MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING

-Shakespeare

CONTEXT
THE GLOBE THEATRE

- Connects all social classes

Pit: lower area, people pay a penny, called penny stinkers as they were poor +
they would interact with themselves and the actors
Gallery: above the pit with wooden seats
- Plays were very chaotic as they lasted 4h in a closed space, people ate,
threw food/stuff at the actors and spectators, talked/screamed
- Burned down: fired a cannon as a prop but a spark started a fire

ACTING

- Women were banned from performing so men had to cross dress

 New understanding of gender
- Church disapproves of drama because you pretend to be someone you
are not

CARNIVALESQUE AND FESTIVAL ASPECT

- Comedies were about binding social classes (comedy = any class)

 Funny, social component, softer subjects, happy ending

C.L Barber: Shakespeare critique describes comedies as “a movement from

release to clarification” -> a festival

Festival: special day where things don’t work the way the normally do + binds
social classes
 Strong political structure creates pressure and festivals are like a way to
let the pressure go and go crazy for a day to be able to bear the
unbearable pressure for the rest of the year
 Comedy serves the same function
During a festival a fool can be a king and a king a fool
Drama allows Shakespeare to explore things he normally wouldn’t like his
bisexuality with the play of gender.
Bakhtin: carnivalesque = even after the festival is over and everyone goes back
to normal, festivals show that things can be different, aka the king can be fool,
and the fool can be king.

Catharsis: purging of passions

 In much ado about nothing it’s the purging of the fear of love.

SUMMARY
There has been a crisis (war) before the play. So the celebrations and the men
are going back home.

Leonato: ruler
Hero: daughter of Leonato
Beatrice: cousin of Hero, strong and different of the expected genre norms,
clever, vocal about her desires, androgenous, joyful and over powers men.
Don Pedro: prince
Benedick: under Don Pedro, afraid and misogynistic, merry war with Beatrice
Claudio: under Don Pedro, going to fall in love with Hero
Don John: bastard brother of the prince, lead the rebellion against him brother
(conflict that has ended), now wants revenge

TITLE:
- Joke Shakespeare through it saying “don’t worry this isn’t very serious”
so that he can in fact explore deep and serious important topics, disguise
- Bawdy pun: conversations or jokes of a sexual nature, “nothing” in an
Elizabethan English is a word to say Vagina
- “nothing” is pronounced “noting”
 Perception, illusion, metareflection on Drama

THE PLAY
ACT 1 SCENE 1
the arrival of the men and Claudio’s confession

- “I pray you, is signor Mountanto returned from the wars or not”

– Beatrice, cares but doesn’t want to show it
- “My cousin means Signore Benedick” – Hero, understands her cousin’s
complicity
- Beatrice is insulting toward Benedick, she’s very carnal and physical and
confident with her words. The messenger doesn’t understand. Beatrice
 plays with words “And a good soldier too, Lady” – messenger “And a
good soldier to a lady, but what is he to a lord?” (Homosexual joke), she
turns his description of him as a soldier into him as a lover and the
messenger doesn’t get it. Her jokes create audience sympathy for her
since we understand her jokes that some characters don’t -> dramatic
irony. She uses bawdy puns “stuffed man”
- “Merry war”, “skirmish of wit between them” – Leonato, metafictional
comment + describes Beatrice with masculine words (wit and war)
- “He hath every month a new sworn brother”, “He wears his faith but as
the fashion of his hat” – Beatrice, fickleness in men -> She uses clothing
imagery to address the issue of fickleness
- The messenger is not truthful and not an interesting character, flat/stock
character
- Weathercock: key symbol of fickleness

Men are afraid that women will be fickle sexually, but they are fickle
emotionally
Beatrice means the one who blesses in Latin and Benedick means the one who
is blessed
 This is proleptic irony since they say they will never love each other

