Much Ado About Nothing

act 5, scene 4: besides don john, who does leonato decide is aldo partly to blame for what happened to his daughter?

margaret

act 4, scene 1: what confession does beatrice make to benedick?

she loves him

act 2, scene 1: how much does hero talk? describe her

she talks little, reserved/modest

act 2, scene 2: what does don john promise borachio if he is able to pull off his plan to ruin claudio's wedding with hero?

1,000 gold coins (called ducats)

act 5, scene 1: what things does leonato insist that claudio do in order to restore his daughter hero's honor?

1. clear hero's name 2. put an epitaph on her grave and sing 3. merry his niece (actually hero but caludio doesn't know)

Leonato

A respected, well-to-do, elderly noble at whose home, in Messina, Italy, the action is set. Leonato is the father of Hero and the uncle of Beatrice. As governor of Messina, he is second in social power only to Don Pedro.

balthasar

A waiting man in Leonato's household and a musician. Balthasar flirts with Margaret at the masked party and helps Leonato, Claudio, and Don Pedro trick Benedick into falling in love with Beatrice.

claudio

A young soldier who has won great acclaim fighting under Don Pedro during the recent wars. Claudio falls in love with Hero upon his return to Messina. His unfortunately suspicious nature makes him quick to believe evil rumors and hasty to despair and take revenge.

Benedick

An aristocratic soldier who has recently been fighting under Don Pedro, and a friend of Don Pedro and Claudio. Benedick is very witty, always making jokes and puns. He carries on a "merry war" of wits with Beatrice, but at the beginning of the play he swears he will never fall in love or marry.

Borachio

An associate of Don John. Borachio is the lover of Margaret, Hero's serving woman. He conspires with Don John to trick Claudio and Don Pedro into thinking that Hero is unfaithful to Claudio. His name means "drunkard" in Italian, which might serve as a subtle direction to the actor playing him.

Don Pedro's plan to unite beatrice and benedick works like a charm. why?

Beatrice and Benedick already had feelings for each other from their previous relationship. all don pedro had to do was convince them the other loves them back.

throughout the play, both beatrice and benedick give laundry lists of reasons statinf why they cant fathom the idea of getting married. find the passages in the play and compare their reasons. are they different or similar? do they get over it? how?

Beatrice finds men annoying and uses the excuse that everyone is related because everyone came from Adam and Eve so to marry would be incest. Benedick has a sizable list of what his ideal woman is like and does not trust women to be faithful in marriage. Their reasons are similar in that they both would like to be independent people, but while Beatrice can't stand men, Benedick can't trust and therefore dislikes women and the idea of marriage. Benedick and Beatrice both get over their reasons because they fell in love and with this deep over Benedick is able to trust Beatrice and Beatrice enjoys Benedick's company, unlike how she feels towards most men.

act 1, scene 1: who is signior montanto and what is his relation to beatrice?

Benedick, he and beatrice used to date

Why does Claudio send Don Pedro to woo Hero for him? Do you think he should have done this? Why, once he knows Hero is betrothed to him, is Claudio speechless?

Claudio sends Don Pedro in place of himself because Claudio is too nervous and scared to talk to Hero. He shouldn't have done this because this does not foster any kind of connection between Claudio and Hero, but seeing as true love is not the reason they are marrying, it does not really matter. Claudio is speechless because he thought Hero was going to marry Don Pedro and Claudio thinks Hero is too pretty for him

What is the importance of Dogberry in the play? What does his usage of malapropisms tell us about his character? why do you think Shakespear chose to write this character like this?

Dogberry is the sheriff that deals with Borachio. his use of malapropisms tell us about his low intelligence. Shakespear uses him as comedic relief

Conrade

Don John's other servant. Some historians believe Conrade and Don Pedro were meant to be male lovers, serving to further outcast Don John and deepen his desire for revenge

Margaret

Hero's serving woman, who unwittingly helps Borachio and Don John deceive Claudio into thinking that Hero is unfaithful. Unlike Ursula, Hero's other lady-in-waiting, Margaret is lower class. Though she is honest, she does have some dealings with the villainous world of Don John: her lover is the mistrustful and easily bribed Borachio. Also unlike Ursula, Margaret loves to break decorum, especially with bawdy jokes and teases.

is it significant that Don Pedro's and the men are returning from war?

It is significant because since the men have been at war, women have been absent from their lives, so love is on their mind

Antonio

Leonato's elderly brother and Hero's uncle. He is Beatrice's father.

