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CONTENTS
Unit Overview 3
Cyclic Test Example 4

Background information:
Life and times of William Shakespeare 5-10
A brief overview of Elizabethan England
The Elizabethan Theatre
Language notes
Elizabethan marriage customs
Questions on background information
Timeless Shakespeare expressions
Language devices
Summary and analysis 11-14

Preparation for reading

Exercise to identify figurative language 15-18
Plot: graphic

Reading and responding to the play

Act One questions 24-30
Act Two questions
Act Three questions
Acts Four and Five questions

Studying the whole text

Summary questions 31
Globe Theatre questions 32
Themes: graphic 32
Identifying characters 33

Themes – deeper study

Community and Social Order 34/5
Gender 35/6
Fraternity 37/8
Perception and deception 39/40
Love 41/2
Prose and verse 42/3
Characterisation 44-47
Character charts to fill in 48-51

Final pages
Analysis Mark Scheme 49
Exemplar Extended paragraph for an examination question 50
Spelling list 51

ACG PARNELL COLLEGE

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ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
UNIT OVERVIEW

Year 9
Unit Shakespeare: Much Ado about Nothing
Assessing Analysis – Extended Paragraph
Cyclic Test # 4
Cyclic Test Students will complete a Passage-based extended paragraph analysing
Description a memorable moment or event, key characters or relationships. This
extended paragraph will follow the ‘Essay Structure’ guidelines for Year
9s.

Learning Objectives AO1: Show knowledge of the content of literary texts, supported by
reference to the text.
AO2: Understand the meanings of literary texts and explore texts
beyond surface meanings to show awareness of ideas and attitudes.
AO3: Recognise and appreciate ways in which writers use language,
structure and form to create and shape meanings and effects.
AO4: Communicate an informed personal response to literary texts.

To be covered: 1. Essay writing: Approaching a passage-based response

2. Writing effect statements based on the language of the play
3. Embedding quotations
4. How to annotate as you read
5. Exploring the effects created by verse and prose
6. Identifying symbols and motifs
7. How to write about varied dramatic effects
8. What to expect from Shakespeare’s ‘comedies’
9. How imagery creates mood and atmosphere
10. Shakespeare’s use of imagery
11. How rhythm is created in Shakespeare’s use of language
12. Themes and moments that exemplify these
13. Including a contextual comment in an essay
14. Exploring our own feelings about certain characters/moments
and creating personal response around this.

ACG PARNELL COLLEGE

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ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
Year 9
Unit Much Ado About Nothing
Assessing Analysis – Extended Paragraph
Cyclic Test # 4
Marks Reading: 20
Writing Accuracy: 5
CYCLIC TEST

Read the passage and answer the question that follows.

Exeunt [All but Don John, Borachio and Claudio]

DON JOHN
(Aside to Borachio) Sure my brother is amorous
on Hero, and hath withdrawn her father to break
with him about it. The ladies follow her, and but one visor remains.
BORACHIO
And that is Claudio. I know him by his bearing.
DON JOHN
(to Claudio) Are not you Signior Benedick?
CLAUDIO
You know me well. I am he. DON JOHN
Signior, you are very near my brother in his
love. 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.
CLAUDIO
How know you he loves her?
DON JOHN
I heard him swear his affection. BORACHIO
So did I too, and he swore he would marry her tonight. DON JOHN
Come, let us to the banquet.
Exeunt Don John and Borachio.

Exeunt [All but Don John, Borachio and Claudio][Text Wrapping Break]

DON JOHN, ⌜to Borachio⌝ Sure my brother is amorous[Text Wrapping

Break]on Hero, and hath withdrawn her father to break
with him about it. The ladies follow her, and but one visor remains.[Text Wrapping
5
Break]BORACHIO And that is Claudio. I know him by his bearing.[Text Wrapping
Break]DON JOHN, ⌜to Claudio⌝ Are not you Signior Benedick?[Text Wrapping
Break]CLAUDIO You know me well. I am he.[Text Wrapping
Break]DON JOHN Signior, you are very near my brother in his[Text Wrapping

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Break]love. He is enamoured on Hero. I pray you dissuade[Text Wrapping
Break]him from her. She is no equal for his birth. You may do the part of 1
an honest man in it.[Text Wrapping Break]CLAUDIO How know you he loves her? 0
[Text Wrapping Break]DON JOHN I heard him swear his affection.[Text Wrapping
Break]BORACHIO So did I too, and he swore he would marry her tonight.[Text
Wrapping Break]DON JOHN Come, let us to the banquet.[Text Wrapping Break]
Exeunt Don John and Borachio. [Text Wrapping Break] 1
CLAUDIO, ⌜unmasking⌝ [Text Wrapping Break]Thus answer I in name of Benedick, 5
[Text Wrapping Break]But hear these ill news with the ears of Claudio.[Text Wrapping
Break]Tis certain so. The Prince woos for himself.[Text Wrapping
Break]Friendship is constant in all other things[Text Wrapping
Break]Save in the office and affairs of love.[Text Wrapping
Break]Therefore all hearts in love use their own tongues.[Text Wrapping
Break]Let every eye negotiate for itself[Text Wrapping 2
Break]And trust no agent, for beauty is a witch[Text Wrapping 0
Break]Against whose charms faith melteth into blood.[Text Wrapping
Break]This is an accident of hourly proof,[Text Wrapping
Break]Which I mistrusted not. Farewell therefore, Hero.[Text Wrapping Break][Text
Wrapping Break]Enter Benedick.[Text Wrapping Break]BENEDICK Count Claudio?[Text 2
Wrapping Break]CLAUDIO Yea, the same.[Text Wrapping 5
Break]BENEDICK Come, will you go with me?[Text Wrapping
Break]CLAUDIO Whither?
BENEDICK Even to the next willow, about your own[Text Wrapping
Break] business, county. What fashion will you wear the[Text Wrapping
Break] garland of? About your neck like an usurer’s chain?[Text Wrapping 3
Break] Or under your arm like a lieutenant’s scarf? You[Text Wrapping 0
Break] must wear it one way, for the Prince hath got your Hero.[Text Wrapping
Break]CLAUDIO I wish him joy of her.
BENEDICK Why, that’s spoken like an honest drover; so[Text Wrapping
Break]they sell bullocks. But did you think the Prince
would have served you thus?[Text Wrapping Break]CLAUDIO I pray you, leave me. 3
[Text Wrapping Break]BENEDICK Ho, now you strike like the blind man.[Text Wrapping 5
Break] ’Twas the boy that stole your meat, and you’ll beat[Text Wrapping
Break] the post.[Text Wrapping Break]CLAUDIO If it will not be, I’ll leave you.
Claudio exits.[Text Wrapping Break]
BENEDICK Alas, poor hurt fowl.
4
0

4
5

5
 5
0

How does Shakespeare make this a dramatic moment in the play? [20 + 5]

THE LIFE AND TIMES OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

In April 1564 in Stratford-on-Avon, England, William Shakespeare was born. The world
celebrates his birth on April 23, three days prior to his recorded baptism, because this was
the customary period between birth and the ceremony. John and Mary Shakespeare had six
children—William was the oldest.

No records exist to verify that William Shakespeare had a formal education. However, as the
son of a city official, he was eligible to attend petty school (like kindergarten), followed by
King Edward IV’s New School for 7-14 year old boys. The curriculum included Latin literature,
Greek, grammar, arithmetic and possibly rhetoric. If William’s father’s finances had not
taken a turn for the worse, the completion of this schooling would have made him eligible
for Oxford or Cambridge.

Eighteen-year old William married Anne Hathaway, the 26 year-old daughter of a local
farmer. Six months later their daughter Susanna was born. In 1585, two years later, twins
Judith and Hamnet were born. Shakespeare was 21 years old and had to support a wife and
three children. It is possible that he was able to do this by performing with a troupe of
traveling players. Shakespeare eventually left his wife and family behind in Stratford to go to
London and earn a living writing and performing in the theatre. He continued to visit his
family in the country and work in the city until his retirement in 1611.

After just 6 years in London, William Shakespeare had made a name for himself as both an
actor and playwright. By 1594, he was a partner in one of the most prestigious theatre
companies, the Lord Chamberlain’s Men—where he was both the star actor and poet. He
wrote approximately two plays a year during his time in London—and is credited with a total
of 38 plays, 2 extended poems and numerous sonnets. After a prolific career as a writer and
years of critical acclaim as an actor, Shakespeare died in the city of his birth, Stratford, on
April 23, 1616.

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 A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF ELIZABETHAN ENGLAND

Elizabeth I ruled England from 1558 to 1603 during a period of

relative peace and prosperity. The daughter of Henry VIII and his
second wife, Anne Boleyn, Elizabeth was regarded by many Catholics
as an illegitimate child and monarch. The politics of religion
constantly threatened Elizabeth’s reign even though it was one of
the most sure that England had known for hundreds of years. She
had no heir, and the matter of succession was a disturbing threat to national security.