- “If he hath caught the Benedict”- Beatrice uses the imagery of disease
- “But when you depart for me, sorrow abides and happiness takes its
leave” – Leonato, Says the same thing twice, redundant, contrast with
how Beatrice uses her language, very precise, sucking up to the prince,
flattering each other
- “I think this is your daughter” – Don Pedro “her mother hath many times
told me so”- Leonato joking about his wife's fickleness in front of his
daughter, the way the men bond is by cracking jokes about their wives
sexual unreliability in front of their daughters, misogynistic, patriarchal +
Hero doesn't even answer = patriarchal

the characters are speaking in prose

- Benedict's first line is very similar to Beatrice’s first line “What, my dear
Lady Disdain! Are you yet living?”-Benedick, suggests that she is old
- Beatrice uses food imagery, sexual pleasure she is carnal and focused on
her pleasure
- “I would rather hear my dog bark at a crowd than a man swear he loves
me” -Beatrice, comparing woman to crows, so crow is very powerful
 mythological bird and crows are very carnal, so it is adequate that she is
represented as one she is also comparing men to dogs and saying that
she is independent
- there is an anadiplosis in Benedick and Beatrice speech “scratched face –
scratching” the merry war sounds childish yet intimate
- Beatrice uses animal imagery

Beatrice refuses to be placed in the place women had at the time plus in
context of patriarchal society saying you don't want men as a woman is
problematic.

- Benedict's vision of women is very binary (Madonna/whore complex) he

uses no nuance “mistrust … trust” he has an obsessive fear of being a
cuckold, he uses very hyperbolical vocabulary which makes him look
immature “pick out mine eyes with a ballad-maker’s pen, and hang me
up at the door of a brothel house for the sign of blind Cupid” , hang me
in a bottle like a cat and shoot at me” the intensity of his reaction
creates comedy and we expect him to be proved wrong As he's being
too hubristic to not get punished
- Claudio uses verse to show respect and an awareness of status and uses
“thou” referring to Don Pedro
- Claudio explains his feelings to Don Pedro, he speaks in verse which
makes it sound fake and rehearsed, he starts by asking about inheritance
which shows that male relationship and money matters more, he wants
Don Pedro's approval as he has high status, he is comparing going to war
with a relationship with woman -> negates her and objectifies her. He
repeatedly used the adjective “fair” to describe her, very stereotypical,
shows that he doesn't know her as fair is an empty word and only paying
attention to her looks + always the same AKA Homeric epithet.
“Complexion” again only about appearance
- Don Pedro uses the lexical field of illness for love as in this patriarchal
society love is seen negatively “remedy”
- The patriarchal relationship between Don Pedro and Claudio and Don
Pedro and the king is more important than the relationship male and
female -> misogynistic
- hero's first intimate moment with her future husband is going to be fake
- Don Pedro proposes the plan to foul Hero for fun as he likes being in a
position of superiority Claudio doesn't answer meaning that he doesn't
approve but can't say nothing because of his lower rank also Don Pedro
uses imperative verbs so Claudio cannot answer
 - “prisoner” “force” “strong” Don Pedro uses the lexical field of violence
which shows that he understands the love as a relationship of
domination and power

ACT 1 SCENE 3
the plotting scene
-
- The passages in prose John is not hiding behind a mask he is genuine in
what he says
- “I cannot hide what I am” – Don John, contrast with him and the good
characters but he shares his truthfulness with Beatrice “I had rather be a
canker in a hedge than rose in his grace” (sounds like Beatrice’s in line)
“I am a plain-dealing villain”-> something wrong with the society if you
can be those two things as it makes no moral sense.
Shakespeare is using the villain to characterize what is wrong with
society. his syntax is always the same there is an opposition between the
“I” and society -> he is different, he is an individualist, and he is not
going to bow down to the rules of society.
- Since Don John is aware that this is a society of appearance, he is going
to use it against them
- Conrad is being manipulative unlike Don John who was straightforward.
Conrad uses the lexical field of nature “root”, “season”, “harvest”,
“weather” which is normally associated with the good characters he is
trying to tell Don John that he should fake being nice, but Don John says
he wants to stay truthful.
- “a fool that patrol himself to unquietness” – Don John, misogynistic
cliched that woman talk too much, weird since she doesn't speak +
shows that no one knows hero and she is always a male projection.
- Borachio means drunk

ACT 2 SCENE 1
the ball scene

- Hero is treating Don Pedro like a woman -> carnivalesque = for a night
she can be who she wants to be -> paradox: we are freer to be who we
are when we're wearing a mask “I may so when I please” she sounds like
parent talking to Don Pedro.