Beatrice

Leonato's niece and Hero's cousin. Beatrice is "a pleasant-spirited lady" with a very sharp tongue. She is generous and loving, but, like Benedick, continually mocks other people with elaborately tooled jokes and puns. She wages a war of wits against Benedick and often wins the battles. At the outset of the play, she appears content never to marry.

Ursula

One of Hero's waiting women.

don pedro

Prince of Arragon. Don Pedro is a longtime friend of Leonato (Hero's father) and is also close to the soldiers who have been fighting under him—the younger Benedick and the very young Claudio. Don Pedro is generous, courteous, intelligent, and loving to his friends, but he is also quick to believe evil of others and hasty to take revenge. He is the most politically and socially powerful character in the play.

explain how the title, much ado about nothing, relates to shakespear's examination of relationships in the play

Taken literally, the title implies that a great fuss ("much ado") is made of something which is insignificant ("nothing"). this is seen in the false accusations made against hero and the extravagant reactions of everyone present, including leonato wanting to kill himself. in shakespeare's time, he could have also been referring to "noting", meaning to take not of or to spy. examples of this include benedick and beatrice eavesdropping on thier friend discussing how they each still had feelings for eachother. the friends were "noting" benedick and beatrice into loving eachother.

Hero

The beautiful young daughter of Leonato and the cousin of Beatrice. Hero is lovely, gentle, and kind. She falls in love with Claudio when he falls for her, but when Don John slanders her and Claudio rashly takes revenge, she suffers terribly.

Dogberry

The constable in charge of the Watch, or chief policeman, of Messina. Dogberry is very sincere and takes his job seriously, but he has a habit of using exactly the wrong word to convey his meaning. Dogberry is one of the few "middling sort," or middle-class characters, in the play, though his desire to speak formally and elaborately like the noblemen becomes an occasion for parody.

Verges

The deputy to Dogberry, chief policeman of Messina.

Don john

The illegitimate brother of Don Pedro. Don John is melancholy and sullen by nature, and he creates a dark scheme to ruin the happiness of Hero and Claudio. He is the villain of the play; his evil actions are motivated by his envy of his brother's social authority.

What is the climax of the play? What is the climax of the Hero/Claudio story? What is the climax of the Beatrice/Benedick story? Are they the same or different and why?

There are two climaxes; 1. Claudio rejects and shames Hero at the altar and 2. Benedick confesses his love to Beatrice and she in turn asks him to kill Claudio. the climaxes are different because in the first one, something awful is happening as Claudio is showing despise for Hero and in the second one, something good is happening as Benedick shows love for Beatrice

Act V, scene i presents Leonato and Benedick, who are intensely irate, in verbal and physical conflict with claudio and don pedro. What is your reaction to the verbal/physical exchanges of these men? Why are they acting as they are?

They are not handling this very civilly and hardly maturly, as the solution in these days was to kill by challenging others. They are acting as they are because Hero's reputation was ruined on false accusations, and a woman's reputation was really all she had in this time.

act 3, scene 2: what escuse does benedick give for his melancholy behavior?

a toothache, this is ironic because a toothache is a sign of love in Elizabethan times

act 5, scene 1: how does antonio defend leonato?

antonio also challenges claudio to a duel

act 3, scene 2: where is don pedro headed after claudio and hero's wedding?

arragon

act 5, scene 3: who sings a hymn at hero's tomb in her honor?

balthasar

act 1, scene 1: according to leonato, who is fighting a "merry war"? why does leonato use this term?

beatrice and benedick, they throw insults at each other, a sort of battle of wits

act 3, scene 4: describe beatrice's mood during the scene with hero and margaret. to what does hero contribute this mood?

beatrice feels sick because she loves benedick

act 3, scene 1: why does hero claim she will never tell beatrice of benedick's affections?

beatrice is too proud, she values herself too much to love someone

act 5, scene 1: why does benedick also challenge claudio?

beatrice told him to kill caludio

love is defined differently by wach couple in the play. find an example for each couple that reveals their perception of love

benedick and beatrice: benedick loves beatrice because she is fair, virtuous, and wise. beatrice loves benedick because he loves her, he is fit to be a husband, and he shows his affection for her. beatrice and benedick have known eachother for a considerable amount of time, so they know who the other truly is and they chose to have a relationship knowing this. to this couple, love comes when you really know someone for who they really are. claudio and hero: claudio saw hero one day, thought she was beautiful, and declared he loved her. Hero was instructed to marry him. to claudio, love is based on prettiness.

