Much Ado About Nothing - Quote Analysis

Key quotes for each character with analysis - red is a character, orange is a motif, yellow is a theme, green is a language technique, form or structure, and blue is any other relevant points

Title - ‘Much Ado About Nothing’

* A big deal made out of nothing
* Nothing → Noting; the plot revolves around hearsay
* Nothing overheard is true
* Holes used to be pricked into parchment to make notes
* If ‘thing’ is a man’s private parts and ‘no-thing’ is a woman’s absence of it, then this represents male fussing over female sex lives
* Wit comes from ‘witan’, meaning ‘to know’

‘Doing in the figure of a lamb the feats of a lion.’ (Act 1, Scene 1)

* ==**Claudio** - A celebrated, honourable soldier==
* @@**Wild Animals** - Defeats expectations, having a hidden true self@@
* $**Honour** - Important then and now to military personnel$
* %%**Metaphor/Oxymoron** - Reflective of man’s wild tendencies%%

‘Signor Mountanto’ (Act 1, Scene 1)

* ==**Beatrice/Benedick** - A womaniser and the woman his critic==
* $**Honour** - If it were a woman, she would be disgraced but Benedick’s behaviour is entertainment$
* %%**Metaphor/Double Entendre** - *Mountanto* is probably derived from *montanto*, a fencing term meaning an upward thrust, a commentary on his military status and his sexual tendencies%%

‘there is a kind of merry war betwixt Signor Benedick and her: they never meet but there’s a skirmish of wit between them.’ (Act 1, Scene 1)

* ==**Beatrice/Benedick** - The perfect summary of their relationship==
* $**Love** - Two people who are shown to be always contrary are oddly compatible; “opposites attract”$
* %%**Oxymoron** - Reflective of the way they oppose each other yet are cohesive in the manner they oppose%%

‘O Lord, he will hang upon him like a disease… God help the noble Claudio, if he hath caught the Benedick, it will cost him a thousand pound ere a be cured.’ (Act 1, Scene 1)

* ==**Beatrice/Benedick** - Unconsciously revealing how she feels about him==
* $**Love** - Something you don’t expect and is difficult to shake the feeling of$
* %%**Simile → Metaphor** - Development; much like how she begins to become aware of her love for him%%

‘But it is certain I am loved of all ladies, only you excepted. And I would I could find in my heart that I had not a hard heart, for truly I love none.’

‘I had rather hear my dog bark at a crow than a man swear he loves me.’ (Act 1, Scene 1)

* ==**Benedick/Beatrice** - Similarly uninterested in the opposite sex but he seems to take notice that the only woman uninterested in him is her==
* $**Love** - Both admit they lack love but perhaps the only love they need is for each other$
* %%**Parallel Language** - Displays how they are not as contrary as they think they are%%

‘Can the world buy such a jewel?’ (Act 1, Scene 1)

* ==**Claudio** - Possessive, romantic?==
* $**Women** - Not seen as people but as something to be bought and sold$
* %%**Metaphor** - He views Hero as priceless, too valuable to be his%%
* ^^**Context** - The position of women in society was inferior to men and treated women like a commodity^^

‘In time the savage bull doth bear the yoke.’ (Act 1, Scene 1)

* ==**Don Pedro** - Believes Benedick will eventually settle and marry, perhaps because he wishes he could do the same==
* @@**Wild Animals** - A man is blind to parts of himself that are obvious to others i.e. blind to an affair behind his back@@
* $**Honour** - A man’s revolved around connections and ultimately, his wife would face bigger consequences for having an extramarital affair than he would$
* %%**Metaphor** - A man bearing ‘les cornes’, displaying his cuckold status%%
* ^^**Context** - Cuckoldry was every man’s fear^^

‘The savage bull may, but if ever the sensible Benedick bear it, pluck off the bull’s horns and set them in my forehead, and let me be vilely painted, and in such great letters as they write, “Here is good horse to hire” let them signify under my sign, “Here you may see Benedick, the married man.’ (Act 1, Scene 1)

