Much Ado About Nothing Review

Margaret

Hero's attendant. Loves Borachio, serves Hero along with Margaret. She is a flirt with Benedick, terrible gossip and makes love with Borachio. Hero's serving woman, who unwittingly helps Borachio and Don John deceive Claudio into thinking that Hero is unfaithful.

Verges

Serves Dogberry with George Seacole and chief policeman of Messina.

George Seacole

Serves Dogberry with Verges.

Ursula

Serves Hero along with Margaret.

What does Borachio mean?

"thief"...interesting name choice.

Name the character that comes up with the plan to find the villain. What is that plan?

**Benedick is the first to suspect that Don John is behind the slander. Friar Francis then devises the plan to uncover the truth.** Dogberry and Verges comes up with the plan to find the villain. They question the men themselves and tell Leonado about it later. Dogberry and Verges head off to question the prisoners on their own.

Personification

- A figure of speech in which human characteristics are attributed to non-human things (animals, plants, etc.)

Allusion

- A passing reference to historical or fictional characters, places, or events, or to other works that the writer assumes the reader will recognize. Commonly made to the Bible, the works of Shakespeare, and Greek mythology.

Which characters are considered foils?

- Don John and Dogberry - Don John and Don Pedro - Beatice and Bendick - Hero and Beatrice - Bendick and Claudio

Parallelism

- The technique some writers use to make certain phrases sound more important by writing them in a similar form. Ex. Not only do authors use parallel structure in language but also in plot. Within a play a couple can experience the same thing as another couple which is also a parallel structure

Give 3 examples of "overhearing" from the play.

1. Don Pedro and Claudio eavesdrop on the conversation between the supposed Hero and Borachio and draw the inferences that Don John's lie prejudiced them to draw. 2. Benedick and Beatrice think they are eavesdropping on their friends' conversation, not realizing that it is being held deliberately to deceive them. 3. Antonio says that a servant of his overheard Don Pedro talking with Claudio outside. The servant thinks that he overheard Don Pedro professing his love for Hero and that he means to tell her that very night, during the dance, and then ask Leonato himself for Hero's hand in marriage.

How does the title of the play have more than 1 meaning?

A great deal of fuss over nothing of importance.

Conrade

Another of Don John's accomplices. One of Don John's more intimate associates, entirely devoted to Don John. Several recent productions have staged Conrad as Don John's potential male lover, possibly to intensify Don John's feelings of being a social outcast and therefore motivate his desire for revenge.

Don Jon

Antagonist, hates Claudio and Don Pedro, Leader of Conrade and Borachio. The illegitimate brother of Don Pedro, sometimes called "the Bastard." The "villain" acknowledges his strain of evil and is obsessed with little else unless it involves making his brother, Don Pedro, unhappy. Don John is melancholy and sullen by nature, and he creates a dark scheme to ruin the happiness of Hero and Claudio.

Aphrodite, Diana and Cupid are all mentioned in the play. What do they have in common?

Aphrodite - The most famous Hero is from the Greek legend of Hero and Leander. Hero was a virgin priestess of the goddess Aphrodite (a.k.a. Venus), and young Leander fell in love with her. Leander convinced Hero to sleep with him because he claimed the best way to worship Aphrodite, goddess of love, was to not be a virgin. Hero gave her virginity to Leander, and the two of them lived happily and in secret. Then, Leander drowned, and Hero killed herself. In Much Ado About Nothing Hero's name is kind of ironic. While Hero of Much Ado is accused of being like the Leander's Hero, she's actually quite the opposite (chaste). Diana - Diana was one of the three virgin goddesses of Roman and Greek mythology. Claudio thought that Hero was a virgin like Dian, and she is. But due to Don John's cunning act, Hero is considered a sinner and is insulted as a slut. Cupid - The Greek love gods, Venus and Eros are Cupid's parents. Cupid, as referred to in the text, has craftily used his arrow to smite the characters of Benedick and Beatrice. Ex. "Our talk must only be of Benedick. When I do name him, let it by thy part. To praise him more than ever man did merit: My talk to thee must be how Benedick is sick in love with Beatrice. Of this matter is little Cupid's crafty arrow made, that only wounds by hearsay." (Act III) "Some Cupid kills with arrows, some with traps."