Don Jon lies to Claudio and tells him that Don Pedro is in love with Hero
- Claudio is being fickle emotionally as he spent all of act 1 talking about
how much he likes her and now he gives up on her extremely fast
- “Friendship is constant in all other things save in the office and fair of
love” relationships with women disturbed relationships with men
- “Tis certain so” he believes Don John which means he would rather
believe a man who was proved to be the bad guy than a woman
- “Beauty is a witch” misogynistic idea that women are temptresses and
that women are responsible for men desires. Allows men's responsibility
of their desire to be put on women.
- “Therefore, all hearts” he immediately makes some proverbs aka axioms
when he doesn't even know if it's true -> he is trying to sound rational by
using generalizations and imperative verbs but really, he is making an
emotionally driven decision.
- he's talking in verse because of the inauthenticity of his feeling because
it is just an act, his inauthentic emotions and he's being overdramatic.
- he's taking male value and imposing them to female values and saying
that the male or the victims when really, it's the opposite AKA victim
blaming
- “Which I mistrusted not: farewell therefore Hero.”

Don Pedro and Benedick are talking

- Benedict does a monologue on Beatrice when she wasn't even

mentioned -> he likes her.
- he uses a lot of war related vocabulary to talk about her “stabs” -> she
seems to have the upper hand, she's a worthy opponent
- he uses a lot of castration imagery -> he is afraid of a gender reversal in
the relationship since he uses a lot of phallic, masculine imagery to
describe her, he fears that she will feminize him
- “I will not marry her” completely irrelevant to the conversation
therefore he does have strong feelings about her, denial
- “Come talk not of her” ironic since he's the one doing monologue on her
- “I will fetch you a toothpick now from the furthest inch of Asia”
Benedick is being very dramatic, full of hyperboles, he's denying his
feelings
- Benedick describe Beatrice as a “harpy” seductive + making their beauty
dangerous + a danger to men VS Don Pedro who says that her
intelligence isn't a threat but a joy

Benedict leaves when Beatrice arrives with Claudio in Leonato

- Beatrice answers for Don Pedro and praises him with a blazon which is
usually from a man to a woman, but Beatrice is swapping conventional
gender norms
- Beatrice is behaving like a stage director
- Don Pedro uses again the Homeric epithet for Hero
- “I have broke with her father, and his goodwill obtained name the day of
marriage, and God give the joy.” – Don Pedro, Hero is completely silent
in the decision of her marriage she isn't even mentioned
- “Count, take of me my daughter, and with her my fortunes” only
economic arrangement
- “Speak, Count, ‘tis your cue” Beatrice tells the count what to do
- “Speak, cousin, or stop his mouth with a kiss, and let him not speak
either” for Beatrice a good marriage is a marriage where both parties are
equal, Don Pedro praises her for it
- Beatrice is a solar character she is strong but in a positive way she is not
conventional but the character with the most power enjoys it AKA Don
Pedro
- Beatrice jokes with Don Pedro by punning on the word to “get” meaning
to make, she's basically saying I'd rather have your father son than your
son
- “Will you have me lady” Don Pedro is reacting positively to Beatrice
being a strong woman -> Shakespeare tries to show that it is a good that
women are independent and refuse marriage / tries to normalize it.
- Beatrice refuses Don Pedro’s advances my objectifying him as a vest, by
praising him by being smart and by saying she wouldn't mind having
several men at the same time, which is not conventional, but Don Pedro
enjoys it. “Your grace is too costly to wear every day, but I beseech your
grace”-> I'll marry you if I can wear another suit because I don't want to
have you all the time.
- “Your silence most offends me” Don Pedro prefers to be torn down and
that she speaks then she be like hero and agree and say nothing ->
Shakespeare trying to normalize loud women
- “You were born in a merry hour” – Don Pedro “not sure, my Lord, my
mother cried” – Beatrice -> feminist argument, basically saying you know
nothing of women bodies because birth is painful
- “I will in the interim undertake one of Hercules labours” Don Pedro sees
himself as some kind of hero he has an overinflated ego and is
patronizing “I shall give you directions”
 - “To help my cousin” she wasn't going to participate if he didn't ask her
sign. Don Pedro’s responses to praise Benedict to show hero that it's not
for his ego but for her cousin.
- “If we can do this, Cupid is no longer an Archer, his glory shall be ours,
for we are the only love-God” Don Pedro is being very hubristic he's not
doing it for Benedick and Beatrice is good but only to control people
since he has an inflated ego.
- there is a contrast with the language of men (over inflated) and the one
of Hero (modest)
- The men are doing it to follow Don Pedro and for his pleasure whereas
Hero does it for her cousin