* ==**Benedick** - Views himself as too clever to marry==
* @@**Wild Animals** - A man is blind to parts of himself that are obvious to others i.e. blind to an affair behind his back, displaying idiocy@@
* $**Love** - Not only is he critical of love overall, but sees marriage as something only stupid men do$
* %%**Metaphor** - A man bearing ‘les cornes’, displaying his cuckold status%%
* ^^**Context** - Cuckoldry was every man’s fear^^

‘I had rather be a canker in a hedge than a rose in his grace.’ (Act 1, Scene 3)

* ==**Don John** - Sulky, bad-tempered and feels as though he has been slighted in his life==
* $**Honour** - Would rather be hated than an accessory$
* %%**Wordplay** - Either way, he is not the focus, but his interaction with the focus changes%%
* ^^**Context** - A ‘royal bastard’, he is looked down upon and is a villainously bitter illegitimate child of nobility^^

‘this may prove food to my displeasure, that young start-up hath all the glory of my overthrow: if I can cross him any way, I bless myself every way.’ (Act 1, Scene 3)

* ==**Don John** - Jealous, thriving off of others’ suffering==
* $**Honour** - Understands his position and thus plays into it by treating people badly, as opposed to trying to be liked but it not working$
* %%**Wordplay/Rhyme** - Moving between one of many possibilities to all possibilities, showing the extent of his desire for power and control over others and their fates%%

‘He that hath a beard is more than a youth: and he that hath no beard is less than a man: and he that is more than a youth, is not for me, and he that is less than a man, I am not for him.’ (Act 2, Scene 1)

* ==**Beatrice** - Those with no facial hair are not manly enough to satisfy her desires, whereas those who have beards are not youthful enough for her==
* $**Love** - Benedick’s beard symbolizes his rugged bachelorhood, while Claudio’s clean-shaven face indicates his softness and vulnerability to falling in love; Beatrice likes no man and thus neither of these archetypes$
* %%**Antithesis** - By eliminating two opposites, she closes herself off from any option while displaying her wit%%
* ^^**Context** - In Renaissance literature and culture, particularly in Shakespeare, youths on the cusp of manhood are often the most coveted objects of sexual desire^^

‘Tis certain so, the prince woos for himself, Friendship is constant in all other things, Save in the office and affairs of love.’ (Act 2, Scene 1)

* ==**Claudio** - Gullible, a troubling inability to think for himself, and an inherent suspicion of even his closest friends==
* $**Male Companionship** - Love is something that you cannot get your friends involved in as it is difficult to tell where their loyalties lie$
* %%**Verse** - Language of emotion, sincerity and submission%%

‘I will in the interim undertake one of Hercules’ labours, which is, to bring Signor Benedick and the lady Beatrice into a mountain of affection.’ (Act 2, Scene 1)

* ==**Don Pedro** - His self-assigned task is as laborious as that of Hercules’==
* $**Honour** - Views himself to be as powerful as a demi-god$
* %%**Metaphor** - It’s not that he’s similar to a demi-god, he is a demi-god%%

‘I will not be sworn, but love my transform me to an oyster; but I’ll take my oath on it, till he have made an oyster of me, he shall never make me such a fool.’ (Act 2, Scene 3)

* ==**Benedick** - He didn’t think it likely that love would transform him but if it did, it hadn’t yet, and until it did transform him, damned if he was going to act as foolish as Claudio was==
* $**Love** - Known for being outgoing and talkative, he fears love will make him shy, the opposite of what he is$
* %%**Metaphor** - Oysters are weak and defenceless - an easy target for the taking; he’s normally on guard but emotions could make him vulnerable%%

‘They say the lady is fair. ‘Tis a truth, I can bear them witness. And virtuous— ’tis so, I cannot reprove it. And wise, but for loving me. By my troth, it is no addition to her wit— nor no great argument of her folly, for I will be horribly in love with her.’ (Act 2, Scene 3)

