakespeare's time was pronounced like we would say "noting" which means to watch, to take note, to overhear. The title then means there are problems caused by people watching others.

• Nothing is also a sexual pun. Women are said to have "no thing" between their legs (lack of male genitalia), thereby making the story a big fuss over not having these parts or women in general. It can also be making a big deal out of women in a sexual way.

 Setting/Plot: In the beginning of the play, we learn that soldiers are coming to Leonato's home after they were victorious in a war.

• War is generally associated with tragedies, not comedies

• Masculine setting - War is masculine and does not include women.

• How does war then come into the play?

  • Leonato: "You must not, sir, mistake my niece. There is a/kind of merry war betwixt Signior Benedick and her:/they never meet but there's a skirmish of wit/between them" (1.1.???) 

    • By calling it a "merry" war (which is an oxymoron, war can never be merry), he is bringing the aspect of war to the foreground. The relationship between Benedick and Beatrice converts war into something comical

• How is the language infused with war?

 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 failing in love: and such a man is Claudio./ I have known when there was no music/with him but the drum and the fife; and now had he/rather hear the tabour and the pipe: I have known/when he would have walked ten mile a-foot to see a/good armour; and now will he lie ten nights awake,/carving the fashion of a new doublet./He was wont to speak plain and to the purpose, like an honest man/and a soldier; and now is he turned orthography;/his words are a very fantastical banquet, just so many strange dishes./May I be so converted and see with/these eyes? I cannot tell; I think not. (2.3)

• • The drum and fife are weapons associated with war.

  • He was interested in a man with good armor (war clothing)

  • He spoke plainly and got to the point.

• There is an idea that war, this masculine thing, is being converted to feminine ideas (love)

• There is also the idea that love makes a man soft and feminine losing their masculine qualities such as the qualities of a soldier of war. This can be illustrated by Benedick speaking about Claudio after he has fallen in love and comparing how he used to be masculine and now is feminine, as seen from Claudio's new interests.

  • The tabour and the pipe are melodious and not used for war

  • new doublets are nice clothing, also not associated with war

  • orthography is a fancy, flowery writing which is also not associated with war but love.

  • Benedick is resisting this transition

Challenges/Problems:

• Wooing of Hero - Don Pedro has done this for Claudio instead of Claudio doing it himself

• There is a long wait - Claudio and Hero must wait 7 days before they are allowed to be married

• Yoking of Benedick - for entertainment to help pass the long wait (and to get Benedick to admit how he really feels) 

• Don John finding his liberty - no one trust him; he wants to be able to do as he likes 

Religious Aspect to the Play:

• Waiting 7 days

  • the world was created in 7 days

  • 7 seals on the book of Revelations

  • Christ was tortured for 7 days

What effect do masks/disguises have:

• Lower inhibitions

• freeing

• possibility for mischief

• investigation 

 Reading Questions

  1. What report does the Messenger bring to Leonato? Who is about to arrive at his court? About whom does Beatrice specifically inquire? 

A. The messenger tells Leonato that Don Pedro and his army on the way. We also learn that Claudio performed well in the war

B. Beatrice asks about Signor Montanto, which is a mocking nickname/erection joke about Signior Benedick.

 2. Upon his arrival at court, Claudio tells Benedick someone has caught his eye. Who is it? Note what we hear about her from Don Pedro at line 241. What plan does Don Pedro come up with at the end of 1.1 to help Claudio woo her? How many other people in Act I overhear this plan? 

A. Claudio tells Benedick he has fallen in love with Hero, Leonato’s only daughter.

B. Don Pedro tells the boys that Hero is the only heir

C. Don Pedro comes up with a plan to woo Hero himself (as disguised as Claudio) and then once she has fallen in love he will return Hero to the real Claudio. He also plans to approve the marriage with Leonato.

D. Referencing the title of the play, there are a few other characters who “note” the scene. Antonio’s servant overhears the conversation so that he is able to warn Leonato and Antonio. Don John’s “associate” Borachio also hears Don Pedro’s plan. Learning other character were in a scene before, watching the same interaction as the audience makes the play more mysterious and adds another level of immersion. 

