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Analyze the subplot of Dogberry and the watchmen. In what way does this subplot comment on the play’s main action?

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Analyze the subplot of Dogberry and the watchmen. In what way does this subplot comment on the play's main action?

With the comic subplot of Doberry and Verges, Shakespeare exposes human beings' tendency to misinterpret one another-a theme that runs throughout the play. Beatrice and Benedick, for example, delay resolving the problems in their relationship by continuously making errors in "notation," or ways of perceiving and describing the world. This habit of misreading later takes a sinister turn in the story of Hero and Claudio. By comically exaggerating the range and effects of human folly, the Dogberry subplot focuses our attention on the subtler, more realistic examples of flawed communication throughout the play.

Dogberry acts as a clown in Much Ado About Nothing, consistently mangling his sentences, conflating connotations and denotations, and failing to gauge the importance of details in his interactions. He often slows down the course of the play with his absurd malapropisms; for example, he declares that Borachio is worthy of "redemption" when he clearly means that Borachio is worthy of "condemnation." He risks his salary when he laughably misinterprets his employer's expectations; having insisted that his job is merely to "watch," he says that a watchman is not required to detain and question suspicious characters. When he foils Borachio's plot, he seems more concerned with Borachio's use of the term "ass" than with the far graver threat Borachio has posed to Hero. (Thus, by frequently reminding the other characters that Borachio has insulted him, Dogberry proves that he is indeed an ass.) In cartoonish, implausible ways, Dogberry embodies the human tendency to make errors of perception and interpretation.

Following Dogberry's example, Beatrice and Benedick postpone their own happiness by making communication as difficult as possible. Beatrice playfully misinterprets Benedick's quite skillful joking as evidence that he lacks wit, and so she will not consider marrying him. Benedick puts aside his own obvious affection for Beatrice by declaring that he is immune to love. Beatrice makes a far more intelligent variation on an error typical of Dogberry when she says she cannot marry a man, for all mankind is her "brother." These sly examples of masquing and misreading provide entertainment for Beatrice and Benedick, but they also have the effect of delaying confirmation of what the other party really feels: The two lovers could marry happily in Act One if they simply stated their feelings in clear, accurate language.

The effects of false notation become even more serious in the Hero-Claudio plot. Shakespeare hints that all is not well between these two lovers early in their story: Rather honestly and openly declare his love for Hero, Claudio has Don Pedro dress as Claudio to declare his friend's love for Hero. Deception marks the relationship from the beginning. The dire consequences of "misprision" reach a peak when Claudio falsely concludes that Borachio is sleeping with Hero. Leonato then misreads Hero's genuine grief-a grief that is visible to the friar, who hardly knows her-as playacting, and so he encourages Claudio in his hasty denigration of Hero. Each of these upsetting plot twists hinges on a miscommunication, similar in kind, if not degree, to the errors that Dogberry commits throughout his diverting subplot.

By exaggerating the human capacity for linguistic and perceptual error, Dogberry's story throws into relief the more plausible notational mistakes of Beatrice, Benedick, and Claudio. The play's title reinforces his idea of chronic misinterpretation: Pronounced by an Elizabethan actor, "nothing" sounds like "noting," and thus the titular "ado" is a result of our constant inability to note what is actually happening around us. In Dogberry, this inability is laughable, hyperbolic, and absurd. Yet Dogberry's clowning calls our attention to the more serious consequences of error in our romantic and family lives-where a misunderstood sentiment can result in a broken engagement or frayed relations between father and child.

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Much Ado About Nothing: A+ Student Essay | SparkNotes

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Analyze the subplot of Dogberry and the watchmen. In what way does this subplot comment on the play's main action? With the comic subplot of Doberry and Verges, Shakespeare exposes human beings' tendency to misinterpret one another-a theme that runs throughout the play.

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The 'battle of the sexes' is one of the great themes of literature. Gender debates fill Shakespeare's comedies, with the battle of the sexes raging in The Taming of the Shrew and Much Ado About Nothing and cross-dressing in Twelfth Night and as you like it reminding the audience of the complexities of sexuality.