* ==**Benedick** - It is not enough for him to reciprocate Beatrice’s passions; he must outdo them, perhaps to unseat her and win the competition==
* $**Love** - Comically preposterous that someone would fall in love with someone after simply weighing their virtues$
* %%**Soliloquy** - Speaking aloud when alone provides us with a direct view of what a character thinks and feels%%

‘When I said I would die a bachelor, I did not think I should live till I were married.’ (Act 2, Scene 3)

* ==**Benedick** - Gullible, contradicting, shallow and unstable==
* $**Love** - A trivial, light matter that is interchangeable and fickle$
* %%**Soliloquy** - Speaking aloud when alone provides us with a direct view of what a character thinks and feels%%

‘Some cupid kills with arrows, some with traps.’ (Act 3, Scene 1)

* ==**Hero** - Enjoying herself and surprisingly, taking pleasure in being mischievous==
* $**Love** - Cupid works in mysterious ways: some people are struck with true love as if by magic, but if this trick works, it proves that there are sometimes tricks and collusions behind it$
* %%**Metaphor** - The traditional way of being made to fall in love (arrows) compared to their way (traps)%%

‘Contempt, farewell! and maiden pride, adieu! \n No glory lives behind the back of such. \n And, Benedick, love on; I will requite thee, \n Taming my wild heart to thy loving hand.’ (Act 3, Scene 1)

* ==**Beatrice** - The realisation that she is in love has her acting brash and irrationally==


* $**Love** - Comically preposterous that someone would fall in love with someone after simply weighing their virtues$
* %%**Hubris Soliloquy** - Speaking aloud when alone shows her quality of dangerous overconfidence%%
* ^^**Context** - ‘Maiden pride’ alludes to her virginity and ‘loving hand’ an aspect of marriage, a commentary on how marriage affects women’s regard of themselves^^

‘And as I wooed for thee to obtain her, I will join with thee, to disgrace her.’ (Act 3, Scene 2)

* ==**Don Pedro** - Shows he selflessly wooed Hero==
* $**Male Companionship** - As much as Claudio previously doubted him, he is clearly loyal and a good friend$
* %%**Juxtaposition** - Contrasting his earlier gentlemanly behaviour, he highlights that for his friend, he will humiliate a woman%%

‘Call up the right master constable, we have here recovered the most dangerous piece of lechery, that was ever known in the commonwealth.’ (Act 3, Scene 3)

* %%**Malapropism** - The stupidity/lack of education of the Watch%%
* ^^**Context** - Lack of police, more likely to be uneducated men^^

‘Is not marriage honourable in a beggar? Is not your lord honourable without marriage?’ (Act 3, Scene 4)

* ==**Margaret** - Casually jokes about sex, urging Hero to loosen up==
* $**Honour** - The idea that there would be room within the strict boundaries of honour is difficult for Hero to understand$
* %%**Rhetorical Questions** - Reminds Hero that these feelings exist with or without the technicality of marriage%%

‘One word, sir, our watch, sir, have indeed comprehended two aspitious persons, and we would have them this morning examined before your worship.’ (Act 3, Scene 5)

* %%**Malapropism** - The stupidity/lack of education of the Watch%%
* ^^**Context** - Lack of police, more likely to be uneducated men^^

‘Give not this rotten orange to your friend. She’s but the sign and semblance of her honour. Behold how like a maid she blushes here!’ (Act 4, Scene 1)

* ==**Claudio** - Cruel and degrading==
* $**Honour** - Robs Claudio of his compassion and Hero of her personhood$
* %%**Metaphor** - Beautiful/honourable on the outside, but rotten on the inside, insinuating she is a whore%%
* ^^Public shaming makes a case against the characters’ Puritanical ideals where even if the whole issue were not a product of lies, and Hero had really been unfaithful, the idea that the best course of action is to degrade Hero at her wedding in front of her family is appalling^^

