Much Ado - key passages and plans for model answers

Act 1 Scene 1

Re-read Act 1 scene 1, lines 84-107. From Benedick: ‘If Signor Leonato be her father...’ to Beatrice ‘You always end with a Jade’s trick...’

 How does Shakespeare make you feel about the relationship between Beatrice and Benedick at this early point in the play?

In Act one Scene one, We are first introduced to Beatrice as a witty character:
‘Scratching could not make it worse’.
 She is suggesting that even scratching Benedick’s face would not make it any uglier because he is already too Ugly. She knows this will irritate him because we learn that he is very vain and self conscious. She tries to ‘get back’ at him possibly meaning there is bad blood between them.

 We can see that she has a sharp tongue and is able to hurl nasty insults back at Benedick quickly.
“Is is possible that disdain should die?”
This throws Benedick insult back at him. This is typical of the arguments between these two in the rest of play, Beatrice generally wins their battle of words and Benedick comes off worse.

A previous relationship between Beatrice and Benedick is hinted at:
 ‘You always end with a Jade’s trick, I know you of old’.
This suggests that these two characters have met before the start of the play.  That perhaps didn’t end happily.

We are shown that Benedick is quite arrogant and thinks highly of himself.
“I am loved of all Ladies”
This shows that he thinks he’s a ladies’ man, who is loved my every woman. This arrogance continues throughout the play and ultimately leads to him to be gulled by Leonato and Don Pedro.

Benedick describes Beatrice in this scene.
“What, My dear Lady Disdain”
This is effectively calling her a contemptuous lady, this may be his actual opinion of her but we find out that he actually still has feelings for Benedick so it is actually just part of their verbal duel.

Benedick is good at reacting to Beatrice’s insults and defending himself.
“You are a rare parrot-teacher”
He is implying that, like a parrot, Beatrice chatters a lot but most of her words are useless and harmless. He does this in order to protect his ego.

Re-read Act 1, scene 1, lines 84-106, What are your thoughts about Beatrice so far? Pay close attention to her relationship with the other characters.

PLAN :

·         Arrogant and forward

·         Witty and confident

·         Harsh

·         Argumentative

·         Clearly had a long relationship with Beatrice (very bitter)

·         Both Beatrice and Benedick are childish and immature

·         Beatrice doesn’t seem to have fear/respect of men ( especiallly Benedick)

·         Earlier in the scene the messenger is very taken back about how freely and unreservadly she is when insulting Benedick.

·         Beatrice is using harsh sounding vowels and alliteration. ‘ Is it possible Disdain should die’ – make her sound harsh but intelligent.

·         Short, quick phrases are used by Beatrice and Benedick. Makes them both appear sharp and snappy.

·         Beatrice : ‘scratching could not make it worse, and twere such a face as yours were’  - childish insult in a very formal form.

·         ‘A bird of my tongue is better than a beast of yours’ Here, Beatrice is stubborn and shows how she won’t yield to Benedick’s jibes/insults.

·         Beatrice marks Benedick as a worthy opponent, as if they are competing.

Read act 2 scene 1 lines 61-114: Don Pedro: “Lady, will you walk a bout with your friend?” to Beatrice: “Nay, if they lead to any ill, I will leave them at the next turning .” How does Shakespeare empower the women in the masked ball?

Answer:

- S gives women opportunity to challenge men directly because of disguise; through the masked ball. Quote: Hero “Why then your visor should be thatched?”  Evaluation: Don P tries to ‘woo’ Hero for Claudio, but she realises it isn’t him, because Don Pedro is balding, and she points this out impertinently; but also she is showing her astuteness and may be pointing out something that goes deeper maybe saying how he is not accepting of women or ‘ misogynistic’.

- Balthasar is trying to woo Margaret but she flippantly rejects him, “And God keep him out of my sight when the dance is done: answer, clerk.” She uses religion as an excuse, even though she is usually known to have loose morals, which makes the remark all the more audacious.

