Character Analysis in Much Ado About Nothing

In this speech, Don John further expresses his stubborn personality. Through rich images, Don John states that individualism is more important to him than acceptance. He would “rather be a canker in a hedge than a rose.” He would, in a word, rather be disliked for who he is than liked for pretending to be someone else.

Conrade begins to reveal the nature of the relationship between Don John and Don Pedro, his older brother. The renowned Don Pedro has recently accepted Don John after a period of estrangement and political rivalry.

Don John introduces himself as an earnest and straightforward character. As he puts it, “I cannot hide what I am.” When he is sad, as is the case in this scene, he says that he “must be sad.” One of the play’s central themes is confusion, deceit and miscommunication. Don John establishes himself as a character who speaks directly.

Leonato notes that Beatrice is incredibly perceptive, maybe too much so, suggesting that she often reads too much into things. Beatrice jokes that she “can see a church by daylight,” which is to say that she simply sees what should be obvious to all—her vision is not clouded by overly-romanticized notions of love and marriage. However, note that while Beatrice may be observant and scrutinizing, this character trait does not lead to much introspection regarding her own romantic affairs. She is blind to her feelings for Benedick.

Beatrice separates men into two categories: bearded men, who would refuse to put up with her, and beardless men, who are “boyish” and would not be able to handle her. Shakespeare thus uses beards as a symbol of masculinity. Beards (or a lack thereof) are used to characterize the men in the play as either gentle and vulnerable, or rugged and “manly.” Consider too, that Beatrice’s dislike of beards also symbolizes her resistance to men in general at this point in the play.

When Beatrice says that “one is too like an image and says nothing,” she means that Don John speaks too little to be a worthy suitor. Beatrice suggests that Don John is more like the “image” of a person—he expresses no opinions, and does not challenge her in the way that she wants or needs. However, she says that Benedick talks too much for her liking, concluding that the best partner would fall somewhere in between these two.

Leonato suggests that Beatrice scares off potential suitors because she is very blunt and outspoken. His remark reflects the problematic societal ideology during Shakespeare’s time that women needed to be docile and “gentle” in order to attract men. Beatrice is neither of these things; she is witty, candid, and refuses to conform to these confining social expectations.

Leonato is holding a masquerade ball as entertainment for his household guests. He and Beatrice converse about the men who will be there, and they discuss Beatrice’s possibly marrying a bearded, or a beardless, man. Beatrice claims that she would rather sleep with a sheep than marry a bearded man, who would be too old for her. On the other hand, she finds beardless men useless because they are “less than a man” or immature. Therefore, Beatrice believes no man is suitable for her and sarcastically states that she is ready to live up the supposed punishment for unmarried women: leading a bunch of apes into hell.

Once again, the readers witness Beatrice’s sharp tongue at work and her wittiness, which is specifically used to mock the idea of falling in love or getting married in this context. She believes that it will “grieve,” or be miserable for, a woman to be “overmaster’d” or committed to a man, who she calls a “piece of valiant dust,” or, in other words, a handful of dust. This metaphor implies that men are unreliable, and as a result, Beatrice despises the idea that women must be subservient to men.

Claudio has just been duped into believing his beloved Hero is unfaithful. He is quick to believe the lies of others; Don John and Borachio have only pretended not to recognize Claudio's disguise and lied about Hero's plans to run away with another man. "Let every eye negotiate for itself" means that people in love only act for themselves. Friendship, which is "constant in all other things," becomes irrelevant.

A subtle and clever way of establishing that Beatrice is a very good-hearted and happy person by nature.

Beatrice implies that Benedick loses his appetite if his cleverness isn't acknowledged.

When Don John asks Borachio “How canst thou cross this marriage?”, he is asking how the marriage can be prevented. Notice that this scene opens with Don John deciding to destroy a marriage while the previous scene ended with Don Pedro designing a plan to spark one. By placing these two plots in contrast to one another, Shakespeare emphasizes how vastly different Don John and Don Pedro are in character. Don Pedro’s well-intentioned scheme shows his benevolent nature, whereas Don John’s plot shows his destructive and malevolent character.