ACT 2 SCENE 3
Benedick mocks Claudio

- Speech is in prose so it's authentic

- He's saying that when a man falls in love with someone other men call
him a fool only to fall in love afterwards proleptic irony because he's
going to fall in love with Beatrice.
- He used to be brave now he's busy thinking of clothes
- Benedict switches from Claudio to his language is very elaborate
- “Yet I am well” repetition
- “I cannot tell I think not” epanorthosis -> vulnerability, so he's not sure
about his himself unlike when he's talking in front of his friends.
- if he felt consistently insensitive about everyone he wouldn’t be so
scared
- he changes his speech and is now imagining a picture of a perfect
woman
- Benedict fears that love feminizes a man and makes him lose his
masculinity he has a fragile understanding of masculinity

Balthasar’s song

- Song trying to tell women than men are by definition fickle, and they
should dance instead of being sad which is a double standard
- It's trying to make men cheating normal by comparing it to nature “since
summer first was leavy” nature implying that nothing can be done
- one line is long, and one is short -> switch and alternate rhyming which
implies fickleness
 the men are trying to convince Benedick that Beatrice likes him

- They're trying to trick Benedict by using illusions in order to bring out

the truth and with a mise en abime
- They're making him feel special so that it sounds more realistic “I did
never think that Lady would have loved any man” – Claudio
- They say that she looked like she hated him but really, she loved they're
telling Benedick that he shouldn't trust appearances which is ironic as
they're trying to fool him
- “Enraged affection” -> oxymoron + she uses a lot of carnal imagery so
using in rage fits her character
- “Oh God! Counterfeit? there was never counterfeit” – Leonato they're
taking his part and acting it the only doubt he can have their taking it
away
- “Bait the hook well, the fish will bite.” – Claudio, suggests that Benedict
is a prey + male type imagery -> they are putting forward that then
playing the love God is masculine activity such as a hunt (fragile notion
of masculinity)
- Don Pedro is pushing Leonato to speak when he is clearly struggling so
he pushes him to talk for his own pleasure and because he likes to be in
control
- Benedict is not speaking meaning that he has a more physical
communication shows that the trick is working since he typically talks a
lot. -> possible since this is a play
- they say if she is faking it then it's so well fake that it is still true this is a
parallel to what's happening, they are creating feelings between
benedick and Beatrice by faking them
- Not very good actors in Leonato is overplaying “oh” -> onomatopoeia
and lyrical “oh” and heavy punctuation. Claudio is becoming very
excessive “she falls, weeps, sobs, beats her heart, tears her hair, praise,
curses”
- They're using Hero as a reliable source of information “my daughter”
repetition by Leonato, she's being used as a warranty about the truth,
they are instrumentalizing her. This is proleptic irony because Don john
plans on making her look untruthful. They are using her as a symbol of
truth in opposition with a few pages after they see her as a big cheater -
> they are fickle with their opinion on her.
- “infection” , “affection”-> paranomasia
- they are emotionally blackmailing Benedict and forcing him to love
Beatrice as they say that Hero is scared that Beatrice will kill herself “my
 daughter is sometime afeared she will do a desperate outreach to
herself” they're trying to trigger the damsel in distress and knight in
shining armor situation
- “it is very true” ironic and makes it look like it is not
- they are making Benedict look like a bad person so they prove him
wrong guilt -> tripping him “he would make but a sport of it, and
torment the poor lady worse” -> Claudio -> pathos
- “Excellent sweet lady” commoratio + completely out of character since
she was described as a merry heart and very sharp and solar