list three different relationships shakespear examines in this play

benedick and beatrice: they used to love eachother but then broke it off. everyone knows there are still some feelings there so their friends plot to get them together again. the theme shown in this relatioship is deception, as their friend had to decieve benedick that beatrice loved him and vice versa leonato and hero: they had a healthy, loving relationship until leonato believed that hero had been another man before marriage. the theme shown here is honor, as leonato loved hero until she was accused of being unfaithful, bringing shame on her. his love for her was not deep, as a shameful reputation destroyed it. don pedro and borachio: borachio was a faithful follower of don john. a theme shown here is deception, as don john and borachio plotted together to deceive claudio into thinking hero was not faithful so that his marriage would be ruined

act 2, scene 1: what hint does beatrice drop about the possible reason for her treatment of benedick?

benedick broke her heart

act 3, scene 2: what changes has benedick made to his physical appearance?

benedick shaved (beatrice mentioned she doesn't like beards at the beginning of the play) and he is wearing perfume

shakespeare often revelas the hypocrosity of humanity. find two examples of characters that say one thing and do the opposite

benedick: he says he will never marry a woman or love a woman, but he confesses that he loves beatrice and marries her. beatrice: she says she thanks god that she is unmarried and she will remain that way, but marries benedick

compare and contrast the love story of hero and claudio with that of beatrice and benedick

contrast: benedick and beatrice have known each other for a long time while claudio decides to marry hero the moment he sees her. benedick and beatrice love eachother for who they are while claudio loves hero for how she looks compare: there are moments of deception in both relationships. claudio is led to believe that hero is unfaithful while benedick and beatrice are led to believe the other loves them

from examples in the text, record two personality traits about each character examined (benedick, beatrice, leonato, hero, don john, and borachio)

benedick: untrusting/skeptical (he would not ever marry a woman, she would not remain faithful) and capricious-given to sudden behavior change-(after hearing once that beatrice loved him, he abandoned his "forever bachelor" stance and was ready to reenter a relationship with her) beatrice: witty (she has a vast array of insults for benedick and comes up with them quickly) and proud (she was too proud to put herself in a vulnerable position to admit her love for benedick) leonato: protective (he is so protective of his honor that when hero was accused of being unfaithful, he said it would be better for her to die and tried to distance himself from her) and respectable (he holds a governmental position and others respect him for it) hero: meek (she is reserved and gentle) and obedient (when leonato wanted her to marry don pedro, she was willing and when leonato wanted her to marry claudio, she didn't complain) don john: vengeful (he wanted to ruin claudio's wedding because claudio was on the opposing army don john lost to) and jealous (led a mutiny against his brother, don pedro) borochio: crafty (came up with the plan to make hero appear unfaithful) and impetuous (showed remorse after he was caught for his crimes, so he probably didn't really think through his actions and what the consequences would be)

act 1, scene 1: describe beatrice's greeting to benedick upon his arrival

bitter, sarcastic, rude, insults him a lot

act 3, scene 3: what do the watchmen happen to overhear?

borachio explaining his plan to make hero appear unfaithful and how don john paid him 1,000 gold coins

act 5, scene 1: what news does caludio learn from borachio?

borachio staged hero's disloyalty

act 4, scene 2: what does the sexton suggest that dogberry do with his prisoners?

bring them to leonato

act 3, scene 3: who is dogberry?

chief police officer of messina

act 5, scene 4: what two couples get married at the end of the play?

claudio and hero, benedick and beatrice

act 2, scene 3: what changes in claudio's behavior does benedick notice?

claudio listens to soft music, stays up late fashioning new clothes, and speaks poetically

act 1, scene 3: what news does borachio bring to don john?

claudio loves hero

act 2, scene 1: what news does don pedro bring to claudio?

claudio will marry hero

act 5, scene 1: why does leonato challenge claudio to a duel?

claudio wronged his innocent daughter when he accused her

explain what obstacle prevented the marriage of hero and caludio and why this was so detrimental to hero's reputation

claudio's gullibility: caludio believed that hero was unfaithful by seeing a shadowy figure with another shadowy figure on hero's balcony at night. he easily believed that this was hero at the suggestion by don john. because of how naive claudio acted, he shamed hero for revenge. this was detrimental to hero's reputation because this was basically the best way to ruin a woman's reputation in this time; to sleep with another man. now everyone recognized hero as a scummy person with low morals, shaming not just her but her entire family. don john: don john wanted revenge on caludio for defeating him in war so he planned to do this by ruining his wedding, bringing him unhappiness; hero's damaged reputation was just a causality to him. don john orchestrated the plan to make caludio believe hero was unfaithful. because this succeeded, this ruined hero's reputation (see above for why this was terrible for hero's public image) honor: no man would ever marry a woman who was not a virgin in this time. Honor was highly valued and not being a virgin was seen as dishonorable and claudio would bring dishonor on himself for marrying a woman like that. if honor had not been such a valued thing, claudio might have chosen to confront hero about what he saw so they could work it out.