 3.Don Pedro makes a prediction of a kind to Benedick in lines 213-14. What is it? 

Don Pedro tells Benedick “In time the savage bull doth bear the yoke”, meaning even Benedick will marry and settle down one day.

 4.Why is Don John referred to as "the bastard" in the entrance at 1.3? Why is he so interested in the news he hears from Borachio in this scene?

      Don John was born out of wedlock and under the law cannot own land or inherit anything. Don John harbors ill      feelings toward Claudio because Claudio prevented Don John from rising to power. He is now going to use Borachio’s      news to get revenge.

 5. Contrast Beatrice's speech at 2.1.57 ff. to the sentiments we saw Benedick express earlier in the play. How are these characters similar?

Both Beatrice and Benedick do not want to marry (they reject this “blessing”) and think very poorly of the opposite gender. Also Beatrice literally means blessed and Benedick means spoken blessing. They are very similar in their opposite characteristics.

 6. What event do we see staged in 2.1? Why is this important to the plans laid in act one?

     2.1 is the masquerade ball, a scene where disguise is critical. The transformations lower the characters inhibitions and allow for the plans laid out in act one to take place.

 7. How does Don John attempt to "cross" Claudio in 2.1? Does his plan work?

Don John tricks Claudio by approaching him and telling Claudio (who tells Don John he is Benedick) that he is worried for his brother. He pretends he knows Don Pedro is actually in love with Hero and taking her for his own sake and Don John believes she is not good enough for him. The plan does work. 

 8. Note the reference at 2.1.220-1, and use your footnotes to help you. Why do you think this is a significant allusion for Benedick to make?

     Benedick is talking about Beatrice and how much he does not care for her. He says that she would even embarrass Hercules. This story goes back to the story of the Amazon Omphale who made Hercules wear her clothing and weave. Benedick can’t imagine more humiliation than acting as a woman.

 9. What does Don Pedro resolve to do at 2.1.315 ff.? What reason does he give for this plan?

Don Pedro resolves to hook up Beatrice and Benedict. He gets very excited to play the “love God” and is probably using this as a way to pass the week until Hero and Claudio’s wedding.

This youtube video is a funny joke on his plan: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pRSYhT4610&feature=related 

 10. Don John has his own scheme in 2.2. What is it? What does he hope to achieve by carrying it out? What is Borachio's motivation in helping him?

     Borachio is going to manipulate Margaret and use her as a pawn to destroy Hero’s honor. His plan includes having      Don John tell Don Pedro that the marriage is bad because Hero is untrue. Borachio is going to set up the scene so when      he is calling Margaret from the window it will look like Hero and Borachio thus proving she is disloyal and possibly engaging in premarital sex. 

 Questions:

1. We see characters who act purely on emotion instead of thinking things through (primarily Claudio). What effect will this have in the future of the play? Do other characters act like this and what effect does it have on the play when they do?

2. Who is giving up power to be happy? Why is it that most of the play is controlled by male characters (is there a connection between this and the gender who controls wars?)

3. Is there anything wrong with losing ones masculine qualities for the sake of love? Does this overall change people's opinion about this given person? If it does indeed how so?

Much Ado About Nothing Acts I and II cont and Act III

Class brought us back to the topic of a "merry war" and how can war possibly be transformed into comedy instead of tragedy. This brings us to 1.1.195:

 Benedick: "That a woman conceived me, I thank her; that she brought me up, I likewise give her most humble thanks. But that I will have recheat winded in my forehead or hang my bugle in an invisible baldrick, all women shall pardon me. Because I will not do them the wrong to mistrust any, I will do myself the right to trust none; and the fine is, for the which I may go the finer, I will live a bachelor."

 War is once again infused in the langauge of the play. Benedick talks of the bugle which is an instrument of war. He doesn't want to have to hang it up, and stop being a soldier or fighting in wars, because he is now in love or married.

 What does this same passage also say about Benedick?

• he's a bit of a mysogynist and is expressing a hatred of women. He believes them to be untrustworthy.