Only Benedick is left

- “This can be no trick” dramatic irony since it is a trick
- Benedict uses questions which showed a new side of him as he used to
be assertive but now he doubts himself
- He believes hero is a beacon of truth
- He wants to requite her love but makes it look like an obligation he is
pretending that his feelings are dictated to him “I must” -> imperative +
moral obligation = peer pressure is working and he's following other
people's opinion
- “they say the lady is fair, tissue truth, I can bear them witness” he
believes the men and is going back to his previous soliloquy but he is
now talking about a specific person
- he uses lots of comma splices this shows the conflict between reason
and passion that is not allowing him to talk properly
- “I will be horribly in love” shows internal conflict and commitment. he
feels love but also horror at his own feelings since he was terrified of it -
> comic and touching, he is being vulnerable when he was stubborn
- He uses a lot of generalizations like “a man” it makes him sound wise
and allows him to tell his feelings through someone else
- “But doth not appetite alter?” he is using a rhetorical question to justify
male fickleness
- “A man loves the meat in his youth” misogynistic
- he is trying to find loopholes in what he said before he has bad faith and
is trying to justify his fickleness
- “No the world must be peopled” his reason to love her is to populate the
world, if he's thinking about that he is thinking about her sexually
- “ when I said I would die a bachelor I did not think I should live till I were
married” he is playing with his words to change their meaning ->
hypocritical
- Moment of empathy and comedy towards him
 - Juxtaposition “so marks of love” – Benedick “against my will” -Beatrice -
> it creates contrast and is comedic
- “Fair Beatrice” comical discrepancy as he's not trying to outwit her
- “I took no more pains for those thanks, then you took pains to thank
me” - Beatrice is playing with her words
- now that he loves her, he is playing along relationship rules, and they
lose the understanding they had as he places no more witty remarks,
now that he admitted his feelings, he feels like he should follow the
cliches “I will go get her picture”
- “You have no stomach, signor, fare you well” Beatrice hasn't changed
she still uses violent and animal imagery, and she is disappointed that he
is no longer trying to outwit her, so she leaves
- “There's a double meaning in that” he's being a bad reader he replaces
her words and twists their meanings

ACT 3 SCENE 1

Ursula and Hero convincing Beatrice that Benedick likes her

- reverse psychology it is brutal it sounds like a revenge, and it sounds like

Hero is enjoying trashing her cousin
- the scene is in verse, so it is serious and fake and it is a parallel to the
scene before where the men were convincing Benedick

ACT 3 SCENE 2
Don John lies to Claudio

- “I know not that, when he knows what I know” Don John is being
mysterious with the repetition “know” he's trying to have power over
them through language
- “I pray you” with the word pray Claudio puts himself in the submissive
position when we would expect him to be dismissive of Don John. this
shows that in this patriarchal society men trust other men even if they're
traitors more than women.
- Don John is using the flaws of society to his advantage AKA misogyny
and the importance of appearance which shows that this society is
flawed
- “the lady is disloyal” Don John is very dismissive of Hero as he is playing
along with misogyny
 - “Even she, Leonato’s Hero, your Hero, every man's Hero.” -> intimacy
gradatio, Don John is calling Hero a prostitute which is out of place for
her and hard to believe yet Claudio believes it showing that he doesn't
know Hero at all. he is insulting and plays into Claudio’s fear of
fickleness.
- “Think you of a worst title, and I will fit her” Don John is including him so
he doesn't feel manipulated
- “If you love her, then tomorrow wed her: but it would better fit your
honor to change your mind” Don John is opposing love which is feminine
to honor which is masculine. he makes Claudio choose in a binary way
presenting love and honor as mutually exclusive and as a man he is
expected to choose honor.
- “I will not think it”, “I will join the to disgrace her” there is a strong
contrast with Don Pedro speech. it is very violent, and he is ashamed not
guilty. they believe she was fickle, but he is morally fickle -> sad irony
- repetition of “see” in both the Don Jonn and Claudio’s speech. they are
focusing and relying on appearances.
- the three men start their sentences with a lyrical “oh” which shows that
they are all on the same page and that it is hard to distinguish good and
bad guys so they are all a bit of both

ACT 3 SCENE 4

The women are preparing Hero for her wedding (Hen party)

- Dramatic irony: she's trying to be pretty and we know she's going to be

shamed -> sympathy
- She's getting ready for the marriage and the marriage night which
they're making a lot of bawdy jokes to prepare her. Shakespeare shows
that sex isn't purely male, and that female also explore it but behind
closed doors.
- “No” Hero is standing her ground showing that she does have a
personality. “Cousins are fool, and thou art another, I'll wear none but
this” she has a mind of her own.
- “God give me joy” she should be happy but she's not
- Hero is trying to check if the trick on Beatrice worked as she does not
have her usual wit, Hero is enjoying this.