Elizabethan England was a smaller, more isolated country than it had been previously or
would be later. The exploration of the New World was just beginning, and the nation’s
economy was based in agriculture. The plague was ravishing England’s cities, killing 11,000
Londoners in 1593 alone.

James I of England, or James VI of Scotland, succeeded Elizabeth to the crown in 1603. The
first monarch to rule over England, Scotland, and Ireland simultaneously, he was a respected
intellectual, albeit, some would argue, a political failure: the conflicts of his rule became the
seeds of the English Civil War during his son’s reign. Shakespeare’s later plays were written
during James’ reign. (In fact, one of James’ scholarly works, the Daemonologie of 1599, is
sometimes considered one of Shakespeare’s minor sources for Macbeth.)

ELIZABETHAN THEATRE

James Burbage built the first commercial

theatre in England in 1576, about 15 years
before Shakespeare arrived on the London
theatre scene. Burbage managed to skirt rigid
rules governing entertainment in London by
building his theatre just outside the city limit,
in the less-than-glamorous community of
“Shoreditch.” The name was a reflection of the
theatre’s location, on the shore of the river
Thames and just beyond the ditch created by
the walls of London.

Many different kinds of people came to the

Globe Theatre, where Shakespeare’s plays
were performed. A full house would hold 3,000 audience members. They arrived well before
the play began to meet friends, drink ale and eat snacks sold at the theatre. It was more akin
to a football game or rock concert than our understanding of going to the theatre today.

Wealthy theatre-goers paid two or three pence for gallery seats (above the stage), while the
“common folk” stood for a penny on the floor in front of the stage. They were a demanding
audience, and Shakespeare had the challenge of appealing to every level of society when
writing his plays.

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All performances took place during the day (electric lighting instruments wouldn’t exist for a
few centuries), and sets and props were basic.

Most plays only rehearsed for a couple of days due to the large volume of productions. All
actors were male; the female roles were played by young men. It was not until 1660 that
women would be allowed to act on the English stage.

In 1642, the Puritans succeeded in closing the theatres altogether. They did not reopen until
Charles II came to power 18 years later. The Globe Theatre was later destroyed in the Great
Fire of London in 1666.

LANGUAGE

Clues to action: “codebreak” the language - why the poetry?

Why do we admire a great writer or performer of lyrics, novels, screenplays, or even

improvisational or stand-up comedy?

Picking the reasons apart, the most common responses are usually that 1) they know how to
use language— vocabulary, punctuation, rhyme, etc.—in a way that tells a meaningful and
entertaining story to an audience, and 2) they can deliver it with timing and intention that
makes their story clear.

Shakespeare’s scripts are no different.

Like any other wordsmith, he uses vocabulary, rhyme, and rhythm to suggest emotions,
relationships and motivations.

Did people in Shakespeare's day speak in rhymed verse? No, of course not—no more than
we do. But then and now, people have enjoyed the rhythms and rhyme of verse—and
sometimes the language and rhythm of verse tune us in more immediately, more completely
to the feelings and choices of characters. It’s why people listen to the blues; to hiphop; to
classical music—it’s simply another medium of language and sound which gives us an
immediate emotional rhythm with which we can identify.

HOW FOREIGN IS ELIZABETHAN ENGLISH?

The most important thing to remember when preparing to read or hear Shakespeare is that
it’s still English. As we might listen to a new song on an album or on the radio a few times
before we pick up every word and layer of meaning, we might have to mull over a passage of
a play a few times in order to glean meaning from the language tools Shakespeare employs.
And that’s not just students of Shakespeare; that’s Shakespearean actors, directors,
designers, scholars—anyone who might be considered, pardon the pun, well-versed in the
language already.

A basic knowledge of the use of language and poetic form can enhance understanding and
enjoyment of Shakespeare’s plays.

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“Shakespeare’s vocabulary was immense; it is estimated that he used more than 20,000 root
words in his plays, almost half of all the words then existing in English. No writer before or
since has so mastered the lexicon of his or her own tongue.

His plays contain thousands of precise allusions: some 70 trees, 75 flowers, 90 nautical
terms, 125 four-footed animals, 175 birds, and 250 mythological characters. He quoted or
cited from 42 books of the Bible (he was ecumenical; his citations include references from 18
books of the Old Testament, 18 of the New, and 6 from the Apocrypha!) as well as from over
100 literary and historical works. His plays contain phrases, lines, speeches, and sometimes
whole scenes in French, Welsh, Latin, and Italian. No one in his original audience could have
understood, certainly not at one hearing, all the words in his plays – and his plays were,
consequently, written with that in mind.

Indeed, many of the obscure and difficult words in Shakespeare were meant to be obscure
and difficult; they were obscure and difficult in Shakespeare’s day as well as ours.”

-from Robert Cohen’s Acting in Shakespeare

ELIZABETHAN MARRIAGE CUSTOMS

Dating, relationships and marriage have

changed a lot in the 400 years since
Shakespeare was writing. Evidence of this
can be found in Much Ado About Nothing
and other Shakespeare plays.

We have laws about marriage now, but in

Shakespeare’s time, they had laws about
dating and engagements, too! Along with
the numerous laws, there were strict
customs and expectations to adhere to, so there wasn’t much place for romance.

Weddings often served as business arrangements; families would marry off their children to
strengthen their social position. Fathers were allowed to marry off their daughters when
they were just seven years old, and at 12, a girl could consent to marriage on her own. It was
legal for boys to marry at 14, but most Elizabethan men would not marry until they’d
reached the age of consent, which was 21.

Arranged marriages were common and in many circumstances, the bride and groom would
not meet until their wedding day.

During the engagement or betrothal period, the bride and groom’s families would carefully
negotiate the terms of the “dowry,” a gift of money or property, which the bride’s family
was expected to pay the groom. This dowry offered the wife stability if her husband
predeceased her, because after they were married, the wife became his property.

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Betrothals could be terminated for a variety of reasons: heresy or apostasy, infidelity,
serious physical disfigurement, discovery of previous marriage contracts, wickedness or
drunkenness, or a long separation of the couple.

On the morning of the wedding, people would gather at the bride’s home before heading to
the church. The wedding ceremony itself was solemn, but afterwards, there would be
dancing, drinking and feasting; the guests would continue to celebrate even after the bride
and groom had departed.

The white dresses we know today did not exist in the Elizabethan era. Upper class women
would wear their best gowns – or new ones if they could afford it – and sometimes a cloak,
while the lower-class women would wear dresses made from cotton or wool and tie flowers
into their hair.

Men would wear a suit that consisted of a doublet, a jerkin and a hose along with a cloak
and hat.

Marriage for royals was usually a necessity. While there weren’t any laws mandating it,
marriage was a political matter and one way countries made alliances. Queen Elizabeth I,
however, never married – that is how she came to be called the “Virgin Queen.” She had
plenty of offers, but she famously declared she was married to her country and England was
her first priority.

Queen Elizabeth’s refusal to marry was likely because she enjoyed her power and direct
involvement in the government, and a marriage would have diminished both considerably.
She used the possibility of marriage as a diplomatic tactic for decades, but ultimately ruled
alone for the entirety of her reign.

Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway on November 28, 1582, when she was 26 and he was
18. Since Shakespeare was below the age of consent, he had to get his parents’ permission
before he could go through with the wedding.

The couple paid 40 pounds for their marriage license in Stratford-upon-Avon. They had three
children together, but Shakespeare’s playwriting career kept them apart for many years. In
his will, he famously left Anne just one thing – his “second-bed best.”

Much Ado About Nothing Answer these questions in your exercise book

1. Read ‘The Life and Times of William Shakespeare’ and ‘A brief overview of
Elizabethan England’ (page 7)
a. What was interesting about Shakespeare’s birthday and the day on
which he died?
b. Which town was he born in?

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 c. What was his wife’s name?
d. He moved to London to work as an actor and writer. What was his
theatre company’s name?
e. When did he die?
f. Who was the Queen of England during most of his adult years?
g. What was the health threat to people’s lives called in those days – a
parallel in some ways to Covid-19?
h. Which King came to the throne in 1603 because the Queen had no
children to succeed her?

2. Elizabethan Theatre (page 8)

a. What was the name of the theatre where most of Shakespeare’s plays
were performed?
b. How many people could it hold?
c. Who played the female roles at that time?
d. What happened to the theatre in 1666?

3. Language (Pages 8 and 9)

a. Complete this sentence – ‘Like any other wordsmith, he
uses……………………’
b. Do we need to understand all the words or references to other books
or myths or Gods, in order to follow or appreciate Shakespeare’s
words? Explain some of the reasons for your answer.

4. Elizabethan marriage customs (pages 11 and 12)

a. Describe some of the ways in which marriage in Shakespeare’s time
was very different from our usual expectations or rules today. Find at
least four examples.
b. What is a ‘dowry’?
c. How would women dress for their wedding in those days?
d. What was Queen Elizabeth’s nickname, because she refused to get
married?