There are many references to the roles of men and women in Much Ado About Nothing such as:

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Much Ado About Nothing dwells on the way that language and communication affect our perception of reality. It is important to remember nothing (besides marriage) actually happens in the play—there are no fights, deaths, thefts, journeys, trials, illnesses, sexual encounters, losses or gains of wealth, or anything else material. All that changes is the perception that these things have happened, or that they will happen: that Hero is no longer a virgin, or that she has died, or that Claudio and Benedick will fight.

Tricks of language alone repeatedly change the entire situation of the play. Overheard conversations cause Benedick and Beatrice to fall in love, and the sonnets they have written one another stop them from separating once the prank behind their romance has been revealed. The idea that we live in a world of language and appearances, beyond which we cannot see, is common throughout Shakespeare. The famous quote that “All the world’s a stage,” is another example.

By the end, the false language in Much Ado About Nothing has almost overwhelmed the reality. Characters have fallen into the roles given to them in the lies told about them: Benedick and Beatrice have become lovers, and Hero is treated like a whore by her own father. Ironically, the only character with the knowledge to replace this false language with the truth is the completely inarticulate Dogberry.

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The mistaken use of a word in place of a similar-sounding one, often with an amusing effect (e.g. ‘dance a flamingo ’ instead of flamenco).

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Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare | Symbols

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What does this soliloquy reveal about Benedick’s thoughts and feelings towards love and marriage? 

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What does this soliloquy reveal about Benedick’s thoughts and feelings towards love and marriage? 

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PEEAL help - writing about Benedick's soliloquy. 

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A soliloquy is a dramatic convention in which characters are alone on the stage and speak their thoughts aloud to the audience.

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These are repeated image patterns throughout the play. In Much Ado About Nothing, there are many motifs, including:
1. Beasts (animals),
2. Battles (war, the military)
3. Banquets (food and eating, music and dance)

This analysis discusses Shakespeare's use of these motifs.

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This is where two different things (images, ideas, attitudes, style of scene etc.) are placed together by a playwirght for effect.

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This southern Mediterranean island setting may help to explain Much Ado’s hothouse climate—it is one of Shakespeare’s most playful and erotic plays. The atmosphere is frothy and insistently social, almost inebriated, drunk on wordplay. The first three acts are dominated by a house party on a lavish estate, a wild masquerade poised precipitously on the verge of spinning out of control. The action, unfolding between military expeditions, is imbued with the rambunctious feeling of soldiers who hit the town on shore leave. Shakespeare surprises us, however, with the unexpectedly sober and mature events that transpire roughly halfway through the play. The characters wake up from their lubricated nights of revelry to a new morning that shines a harsh light on their world and relations in it. In a miracle of Shakespearean characterization, the characters themselves seem surprised by their sober responsibilities, their newfound maturity and depth.

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Example paragraphs - language and character

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Example paragraphs - language and character

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Paragraph example - Juxtaposition and staging

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Paragraph example - Juxtaposition and staging

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Improving your explanations and analysis

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Improving your explanations and analysis

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A soliloquy is a dramatic convention in which characters are alone on the stage and speak their thoughts aloud to the audience.

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The importance of songs: Balthasar's Song 

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The importance of songs: Balthasar's Song 

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Songs, set to music, are used by playwrights to enhance the atmosphere of a scene, especially in comedies. Such verses are rhymed, and they often have a refrain or a repeated line, as songs usually do.
Words of songs often point to a theme of the scene or play as a whole. Sometimes they are jolly and cheerful, but not always.

Balthasar's song is very revealing and it is deliberately placed at this point in the play, and the scene.

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Test your knowledge of drama vocabulary with this game.