Aside

Aside - Ex. As they scheme to deceive Benedick, Claudio and Don Pedro speak to each other in a way that the audience can hear, but a concealed Benedick cannot.

Why does Beatrice refer to Benedick as "Signior Mountanto?"

Beatrice is using a pun on the word "montano", a word that has to do with fencing. She is trying to be humorous implying that Benedick "mountanto" is a bad at sword fighting.

Who are dynamic characters?

Beatrice, Benedick, Claudio, Don Pedro are dynamic characters.

Whom was Don Pedro at war with before returning to Messina?

Don Pedro at war with Don John, his brother, before returning to Messina

What does "I will requite the" mean?

Benedick, keep on loving me and I will return your love Beatrice says this in her soliloquy after she "overhears" Hero and Ursula talking about how proud and scorn she is about marrrage and that BEendick is in love with her. So if he keeps loving her, then she will love him.

Who really came up with the plan to ruin Claudio's wedding?

Borachio was the one to come up with the plan, but Don John followed along.

Which couple falls in love at first sight?

Claudio and Hero fall in love at first sight.

Why does Don John want to be a villain?

Don John wants to cause chaos, it's in his nature.

Borachio

Don John's accomplice. Serves Don John along with Conrade. 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.

Why does Beatrice refuse to marry Don Pedro?

Don Pedro gallantly offers to marry Beatrice but she refuses, telling him, "No, my lord, unless I could have another husband for the work week. You are too **expensive to wear every day.** But please, forgive me, your highness. I was born to speak cleverly, not seriously."

What is Don Pedro's relationship like with his brother, Don John?

Don Pedro is the Prince of Aragon and Don John is his bastard brother. This means they are half brothers with a common, noble father. These two are character foils from the play. Don Pedro is noble and honorable, while Don John only is evil and distrusting.

Shakespeare writes puns in his comedies.

For example Don Pedro asks, "Who have you offended, masters, that you are thus bound to your answer?" "Bound" also means "confined by bonds" (which in this case could be ropes or shackles). Borachio and Conrade are two of John's men who have been caught by the constables (low-ranking police officers). Now, they are bound by the law to truthfully answer the Prince's question.

Leonardo

Governor of Messina. Uncle of Beatrice and father to Hero. Friends with Don Pedro. Tricked into thinking his daughter, Hero, is unfaithful to Claudio until he realizes the truth and is reunited with her at the end of the play.

How does Leonato react to the slander put upon Hero?

He's shocked at first but then believes Claudio over Hero. Leonato cries out in despair, asking for a dagger with which to commit suicide. Leonato, weeping, tells Benedick and Beatrice to let Hero die, since that would be better than for her to live in shame.

Hero

Leonato's beautiful daughter of Leonato and cousin of Beatrice. Beloved of Claudio, but scorned by him when he is tricked into thinking she is unfaithful. She wants to die and thus her "resurrection" when Claudio realizes she has be true to him all along. Hero is lovely, gentle, and kind.

Beatrice

Love/Hate Relationship with Benedick, cousin of Hero, niece of Leonato. 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.

Who are static characters?

Margaret, Ursula, Friar, Dogberry are static characters in Much Ado.

Dogberry

Master Constable, middle class, leader of Verges and George Seacole. Funny constable who fractures both logic and the English language. Brings villains to justice, but by accident. Dogberry is very sincere and takes his job seriously, but he has a habit of using exactly the wrong word to convey his meaning.

Metaphor

Metaphor - A type of figurative language when the qualities of one thing are ascribed to something else, qualities that it does not ordinarily possess.

What is a malapropism? How is this term used within the play?

Misusing words ridiculously, especially by the confusion of words that are similar in sound. Dogberry has a habit of using exactly the wrong word to convey his meaning.

Who said it & why? "I have rallied so long against marriage, but doth the appetite alter? A man loves the meat in his youth he cannot endure in his age....When I said I would be a bachelor, I did not think I should live till I were married" (2.3.239-246).