• Maybe he is a bit superstitious. He mentions the idea of cuckoldry wherein if men have a wife who cheats they are thought to grow horns (or he is simply looking for an excuse not to marry)

• He is not willing to take either of the above chances, so he refuses to wed

Benedick seems to be much like Beatrice as is evidenced in 2.1.59 which is Beatrice's response to being told her uncle hopes she will one day have a husband:

Beatrice: "Not til God make men of some other metal than earth. Would it not grieve a woman to be overmastered with a piece of valiant dust? To make anaccount of her life to a clod of wayward marl? No, uncle, I'll none. Adam's sons are my brethren, and truly I hold it a sin to match in my kindred."  

Beatrice is referencing the idea that all men and women are related beacuse everyone was born from Adam and Eve, and it is incestuous to marry any man. For this reason, she simply cannot marry because it is a sin to marry one's brother. Another one looking for an excuse not to marry? Yet, only Benedick shares her views about love.

Of course, we know Benedick has to have some kind of feelings for Beatrice otherwise why would he be so angry with how she spoke to him at the masquerade? He states,

"O, she misused me past the endurance of a block! an oak but with one green leaf on it would have

answered her; my very visor began to assume life and scold with her. She told me, not thinking I had been myself, that I was the prince's jester, that I was duller than a great thaw; huddling jest upon jest with such impossible conveyance upon me that I stood like a man at a mark, with a whole army shooting at me. She speaks poniards, and every word stabs: if her breath were as terrible as her terminations, there were no living near her; she would infect to the north star. I would not marry her, though she were endowed with all that Adam bad left him before he transgressed: she would have made Hercules have turned spit, yea, and have cleft his club to make the fire too. Come, talk not of her: you shall find her the infernal Ate in good apparel. I would to God some scholar would conjure her; for certainly, while she is here, a man may live as quiet in hell as in a sanctuary; and people sin upon purpose, because they would go thither; so, indeed, all disquiet, horror and perturbation follows her." (2.1.229)

Benedick is incensed at being made fun of by Beatrice. Maybe he's just mad because it hurt his pride, or maybe because he was hoping for a better answer (i.e., something to hint that she does in fact care for him). He is so angry his soliloquy is  rant against Beatrice.

• He references Adam and the garden of Eden. He thinks Beatrice is so horrible he wouldn't want to return to Eden if it meant that he would have to be with a woman like her.

• He references Amazon women (Hercules myth) wherein gender roles are inverted. He believes that Beatrice would take away his masculinity by her inversion of gender roles. Benedick thinks of Beatrice as masculine and a strong warrior.

• Benedick refers to Ate, the Greek goddess who brings strife, war, and battle (disputes) to men 

• Believes that Beatrice can be conjured (like the devil) and that living on earth with her is similar to being in hell

• Back to the war in language: listening to her speak is like being in battle. Trying to convert war into love... 

We also talked about scene 2.3 wheren Benedick lists his requirements in a woman before he will consider marriage (which means the idea of settling down has crossed his mind). We also watched this clip (it's a bit farther in, it starts at the end of the song...and then the plan to trick Benedick)

Why does this trick work so well on Benedick (and later Beatrice)?

• Benedick is shamed a bit. He overhears his friends talking bad about him and how he is unloveable/will only torture Beatrice if he knows how she feels

• He likes believing he has a strong enough effect on hre that she would die without him.

• The trick works the same way on Beatrice. It is also possible that neither wanted to admit his/her feelings until they were absolutely certain they would not be rejected. Hint at a past relationship?

Act III Scene 2:

Don John has the men (Claudio, Don Pedro) meeting him at midnight. Significance:

• Midnight: the turning of the day.

• "untowardly" turn: it is turning in a wrong direction (foreshadowing); 

  • gives the idea that something foul is afoot

  • dishonest/wretched/corrupt behavior

  • this is not a natural turn, but one that is forced (but in this case in a bad way)

Much Ado About Nothing, Act III Reading Questions

1. Look again at the song that Balthasar sings in 2.3, "Sigh no more ladies, sigh no more." Why are the lyrics of the song particularly relevant to this play?

The lyrics to Balthasar’s song are:

Sigh no more, ladies, sigh no more.

 Men were deceivers ever,

One foot in sea and one on shore,

 To one thing constant never.