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 Some basic language devices to be aware of as you study
Shakespeare

VERSE VS. PROSE

Shakespeare employs several forms of language in his plays:

prose, blank verse, and rhymed verse. Prose is what we think of
as everyday speech, without specific rules of rhyme and rhythm.
Verse, then, can be defined as giving order, or form, to the
random stress pattern of prose. This repeating combination of
stressed and unstressed syllables is known as a foot, which is the
basic unit of verse. An iamb, or iambic foot, is a foot of poetry
containing two syllables, with an unstressed syllable followed by
a stressed syllable:

“ta DUM.”

BLANK VERSE: UNRHYMED IAMBIC PENTAMETER

Blank Verse is the standard poetic form Shakespeare uses in his

plays. It can also be defined as unrhymed iambic pentameter.
That is, a line of poetry containing five ("penta" meaning five) iambic feet, not rhyming with
any adjacent line. That's ten syllables altogether. The pattern flows easily for speakers of
English, and the stresses match the human heart beat - "ta DUM, ta DUM, ta DUM, ta DUM,
ta DUM.” If you say "I went downtown to buy a card today" with normal inflection, you will
have spoken a line of iambic pentameter:

I WENT | down TOWN | to BUY | a CARD | to DAY

Now say a line from Much Ado About Nothing—Leonato’s thanks to Dogberry for catching
Don John’s men (5.1.305):
I thank thee for thy care and honest pains
or
I THANK | thee FOR | thy CARE | and HON- | est PAINS

Shakespeare does not slavishly follow the rhythm in every line. He occasionally varies the
stresses or uses a period in the middle of a line, which causes us to pause longer. Nor does
every line contain exactly ten syllables. Some lines may contain an added syllable, others
may drop a syllable. Shakespeare’s most common variation in iambic pentameter is the use
of the feminine ending – lines of text which add an unstressed eleventh syllable. For
example, read Claudio’s agonized statement when he hears from Don John that Don Pedro is
wooing Hero for himself (2.1.163-164). Pay close attention to how the number of syllables
varies from line to line. The feminine ending is a clue to action—if the regular rhythm of the
poetry is jarred, the character is experiencing an unsettling emotion. (Notice as well how the
iambic rhythm is shifted—on what word has the emphasis been changed?):

Thus answer I in name of Benedick,

But hear these ill news with the ears of Claudio.

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 thus AN- | swer I | in NAME | of BEN- | eDICK
but HEAR | these ILL | NEWS with | the EARS | of CLAU- | dio

SHARED LINES & SPLIT LINES

Shakespeare sometimes splits a line of verse, so that two characters share the ten syllables. This is
called a shared line or split line, and helps show quick thinking or strong emotion, as well as creating
a sense of accelerated action. Thus we have both the effect of poetry AND of natural speech. Examine
5.1.72-74, in which Leonato confronts Claudio and Don Pedro with their offense against his daughter.
Shakespeare gives his actors the rhythm of a heated argument by using shared lines:

Claudio My villainy?
Leonato Thine, Claudio; thine, I say.
Don Pedro You say not right, old man.
Leonato My lord, my lord,
I’ll prove it on his body if he dare…

RHYMED VERSE

Rhymed Verse consists of lines which rhyme at the end,

usually in either an ABAB rhyme scheme or in couplets or pairs.
Shakespeare sometimes uses rhymed verse to signal a
character's heightened emotional state, and couplets are
common at the conclusion of an act or scene. Many rhymed
couplets grouped together give a lighter tone to a speech. Note
3.1.105-116, in which Hero uses a couplet at the conclusion of
Beatrice’s gulling. Beatrice follows up with an ABAB rhyme
scheme, which changes slightly at the end of her speech:

Hero [aside] If it prove so, then loving goes by haps:

Some Cupid kills with arrows, some with traps. Exeunt Hero and Ursula.
Beatrice What fire is in mine ears? Can this be true?
Stand I condemn’d for pride and scorn so much?
Contempt, farewell, and maiden pride, adieu!
No glory lives behind the back of such.
And, Benedick, love on, I will requite thee,
Taming my wild heart to thy loving hand.
If thou dost love, my kindness shall incite thee
To bind our loves up in a holy band;
For others say thou dost deserve, and I
Believe it better than reportingly.

SOLILOQUIES & ASIDES

A passage such as Claudio’s “Thus answer I in name of Benedick…” (2.1.163-173) is called a soliloquy.
In a soliloquy, a character is not speaking to any other character in the play, but is thinking out loud
and thus speaking truth as far as he or she understands it. An aside is a passage of text in which the
lines are delivered directly to the audience or to other characters. Look at scene 2.3, in which Claudio,
Don Pedro, and Leonato spin a web for Benedick. Throughout the scene, the tricksters all have asides
to one another, and Benedick employs asides to the audience:

Don Pedro Come hither, Leonato. What was it you told me of today, that your niece Beatrice
was in love with Signior Benedick?
Claudio O, ay! [aside to Don Pedro] Stalk on, stalk on, the fowl sits. – I never did think that
lady would have loved any man.

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Leonato No, nor I neither, but most wonderful that she should so dote on Signior Benedick,
whom she hath in all outward behaviours seemed ever to abhor.
Benedick [aside] Is’t possible? Sits the wind in that corner?

Malapropisms

Miscommunication is a major plot-driver in Much Ado About Nothing. Hero and Claudio’s
marriage is almost foiled by it, a clever miscommunication causes Beatrice and Benedick to
fall in love, and the local constable, Dogberry, can’t ever seem to say what he means.
Malaproprisms, or outrageous misuses of words, especially words that sound alike, abound
whenever Dogberry is around. He is the clown of the play. In his effort to use the heightened
language of his more educated contemporaries, Dogberry insults people when he intends to
compliment them, and compliments them when he intends to insult them. Listen for mix-
ups like “You are thought to be the most senseless (instead of sensible!) and fit man for the
constable for the watch,” or “Villian! Thou will be condemned into everlasting redemption
(instead of condemnation!) for this!” He is too confusing to be understood by Leonato, who
impatiently dismisses Dogberry when he comes to warn the family about the plot against
Hero.

The term malapropism was first used in reference to Richard Sheridan’s play, The Rivals,
which had a character named Mrs. Malaprop who would speak in a mixed-up vernacular.
However, Shakespeare’s misuse of words in Much Ado About Nothing was known as
“dogberryisms” to crowds of the 1500s, and therefore he can lay claim to the use of
malapropisms before they became a standard literary device.

Cuckolds

The characters in Much Ado About Nothing place a great

deal of importance on male honor and pride. For
characters like Count Claudio, social standing is key, and
being considered “unmanly” is the worst insult a man
can receive. Throughout the play, you will hear the men
mocking one another, making reference to horns or
being cuckolded. A cuckold is a man whose wife has
been unfaithful towards him, and to show his shame, he
wears a pair of horns on his head. The term comes from
the cuckoo bird, as some species lay their eggs in the
nests of other birds, and the imagery of the horns or
antlers comes from male deer (“stags”), who lose their
mates when they lose a confrontation with another
male.

While the term is used in the play as a good natured jest, it was a real fear for the men of
that time. When Claudio believes Hero has been unfaithful, his pride is wounded, as his
entire worth is wrapped up in his social honour. Marrying an unfaithful woman would have
made him a cuckold, and therefore an object of ridicule to his friends and superiors.

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Identifying Figurative Language of Shakespeare

Directions: Below are some lines from various Shakespeare plays – not necessarily from
Much Ado About Nothing. Write which technique is being used on the line. Then, explain
how you know your answer.

Answers: Simile, Metaphor, Personification, and Hyperbole

1. Thy youth's proud livery, so gazed on now, / Will be a tatter'd weed, of small worth held:

What technique is being used? _________________________________________________

Explanation: (Why did you chose this?)

2. What say you, Hermia? be advised fair maid: / To you your father should be as a god;
One that composed your beauties, yea, and one / To whom you are but as a form in wax
By him imprinted and within his power / To leave the figure or disfigure it.

What technique is being used?

___________________________________________________________

Explanation: (Why did you chose this?)

3. Not to-night, good Iago: I have very poor and / unhappy brains for drinking: I could well
wish courtesy would invent some other custom of / entertainment.

What technique is being used?

___________________________________________________________

Explanation: (Why did you chose this?)

4. I hold the world but as the world, Gratiano; / A stage where every man must play a part,
And mine a sad one.

What technique is being used?

___________________________________________________________

Explanation: (Why did you chose this?)

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5. Come, then; for with a wound I must be cured. / Draw that thy honest sword, which thou
hast worn

What technique is being used?

___________________________________________________________

Explanation: (Why did you chose this?)

6. I must hear from thee every day in the hour, / For in a minute there are many days:
O, by this count I shall be much in years / Ere I again behold my Romeo!

What technique is being used?

___________________________________________________________

Explanation: (Why did you chose this?)

7. As flies to wanton boys, are we to the gods. / They kill us for their sport.

What technique is being used?