ACT 3 SCENE 5
 Dogberry and Verges are trying to tell Leonato what they saw

- The scene is important for satire and class prejudice. it also brings
suspense and tension because it is a missed opportunity. It should be a
Comic Relief but it's not because of the tension.
- “Neighbors, you are tedious” Leonato is insulting them, but they take it
as a compliment -> malapropism
- Verges is usually and echo of what dogberry says -> they are mirroring
characters which annoys Leonato
- The malapropism + the repetitions and their inability to communicate
efficiently what they are trying to say to Leonato annoys him so he
doesn’t listen.
They try to compliment Leonato but end up insulting him
- this is a social critique about class saying that if social classes worked
together, it would be better. The lower class might be able to correct the
problems that the higher class has with appearances.

ACT 4 SCENE 1

The marriage trial

- juxtaposition with how Hero behaves only with women and with how
she is treated here
- Benedict and the Friar are the only men who side with Hero. This shows
that Benedict gets away from his group of male friends = character
development as he sides with her before Beatrice does -> Moves away
from toxic masculinity. all the other men turn against her.
- Claudio's body language make Leonato think that something is wrong, so
he tries to save the day by playing with words “to be married to her”
- Claudio is being passive aggressive “know you any, Hero”
- There is a lot of tension in the scene
- the wrong characters are responding which demonstrates the chaos of
the scene “I dare make his answer, none” -> Leonato answers for the
count to friar Francis question.
- “Oh, what men dare do! what men may do! what men daily do, not
knowing what they do!” Claudio sounds like Don John showing that he
has an influence on him + it is impossible to contradict him as he's not
really saying anything
 - Benedict is trying to rescue the play and make it a comedy ->
metafictional -> we are closer to him “Some be of laughing, as, ah, ha,
he"

Shift to verse -> creating reality/inauthenticity -> The moment where the
wedding becomes a trial