Then sigh not so, but let them go,

And be you blithe and bonny,

Converting all your sounds of woe

Into Hey nonny, nonny.

Sing no more ditties, sing no more

Of dumps so dull and heavy.

The fraud of men was ever so

Since summer first was leafy.

Then sigh not so, but let them go,

And be you blithe and bonny,

Converting all your sounds of woe

Into hey nonny, nonny.

What is the significance of the song being sung "Sigh no More" Here is a youtube clip where the whole song is played... 

• The song suggests that men are going to mess up, hurt women, ruin them, and women just need to accept this and move on.

• The idea of conversion: woe (disruption, fighting, war, sadness) to "hey nonny-nonny" or nothing, nonsense. This nothingn ess/happiness is converted back to woe later on.

The lyrics of the song are particularly relevant to this play because it is dominated by men! The characters of Don Pedro, Don John, Claudio and the like are all deceivers! The men in the play do seem to make a mess of the situations and cause woe and shame. The poem tells women to just ignore men and to not be saddened when they are rude and hurtful because they are always going to be like that.

1. Note what is similar about the tricks played on Benedick and Beatrice, as well as what is different. What makes each fall for the ruse? 

 The tricks played on Benedick and Beatrice are similar because they both revolve around rumor and gossip. They both overhear planned/fake conversations that they were supposed to hear to lead them to believe the other person is in love with them.

Benedick is tricked by Don Pedro and Claudio, he hears how strung out and crazy Beatrice is over him but learns it would be horrible if she confessed to him because he does not deserve her, even though, according to the characters, she is the best he could ever do . No damage is done to his ego though as the men’s conversation ends with compliments about him.

Beatrice is tricked by Hero and Ursula (under the instruction of Don Pedro). She overhears that Benedick is a great guy and she’s not good enough for him because she is such a nitpicker and is criticized for being so scornful. With the “dis” to Beatrice and the overall rave review of Benedick she is also motivated to prove them wrong.

They are both presented to one another in a socially appetizing way. Personally I thought it was funny how Hero and Claudio cited one another, saying they heard positive things about Benedick and Beatrice from one another, even though we have yet to see any direct dialogue between Hero and Claudio.  

1. At what time of night is Don John going to carry out his plan to dupe Claudio? What is significant about this, do you think? 

 Don John is going to dupe Claudio at midnight, the evening before his wedding.  

1. Whom do Dogberry and Verges capture on their watch? Make sure you note what they see and hear on their watch--it becomes crucial to the play later on!

 Dogberry and Verges find treason by Borachio and Conrade! They listen in on the conversation where Borachio brags about the 1,000 gold ducats from Don John. Borachio claims he is the more evil villain and also notes that fashion is fashion and one can’t judge someone from it because they can be a evil or deformed thief. Although the watchmen make a mistake and think the Borachio’s name is actually evil thief. Borachio even explains the plan of wooing Margaret in place of Hero. When they are arrested they put up no fight.   

1. A question for further interpretation and discussion: What is funny about Dogberry and Verges? Beyond their comedic effects, why do you think Shakespeare included them in this play?   

Dogberry and Verges are bumbling fools that present dramatic irony.

Shakespeare can use the characters to play with language, Dogberry says things like “tolerable” when he means intolerable. He negates words and himself. These two men are very reminiscent of the Rude Mechanicals in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The two watchmen also agree to ignore the people that do not follow the law since they are not listening to official rules they must not be any good as the prince’s subjects.

In 3.5.5 when Dogberry attempts to tell Leonato about the plan his word stumbles prevent the story from being communicated, thus setting up the final parts of the play and the total embarrassment of Hero.

 Final Questions:

(1) What can be said about the love between Benedick and Beatrice versus that of Hero and Claudio. Is either natural? Is one more mature than the other? Do either of the relationships have lasting power?

(2) How have the characters all been manipulated by male power? As Benedick and Beatrice are set up to "fall in love" with one another what warning signs are presented for the women in the play?

(3) Why throughout the play does Benedick refuse love and says that he will never trust a woman, yet in the end he begins to drop his guard and fall in love? Does knowing that you are loved change the opinion about love in general?