___________________________________________________________

Explanation: (Why did you chose this?)

8. If music be the food of love, play on; / Give me excess of it, that, surfeiting,
The appetite may sicken, and so die.
What technique is being used?
___________________________________________________________

Explanation: (Why did you chose this?)

9. When I have seen by Time's fell hand defaced / The rich proud cost of outworn buried
age;

What technique is being used?

___________________________________________________________

Explanation: (Why did you chose this?)

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10. Here's the smell of the blood still: all the / perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little
hand. Oh, oh, oh!

What technique is being used?

___________________________________________________________

Explanation: (Why did you chose this?)

11. I shall laugh myself to death at this puppy-headed / monster. A most scurvy monster!

What technique is being used?

___________________________________________________________

Explanation: (Why did you chose this?)

12. Nativity, once in the main of light, / Crawls to maturity, wherewith being crown'd,
Crooked elipses 'gainst his glory fight, / And Time that gave doth now his gift confound.

What technique is being used?

___________________________________________________________

Explanation: (Why did you chose this?)

13. Say that she frown, I'll say she looks as clear / As morning roses newly wash'd with dew:

What technique is being used?

___________________________________________________________

Explanation: (Why did you chose this?)

14. You seem to me as Dian in her orb, / As chaste as is the bud ere it be blown;

What technique is being used?

___________________________________________________________

Explanation: (Why did you chose this?)

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15. O, she is fallen / Into a pit of ink, that the wide sea / Hath drops too few to wash her
clean again / And salt too little which may season give / To her foul-tainted flesh!

What technique is being used?

___________________________________________________________

Explanation: (Why did you chose this?)

16. Say that she frown, I'll say she looks as clear / As morning roses newly wash'd with dew:

What technique is being used?

___________________________________________________________

Explanation: (Why did you chose this?)

17. You are a thousand times a properer man / Than she a woman: 'tis such fools as you

That makes the world full of ill-favour'd children

What technique is being used?

___________________________________________________________

Explanation: (Why did you chose this?)

18. Wilt thou draw near the nature of the gods? / Draw near them then in being merciful:

Sweet mercy is nobility's true badge: / Thrice noble Titus, spare my first-born son

What technique is being used?

___________________________________________________________

Explanation: (Why did you chose this?)

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24
Act One Questions

1. Who is on stage when scene one opens?

2. What relations are Hero and Beatrice to Leonato?

3. What is Leonato referring to on line 5 when he says ‘this action’?

4. Find a quote from lines 8-9 that shows how bravely Claudio has fought in battle.

5. On lines 34-35 Leonato tells his niece off for doing what?

6. Who enters on stage around line 78?

7. Why is Don John called ‘the bastard’?

8. How do we know that Beatrice and Benedick do not like each other?

9. What does Claudio talk to Benedick about at the end of Scene one?

10. Claudio uses a metaphor to describe Hero. Find the relevant quotation.
What do you think he is saying about Hero?

11. What is Don Pedro’s plan to make Hero fall in love with
Claudio?

12. What does Antonio mean when he says ‘strange news’ on line 4?

13. Where has Antonio got this information from?

14. At the end of scene two, what do Antonio and Leonato now (wrongly) think?

15. Why is Don John so depressed?

16. When he finds out the news about Claudio’s intended love affair, Don John
decides to seek what?

17. Don John is made to appear as the antagonist in this scene. What is an
antagonist and why is Don John one?

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Act Two Questions

1. What is Beatrice’s description of the perfect man?

2. What are Beatrice’s reasons for not wanting to have anything to do with men?

3. Who does Beatrice believe should have the final say on who Hero marries?

4. What are Leonato’s instructions to his daughter, and what do these show about
traditional attitudes?

5. Who does Don John feed false information to during the masked ball? What is this
information?

6. According to the stage directions for the dance, Don John is not masked during the
revels. Why?

7. Why is Benedick angry with Beatrice during the ball?

8. Do you think Beatrice and Benedick know each other when they speak behind the
masks. Why or why not?

9. When does Leonato schedule Claudio and Hero’s wedding?

10. How do Don Pedro and company plan to pass the time before the wedding?

11. Who makes Don John an offer to destroy Hero and Claudio’s wedding?

12. How much does Don John offer to pay for destroying the wedding?

13. How do Don Pedro and his men convince Benedick that Beatrice is in love with him?

14. Who does Don Pedro use as a witness to support his claims about Beatrice?

15. Why is Claudio unable to speak when Don Pedro tells him that Lady Hero is his?

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Act Three Questions
1. What order does Hero give Margaret?

2. What instruction does Hero give Ursula?

3. What story does Hero tell Ursula? How do they speculate Beatrice would respond to knowing
about what they speak?

4. What does Ursula urge Hero to do? What does Hero say she will do instead?

5. How does Beatrice react to hearing their exchange?

6. What announcement does Don Pedro make to Leonato? How is this altered from his plan at
the beginning of the play? Why do you think he declares a change of plan?

7. What do Leonato, Don Pedro, and Claudio observe about Benedick?

8. What does Benedick request of Leonato?

9. What information does Don John give to Don Pedro and Claudio? What reasons does he give
for sharing this information?

10. What does Claudio intend to do should the information prove true?

11. What orders have Dogberry, Verges, and the Watch been given? What orders does Dogberry
dispense to the Watch? List possible neighbourhood problems the Watch might encounter
and how Dogberry advises them to handle each.

12. After Dogberry and Verges exit, who enters, and what new development do they share?

13. What do the Watch succeed in doing?

14. What does Hero send Ursula to do, and with what subject are she and Margaret occupied in
the meantime?

15. When Beatrice enters, about what subject does Margaret tease her?

16. What news does Ursula bring?

17. What information does Dogberry bring to Leonato? Why does Leonato try to send them off
in haste?

18. What order does Leonato give Dogberry?

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Act Four Questions
1. At the wedding ceremony, what does Claudio declare? What question does he ask Hero, and
how does she respond?

2. What detail does Don Pedro share with Leonato?

3. When the soldiers leave the wedding, which of them stays?

4. How does Leonato react to the declaration of Hero’s shame?

5. How does Friar Francis intercede on her behalf? What is his plan for her?

6. After Hero, Leonato, and the Friar leave, how does Beatrice react? Who stays with her?

7. What does Benedick declare? What, in turn, does Beatrice share?

8. What does Beatrice ask Benedick to do for her? Does he agree?

9. What confession do Dogberry and Verges manage to wring from Conrade and Borachio?

10. What other statements does Dogberry consider important to consider?

11. What does the Sexton intend to do with the news of the confession?

Act Five Questions

1. In speaking of his grief with Antonio, what does Leonato share about his belief over Hero’s
innocence or guilt?

2. Don Pedro and Claudio cross paths with the brothers. What information does Leonato give to
the soldiers?

3. What challenge does he lay before Claudio?

4. What challenge does Benedick lay before Claudio?

5. After Benedick leaves, what does Don Pedro realize he said about Don John?

6. What information about Hero do Don Pedro and Claudio receive from Dogberry and
Borachio?

7. What offer does Leonato make to Claudio to do penance for wronging Hero? Does Claudio
accept?

8. What does Benedick ask Margaret to do? Upon her exit, what does he attempt to do?

9. What does Benedick tell Beatrice about Claudio?

10. What news do Beatrice and Benedick hear from Ursula?

11. What task does Claudio perform? For what event do Don Pedro and Claudio then depart?

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 12. What trickery is set up at the beginning of this scene by Leonato and his family and friends?

13. What does Benedick ask of Leonato and the Friar before Don Pedro and Claudio arrive?

14. When the ladies enter masked, what does Claudio request? Why does Leonato refuse him?

15. How does Claudio respond? What surprise is he given in return?

16. What do Benedick and Beatrice declare before the company? What evidence do Hero and
Claudio share to disprove their statements?

17. What conclusion do Benedick and Beatrice make? What does Benedick encourage Don Pedro
to do?

18. What final news is delivered before Benedick asks for music?

Summary Questions on the play

1. What are the three plots that run alongside each other in the play ‘Much Ado About
Nothing’?

2. How are Leonato, Beatrice and Hero related?

3. Who is Don Pedro’s bastard brother?

4. How do Beatrice and Benedick behave in each other’s presence at the beginning of
the play?

5. How are Beatrice and Benedick tricked into believing the other one loves them?

6. Explain how Hero is accused of a sin she did not do. Who is to blame for this
trickery?

7. What does Beatrice ask Benedick to do to Claudio?

8. Why do you think the men, including her father, believe Don John over Hero?

9. How is the trickery resolved? How does everyone find out the truth?

10. What part of the play did you like the best and why?

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The Globe Theatre

1. What city was the Globe Theatre built in?

2. Why was it called the Globe Theatre?

3. At what time of day did plays take place?

4. How would a person know that a play was about to start?

5. How would the audience know what city a play was set in?

6. Why did the Globe Theatre burn down once?

7. As there were no curtains on stage, how did people recognise the end of a scene?

8. Who played the parts of women in Shakespeare’s plays?

9. Who were the groundlings? Explain why they were sometimes called the ‘penny
stinkards’.

10. What might the audience, particularly the groundlings, do if they did not like the
play or an actor?

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Write the name of the characters below next to their description.

