SUMMARY 

Act 5 Scene 1 

Leonato who is angry that Hero’s reputation has been challenged Claudio, this causes her death. Don Pedro maintains the view that the accusation against hero was true. The two elders leave them enraged. 

 

Benedick arrives accuses Claudio of ruining Hero’s reputation and challenges him to a dual. He informs Don Pedro that he will no longer be a member of his company and that Don John has disappeared. Once he leaves the other characters are concerned for Benedicks behaviour. 

 

Prisoners are brought in to face Leonato, Don Pedro demands to know what they have done wrong.  Borachio confesses to the plot to shame Hero outlining how they were deceived underneath Hero’s window.  Don Pedro and Claudio recoil in shock, realising that Hero – or so they think – lies dead because of their false accusation. 

 

Leonato then confronts Borachio who confesses.  In turn, Leonato demands that Claudio and Don Pedro spread the news of Hero’s innocence across Messina.  Leonato demands that they appear at her tomb that evening.  Leonato then announces that he needs to find Margaret to ascertain whether she knew she was actively participating in a plot to tarnish Hero’s reputation.  Meanwhile, Claudio is ordered to Hero’s tomb to hang an epitaph.  He also agrees to marry Antonio’s daughter – even though he has never met her – the following day.  

 

Act 5 Scene 2 

Benedick can practice his song alone. Beatrice arrives and is concerned with the dual to which Benedick has challenged Claudio.  Benedick tries to turn the direction of the conversation away from the dual to the elements of his character that she first found attractive. Conversation gets playful. Ursula arrives to summon Beatrice to her uncle.  Ursula reveals Don John’s plot to Beatrice. 

Act 5 Scene 3 

Just before dawn, Claudio and Don Pedro mourn for Hero at Leonato’s family tomb.  Firstly, Claudio reads a verse that he has written aloud.  There then follows a song of mourning.  As dawn breaks, both characters leave to prepare for Claudio’s wedding to Antonio’s daughter. 

 

Act Five, Scene Four 

 

The Friar opens the plays final scene by reminding all of the characters that he never doubted Hero’s innocence. Leonato then forgives Claudio and Don Pedro and plans for the final deception. 

 

Act 3 Scene 5
 - The scene in Hero’s bedchamber, as Hero prepares for her wedding day, provides an example of some of Much Ado About Nothing’s strongest features: the scene combines nonstop jokes with a sense of affection. It means a great deal to Hero to have her cousin and her beloved maids with her on her wedding morning, even amid all the raunchy joking surrounding Hero’s impending marriage—for instance, Margaret’s statement that Hero’s heart will “be heavier soon by the weight of a man” (III.iv.23). Hero’s unexpected sense of foreboding sets off warning bells in the minds of the audience. Hero asks God to “give me joy to wear [my wedding dress], for my heart is exceeding heavy” (III.iv.21–22). There is no clear reason for her to feel this way, except perhaps that she must sadly bid her innocent childhood adieu; we interpret her heaviness of heart as a foreshadowing of something bad to come. 

Leonato - A respected, well-to-do, elderly noble at whose home, in Messina, Italy, the action is set. Leonato is the father of Hero and the uncle of Beatrice. As governor of Messina, he is second in social power only to Don Pedro.

Don John - 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.

Margaret - Hero’s serving woman, who unwittingly helps Borachio and Don John deceive Claudio into thinking that Hero is unfaithful. Unlike Ursula, Hero’s other lady-in-waiting, Margaret is lower class. Though she is honest, she does have some dealings with the villainous world of Don John: her lover is the mistrustful and easily bribed Borachio. Also unlike Ursula, Margaret loves to break decorum, especially with bawdy jokes and teases.

Borachio - An associate of Don John. Borachio is the lover of Margaret, Hero’s serving woman. He conspires with Don John to trick Claudio and Don Pedro into thinking that Hero is unfaithful to Claudio. His name means “drunkard” in Italian, which might serve as a subtle direction to the actor playing him.

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

Dogberry - The constable in charge of the Watch, or chief policeman, of Messina. Dogberry is very sincere and takes his job seriously, but he has a habit of using exactly the wrong word to convey his meaning. Dogberry is one of the few “middling sort,” or middle-class characters, in the play, though his desire to speak formally and elaborately like the noblemen becomes an occasion for parody.

Verges - The deputy to Dogberry, chief policeman of Messina.

Antonio - Leonato’s elderly brother and Hero's uncle. He is Beatrice’s father.

Balthasar - A waiting man in Leonato’s household and a musician. Balthasar flirts with Margaret at the masked party and helps Leonato, Claudio, and Don Pedro trick Benedick into falling in love with Beatrice. Balthasar sings the song, “Sigh no more, ladies, sigh no more” about accepting men’s infidelity as natural.

Ursula - One of Hero’s waiting women.