act 2, scene 3: what does benedick blame for the unfavorable changes he sees in caludio?

claudio's love for hero

act 4, scene 1: describe leonato's reaction to the count's accusations

confusion, shame, then he wants to kill himself

act 5, scene 4: what dose leonate instruct hero, margaret, and beatrice to do when claudio arrives for the wedding ceremony?

cover their faces with a veil

What is the moral of the story?

deceit is not always evil, but something that can be used for good or bad. deceit was used to ruin Hero's life and deceit was used to help Benedick and Beatrice fall in love

act 1, scene 1: what does don pedro intend to do for claudio?

disguise himself as claudio and woo hero

act 3, scene 5: what does dogberry tell leonato right before the wedding and what is leonato's reply?

dogberry tells him that they arrested someguys who need to be questioned and leonato tells him to go do it. dogberry could have stopped the whole incident at the wedding by telling leonato what borachio had done, but dogberry has low intelligence

act 2, scene 1: who does leonato notice is not at supper that evening?

don john

act 1, scene 3: What sort of person is don john? why should he probably lay low for the time being? how does he describe himself?

don john is an evil person, he should lay low because he led the revolt against don pedro and his army, john describes himself as a villain

how do don john's actions affect the relationship between beatrice and benedick?

don john makes hero look unfaithful which leads to claudio slandering her name in public causing beatrice to ask benedick to kill claudio. this gives benedick a chance to prove his loyalty to beatrice

act 4, scene 1: who does benedick suspect is behind the confusion surrounding hero?

don john`

Acr 1, scene 1: the messenger tells leonato someone will be arriving in messina. who is coming?

don pedro

act 2, scene 1: who does claudio become angry with after don john shares what he has "heard"?

don pedro

act 1, scene 2: what does antonio claim to have learned from one of his servants?

don pedro is in love with hero

act 2, scene 1: what false information does don john tell claudio?

don pedro loves hero

act 2, scene 1: explain how claudio won hero's heart

don pedro won it for him

act 3, scene 2: what does claudio intend to do if he finds out that hero truly is inappropriately seeing other men?

embarrass and shame her in front of the entire town

examine claudio and hero's relationship. were internal or external forces guilty of their mistrust in eachother?

external forces played a big part in their mistrust. claudio thought he saw hero with another man and this is when he no longer trusted her. claudio was easily swayed against hero and publicly shamed her and this is when hero no longer trusted claudio. the only internal force in caludio that led to his mistrust of hero was his ignorance in easily believing that hero was on the balcony and then publicly accusing her before talking to her for confirmation in his suspicions

act 4, scene 2: for what virtues does dogberry claim that he should be respected?

he is a wise officer of the law, a householder, and is very handsome

don john is undoubtedly the ultimate villain of this story. why do you think he behaves the way he does?

he is jealous of his brother's power and angry that he lost the war against his brother

act 3, scene 2: what do don pedro and claudio claim is wrong with benedick?

he is lovesick

act 2, scene 3: what is benedick's reaction to the news he overhears form don pedro, balthasar, and claudio?

he is shocked and decides he will love beatrice back

act 5, scene 1: what does claudio claim his only sin is in the event surrounding hero's death?

he only mistook margaret for hero

act 5, scene 1: how does don pedro attempt to diffuse the situation between claudio and benedick?

he teases benedick about beatrice without realizing that benedick is now serious about her

act 1, scene 2: what is leonato's reaction to the news regarding don pedro's wooing his daughter, hero?

he wants don pedro and hero to get married

act 3, scene 2: how does don john intend to prove his accusations against hero?

he will show claudio and don john "hero" on her balcony with another man (borachio) that night

act 2, scene 1: what plan does don pedro begin to concoct?

he will trick benedick and beatrice into falling in love again

act 1, scene 1: who catches claudio's eye?

hero

act 5, scene 4: what does claudio discover once the wedding party enters?