- Ursula is another  impertinent woman- given the chance to be- she immediately calls Antonio’s ‘bluff’, by saying who he is under the mask, “I know you well enough, you are Signor Antonio” but he shows himself up to be less intelligent or astute than Ursula by saying that he isn’t Antonio, “ At a word, I am not

- Benedick tries to find out what Beatrice thinks about him, but she sharply insults him, “ Why he is the prince’s jester, a very dull fool” she knows that it is him, even though Benedick thinks he is a stranger, so she takes the opportunity to insult him without his knowing.

- Beatrice is able to defeat Benedick very easily because he can’t fight back without revealing who he really is. Use of military imagery to show Beatrice's power. Later, he says to Don Pedro: ‘She speaks poniards and every word stabs.’

- This scene is the first time that Hero says more than a few words. The disguise gives her the power to be who she wants to be. The very first words Hero says are: ‘So you walk softly, and look sweetly, and say nothing, I am yours for the walk and especially when I walk away’. 

Look at Act 2 Scene 3, from Benedick “I should think this is a gull...” to Don Pedro “She doth well: If she should make tender of her love...”

What devices do Don Pedro, Leonato and Claudio use in order to gull Benedick, and what does this reveal about their attitudes towards him?

Introduction:

·         Talk about the main plot of the scene, introduce themes.

Paragraph 1

·         Leonato, Don Pedro and Claudio use hyperbole to get their message across.

·         Claudio says “Upon her knees she falls, weeps, sobs, beats her heart, tears her hair, prays, curses, Oh sweet Benedick, God give me patience”

·         The  use of over-exaggeration is a comic device which adds a light-hearted feel to the scene

·         It makes the reader wonder how Benedick manages to fall for this ridiculously obvious trick.

Paragraph 2

·         Don Pedro is very harsh in his attitude towards Benedick, he says “tis very possible he’ll scorn it, [Beatrice’s love], for the man... hath a contemptible spirit.”

·         Don Pedro turns every compliment aimed at Benedick into an insult, this might be part of the plan

·         This could possibly be Don Pedro’s jealousy of Benedick coming through, as he has already proposed to her previously in the play.

·         He may be trying to shock Benedick into reforming his character, so he is a better husband to Beatrice.

Paragraph 3

·         The gulling of Benedick is written in prose, whereas the gulling of Beatrice is written in blank verse, which can be used to show elevation and seriousness

·         This could show that the gulling of Benedick is light-hearted whereas the gulling of Beatrice is more sombre and serious.

Paragraph 4

·         Some portrayals of this scene turn the scene in to a slight farce, the use of slapstick comedy and the emotions displayed by Benedick as he is abused by Leonarto, Claudio and Don Pedro, make the scene light hearted and comic.

·         It is testimony to Benedicks strength of character that he manages not to speak out as he listens to others criticise him

Paragraph 5

·         Leonato and Claudio also praise Benedick “In my mind, very wise,” and “And I take him to be valiant”

·         This could make him feel good about himself, and make him feel good enough for Beatrice.

Paragraph 6

·         The men also praise Beatrice “she’s an excellent  sweet lady” and “she is exceedingly wise”

·         They are helping Benedick to realise Beatrice’s virtues, so that he will love her,

·         Whereas previously in the play Benedick has only criticised Beatrice.

Paragraph 7

·         They also use sexual images to play towards Benedicks side as a player

·         This shows that the men understand Benedicks character and how to se it against him.

·         “and there she will sit in her smock” She will sit in her underwear – imagery.

Re-read in Act 2 Scene 3, Benedicks first soliloquy. (Lines 7-28)

How does Shakespeare show Benedick’s ideas on love?

-Writes in continuous prose rather than blank verse which could symbolise the beating of the heart and hence shows that he is being heartless in what he is saying. This implies that he is talking more honestly.

-Uses metaphors e.g. ‘love may transform me to an oyster’ Oyster being an aphrodisiac which is ironic because he is saying the opposite, and how he is against love.

-Uses Claudio as an example of what he hates about love. Makes it more believable as he is talking about his experience of what love has done to his friend.

-Using comparisons e.g. saying Claudio used to like the ‘Drum and the fife’ but now would rather hear the ‘tabor and the pipe’ and that he would now care more for a ‘new doublet’ than ‘good armour’. These all echo the same idea that love is making Claudio less responsible and immature.