Beatrice Benedick Borachio Claudio Dogberry Don John

Don Pedro Friar Francis Hero Leonato Margaret Sexton
Verges

1.) Governor of Messina, Hero’s father, Beatrice’s uncle, and host for the play’s events. -
__________

2.) Leonato’s only daughter, in love with Claudio, wrongfully accused of being unchaste.
__________

3.) Leonato’s niece and Hero’s cousin. She is admired for her wit and intelligence. She is
comically tricked into falling in love with Benedick. __________

4.) A young man and friend of Benedick who quickly falls in love with Hero and wants to
marry her. __________

5.) Hero’s gentlewoman and an unknowing accomplice in Hero’s undoing. __________

6.) Prince of Aragon and close friend on Benedick and Claudio. __________

7.) A local constable who brings the truth to light despite his ignorance and comic blunders.
__________

8.) Don Pedro’s illegitimate brother. A villain who ostracizes himself. __________

9.) A drunker follower of Don John. He plots against the marriage of Hero and Claudio.
__________

10.) A comic hero with a dazzling wit who has vowed never to marry. He is tricked into falling
in love with Beatrice. __________

11.) Dogberry’s sidekick and deputy constable, matched in foolishness. __________

12.) The local judge. __________

13.) Believes Hero is innocent, hatches a plot to clear her name. __________

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Community & Social Order
As Much Ado About Nothing begins we are introduced to the importance of community in
the play. Leonato invites Don Pedro and his men to stay with him ‘at the least a month’ in
the hope that ‘some occasion may detain [them] longer’ (1.1). Immediately Shakespeare
draws the focus of the audience to Messina: this is the location in which all of the characters
– good and bad – are enmeshed for the duration of the play. In turn, the rules of that
society then become central in determining both the power relationships and codes of
conduct to which the characters must subscribe. Messina itself is a shelter from war;
instead it is an environment concerned with domestic battles relating to gender, marriage
and social rank.

However, underpinning all of these individualistic concerns is an all pervasive propriety to

which the characters must conform. The emphasis on dances, celebrations and open
displays of allegiance emphasise the very public lives that the characters live in Messina.
Indeed, when Hero’s alleged infidelity is exposed, we see the horrific consequences of
Messina’s patriarchal rule: the helpless female is cast to a fictional death while the men folk
of the community reconcile themselves with their actions.

Furthermore, the concerns of the men at this point focus on themselves; the men see Hero’s
supposed betrayal of Claudio as an affront to their own sensibilities. That Shakespeare
should allow the men to construct their own downfall is telling: it emphasises the male-
centric values underpinning the community in Messina. Equally, there are characters who
seek to polarise themselves from the expectations of their community; both Benedick and
Beatrice – in the early parts of the play – shun marriage and the conventions of both male
and female behaviour in their society. Furthermore, Beatrice is an anachronism: she does
not subjugate herself to the male domination of Messina in the same way that Hero does;
instead, she is erudite, witty and intelligent, and prepared to challenge male figures in the
play. So, while Messina has a clear sense of community that seems to outwardly embrace
people from both inside and out, it is peopled by characters that challenge, question and
pervert the values by which it is governed.

Glossary to explain the words highlighted in bold:

Enmeshed – caught in or trapped in

Subscribe – obey/accept/agree with

Pervasive propriety – everyone is expected to follow the accepted rules for ‘good manners’
and ‘acceptable behaviour’ (which sometimes conflict with how individuals actually behave
in the play)

Patriarchal – rule by men

Fictional – made up or invented

Affront to their own sensibilities – insult to their feelings about the situation

Anachronism – behaving in a way which is not typical of the time, Beatrice is more modern
in her approach

Subjugate – (she does not) allow men to dominate or make her feel inferior

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Erudite – knowledgeable, well-read, educated

Peopled by characters – has people who challenge the conventions

 Look at the list of headings below – these are all elements of the play that present the
theme of community and social order, use them to compile a list of quotations that deal
with this theme.

The return of Don Pedro and his men from war;

The exchanges between Benedick and Beatrice;
Claudio’s wooing of Hero;
The dance in Act II, Scene I;
The revelation of Hero’s ‘infidelity’

 For each sub-section above, use a table like the one below to organise your ideas in your
exercise book.

The Return of Don Pedro and his Men from War & the theme of Community & Social Order

Quotation Act & Scene How this quotation presents the theme of Community &
Number Social Order

Gender
Elizabethan perceptions of the roles of men and women were becoming increasingly
problematic (difficult) by the time Elizabeth I took to the throne. Elizabeth’s own image was
confusing: she projected a complex and ambiguous persona that defied gender expectations
of the period. Equally, Elizabethan literature was also increasingly interested in the role of
women.

Much Ado About Nothing examines the problems at the centre of relationships between
men and women. However, the question of gender in the play is far more complex than it
might first appear: that is, while it is a comfortable means of classification to accuse the men
of misogyny (mistrust or dislike of women), it dismisses the problem of a character like the
essentially passive (quiet and obedient) Hero. This tension is crystallised in Act IV, Scene I: as
the men turn in on themselves, concerned with how her alleged infidelity might impact on
them, Hero remains virtually silent in the face of their condemnation. Indeed, this increasing
male-centric approach adds to the difficulty understanding what the play is actually about:
the suffering of the female at the hands of the men? Or an attack on the selfishness of the

33
men, who objectify women like Hero purely as a commodity (an item or thing) to be treated
as a bargaining chip in their pursuit of social and personal position? Indeed, it is plausible
(easily believable) to read the play primarily as one about men and how they propose to
destroy one another. Don John’s plot essentially hopes to shame not just Hero but to ensure
that Claudio’s ‘jealousy shall be called assurance’ (II.II). It seems that Borachio and Don John
are concerned more with the effect of Claudio’s jealousy of Don Pedro rather than Hero. In
turn, Hero becomes only an object which makes possible their intended outcome.

The idea that the play is essentially about men is advanced when we consider the role of
Beatrice. Beatrice is the embodiment (an example) of a literary character who rejects
gender expectations: she is intelligent, combative and forthright (open and direct) in her
views. In a time when female characters were expected to exemplify subservience (show
obedience) and restraint, Beatrice is both dramatically intriguing and an anachronism. She
represents the very characteristics of her ‘opposite’ Benedick in the play. That Shakespeare
allows her to speak in a similar prose style to Benedick, for example, imbues her (gives her
characteristics) with a masculinity and intellect much against social expectation. However,
this is problematic because it again raises the question of which gender Shakespeare is
concerned with in the play; in a sense Beatrice is a mirror held up to the men – particularly
before her transformation – to identify their weaknesses. That we might find Beatrice cold,
aggressive and, at times, inappropriate unsettles us. However, the effect of this is to make
us question those very weaknesses in the male characters that she simply represents in her
views.

Most interesting, however, is the endings that Shakespeare chooses for his women. Hero
must be forced to feign death in the hope that the men might reconcile themselves with
their errors; while Beatrice is married to Benedick. While this might suggest the traditional
ending of a Shakespearean comedy, it is also problematic. Both women are the objects of
their society: Hero, of its men, and Beatrice of the other women whose actions force her to a
level of conformity that she had previously rejected. The marriage of Beatrice and Benedick
is crucial to our understanding of gender in the play because it is so contrived (carefully
organised by other people). Beatrice is convinced of Benedick’s love because she overhears
Hero and Ursula’s conversation in Act III, Scene I. In turn, she transforms from an anti-man,
anti-marriage agenda to a woman who becomes almost the archetypal (typical) romantic
heroine; that she asks Benedick to prove his love by challenging Claudio to a duel in the
aftermath of Hero’s ‘death’ affirms the transformation. The dual, with all of its romantic and
literary connotations, is the affirmation (proof) of Beatrice’s transformation from cold
anachronism to bona fide (true) romantic figure. However, this transformation only occurs
because of the will of other members of her society. In turn, we are left to question the
validity – and indeed romance – of Beatrice’s transformation. Our hope that she might have
found ‘love’ is tempered by an underlying sense that she has been forced into social
conformity: the erudite, autonomous (independent) female has become the subservient
object of the men once more.

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In turn, if this is a play about Elizabethan men, then it not only offers a critique (an analysis)
of the gender but also an affirmation that their control of women is inevitable. All of the
women who dare to challenge – whether by choice or circumstance – are reformed to make
them conform to a social expectation that they either rejected or of which they were a
victim.

 Look at the list of headings below – these are all elements of the play that present the
theme of gender, use them to compile a list of quotations that deal with this theme.

Benedick and Beatrice’s ‘merry war’;

Claudio’s discussions with Benedick about Hero;
Don Pedro and Borachio’s plotting against Claudio;
The revelation of Hero’s infidelity;
The resolution.