- Claudio only addresses the men while talking about Hero

- “This rich and precious gift?” Claudio is being sarcastic and objectifying
her
- “Give not this rotten orange to your friend” Claudio is saying that they
can't consume the marriage since she has been infected from the inside,
she is impure + objectifying her
- “she's but the sign and symbols of her honor” -> alliteration in S -> snake
- “Can cunning sin cover itself” -> alliterations in C -> harsh sound = anger
- Claudio’s speech is ironic because he is saying she looks exactly like a
virgin which is because she is one. He says she is not one when for once
appearances were true.
He always trusts appearances, he loves her because of her looks, he
believes she was with another man just because he thinks he saw her
and now since it suits him, he says not to trust appearances.
- “But she is none” he gives no justification or tries to prove his points
which shows the power of men and that they can create reality with
their words
- . The patriarchal society thinks that women are desirable because they
are innocent and virgins -> women could not desire men though
Claudio is describing Hero as someone who shouldn't have a body or
desires. “But she is none” -> goes against the idea of marriage.
paradoxical since he is blaming her for what he wanted of her ->
Madonna whore complex “You seemed to me as Diane in her orb”->
goddess of chastity + idealizing her
he wants her to be his wife but doesn't want her to desire.
- He compares her to Venus the goddess of love which shows that he
doesn't know her or has no bond with her unlike Beatrice and Benedick -
> Shakespeare is saying that idealization is bad since it negates your
essence. “Venus, or those pampered animals” Beatrice and Benedick
talk about each other with animal terms, and it is not a problem
- “I will write against it”,” Who can blot that name” metaphor of writing ->
men ride the reality
- Hero is asking questions which shows that she is not in power, and she is
lost
- Leonardo's sense of reality is being shaken “are these things spoken, or
do I but dream?”
- “Sir, they are spoken, and these things are true” – Don Jhon -> Men
creating reality
- “This looks not like a nuptial” Benedict makes some metafictional
comment -> He's commenting on the scene like a viewer my due
- Claudio is exaggerating and mocking them by asking 5 questions in a row
- “Bid her answer truly” Claudio is asking Leonato to ask Hero when she is
right there -> men taking power over all
- Claudio is talking about truth whereas Hero is talking about justice
because she understands the men control the truth
- “Hero itself can blot out Hero’s virtue” Claudio is blaming her for not
living up to the values that are projected on her with her name. he is
saying that he wants a refund because she is not what her name says
she is
- this makes no sense because Claudio is asking Hero to tell him what
happened she does, and they still say that she is not a virgin. -> fake trial
since on one side she goes against sexual values and on the other she
goes against two men so she cannot win -> they already have their own
opinion on her
- “Pretty lady” Don John no longer uses fair for her since it also means
pure -> she has fallen down the linguistic level
- “Oh Hero! what a hero hadst thou been” Claudio is seeing her just threw
the value of her name since he dropped the capital H
- “Pure impiety, and impious purity” -> Alliteration + oxymoron +
antithesis + chiasmus = euphuism, His speech is euphuistic -> dishonest
and not authentic and rehearsed
- Beatrice isn’t talking -> stunned into silence = testimony of the violence
of the scene
- “Hath no man’s dagger here a point for me?” -> Leonato isn’t even
suffering, he is only concentrated on himself -> self-centered
Opposition with men’s dramatization through words and women
actually suffering -> showed with opposition with what Leonato says and
the stage directions of Hero fainting
- “How doth the lady” Other men only ask rhetorical questions because
they think they know all the answers and create their own realties unlike
Benedick who is actually trying to understand what is happening. ->
evolved as a character
 The men run away from the consequences of their actions.
- “Hero, why Hero: uncle: signor Benedick: friar!” Beatrice uses a lot of
punctuation which shows her distress + choppy syntax so not able to
make proper sentences or think coherently.
- Leonato uses exclamation marks to bring attention to himself. + syntax
contrasts with the simple style of Beatrice.
- “Why doth not every earthly thing” -> hyperbole, Leonato is not being
rational and is speaking from a place of emotion.
- “Printed in her blood” metaphor of writing
- “I, I” Leonato is trying to make it about himself
- “Why ever wast thou lovely in my eyes” Leonato is blaming her for her
beauty.
- Says that he would rather that she was adopted so he could say it has
nothing to do with him
- Repetition of “I”, “mine” self-centered
- “Foul tainted flesh” objectification + commoratio
- “Sir, sir, be patient. For my part I am attired in wonder, I know not what
to say” Benedick sticks to prose = something genuine with him
Only man who admits not knowing everything -> he evolves as a
character + masks drops
- “Confirmed, confirmed” Leonato completely disregards the rest of the
info aka ignores the fact that Beatrice slept with her for a year and
jumps on the little bit of truth he was given.
- He doesn’t ask why his daughter lied but he previously used her as a
badge of truth

VOCABULARY

Cuckhold: means your wife is sleeping with another man, described as a man
with horns, problematic since if there is a child, we can’t know is the child is
their heir of not -> why they control female bodies
Fickleness: to change opinion + at the time to sleep around
Commoratio: two adjectives in a row that mean the same thing
Heroism: heroism was a male virtue, the fact that she is called hero negates
her personality, her femininity she is something that men want /she is a male
ideal
Anadiplosis: using last word of the other person as first word
Freud says that women are either virgins or whores it's called the
Madonna/whore complex. It's a binary way to look at women and deeply
misogynistic
Verse: each line starts with a capital letter, characters with high class status
typically speaking first sounds rehearsed and untruthful, serious matters, lying,
calculated, artificial
Prose: relaxed atmosphere, sharing intimate feelings
Homeric epithet: always using the same adjective with a noun
Soliloquy: talking to themselves or to the audience
Monologue: long speech but still talking to someone
Schadenfreude: to rejoice at someone's failures / have bad things happen to
them
Carnivalesque: mode of being/writing where things are reversed for a day
where you can forget power structure
 quite political because you never quite forget that a king can be a fool
and a fool can be a king
wherefore: why
blazon: a poem where you chop off the woman and praise her body parts
epanorthosis: self-correction in literature
mise en abime: play within the play
Paranomasia: two words that sound similar
Hypotyposes: making the reader live the action
Guilt: something you did to someone else
Shame: something you did to yourself
Malapropism: using the wrong word for something
Euphuism: Line packed with literary devices + rhetorical tricks -> dishonesty/
not authentic