Much Ado About Nothing, Act IV and V

Prologue

      1.  Take special note of Claudio's devastating speech to Hero at 4.1.28--what does he mean when he says "she's but the sign and semblance of her honour" (l. 31)? Note the other references throughout this scene to appearances and sight.

 When Claudio says "she's but the sign and semblance of her honour" he means that Hero only appears to be honorable and innocent on the outside but the opposite is true. Throughout Claudio's speech he focuses a lot on how she only 'appears' innocent. At 4.1.33 Claudio says, "Behold how like a maid she blushes here!" he goes on with how deceiving her looks are and ends his speech with "Her blush is guiltiness, not modesty" He was so sure of her guiltiness that he actually twists the meaning behind her blush to fit his accusations.

      2.  What does Don Pedro say provides proof of Hero's infidelity? Upon hearing of Hero's alleged act, what does Leonato say he wants to do? 

Don Pedro mentions how he along with Don John, and Claudio had witnessed Hero talking with Borachio late at night and Borachio at that time confessed to having come to her room thousands of times before.

 Upon hearing of Hero's alleged act, Leonato asks for a dagger. He wants to kill himself so he doesn't have to live with such shame and he wants Hero to die as well, saying he would risk punishment and kill her himself.

      3.  What is the Friar's plan to redeem Hero's honor and restore Claudio's love for her? Read his speech beginning at line 210 carefully: What will happen to Hero if they cannot prove her to be honest? 

 The Friar tells Leonato to pretend that Hero died and to make a huge show of it in order to convince everyone else. This is supposed to make the perpetrators feel remorse and Claudio feel guilt for what has happened. The goal also being to prove that Claudio really loves Hero. Everyone else is supposed to feel pity and sadness over her death and forgive what she was accused of doing.

 If the plan failed and they weren't able to prove Hero's innocence, she would be taken to a nunnery in order to hide and live the rest of her life away from public eye, in attempts of avoiding shame.

      4.  At the end of this scene, what does Benedick promise Beatrice he will do?  

 At the end of the scene, Benedick promises Beatrice that he will challenge Claudio to a duel for the way he publicly shamed Hero.

      5.  What has happened to Don John? What news do we learn about him at the end of the play?

 Don John fled Messina after he witnessed Claudio publicly humiliating Hero, and at the end of the play we hear that Don John had been captured by armed men and has been brought back to Messina. 

      6.  Don Pedro says that Hero was charged with "what was true and very full of proof" (5.1.107). Again, what "proof" does he carry? How, finally, does Don Pedro learn the truth? (note the irony in Borachio's statement at 5.1.218 ff.!) 

 Don Pedro is referring to Hero's blush when he says, "she was charged with nothing but what was true and very full of proof" which again shows us the importance of appearances in this play.

 Don Pedro finally learn the truth when he sees a captured Borachio, and Borachio admits to his crime. In Borachio's confession he says, "What your wisdoms could not discover, these shallow fools have brought to light..." This is ironic because he calls them fools, and yet if not for them the crime would have gone unnoticed and unsolved.

      7.  Whom does Leonato convince Claudio to marry? 

 Leonato convinces Claudio to marry his niece who is said to look exactly like Hero. We find out later that it is in fact a "reborn" Hero.

      8.  Following our discussion of various Christian allusions in the play, what do you think is significant about the setting of 5.3? 

 The setting of 5.3 is a cemetery, alluding to the whole idea of death and rebirth, like Jesus Christ.

      9.  What evidence do Claudio and Hero produce to prove that Benedick and Beatrice love each other? 

 They both find love letters written by the other. Claudio finds a love letter written by Benedick, and Hero finds one written by Beatrice.

The Main Act

 -- Disguise / Theater / Appearance

 We reviewed in Act III, Scene II where Don Pedro says "O day, untowardly turned!" (iii.ii.111), which sets up precedents for the changes within the play . However, while reading Act III we accounted it for the cyclical transition between war, love and back to war again, for Acts IV and V we can use it for not only the loss of friendship between Benedick and Claudio, but for the turning of Hero's character. Just like in Twelfth Night, this shows how in the theater, appearances can be used for both creation and destruction.