 For each sub-section above, use a table like the one below to organise your ideas in your
exercise book.

Benedick & Beatrice’s ‘Merry War’ & the theme of Gender

Quotation Act & Scene How this quotation presents the theme of Gender
Number

Fraternity (brotherhood)
When Benedick returns in the aftermath of Hero’s ‘death’ he announces to Don Pedro that
he must ‘discontinue your company’ (V.i); Benedick is resigning from his service to Don
Pedro. In turn, our focus is drawn to the importance of allegiance (loyalty) and, perhaps
more specifically, the centrality of fraternity in the play. These men are all united in arms,
yet it is not the battlefield that has divided them, but domesticity (adapting to life at home
rather than at war). Benedick, presumably appalled at the conduct of his brothers in arms,
can no longer serve with these men because they have broken the code by which they are all
united.

Much Ado About Nothing is a play that considers the relationships between men both in war
and at peace. As the play opens and the men arrive in Messina, the messenger has already
recounted to Leonato the success that they have enjoyed. At the outset of the play,
Shakespeare constructs the fraternal relationships for us: Don Pedro ‘hath bestowed much

35
honour’ (I.i) on Claudio; Benedick ‘hath done good service’, and he is ‘in the company of the
right noble Claudio’ (I.i). At first the bond seems to withstand the usual obstacles of the
period: all the men are from different geographical locations: Don Pedro from Aragon;
Claudio a ‘young Florentine’ (I.i), and Benedick from Padua. This is a bond not based on
something as amorphous (hard to understand) geography; instead, it is a tangible (actual
and authentic) bond created in the very real world of combat.

However, as the characters become consumed by events in Messina, the bonds that unite
them become strained. The most obvious antagonist is Don John who has led a rebellion
against his brother Don Pedro, who once he has arrived in Messina, sets out to derail and
sabotage the marriage of Claudio and Hero. The series of events that unfold as a
consequence of Don John’s conspiracy then bring into focus the relationships of the other
men in the play.

Shakespeare creates a sense of fraternity in the play by locating all of the men – Don Pedro,
Claudio, Benedick, for example – in the same military regiment. By its very nature, a military
regiment functions on the observance of particular codes. Once those codes have been
broken, so too has the bond that unites the men. This again leads us to question the very
focus of the play. The regimental code, like so many of the absolutes in the play –
matrimonial chastity (abstaining from sex before marriage), for example – crumbles when
tested most ferociously. Most crucially, these absolutes are constructed by men: chastity,
for example, designed to preserve the pride of the men rather than the virtue of the woman;
military honour to emphasise the status of the men who have served in combat. As Act IV,
Scene 1 unfolds, Don Pedro laments that he is ‘dishonoured’ because he has ‘link[ed] his
friend to a common stale’ (IV.i). His concern, it would seem, is not about Hero – or even
Claudio – but what this means for his standing in Messina society. In turn, his anguish is
centred on the destruction of the absolute that unites them, which, in typical military
tradition, is concerned with honour. The domestic setting of the play disembodies the values
by which these men are linked and instead confronts them with matters of the heart. In
turn, we see the collapse of the bonds themselves as the men – Benedick specifically –
realise the incongruity (contradiction) of a brotherhood based on the battlefield in a locality
concerned with matrimony and propriety.

 Look at the list of headings below – these are all elements of the play that present the
theme of gender, use them to compile a list of quotations that deal with this theme.

The opening of the play when the men arrive back from combat;
Benedick/Don Pedro’s use of allegiance in Act I, Scene I;
The fallout from Hero’s ‘infidelity’;
The end of the play.

 For each sub-section above, use a table like the one below to organise your ideas in your
exercise book.

The Opening of the Play & the theme of Fraternity

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 Quotation Act & Scene How this quotation presents the theme of Fraternity
Number

Perception & Deception (Deceit & Trickery)

As he confronts Hero with her supposed infidelity, Claudio condemns her as a ‘rotten
orange’. Herein lays the play’s concern with perception and, conversely, deception. In his
1617 text, Work Concerning the Trueness of Christian Religion, Philip De Mornay writes ‘The
rinde of the Orrendge is hot, and the meat within it is colde’. De Mornay’s text informs our
reading of this otherwise peculiar Shakespearean insult: the orange a product of nature in all
its fullness is offered as a microcosmic representation of the central tensions in man.
Shakespeare’s invocation of the ‘rotten orange’ is telling, particularly when we remind
ourselves that it is the subject of De Mornay’s work on religion. The moral absolutes by
which the men of Messina live by – and the women are subjugated because of – are drawn
from their religious teachings. It seems that De Mornay holds the orange up as an example
of nature’s – and in turn, God’s – duplicity (deception): he views the world, and specifically
the Christian world, as a complex duality (combination of apparently contrasting ideas)
between what things ‘appear’ to be outwardly, and what they actually ‘are’ internally. De
Mornay refers to the ‘hot’ outward skin – which by its very nature is ephemeral (lasting a
short time) and disintegrates – and the coldness of the ‘meat’ internally, which to continue
the logic, is permanent. Furthermore, inherent in De Mornay’s analogy, there is a certain
negativity towards the duality: that is, in his view of Christianity, the emphasis appears to be
on the outward conformist tendency juxtaposed with the internal, inherent, desire to
challenge and confront orthodoxy.

Claudio appears to sustain the idea further. Outwardly Hero is a woman of ‘simple virtue’
(VI.i) but she ‘knows the heat of a luxurious bed’ (suggesting she had been unfaithful or
‘loose’ in her behaviour) (V.i). To Claudio at this stage, Hero is a woman who outwardly
possesses the subservience and chastity required of a ‘maid’, but internally she is driven by
the desire and longing of a ‘stale’ (prostitute). Claudio draws on this dichotomy
(contradiction between appearance and reality) later in the scene when he refers to ‘Hero’s
virtue’ (V.i). Shakespeare draws on the Greek legend of Hero, a priestess of Venus, who
despite her religious vocation, inspires the love of Leander. In order to demonstrate his love
for Hero, Leander swims the Hellespont and drowns. In turn, Hero – as a symbol of her
devotion – swims to the same spot of the river and drowns herself such that they may be
joined in eternity. The invocation of Hero, the Greek literary heroine, is crucial here because
it immediately locates Hero – in the play – as an object of both artifice and dissimulation
(cunning and deception). That is, the fictionality of Hero’s literary antecedent illuminates the

37
possibility that she is created by Shakespeare to confront the men with the reality of the
‘living woman’ as opposed to one constrained by their absolutes. In other words,
Shakespeare invokes Hero, the Greek priestess, to show the men that loyalty and carnality
(physical expressions of love) are not disparate polarities but part of a logical composite.
However, Claudio – and the other men, like her father, Leonato – are not confronted with a
representation of reality, but one of dissimulation: that is, they see Hero as a woman who
has ‘cover[ed]’ her carnality beneath a veneer of piety. In turn, the men in the play derive
the same dissimulation as Chapman in his 1616 translation of Musaeus’ Hero and Leander
where, according to Barbara Lewalski, ‘Hero becomes an emblem of dissimulation in regard
to chastity, in that she continues as a priestess despite her love for Leander, and is hence
denounced by Venus ‘ (Lewalski, ‘Namesake’, 178). What both Chapman’s Hero and
Leander, and the men of the play, have failed to recognise is the initial genesis of the story
itself: Hero desires a man for whom she would sacrifice her own life as a symbol of loyalty to
him.

In turn, we begin to see that the theme of perception and deception in Much Ado About
Nothing is complicated by the characters who present ‘reality’, in other words: the men. This
is exemplified when Claudio demands ‘Are our eyes our own?’ (IV.i). The male sense of
reality has been compromised by the breaking of their absolute faith in the chastity of
women. The male perception of female chastity is not holistic (an absolute belief but
changes with circumstances); it is relative to their desire to uphold particular absolutes.
Interestingly, the absolutes that the men demand of the women are, by their very nature,
the ones that they demand of other men: honour, loyalty, allegiance. In turn, their
perception of reality is weighed against the value of their absolutes. This explains –
somewhat paradoxically (seemingly in conflict) – the male obsession with invoking moral
physiognomy to prove Hero’s guilt. Claudio refers to Hero’s ‘blush’ as a sign of guilt; the
willingness of the men to fall back on logic of this kind is again symptomatic of their
absolutist agenda: conformity to their absolutes is gauged in measurable and logical ways
which is an extension of the rigidity with which the men apply them. However, this is
problematic when they are confronted with a situation – like Hero’s – when logic is bereft
(without) of solutions. Instead, the men manipulate reality to conform to the outcome they
desire.

 Look at the list of headings below – these are all elements of the play that present the
themes of ‘perception and deception’, use them to compile a list of quotations that deal
with this theme.
The opening exchanges between Benedick and Beatrice;
Claudio’s declaration to Benedick of his love for Hero;
The introduction of Don John;
The ‘noting’ scenes;
Don John’s plot;
The condemnation of Hero.