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Wordwall - Create better lessons quicker

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staging - The whole process of realising a dramatic work for performance, mirroring - When one thing is reflected in another. This can be language, action or character traits. , farce - Comedy full of exaggerations and improbable twists and turns of plot. The humour is often very physical. , mistaken identity - Where characters disguise themselves, pretend to be what they are not. , denouement - The part of the play which reveals the complexities of the plot., exposition - The early part of the play where the audience learns about setting, events, characters and possibly themes. , dramatic action - What is happening at any given moment in the play - what people are doing. , foreshadowing - When a writer gives a hint of what is going to happen in a play or a novel, juxtaposition - The placing of contrasting elements side by side for effect, dramatic irony - When the audience know something the characters on stage do not. , irony of situation - An event or occasion in which the outcome is very different from what might have been expected. , characterisation - Literaly 'making' a character. The writer has used words and tones to create a particular effect, soliloquy - A dramatic convention in which characters are alone on the stage and speak thier thoughts aloud to the audience. , idiolect - The speech habits peculiar to a particular person. Often seen in comic characters such as Dogberry., setting - Where and when the play takes place. , motif/image pattern - When images fitting with a certain theme are repeated in the play. War imagery is used throughout Much Ado About Nothing, for example. , monologue - A speech presented by a single character, most often to express their mental thoughts aloud, though sometimes also to directly address another character or the audience., central characters - Major characters in a play. They are central to the plot. , minor characters - Characters that help move the plot along but are not central to it. , turning points - Moments of important change for characters, where they might significantly change thier attitudes, beliefs or values. , act and scene - The parts of a play that show change and development. An act is a larger unit than a scene. , plot - The events that make up the story.,

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staging - The whole process of realising a dramatic work for performance, mirroring - When one thing is reflected in another. This can be language, action or character traits. , farce - Comedy full of exaggerations and improbable twists and turns of plot. The humour is often very physical.

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Recolciliation, marriage and a happy ending...for everyone?

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Don John's plot revealed

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The Wedding: The humiliation of Hero

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Dogberry and idiolect

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Beatrice's gulling scene

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Benedick's gulling scene

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Collaborative Essay: In what ways, and with what dramatic effects, does Shakespeare present the character of Beatrice in this scene?

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Collaborative Essay: In what ways, and with what dramatic effects, does Shakespeare present the character of Beatrice in this scene?

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Beatrice says a lot about men and marriage to Leonato and Hero before the masked dance. What could have made her think this way? Why does she want Hero to hear it?

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In this video, actress Michelle Terry describes Beatrice as someone who needs to stay ‘in control’ of her emotions and of life. She describes the wedding scene as a moment where ‘life is allowed to happen to her rather than her trying to happen to life.’ Beatrice is a woman with an independent mind living in a world where women have few rights and very little say and this frustrates and angers her. However, Beatrice manages to say quite a lot and people genuinely find her cheerful and entertaining company. She has a low opinion of most men and has no desire to be trapped in marriage. We know Beatrice is a person with very strong emotions but she tries very hard to bury the emotions that might hurt her.

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Beatrice's Journey | Much Ado about Nothing: in performance | Royal Shakespeare Company

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'Don Pedro of Aragon and his army are coming to Messina tonight'

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Leonato, in Much Ado About Nothing, is first. He is the first character we're introduced to, the first character to speak, and his home is the first - and primary - location used as the backdrop for the story. Leonato is the governor of Messina, Italy, where the play is set (although he's second in social hierarchy to Don Pedro). Regardless, Leonato is treated with reverence and is well-respected.

Leonato is the father of Hero, who is described throughout the play as both sweet and kind, and he is the uncle of Beatrice, Hero's witty, sometimes cynical cousin (and friend). As the story opens, Leonato is awaiting Don Pedro's return from war. As the play progresses, the bulk of the action takes place under Leonato's roof and watchful eye, including the courtships of his daughter and his niece, and the deception perpetrated against them, which Leonato investigates and remedies. In short, Leonato is the glue that holds the storyline together, through his seniority, stability and wisdom.

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Don John is a thoroughly unpleasant character . Some readers say he is too evil to be believed, He appears first in Act 1 Scene 1 as a sulky and bad-tempered character. He says he is honest in that he admits his true nature, though in fact he is untrustworthy .

