DOGBERRY’S

MALAPROPISMS
Dogberry and his companions provide gregarious humor in Much Ado
About Nothing. By turning the watch into bumbling fools, Shakespeare
pokes fun at the law.

The goal of this lesson is to interpret Dogberry's haphazard speeches.

By the end of this lesson, you should be able to identify Dogberry’s
malapropisms and fix them. I also hope you find the humor in the
language of the scenes.

What is a MALAPROPISM??

A "malapropism" is the ludicrous misuse of words, especially through

confusion caused by resemblance in sound. A novel called The Rivals
by Sheridan introduced the character of Mrs. Malaprop. Although this
play was written much later than Much Ado About Nothing, Mrs.
Malaprop became so famous for misusing big words that her name
became the root word for this kind of verbal confusion.

Step One:
View the episode of “The Office.” Every time you see or hear Michael
Scott use a malapropism, write it down in the chart below. Then, guess
what Michael actually means in the next column. Identify as many
malapropisms as you can!

What Michael says… What Michael means…

(malapropism)

SEE BACK OF THIS HANDOUT FOR STEP TWO!

Step Two:
Go back to Act 3, scene 3 of Much Ado. Every time you see a
malapropism, write it down on your handout. Then, guess what word
Dogberry actually means in the next column, and write the correct
definition of the word. For example:

What Dogberry says… What Dogberry The correct definition

(malapropism) means… of the word…
Desartless Deserving Worthy of the position

Identify as many malapropisms as you can! You can work with a

partner or a group if you choose.

What Dogberry says… What Dogberry The correct definition

(malapropism) means… of the word…

Desartless Deserving Worthy of the position