 For each sub-section above, use a table like the one below to organise your ideas in your
exercise book.

The Opening Exchanges between Benedick and Beatrice

Quotation Act & Scene How this quotation presents the theme of Perception &

38
 Number Deception

Love
Love in Much Ado About Nothing is not romantic but pragmatic (tested by what works rather
than by an ideal). Unlike many Shakespearean comedies where love is imbued with an
incomprehensible mystery and a magical quality, in Much Ado, love is much more concerned
with the reality of a society where great store is placed by the institution of marriage. In
turn, love becomes a façade (a front or appearance) which people use to justify their
matrimonial unions. Benedick and Beatrice are inherently opposed to the very idea of love,
yet they are fascinating and intriguing in other ways. Their respective suspicion of, and
disinclination towards, love provides the play with some of its most fascinating and dramatic
dialogue, for example. Equally, in a society where the objectification of women is
institutionalised, the audience are always left to question the validity of the love-matches in
the play.

Even the play’s seemingly most romantic character, Claudio, declares his love for Hero in
terms of a saleable commodity, ‘a jewel’ (I.i). Immediately this problematises, for the
audience, the presence of romantic love in the play. To the audience, love is unquantifiable;
yet the central love story that they are asked to accept, is quantified by its material value.
Indeed, this incongruity (apparent conflict) extends itself when we consider how Benedick,
for example, sees the consequences of falling in love: a ‘predestinate scratched face’ (I.i). As
the idea develops, it seems Benedick begins to see falling love akin to a kind of self-
mutilation. That is, the consequences of laying oneself open to the fortunes of a woman are
inviting a harming of the self.

In turn, this means that the symmetrical conversion of both Beatrice and Benedick, the
play’s greatest critics of love, is – at best – contrived, and – at worst – incredible. However,
these moments of conversion help to locate the focus of Shakespeare’s interest in love
throughout Much Ado About Nothing: he is concerned with the compatibility of romantic
love in a setting of intense pragmatism. Equally, the conversion of Benedick and Beatrice
aside, that the Hero-Claudio relationship should encounter such difficulty, alerts the
audience to the idea that Shakespeare is subverting his own generic type (i.e. ‘romantic love’
as a desirable situation). Shakespeare is confronting the audience with the problematic
concept of ‘romantic love’ in a place where its characters are anything but romantic.

 Look at the list of headings below – these are all elements of the play that present the
themes of ‘love’, use them to compile a list of quotations that deal with this theme.

Benedick and Beatrice’s opening exchanges;

Claudio’s declaration of love for Hero;

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 The conversion of both Benedick and Beatrice;
The play’s conclusion.

 For each sub-section above, use a table like the one below to organise your ideas ideas
in your exercise book.

The Opening Exchanges between Benedick and Beatrice & the theme of love

Quotation Act & Scene How this quotation presents the theme of love
Number

Prose & Verse

Prose has a particularly prominent place in Much Ado About Nothing; nearly three quarters
of the play is written in prose. The earthy, pragmatic and realistic views of central characters
like Beatrice and Benedick suit the prose style that Shakespeare uses in Much Ado. Much
Ado is counter to the generic (typical of the type of play) structures and techniques that
Shakespeare employs in many of his other plays concerning romantic love: in Much Ado love
is pragmatic and realistic, its characters therefore, speak in a style that is commensurate
with (suitable for) their outlook. In Much Ado About Nothing Shakespeare undermines the
critical view that prose is primarily the domain of characters of lesser social status – although
it is the language of the Watch, for example – instead, he chooses to match the pragmatism
of his socially superior characters with a style akin to their sentiments. Indeed, much of the
humour – coarseness in fact – that is generated by Benedick and Beatrice’s ‘merry war’ is
delivered in prose.

However, it also marks a much more subtle deviation on the part of the characters: that is,
the cultural expectation of the playgoer was that characters of status should speak in verse.
However, when a character fails to meet this expectation, it precludes (does not show) that
they themselves are deviating from the social norms of the play’s world. Only a brief
consideration of Benedick and Beatrice’s outlook on marriage would indicate that they are
deviating from the social norms of their time. In a society where marriage is central to the
social order, Benedick and Beatrice locate themselves outside of such expectation. In turn,
Shakespeare indicates this to the audience because Benedick and Beatrice are created to
reject the stylistic conventions of Elizabethan drama. Equally, there are pressures of
credibility at work in Shakespeare’s creation of Benedick and Beatrice: if the audience are to
accept their transformation in the second half of the play, they must at first find something
intriguing about them. The prose style – akin as some critics have identified to the patterns
of common speech – is much more accessible to the world of the playgoer than the elevated
and complex world of the poetic. In turn, the chasm between the worlds of the drama and

40
the playgoer are narrowed somewhat. This can be seen too when we consider the
Benedick’s extensive use of common proverbs in his dialogue; clearly there is a deliberate
engagement, on Shakespeare’s part, with the world of the ‘common man’.

Verse therefore has a very deliberate purpose in Much Ado About Nothing: it is conserved
(saved) for moments that aspire to the dramatic. The moment when Hero is exposed is a
case in point: both Claudio and Leonato speak in verse, firstly to reject and then condemn
her, which marks both a point of intense drama but also the notion of hierarchy (social
standing) coming to bear on the moment. In direct opposition to Benedick and Beatrice’s
earthiness, the moment when Hero is exposed demands that the characters – or more
specifically, the men – impose order and control over the moral chaos that has broken out.

However, this does not follow the simple logic that prose is the preserve of higher order
characters; instead, it highlights it as a tool of power and control in the play. Logically, both
Claudio – ‘O, what men dare do! – and Leonato – ‘Why doth not every earthly thing/Cry
shame upon her? – are bereft of understanding following the accusations made against
Hero. In turn, Shakespeare provides them with a linguistic device to regain control: verse.
The eloquence of the verse crystallises the raw emotion of both men – though reprehensible
(offensive) it might be – and, in turn, centres them for the audience as the dramatic
authorities on the stage at this point. Consequently, where the prose helps the audience to
relate to the pragmatism of Benedick and Beatrice earlier in the play; here the verse creates
a suitable distance for the magnitude of the events to have a defining impact on the other
characters, and, the audience. There is a sense, in turn, of a society rocked to its core by the
revelations that have just played out on stage. That the two central males – Claudio and
Leonato – should use verse alludes to (refers to) the real crisis here: that a woman has
confronted – theoretically at least – the men with a proposition that is at odds with the
moral absolutism that they live by. In order to establish order and authority once more, we
see the characters revert to verse because of the dramatic weight that it carries in the
understanding of the theatre goer.

The idea of male authority and language is central to Much Ado About Nothing. The play is
concerned with modes of expression and how they directly reflect the rank, social position,
moral perspectives and dramatic hierarchy. Much Ado, therefore, is arguably an experiment
in prose and verse styles: it enables Shakespeare to explore the politics, morals and virtues
of Messina by imbuing his characters with permanently fluctuating (varying) levels of power
and status.

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 Characterisation in Much Ado About Nothing

The characters in Much Ado About Nothing essentially work as opposites to one another.
This is true when we consider the four principal characters, Benedick, Beatrice, Claudio and
Hero. Indeed, the characteristics that define the characters can also be split along the lines
of gender such that we see the two men and two women both representing opposites of
one another. As the play progresses this becomes much more complex. If for example,
Beatrice is witty and erudite then Hero is passive and reserved; equally, if Benedick is cynical
and misogynistic then Claudio idealistic and respectful. In turn, we can come to see that
there are two sides to the characterisation at work in the play: that is, Claudio’s idealism is
the perfect foil to highlight Benedick’s cynicism whereas Hero’s subservience is counter to,
and emphasises further, Beatrice’s aggressive but witty nature. The immediate dramatic
purpose of the play’s characterisation is clear: Shakespeare establishes these oppositions to
enhance the play’s drama and the final reversal as it concludes. Equally, they tell us
something of the society in which the characters exist.

1. Complete the table below for Benedick and Claudio, and Beatrice and Hero to identify
their immediate oppositions – give textual evidence to support your idea.

BENEDICK CLAUDIO

Characteristic Evidence Characteristic Evidence

BEATRICE HERO

Characteristic Evidence Characteristic Evidence

Many of the characters in the play exhibit attitudes or behaviours that either conform to,
defy, or affirm a particular perspective on Messina and its society. In a play that is centrally
concerned with social expectations and its observance, or otherwise, it is inevitable that
characters will come to embody elements of that society’s values, prejudices and virtues.

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2. For each of the major characters of the play, complete a table in your exercise book like
the one below to show how their dialogue and actions demonstrate conformity or
defiance of social expectations in Messina.

Character’s Name

Dialogue/Behaviour Defiance? Textual Evidence Explanation

Conformity?