‘O Hero! What a Hero hadst thou been \n If half thy outward graces had been placed \n About thy thoughts and counsels of thy heart! \n But fare thee well, most foul, most fair, farewell \n Thou pure impiety and impious purity. \n For thee I’ll lock up all the gates of love, \n And on my eyelids shall conjecture hang \n To turn all beauty into thoughts of harm, \n And never shall it more be gracious.’ (Act 4, Scene 1)

* ==**Claudio** - Cruel, degrading and self-important==
* $**Honour** - Robs Claudio of his compassion and Hero of her dignity$
* %%**Oxymoron/Antithesis** - For Claudio to use these particular opposites to describe his frustration with Hero’s seemingly fair exterior and the false and foul interior reveals that he is livid with rage and driven to despair%%

‘O Fate! Take not away thy heavy hand! Death is the fairest cover for her shame That may be wished for.’ (Act 4, Scene 1)

* ==**Leonato** - While Beatrice frets over Hero’s well-being, Hero’s own father instantly gives up on her, viewing her supposed crimes as a poor reflection of himself==
* $**Honour** - In this society, it can overpower a parent’s love for their child in an instant$
* %%**Metaphor** - Fate is to blame, not the deceptive nature of people%%

‘Refuse me, hate me, torture me to death.’ (Act 4, Scene 1)

* ==**Hero** - Confident and assured in her innocence==
* $**Women** - If she were a man, she would not need to go to such extents to prove herself innocent$
* %%**Tricolon** - The increasing intensity of actions shows how much she means what she says%%

‘I do love nothing in the world so well as you. Is not that strange?’

‘I love you with so much of my heart that none is left to protest.’ (Act 4, Scene 1)

* ==**Beatrice/Benedick** - Finally admitting==
* $**Love** - Neither of them quite understand their feelings but this moment of honesty breaks past the barriers of their social images to form a real connection$
* %%**Question/Personification** - Assurance from each other and themselves%%

‘Thy slander hath gone through and through her heart, And she lies buried with her ancestors: Oh in a tomb where never scandal slept, Save this of hers, framed by thy villainy.’ (Act 5, Scene 1)

* ==**Leonato** - Tries to make Claudio show any sign of guilt over having killed Hero==
* $**Honour** - He plays with Claudio’s idea of honour by saying that he has not only ruined Hero’s dignity but that of her entire lineage$
* %%**Verse** - Language of heightened emotion and sincerity%%

‘You are a villain. I jest not. I will make it good how you dare, with what you dare, and when you dare. Do me right, or I will protest your cowardice.’ (Act 5, Scene 2)

* ==**Benedick** - challenges Claudio to a duel, in revenge for the stain on Hero’s name==
* $**Honour** - Just as Don John pulled Claudio’s strings by posing a threat to his reputation, so too does Benedick use Claudio’s concern for his reputation against him$
* ^^Society’s rigid code of honour allows Don John and Benedick to play Claudio like a chess piece^^

‘Done to death by slanderous tongues*,* \n Was the Hero that here lies: \n Death in guerdon of her wrongs, \n Gives her fame which never dies. \n So the life that died with shame, \n Lives in death with glorious fame.’ (Act 5, Scene 3)

* ==**Deception** - Both shame and fame are a result of perception, showing that even in death, the epitaph and audience know the truth of her death==
* %%**Oxymoron/Dramatic Irony** - She died in shame yet rests in fame, the true reality of her life%%

‘And when I lived I was your other wife, And when you loved, you were my other husband.’

‘One Hero died defiled, but I do live, And surely as I live, I am a maid.’ (Act 5, Scene 4)

* ==**Hero** - Confident yet modest and refined==
* $**Love** - Claudio has regained his virgin, plus something indefinable, whether the undeserved and unexpected gift of unqualified forgiveness or the addition of self-knowledge through suffering$
* $**Honour** - Dissatisfaction may remain that Hero should offer no reproach and has to be supremely pure to be an acceptable reward for a man himself so flawed$
* %%**Half Rhyme** - Increases the stylistic effect and beauty of her speech, reflecting her beauty%%