- At the end of the soliloquy Benedick describes why no woman is good enough for him and how he doesn’t need a woman in his life. While doing so he inadvertently describes his perfect woman. This is ironic because later on in the play he twists his words to say how Beatrice is the perfect woman and possesses all the traits in which he formally described. 

-The whole soliloquy is ironic because the type of man that benedick describing is exactly whom he becomes. E.g. He becomes really vein, therefore becomes the type of man who would spend ‘ten nights awake carving the fashion of a new doublet’

Re-read Act 3 Scene1, from’ Hero: Why you speak truth’ to ‘Hero: Always excepted my dear Claudio’.

How does Shakespeare make you feel about Hero’s remarks towards Beatrice at this point in the play?

·         Hero’s remarks towards Beatrice shock the audience as they are not comic exaggerations but genuinley felt. This makes you feel  that it could be something that Hero has thought about before as it is so complex that it all come out in one sentence.

·         ‘ Press me to death with wit’, this brings across a side of Hero that we thought we would never see as Hero is such an innocent character in the play. It opens up the possibility that Hero feels she is being bullied by Beatrice with her witty remarks.

·         Hero believes that she knows Beatrice so well that she is able to describe to the audience Bearice’s  views on men.  She makes Beatrice seem shallow and  have a pesimistic attitude towards men.

·         ‘The gentlemen should be her sister’, Hero is saying that Beatrice has a backwards view on men  and that if they are attractive and fair then she sees that aspect of them as feminine.

·         Another  point that Hero brings forth is Beatrice’s feminist ways towards God and Mankind. Stating that God who is the creator of men has messed up with his poor craftsmenship. Therefore Beatrice belives that there is  fault in every man. Hero gives the impression that Beatrice is like a butcher and batters men’s ego down to find their faults.

·         ‘Such carping is not commendable’,  When Ursula says this it is seen as shocking due to the fact that Ursula is socially inferior to Beatrice and portrays a very unflattering image of Beatrice.  Ursula knows that she would never be able to say this to Beatrice’s face because Beatrice can’t take critisism well especially as this comment is slightly viscious.

·         To an extent Hero is able to manipulate the audience to feel guilty towards Benedick, saying that he has to cover up how he really feels as he is embarrassed about it which means that he would never be able to tell Beatrice his true feelings due to the fear that she would mock him and crush his confidence.

·         ‘Consume away in sighs’, Shakespeare uses this metaphor to show how Benedick knows that he is stuck loving Beatrice. It could also been seen as Benedick’s last bit of hope to let Beatrice know his love for her instead of hiding it away inside.

·         Hero is also saying how Beatice will never find a man better than Benedick and how he is young and has many great features and they are trying to persuade Beatrice.  It is slightly insulting to Beatrice and they are saying she is never going to be happy with anyone else.

·         “How wise, how noble, young, how rarely featured.”  Hero is trying to persuade Beatrice that Benedick is the man for her and she will never admit true worth of any man.

·         They also start making insulting comments to Beatrice, but they are doing it in a way that will help Beatrice and make her happier in the future. They are talking about how badly she treats men and that she will never find a man better than Benedick and they are saying they are scared to say it to her face and so this is the best way to tell her their feelings and what they think she need to ‘improve’ on to get any man and enjoy her life more

·         Hero “But who dare tell her so? If I should speak she would mock me into the air” They are afraid they would be mocked by her if they told her the truth about her.   Hero also says “ No, not to be so odd and from all fashions”  Here hero is saying Beatrice will never admit the true worth of a man.  This is the first time we have seen this side of Hero in this play.

Re-read act 3, scene 1 from ‘Oh god of love! I know he doth deserve…’ to ‘yet tell her of it, hear what she will say’

What does Shakespeare make you feel about Beatrice?

·         ‘but nature never framed a woman’s heart of prouder stuff than that of Beatrice’ All of her friends think she is far too proud.
This is the first insult thrown at Beatrice, she would normally argue back, but why not now?

·         ‘she cannot love’- Hero says this, it is also her chance to speak the truth.

·         ‘if fair-faced, she would swear the gentleman should be her sister’ – hero and Ursula talk about how Beatrice is fussy and would never love anyone, she faults everybody and is never pleased- these are parallels with her own words said earlier at the ball- she should recognize this.