He is jealous of Claudio and plots to damage the soldier's new-found romance with Hero. With Borachio and Conrade, Don John sets up a scene that appears to show Hero being unfaithful. The audience learns that they intend to trick Claudio by showing him Margaret declaring her love for Borachio and making him think she is his wife-to-be.

At the end of the play we learn that Don John has tried to escape but is arrested and brought back to Messina.

How is Don John like this?

Evidence

Analysis

Moody

Don John describes how he is ruled by his moods.

"I cannot hide what I am: I must be sad when I have cause and smile / at no man's jests" (Act 1 Scene 3)

He claims to be unable to hide his true self and will show his sadness or joy as it arises .

Villainous

He acknowledges that he is a mischievous and unpleasant character.

"It must not be denied / but I am a plain-dealing villain." (Act 1 Scene 3)

He seems to be honest about his villainy and admits that his behaviour is bad.

Dishonest

At the masked ball, Don John pretends not to know who Claudio is and says that his brother Don Pedro is trying to woo Hero.

"He is enamoured on Hero; I pray you, dissuade him from her: she is no equal for his birth: you may / do the part of an honest man in it." (Act 2 Scene 1)

Although Don John seems honest in admitting that he is a villain, he is also dishonest with others. Here, he lies to Claudio about his brother's motives.

Resentful

Don John openly admits his dislike of Claudio.

"I am sick in displeasure to him." (Act 2 Scene 2)

He is jealous of Claudio and feels this as a physical sickness. His resentment towards the 'young start-up' Claudio, results in his plot to show that Hero is unfaithful.

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Don John in Much Ado About Nothing - Characters - GCSE English Literature Revision - BBC Bitesize

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Page 6of 8 Don John is a thoroughly unpleasant character . Some readers say he is too evil to be believed, He appears first in Act 1 Scene 1 as a sulky and bad-tempered character.

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Why do audiences adore Shakespeare's 'baddies', despite their dastardly deeds? We asked Shakespeare expert Alexey Bartoshevich, whose lectures are part of our free Russian-language Entire Shakespeare online course. Who are Shakespeare's most famous villains?
My pick for the most famous Shakespearean villain would be Iago, the scheming adviser who steers Othello to murder his wife. Second place would go to the cunning anti-hero Richard III. What makes them memorable is that they are not simple personifications of villainy, but multi-layered, complex characters. These are not trivial, one-note bad guys, but Renaissance villains on a grand scale. Richard III, for instance, is more than just a power-hungry murderer; he is a dark genius and master manipulator who seduces the audience. All other characters in the play, good and bad, are no match for the force of his personality. The same can be said about Iago. No wonder that the Russian poet Alexander Blok wrote about the infernal black glow that radiates from Iago, in his article, 'The Secret Meaning of the Tragedy Othello'.
Do any of Shakespeare's villains lack all redeeming qualities?
I guess it would be the treacherous Don John from the comedy Much Ado About Nothing. He plays dirty tricks and almost has the innocent Hero killed by making it seem as though she is unfaithful to her fiance Claudio, for no reason other than his malicious wish to do harm to a fellow human-being. At the end of the play, he is forgiven, but this still doesn't persuade him to repent.

Regan, from , is another good example. At the beginning of the play, she is nothing more than a toady to her older sister, the hateful and deceitful Goneril. However, she gradually becomes tougher, until she matches and surpasses her sister's first rejection of their father, by not only refusing him shelter, but driving him out into the storm. Lear's question, 'What stone her heart is made on?' is reasonable. Shakespeare's ability to show the process of becoming a villain is one of his great artistic achievements.
Were Shakespeare's villains more complicated than previous theatrical villains?
The idea of what it means to be a villain was formed long before Shakespeare, even before the adoption of the Christian system of values. But there is a fundamental difference, almost a gap, between Shakespeare's villains and the villains in ancient 'morality' plays and the plays written by his predecessors. Shakespeare developed an understanding of the mental complexity of the wicked. His bad guys are vivid, fully fleshed-out characters, whose personalities have eternal depth.