Conflict is central to Much Ado About Nothing, and the conflicts between the characters
essentially drive the plot of the play. Indeed, conflict between the characters is what
immediately opens the play – the return of the soldiers from battle to quash Don John’s
rebellion. More significantly, it is conflict between the ideals, values and aspirations of the
different characters that drive the central axis of the play; that is, the very process of
deception itself is driven by one person’s desire to manipulate another.

3. Complete the chart below in your exercise book to show which characters are in conflict
at different points in the play, and give an explanation of what the conflict is; it might be
about something physical, ideological or moral, for example.

Characters & Conflict in Much Ado About Nothing

Character’s In conflict with… Description of Textual Evidence

Name Conflict

Conversely, allegiance is another central part of the narrative. In a play that is arguably
about codes of honour among men, the allegiances that the different male characters make
are important. Some of the allegiances that the different characters make vary in their
legitimacy: some are genuine others just part of the many deceptions in the play.

4. Complete the chart below to show which characters form allegiances; give reasons for
the allegiances and explain whether or not they are genuine.

Allegiances in Much Ado About Nothing

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 Allegiance Purpose of Allegiance Genuine? Textual Evidence

In a society like Messina during the period of the play, the idea of hierarchy was an
important tool for imposing order on society. In Much Ado About Nothing we see different
types of hierarchy: military, age, and gender. All of these things determine how the levels of
power and influence that each character possesses at different points, and in various
exchanges, throughout the play.

5. For each of the different types of hierarchy that are at work in Messina, complete a chart
like the one below to show how power is distributed.

Hierarchy of ______________ in Much Ado

[Most powerful character(s)]

[Subordinate Characters] [Subordinate Characters] [Subordinate Characters]

One of the most interesting elements of Much Ado About Nothing is the way that characters
are valued. Most obviously, this objectification is driven by the male characters. Conversely,
it is the subservient female – Hero – who threatens the safety and pillars of the patriarchal
Messina of the play. In turn, we can discern an important tension in the play surrounding
both who is objectified and for what reasons.

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6. Complete the chart below to show who is objectified, and by whom, in the play; give
textual evidence to support your answer.

Objectification in Much Ado About Nothing

Objectified By whom Reason Textual Evidence

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Use this chart to collect the key quotations related to the different aspects of Benedick’s character in Much Ado About Nothing.

[Characteristic]
[Characteristic] [Characteristic]

BENEDICK
[Characteristic]
[Characteristic]

[Characteristic]
Use this chart to collect the key quotations related to the different aspects of Beatrice’s character in Much Ado About Nothing.

[Characteristic]
[Characteristic] [Characteristic]

BEATRICE
[Characteristic]
[Characteristic]

[Characteristic]

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Use this chart to collect the key quotations related to the different aspects of Claudio’s character in Much Ado About Nothing.

[Characteristic]
[Characteristic] [Characteristic]

CLAUDIO
[Characteristic]
[Characteristic]

[Characteristic]

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Use this chart to collect the key quotations related to the different aspects of Hero’s character in Much Ado About Nothing.

[Characteristic]
[Characteristic] [Characteristic]

HERO
[Characteristic]
[Characteristic]
[Characteristic]

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 YEAR 9
ANALYSIS MARK SCHEME

Assessment objectives:
AO1: Show knowledge of the content of literary texts, supported by reference to the text.
AO2: Understand the meanings of literary texts and explore texts beyond surface meanings to show awareness of ideas
and attitudes.
AO3: Recognise and appreciate ways in which writers use language, structure and form to create and shape meanings and
effects.
AO4: Communicate an informed personal response to literary texts.
Please note that each bullet point in the descriptor corresponds with one of the above assessment objectives.

Mark Range Descriptor

17-20  make a convincing response with well-chosen detail of narrative and situation
 show clear, sustained understanding of the author’s intention with some critical
awareness
 respond with some thoroughness and detail to the way language works
 communicate a considered personal response to the text
14-16  make a reasonably sustained/extended response with detail of narrative and situation
 show understanding of the author’s intentions and some of the text’s deeper
implications and the attitudes it displays
 make some response to the way language works in the text
 communicate an informed personal response to the text
11-13  begin to develop a response with detail of narrative and situation.
 show understanding of the author’s intentions and some of the text’s deeper
implications
 make some reference to the way language works in the text
 communicate a thoughtful personal response to the text
8-10  make some relevant comments in terms of narrative and situation.
 show some understanding of the author’s intentions and the surface meaning of the
text
 make a little reference to the language of the text
 communicate a basic personal response to the text
5-7  make a few straightforward points in terms of narrative and situation
 show a few signs of understanding of the author’s intentions and the surface meanings
of the text
 make a little reference to aspects of the text
 show evidence of a simple personal response to the text
2-4  show a little awareness of surface meanings in the text
 make some comment about aspects of the text
0-1  The answer does not meet the criteria for a mark in Grade G
Grade Descriptor
5 The writing is legible and contains accurate punctuation, spelling, grammar and mechanics.
4 The writing is legible and fluent but may contain occasional inaccuracies of spelling, grammar,
punctuation and mechanics. Does not affect meaning.
3 The writing has minor lapses in formality and tone. There may be difficulties with legibility. Errors in
spelling, grammar, punctuation and mechanics are noticeable but not muddled.
2 The writing contains errors in spelling, grammar, punctuation and mechanics that are noticeable and
detract from meaning. There are difficulties with legibility.
1 The writing has legibility concerns. Errors in spelling, grammar, punctuation and mechanics are
noticeable and require attention.
0 The writing does not meet the criteria for a mark in Band 5.

MARK GRADE
RANGE
20-25 A EXEMPLAR EXTENDED PARAGRAPH
17-19 B
15-16 C 50
12-14 D
9-11 E
‘Much Ado About Nothing’ is a comedy by William Shakespeare. This passage occurs early in
the play, just after Don Pedro, Prince of Aragon, returns from war with his two friends Claudio
and Benedick. Shakespeare makes this an entertaining moment through introducing the
audience to the ongoing battle of wits between characters Beatrice and Benedick for the first
time. Although their relationship was alluded to earlier in the scene, when it was described
with the metaphor of a “merry war,” the audience had yet to see these two dramatic,
controversial characters interact. Beatrice begins by commenting how the futility of Benedick’s
chatter, telling him “nobody marks you.” Her belittling joke is ironic because indeed one person
is marking him: Beatrice is. Immediately, the audience is drawn into the banter that will
eventually turn into love between Beatrice and Benedick: they “mark” or notice each other in
particular, more so than they notice anyone else. This kind of quip is typical of Beatrice and
Benedick’s interactions: they enjoy vying for who is the wittiest, smartest, funniest. In other
words, who is superior. As such, belittling Benedick by commenting on his lack of importance is
typical of their merry war. Benedick sustains this thread of insult, adorning Beatrice with false
respect – therefore implying disrespect – in giving her the absurd title of “Lady Disdain.” The
ridiculousness of such a prestigious title as “Lady” being followed by the ludicrous name
“Disdain” is hysterical for the audience; the playfulness and comedy of Beatrice and Benedick’s
relationship, although not typical of conventional lovers, immediately make them audience
favourites. Benedick then claims himself a lady’s man, telling Beatrice, “I am loved of all ladies,
only you excepted.” The audience learns two important things from this hyperbole: the first,
that Benedick wants Beatrice to know that other women love him, and second, that he has
noticed that she, in particular, does not. This foreshadows the development of their love,
building expectation, excitement, and overall making their interaction extremely entertaining
for the audience. Beatrice’s response is equally as interesting; she announces, “I had rather
hear my dog bark at a crow than a man swear he loves me.” The unpleasant auditory imagery
serves to mirror the disgust and contempt Beatrice has for men, and especially, for romance.
The audience cannot help but wonder, however, whether she might not be claiming to detest
men and love as a form of self-protection. Beatrice and Benedick seem infatuated with each
other: they love exchanging witty insults in rapid fire, they love paying attention to each other,
and yet both claims to abhor love and marriage entirely. Their “merry war,” the audience
knows, has been ongoing; there is history between them. One can only wonder which of these
two snarling lovers first announced their disdain for love and marriage, and if the other only
followed suit out of a mix of heartbreak, desperation, and dignity. The audience waits patiently
for the moment when Beatrice and Benedick will drop the act and give in to their feelings but
enjoys the entertainment of their banter in the meantime.

Spelling

1. interdependent
2. suppose
3. August

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4. coast
5. menu
6. period
7. autumn
8. journey
9. flavour
10. essential
11. spatial
12. substantial
13. inference
14. influential
15. palatial
16. residential
17. artery
18. vein
19. circulatory
20. capillary
21. chamber
22. ventricle
23. September
24. received
25. worthwhile
26. dairy
27. strange
28. caught
29. haunted
30. lawyer
31. captain
32. advocate
33. alternative
34. alternate
35. animate
36. articulate
37. graduate
38. latitude
39. longitude
40. magnetic
41. compass
42. expedition
43. entrepreneur
44. direct
45. October
46. squirm

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