·         Feel sympathy as her closest friends are talking badly of her behind her back

·         There must be some truth in what Hero and Ursula say about her as they are her closest friends and know her so well

·         ‘She is so self-endeared’ Could she possibly be alone because she feels she is too good for anyone else?

·         You could argue that she isn’t self deprecating, earlier at the ball, she says ‘I am sunburnt’

·         ‘Make sport at it’ – Beatrice would mock Benedick

- unkind?

 - unsympathetic

 - childish; won’t forgive Benedick for what happened between them so long ago

1)      Identify key scene

Act 4 scene 1

2)      Identify particularly “fruitful” 30 -50 line passage

Line 278 - end of the scene.

3)      How do you feel that Shakespeare conveys a sense of control in this extract? Close read.

·         Benedick: ‘Tarry sweet Beatrice’

Beatrice: ‘I am gone...’

Tarry means ‘wait don’t go’, which shows that Beatrice is refusing her male superior. Benedick isn’t showing authority over his subordinate.

·         Benedick: ‘Come bid me do anything for thee’

Beatrice: ‘Kill Claudio’

Here Benedick is essentially giving over any power and control he has over to Beatrice. He is trying to be humble and romantic, but Beatrice is twisting this vulnerability he is showing to use for her own vices. She manipulates Benedick by giving him an ultimatum, showing she has control over the situation and therefore over him.

·         Beatrice: ‘I cannot be a man with wishing, therefore I will die a women with grieving’

Here she is craving more power than her female gender allows to have in an Elizabethan society. She also manipulates Benedick into not doing what SHE says, he will be hurting the women he loves.

·         Beatrice: ‘I would eat his heart in the market place’

Here she is saying that her primary concern is saving Hero’s honour, and she’ll do anything to achieve this, including putting Benedick in harm’s way. This shows her power over Benedick, because she claims to love him yet she would sacrifice his life in order to restore’s reputation. Therefore because Benedick cares more for her than she for him, she holds the power in their relationship.

·         Beatrice: ‘you dare easier be friends with me, than fight mine enemy’

She is guilt-tripping Benedick into feeling less of a man for not defending his woman, (even though he has no family connection to her). She is manipulating him into thinking he has to prove himself worthy and manly in order to gain her friendship.

·         Beatrice: ‘But manhood is melted into curtsies, valour into complement and then only turned into tongue’

Benedick is sensitive as only being perceived as a man of wit, Beatrice knows this, and therefore she is jabbing at it by insinuating that Benedick could not kill Claudio anyway, because he is not a proper man (close read each section of the quote and expand for more marks).

·         Benedick: ‘enough, I am engaged, I will challenge him.’

The use of ‘enough’ shows that Benedick has given in to Beatrice’s demands to kill he best friend. By agreeing to meet Beatrice’s demands, Benedick is essentially handing over all power and control that he may ever hope to have in their relationship. Beatrice has won.

Act 4, Scene 1

Key Passage

From lines 25 to 70

Exam Question

How does Shakespeare make the audience feel about the nature of Claudio’s love for Hero?- use evidence from this scene, from lines 25, to 70.

Model Answer

·         Makes use of quotes such as, ‘Give not this rotten orange to your friend’, ‘Oh what authority and show of truth, can cunning sin cover itself withal!’, ‘Not to knit my soul to an approved wanton’, ‘...you are more intemperate in your blood, than Venus, or those pampered animals’. Claudio uses derogatory remarks and metaphors, to insult and humiliate Hero. He describes her to be worse than Venus, the goddess of sexual love.

·         Claudio then goes on to say that because it is he who says this, that it must be true, by saying, ‘Is this the prince? Is this the prince’s brother? Is this face Hero’s? Are our eyes our own?’ This rather arrogant attitude and abuse of his status and power over Hero, the woman he once claimed to love shows the audience that Claudio is much more selfish than he was once shown to be.

·         Describe the reactions from other characters about Claudio’s actions and words, such as Leonato, Hero’s father, who says, ‘What do you mean my lord?’, as he tries to understand and see what allegations are before his daughter, and what proof Claudio has of it. Leonato then turns to Don Pedro-looking for assurance to Claudio’s claims, ‘Sweet prince, why speak not you?’