For instance, let's take Shylock from The Merchant of Venice. What could be more repellent than a spiteful moneylender who demands in court the right to cut a pound of meat from a debtor with his own hands, and who is already sharpening his knife with the sole of his shoe?

But Shylock's story in Shakespeare's play is a story of the Jewish people, humbled and tormented by persecutions. His unapologetic wish to take bloody revenge upon his enemies is gained through deep suffering. The depth and complexity of his character have been revealed over the historical course of time. Gradually, actors and directors began to discover Shylock's emotional motives: performing the play became less about how to excuse him, and more about how to explain him. This understanding became especially acute in the century of the Holocaust. It directly affected the theatrical interpretation of The Merchant of Venice - including in Russia. Our nuanced view of Shylock today is different from the view of Shakespeare's contemporaries, who saw him as nothing more than a comic villain.
Do you think that Shakespeare found his own villains attractive, and that's why the audience have sympathy for them?
I have no doubt that Shakespeare loved his villains, perhaps even more than his virtuous characters. My sense is that they amused him as an artist, and were to him, just as they are to us, a way to explore his interest in the paradox of what it means to be human. For instance, Macbeth is a murderer and a sufferer at the same time. In Shakespeare's early, ultra-violent tragedy Titus Andronicus, the character of Aaron the Moor is a depraved monster, an incarnation of pure evil. But even he is given a trait of humanity by the young playwright - he loves his illegitimate child.
Would Shakespeare take the view that nobody is all bad, but the victim of their circumstances?
I don't think that Shakespeare placed distinct emphasis on circumstances, although he took them into consideration - for example, Shylock, who has just been discussed. To Shakespeare, a man was a creation of his own will, a product of his own decisions. His characters consequently had no right to make reference to what Fyodor Dostoyevsky called 'being plagued by circumstances' in his novel Crime and Punishment. In Shakespeare's eyes, each man determined himself and was responsible for the consequences of his choices. The crucial role of circumstances in people's lives was not seriously discussed until much later, in the 19th century, during the blossoming of the psychological novel, which examined the extent to which human personality depends upon social environment.
What lessons do Shakespeare's villains provide?
The main and perhaps the only lesson to be learned from Shakespeare's villains is not to repeat one's misdeeds. Shakespeare's villains usually get what they deserve, but at the same time, other characters who don't deserve to suffer and die - such as Ophelia in Hamlet, Desdemona in Othello, and Cordelia in King Lear - do anyway. The ancient concept of tragic guilt or hamartia - a flaw or mistake that sets off a chain of unfortunate events - often doesn't apply to Shakespeare's characters. This confused a lot of moralists during the Age of Enlightenment.

But teaching moral lessons is hardly the main purpose of the arts. What is more instructive for a modern audience is trying to gain an insight into the characters' motives, both hidden and obvious, and the mysteries of their subconscious minds. Through this process, we may be able to learn something significant about human nature, which enriches us as humans.
Take part in the British Council and Arzamas Academy's free Russian-language online course, 'Entire Shakespeare'. You can also learn how Shakespeare concocted the perfect insults to describe his villains with the 'Taunt like a Bard' game, available in English as part of the course materials.

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Why we can't get enough of Shakespeare's villains

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Why do audiences adore Shakespeare's 'baddies', despite their dastardly deeds? We asked Shakespeare expert Alexey Bartoshevich, whose lectures are part of our free Russian-language Entire Shakespeare online course. Who are Shakespeare's most famous villains? My pick for the most famous Shakespearean villain would be Iago, the scheming adviser who steers Othello to murder his wife.

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The illegitimate brother of Don Pedro; sometimes called “the Bastard.” 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.

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Rehearsing the scene: exploring motivation, tone and emotion. 

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Rehearsing the scene: exploring motivation, tone and emotion. 

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Rehearsing Act 1 Scene 1 | Much Ado about Nothing: in performance | Royal Shakespeare Company

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Interpreting character by analysing language and tone. 

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Interpreting character by analysing language and tone. 

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The opening scene

Take a look at the scene. Who has the most lines? Are they using prose or verse? Actors at the RSC often put the language into their own words to help them understand what they are saying. We've added some definitions (in green), questions (in red) and paraphrased some sections (in blue) to help with this. You can click on the text that is highlighted for extra guidance.