hero is not dead

act 3, scene 2: what false news does don john bring to don pedro and claudio?

hero is unfaithful

act 5, scene 4: who does leonato claim were completely innocent in the accusations about hero?

hero, caludio, and don pedro

act 2, scene 1: how does don john feed false information to claudio?

john pretends to think claudio is benedick (everyone is in masks)

act 3, scene 4: describe the verbal banter among the women as they prepare for the wedding

joyful, happy, full of compliments

act 4, scene 1: what request does beatrice make of benedick?

kill claudio

act 4, scene 2: what does don john do after hero is accused?

leaves town

act 5, scene 4: what evidence do claudio and hero produce as proof that benedick and beatrice love eachother?

love letters benedick and beatrice wrote to eachother

act 1, scene 3: what are don john's true feelings toward his brother, don pedro?

malice, hate

act 2, scene 2: what plan does borachio devise that pleases don john?

margaret will stand on hero's balcony with borachio in the dark and john will show claudio and pedro so that they will think hero is unfaithful

act 1, scene 1: what is it that benedick swears will never happen to him?

marriage, fall in love

act 2, scene 1: what kind of party is leonato hosting?

masquerade

Where does much ado about nothing take place?

messina, italy

act 3, scene 3: what does the reader notice about dogberry and verges' speeches?

misuse of words (malapropism)

act 4, scene 1: what is claudio's response when the friar asks if he comes to be married?

no

Though he is forgiven in the end, Claudio makes some rash and unsupported decisions throughout the play and there are dire consequences. Where his actions justified?

no, although he was incredibly angry with hero for cheating, which is understandable, he publicly shamed her without solid proof or confronting her first, and that was uncalled for

act 5, scene 1: what advice does antonio give his brother regarding his grief?

not to take all the pain upon himself

act 1, scene 1: how long do don pedro and his company plan on staying in messina?

one month

which kind of relationship (benedick and beatrice's or claudio and hero's) would you prefer and why?

opinion question. example: beatrice and benedick relationship because it was based on love for their person rather than their looks

beatrice asks benedick to challenge and kill claudio in order to regain hero's honor. do you think it was fair of her to ask this of him? do you think he was right to agree? why?

opinion question. example: no, she shouldn't ask him to kill someone. no, benedick was not right to agree because although claudio was in the wrong, there are other ways to regain hero's honor

what basic elements are essential to a successful relationship?

opinion question. examples: communication, trust, love

act 5, scene 4: how does don pedro describe benedick's expression when he and claudio enter?

out of sorts, "full of frost, of storm, and cloudiness"

act 1, scene 1: who is don john?

pedro's illegitimate brother

act 4, scene 2: of what crimes does dogberry accuse borachio and conrade?

perjury and burglary (he means bribery)

act 4, scene 1: describe the plan that the friar creates regarding hero

pretend that she died when she fainted so people will stop gossiping about her and if they cannot clear her name, they will send her to a convent

examine benedick and beatrice's relationship. what character flaws create tension in their relationship?

pride: both benedick and beatrice are proud people. they protect the reputation and public image which they are a bit too proud of. this blocked them from confessing their true feelings for each other because it would put them in a vulnerable state and if they were rejected, they would show that they cared, which could be seen as a weakness unforgiveness: beatrice was angry with benedick for breaking her heart. if she had been more open to him, it would have been easier to get them back together

Friar Francis

priest

act 5, scene 3: what does claudio do at hero' tomb?

reads an epitaph he wrote to hero

act 2, scene 3: what qualities must a woman possess before benedick will even consider her for a wife?

rich, wise, virtuous (good character), fair (pretty), meek (gentle/quiet), noble, excellent musician, and good speaker

act 4, scene 1: what does claudio call hero?

rotten orange, common harlot, proven *****

act 1, scene 3: what does don john plan to do regarding claudio and hero? why?

ruin claudio's marriage to avenge his loss against claudio in the war

act 4, scene 1: how does hero react to count caludio's claims?

she denies them and faints

act 4, scene 1: what is claudio's accusation against hero?

she has been unfaithful

act 2, scene 1: how does beatrice further insult benedick at leonato's masquerade party?

she talks trash to his face, knowing it is him underneath the mask but pretending she doesn't know, everyone laughs

act 5, scene 2: why does beatrice want to know what has happened between benedick and caludio?

she wants to know if benedick did what she asked and is planning to kill caludio

act 3, scene 1: what is beatrice's reaction to what she overhears form usrsula and hero?