·         Leonato clearly sees Don Pedro as a reliable, powerful and trustworthy source, so much so, that Leonato would even show extreme disbelief and hatred towards his daughter-despite the fact that Leonato has only known the princes and Count Claudio for not more than several days. As we can see from the text, Leonato does not try to defend his daughter once while she is being insulted and targeted, he actually only tries to understand what the Count and the two princes are saying. Perhaps this shows that like Claudio, Leonato is not all that he has been seen to be...?

·         Numerous times in the passage, Claudio abuses his position of Count and his relationship with the prince, against others. His fiancé for example, and his host, Leonato. Claudio sees it as his duty to humiliate and uncover Hero for what she really is. This shows that his nobility and his honour play little part in his judgement. He chooses to publicly insult and shame Hero, in front of her friends, family and guests, instead of let her down quietly, and let her keep some pride and integrity.

·         Don Pedro speaks less often in this scene, but with as much vulgarity as Claudio. He describes Hero as a ‘common stale’, even though it was he who agreed with Claudio’s judgement of marrying Hero. However, he accepts that he has made a mistake with wooing Hero for Claudio, as he says that he ‘stands dishonoured’.

Re-read act 5 scene 1, from line 129 to line 173. What impressions do you get of both Benedick and Claudio from this part of the play?

Model answer:

Introduction- what happens in the passage

·         Accusations from Benedick- words that he uses to describe Claudio- eg, ‘villain’. How would you expect Claudio to react to this accusation.

·         Benedick says that Claudio killed Hero, and calls him a ‘coward’; these are some of the most insulting things that Benedick could say to him. ‘You killed a sweet lady, and her death shall fall heavy on you’.

·         Mention Don  Pedro’s constant repetition in his soliloquay, ‘Nay said I’, and ‘said she’, and mention the effect this has on how persuasive Don Pedro is when he is trying to put into perspective how Beatrice finds the wit of Benedick.

·         Benedick’s aggressive tone towards both Claudio and Don Pedro, like on lines 137-140, and then Claudio and Don Pedro’s positive responses. Should give personal response as to what effect you feel this is having on Benedick (eg, it may make Benedick feel like he isn’t ever taken seriously).

·         Also mention how Claudio and Don Pedro try to persuade Benedick that all of this is true; ‘for the which she swept heartily’, and, ‘she would love him dearly’. State what effect this may have on Benedick, whether you think it is believable or it is obvious that they are lying.

·         Benedict’s last paragraph, he pretends that he believes that they show heart ‘I will leave you now to your gossip-like humour’ and ‘which God be thanked hurt not.’

Question: In Act 5, Scene 4, re-read lines 52-96. Compare the relationship of Hero and Claudio to that of Beatrice and Benedick.

·         B+B are much more light hearted – always mocking each other, even when they have admitted their love for each other.

o    ‘I take thee for pity’.

o   Also what they say is similar

o    ‘They swore that they were almost sick for me’

o   ‘They swore you were well nigh dead for me’

o   ‘Troth no, no more than reason’.

o   ‘Why no, no more than reason’.

o   C+H never seem to joke about each other – have much more serious problems in their relationship

·         B+B relationship is much more balanced – what they say is similar – whereas for C+H Claudio seems to be more in charge

o   Hero seems to be the one paying for Claudio’s mistake – she had to hide from society and pretend to be dead

o   She doesn’t seem to be asked whether she will take Claudio back – it is just presumed she will do as expected

o   She has to be ‘reborn’ as a new Hero – ‘One Hero died defiled, but I do live’ but Claudio’s allowed to be the same – though he ruined Hero’s life.

·         How B+B have both been through the same thing – swore they would never be in love, never marry but both were tricked into falling in love with each other.                  

·         In both relationships, the partners both seem to be similar.

o   B+B = both witty and confident

o   C+H both less confident + quite quiet in most situations yet in some scenes seem to come out of their shell e.g. Act 3, Scene 1 – tricking Beatrice (Hero) and Act 2, Scene 3 – tricking Benedick (Claudio)