Close

I wonder that you will still be talking, Signor Benedick; nobody marks you.

What, my dear Lady Disdain! Are you yet living?

God keep your ladyship still in that mind! So some gentleman or other shall 'scape a predestinate scratched face.

Scratching could not make it worse, an 'twere such a face as yours were.

A bird of my tongue is better than a beast of yours.

Read the scene aloud, then watch the actors trying it in different ways. Which way feels right? What in the language makes you think that? Are there any words or lines that really stand out?

Take a look at the actors performing this scene. How do the characters come across in this version?

Explore some images from past versions of Much Ado at the RSC. Which sets and staging choices for the opening scene feel right to you?

Act 1 Scene 1 - Key Scene

In this scene, Beatrice and Benedick meet at Leonato's house. Beatrice has been making fun of Benedick before he even arrives and then they immediately fall into old habits of mocking and outdoing each other, using witty puns and put downs. It is a short meeting but immediately we want to know more about them, why they feel this way about each other and what will happen next time they meet.

Take a look at an extract from this scene and watch it in performance here. Using the following steps, remember to look at it line by line and if you're looking at the scene for the first time, don't worry if you don't understand everything at once.

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Much Ado About Nothing Act 1 Scene 1 | Shakespeare Learning Zone | Royal Shakespeare Company

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Take a look at the scene. Who has the most lines? Are they using prose or verse? Actors at the RSC often put the language into their own words to help them understand what they are saying. We've added some definitions (in green), questions (in red) and paraphrased some sections (in blue) to help with this.

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In comedies, in particular, ther are many examples of scenes in which characters are shown having witty dialogues with each other. In Shakespeare's comedies, characters try to score points by outdoing each other's puns. These are not so much funny scenes as admirably clever, and an audience would have to be very quick to catch every nuance of the witty interchange between the characters.

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Act 1 Scene 2: Misunderstandings and Dramatic Irony 

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Act 1 Scene 2: Misunderstandings and Dramatic Irony 

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Dramatic irony is when the audience know something the characters on stage do not. It is common in comedies to see examples of dramatic irony.

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'It must not be denied but I am a plain dealing villain.' - Don John, Act 1 Scene 3

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Shakespeare's language and imagery: the four humours

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Shakespeare's language and imagery: the four humours

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Common vocab translated from Shakespearean to modern English 

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Common vocab translated from Shakespearean to modern English 

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Language and Character: Example paragraphs

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Language and Character: Example paragraphs

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Characters in a play are not real. They are created first and foremost by language and imagery. But because actors interpret them they seem real and you are bound to respond to them with feeling. It's just important to make sure that you can identify the reasons for interpretation or your powerful response by quoting words and images that have influenced you, especially if you are answering a passage question or an essay question on characterisation. The word characterisation means 'making a character' and it reminds you that the writer has chosen words and tones to create a particular effect.

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Act 1 Scene 1: Beatrice and Benedick - 'a merry war betwixt them'

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Act 1 Scene 1: Beatrice and Benedick - 'a merry war betwixt them'

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Meet chat: Benedick's language tone and personality 

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Meet chat: Benedick's language tone and personality 

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Meet Chat - Language, tone and Benedick's character

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Analysing Shakespeare: A step by step guide - Part 4 

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Analysing Shakespeare: A step by step guide - Part 4 

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Analysing Shakespeare: A step by step guide - Part 3

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Analysing Shakespeare: A step by step guide - Part 3

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Analysing Shakespeare: A step by step guide - Part 2

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Analysing Shakespeare: A step by step guide - Part 2

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Analysing Shakespeare: A step by step guide - Part 1

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Analysing Shakespeare: A step by step guide - Part 1

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Act 1 Scene 1: Benedick - Character presentation. 

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Act 1 Scene 1: Benedick - Character presentation. 

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In what ways, and with what dramatic effects, does Shakespeare present Benedick in Act 1 Scene 1?

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