 Hero's identity is based entirely on her virginity, chastity and purity. Shakespeare uses a chiasmus, or when a figure of speech has two clauses that are related to each other by being antonyms to make a bigger point, when Claudio tells Hero: "O Hero! What a Hero hadst thou been if they outward graces had been placed about thy thoughts and counsels of thy heart! But fare thee well, most foul, most fair, farewell thou pure impiety and impious purity." (iiii.i.98-102) (I underlined the chiasmus.) This quote shows how Claudio does not trust Hero because he thinks she has been impure. So much importance is placed on Hero's virginity due to primogeniture, which is the legal system that has to do with inheritance.

 In primogeniture:

• the only way to inherit property is through legitimate children 

  • ex:  Don John can not inherit property because he is a "bastard", or an illegitimate heir

• marriage is to create legitimate children

  • ex: if Claudio believed that Hero was engaging with other men, how would he know he is the father?

• therefore, Hero's value comes from her virginity

  • ex: to be a virgin is to have some kind of legal status

• and a daughter is her father's property until married off

  • ex: Leonato is devastated by Hero's supposed wandering that he would want what is essentially an honor killing, just like in A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Wikipedia actually has an interesting article on primogeniture if anyone wants to look into it more here. 

 The Friar's grand plan involves the disguise/theater/appearance trifecta. He plans to disguise Hero, whose appearance has been in question, and therefore brings the theater from the tragic ending, where it seemed to be headed, to a comedic ending. In class, we went over this tragedy versus comedy binary:

 Tragedy: irredeemable, indestructable, irreversable

Comedy: genre of redemption, salvation

 An example of a play on the tragedy/comedy duo is the bumbled language that Dogberry uses: "O villain! Thou wilt be condemned into everlasting redemption for this." (iiii.ii.50-51). He really means to say "damnation" instead of "redemption". Dogberry and Verges are an essential part to the play, and we watched in class how they revealed Don John's plan through Borachio and Conrad in Act V, scene I (unfortunately, I could not find a video online to share). However, the use of words that can have Christian connotations can be seen throughout the play, as well as other Christian themes and motifs.   

 --Christian Symbolism

 As we discussed in class the end of "Much Ado about Nothing" touches upon the idea of resurrection from a seemingly terrible fate.  Throughout the end of the play, the audience is introduced to the christian symbolism in regards to Hero's virginity and the actions of other characters.

 Hero's Virginity:

• Virginity: Gives one status; identity is wrapped up in chastity and purity.

• Metaphor of the Orange: on the outside it looks fin, on the inside you see that it is corrupted and stale. Hero is compared to an orange, insinuating her as a symbol of fruit; a christian symbol for chastity. 

 Comedy vs. Tragedy:

• A stark contrast between comedy and tragedy are seen in 4.1.140 when Leonato states, "O, She is Fallen". An emphasis on fall, or the fallen man. A connection back to Eden.

• Tragedy is the genre of  irredeamable, irreversible acts ; you cannot stop destruction. 

• Comedy is the genre of REDEMPTION - problems, worries, woes can be fixed in comedy. 

  • 4.2.50 Dogberry speaks of Redemption "Condemned damnation" is what he means to be saying because this is a comedy and that means the audience and characters must find redemption.

  • Claudio sins but is redeemed by Leonato/Hero 

  • Hero is re-born to save Claudio from his sins 

  • A cycle of Sin - Punishment - Redemption 

 Dogberry and the Watchmen are the reason that we hear Hero is innocent (ie Revelation). "Last shall be first" This class inversion is at the center of Christianity. 

 5.1.165 Don Pedro is "in the garden" insinuating Eden or the site of sin.

 Northroy Frye: Archetypal Criticism "Narrative of Eden" . The argument: Christian narrative is a comedy. Adam + Eve are sentenced to death, they find redemption though and are exiled to death. However, they follow the genre of comedy in essence. 

Epilogue

 1. How do you portray Hero's lines? Do you think she behaves like a "hero"?

2. Why doesn't Shakespeare show us the plan between Borachio and Margaret?