she will love beneick back

act 1, scene 1: beatrice questions the messenger about someone. Who?

signior montanto

act 2, scene 3: why does benedick send a servant to retrieve a book from his room?

so that benedick can brood the loss of a bachelor (claudio's in love with hero) and describe his ideal woman

act 2, scene 1: what does beatrice say she is thankful to God for every night?

that she does not have a husband

act 4, scene 1: who defends hero by saying that her blushes were form embarrassment and not from shame?

the friar

What does the friar hope will happen as a result of his plan to announce that hero is dead? What is his objective in suggesting this? Do you think he was right in planning to deceive everyone?

the friar suggested this to cause the townspeople to stop gossiping about hero out of respect to the dead. This would have limited the rumors and made it easier to clear Hero's name. The friar was right in doing this because it is in hero's best interest, bu he is also wrong to do this because he is lying to a massive crowd.

much ado about nothing is classified as a comedy, but most of the scenes are trouble or even tragedy, so what makes this play a comedy when there are so many tragic elements?

there are no deaths, some marriages, a happy ending, and several jokes.

act 2, scene 3: what knowledge do don pedro, balthasar, and claudio have that benedick is not aware of?

they know benedick is listening from the bushes

act 3, scene 1: what does beatrice overhear hero and ursula talking about?

they say benedick still loves her

act 2, scene 3: what story do don pedro, balthasar, and claudio tell while claudio is hiding in the bushes?

they say that beatrice is hopelessly in love with benedick

act 2, scene 1: what instructions do leonato and antonio have for hero? what do leonato and antonio think will happen that evening?

they tell her to say yes to don pedro's marriage proposal because they think pedro will ask her that night

of all the play's characters, beatrice and benedick are two of the most coveted roles for actors and the most recognizeable characters to audiences. however, it is arguable that beatrice and benedick are really 'supporting characters' and that hero/claudio are the leads. why do beatrice and benedick have the reputation they do?

throughout the play, the characters are trying to get benedick and beatrice back together. beatrice and benedick are the characters that the audience gets to know the most, which is commonly seen in protagonists. claudio wields al ot of power in the play, but holding power over others does not make a character the protagonist. claudio is not a compelling character and does not seem to change or learn anything throughout the play, unlike benedick and beatrice, who change the most.

act 3, scene 1: what plan have hero, margaret, and ursula agreed to participate in?

to make beatrice fall in love with benedick again

act 3, scene 3: how does dogberry instruct his watchmen to deal with any wrongdoers they may encounter?

to send them away so he won't have to deal with them

what is shakespeare's central purpose in developing these two unique relatinships (benedick and beatrice, claudio and hero)? what is he trying to say?

to show the difference between a relationship based on physical love and deep love. in both of the relationships, marriage is postponed due to a big fuss about nothing (much ado about nothing) benedick and beatrice love eachother but keep denying it and are too proud to admit so their friends have to trick them into loving eachother. claudio believes hero is unfaithful and tarnishes her relationship, then he has to restore is after he finds out that he was wrong. shakespeare is trying to say how communication is important in relationships. each couple could have been happier had they had open communication, but instead beatrice and benedick were stubborn in denying their feelings to eachother and claudio hurt hero by accusing her of cheating, which she didn't do. shakespeare is also demonstrating the theme of deception and how it can be good or bad. benedick and beatrice were tricked into confessing their love for each other, but claudio was tricked into humiliating hero.

act 2, scene 1: where does beatruce say that, as an unmarried woman, she shall go?

to the gate's of hell where the devil will tell her that virgins don't go to hell, so then she will go to heaven

Act 1, Scene 1: Where are Don Pedro, Claudio, Benedick, and Don John returning from?

war

act 2, scene 2: what information does don john say he is going to obtain?

when claudio and hero plan to get married

When the women (hero and ursula) discuss Beatrice, they say: "nature never framed a woman's heart/Of prouder stuff than that of Beatrice/Disdain and scorn ride sparkling in her eyes, Misprising what they look on, and her wit/Values itself so highly that to her/All matter else seems weak: she cannot love,/Nor take no shape nor project of affection,/She is so self-endeared." Do you think this is a fair description of Beatrice? Why?

yes, Beatrice is very proud. Although they say she will never fall in love, Beatrice does fall in love, but this is because she put down some of her pride and put herself in a vulnerable position of admitting her love to Benedick

act 2, scene 1: does beatrice know she is speaking with benedick (who is wearing a mask)? does benedick think she knows who she is speaking to

yes, no