Modern: But don't tastes change? A man can love a dish when he is young that he hates when he turns old. Will quips and clever remarks and scathing written words keep a man from getting what his heart desires? No! The world needs to be populated. When I said that I'd die as a bachelor, I just meant that I didn't think I'd live until I got married. This takes place during Benedick's soliloquy, after he "overhears" the boys talking about how much Beatrice loves Benedick. He realizes how much he loves her too and how is views on marriage have now changed because of Beatrice.

Who said it & why? "My heart is sorry for your daughter's death, but, on my honor, she was charged with nothing but what was true and very full of proof" (5.1.116-118).

Modern: Gentlemen, we won't stay here and anger you further. I'm sorry about your daughter's death, but I swear our accusations were true, and backed up with proof. Leonato and Antonio are arguing with Claudio, that they want to fight him in a duel because he "killed" Hero. But Claudio argues that Hero was unfaithful, which is what Don pedro is trying to say.

Who said it & why? "If I see anything tonight why I should not marry her, tomorrow in the congregation, where I should wed, there will I shame her" (3.2.116-118).

Modern: If I see anything tonight that convinces me not to marry her, I'll shame her tomorrow in the very congregation where I would have married her. Don John is telling Claudio that she is being unfaithful to him and that if he goes to her chamber window he will see her being unfaithful, even the night before their wedding. Claudio tells Don John that if this is true then he will shame her, labeling her a *****, and not get married to her.

Who said it & why? "There is a kind of merry war betwixt Signior Benedick and her. They never meet but there's a skirmish of wit between them."

Modern: Please don't take my niece the wrong way, sir. Benedick and Beatrice have been waging a war of wits between themselves. Whenever they meet, there's a little battle. Leonato explains to the messenger that Beatrice and Bendick have always had a love/hate relationship that is why she is constantly making fun of him.

Who said it & why? "Thus goes everyone to the world but I, and I am sunburnt. I may sit in a corner and cry 'heigh-ho for a husband" (2.1.311-313).

Modern: Thank the lord for alliances! So everyone goes off into the world except me, who stays in because I'm sunburned. I should sit in the corner and sing that song, "Heigh-Ho for a Husband!" She says this because Claudio and Hero are getting married and the pressure is one her to get married next. Then Don Pedro asks if he wants to marry her, but she denies.

Monologue

Monologue - A long speech that is addressed to other characters who are on stage with the actor/actress.

False Ending

Much Ado has several spots in the last Act where the audience thinks the play will end, but there is still more. This is called a false ending.

Don Pedro

Prince of Aragon, friends with Leonato, brother of Don John, leader of Claudio and Benedick. Happiest of all characters in the play when the deceptions by his villainous "bastard brother" Don John are revealed. 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.

What is Claudio's penance?

The local Watch headed by Dogberry brought together everyone to inform Claudo of the truth about Hero. As penance, Claudio is told to deliver a eulogy for Hero. Leonato tells him that he must marry his niece to pay for his wrong doing. At the "funeral," Claudio hangs on Hero's tomb an epitaph.

How do Beatrice & Benedick end up falling in love?

The men persuade Benedick that Beatrice is in love with him, and to save her life, he decides to open his heart and allow himself to love her. Similarly, the women let it be known to Beatrice that Benedick is madly in love with her—and she finally admits to herself she's overwhelmingly in love with him.

How does the "overhearing" impede and sometimes help the overall plot?

When Benedick and Beatrice eavesdropped on their friends conversation, they both thought the other was in love with them, therefore they confessed their feelings for one another. Another example was when the watch overheard Borachio exposing his plan. If he hadn't heard that then the ending wouldn't have happened.

Soliloquy

When a character is the only one on stage, and he/she speaks his/her thoughts aloud so the audience can hear.

Benedick

Young Lord of Padua. Companion of Don Pedro. Love/Hate relationship with Beatrice. Witty, adamant about never marrying despite the fact he is in love with Beatrice.

Claudio

Young lord of Florence. A count, companion of Don Pedro, lover of Hero, and friend to Benedick. Signior Benedick took him under his wing, also won great acclaim fighting under Don Pedro. Falls in love with Hero, but his suspicious nature makes him quick to believe evil rumors and hasty to despair and take revenge.