Don John, who is Don Pedro's illegitimate brother, hates both Don John and Claudio. Borachio, his friend and confidante, devises a plan to destroy them: he will pretend to make love to Hero (who will be impersonated by Margaret, who is in love with Borachio) in a window where Claudio and Don Pedro can see them. Claudio will be devastated once he thinks Hero has betrayed him, and Don Pedro will presumably fall out of favor with Claudio because he was the one who brought Claudio and Hero together in the first place.

That is, what more could you ask for?  Note how deception, which is an innocent pastime in the hands of Don Pedro, becomes deadly in Don John's hands—simply to  amuse himself, he is willing to deceive his brother, torment Claudio, ruin an innocent girl's reputation, and perhaps kill her father with shame.

Benedick takes the rumors he has just heard to be true on faith, despite Beatrice’s continued icy manner towards him. He interprets reality differently based entirely on hearsay, wholeheartedly believing that she loves him. Keep in mind, however, that the true nature of Beatrice’s feelings for Benedick are still unclear. Regardless, language and deception both continue to shape characters’ perceptions of reality.

Before hearing of Claudio’s engagement, Benedick refused to even to think about getting married. However, now that Benedick feels more pressure to get married, he lists traits that he finds preferable in a potential partner. He constructs a perfect romantic partner who could not possibly exist outside of the imagination. By doing so, Benedick continues to avoid the possibility of marriage by waiting indefinitely for an idealized partner.

The drum and fife are military instruments that symbolize warfare. The tabor and pipe are more sweet and gentle, associated with fun and dancing. Benedick continues to contrast courtship with warfare. He suggests that love has softened Claudio, a soldier by trade, and is upset by his engagement. Benedick’s annoyance at Claudio may indicate that Benedick himself feels pressured to get engaged.

Benedick means that Claudio has gone from talking like a soldier to using fancy and flowery language.

Before discussing Benedick, Hero describes Beatrice’s proud nature. As Hero sees it, Beatrice is so critical that she would find fault with any man. Issuing a list of characteristics, Hero imagines the problem Beatrice would complain of: “if tall, a lance ill-headed;/If low, an agate very vilely cut.”

After learning that she has a reputation for being overly prideful and scornful, making her “unlovable” to Benedick, Beatrice expresses disbelief and shock. Suddenly, the character who defies societal expectations regarding women and marriage manages to abandon her contempt and “maiden pride.” She acknowledges that she has a “wild heart,” yet here she wants Benedick to “love on” as she will love him in return. However, it appears that Beatrice allows Benedict to pursue her more as a reaction against the reputation she has gained.

Hero and her attendant Ursula have planned to have Beatrice overhear their staged conversation, which will trick her into believing that Benedict loves her (as he does in reality). Hero and Ursula’s plan represents a Cupid’s trap. Moreover, the execution of this plan indirectly shows how Beatrice and Benedick are both stubborn and in self-denial regarding love and matrimony.

That is, and so different from what is accepted as proper behavior.  In Shakespeare's time, behavior and health were believed to be governed by *humours, *all of which needed to be in balance for a person to function properly.  Beatrice would be viewed as out-of-balance.

That is, Beatrice is so self-absorbed that she cannot even recognize value a lover.

A “clapper” is the tongue of a bell, which strikes it and causes it to sound. Claudio says that Benedick’s heart is the bell and his tongue is the clapper, suggesting he speaks everything that his heart thinks.

Don John implies here that Hero, being "every man's Hero," is promiscuous.

Dogberry uses the noun “examination” rather than the verb “examine” because he is repeating Leonato’s earlier command to “take their examination.” This suggests that Dogberry does not actually know the meaning of this word.

“Comprehended,” to understand, is a malapropism for “apprehended,” a verb meaning to arrest in the name of the law. Because these malapropisms are close in sound but not meaning, they could signify that Dogberry is illiterate: he is simply repeating what he has heard.

Dogberry frequently speaks in proverbs and platitudes. Although he uses these references in order to demonstrate his “wisdom,” these sayings ironically demonstrate his lack of wit and thought because he does not have his own words to express these ideas.

Dogberry’s overly polite speech inserts delay into his speech and draws out his point. Rather than directly getting to what he needs to tell Leonato, he prolongs this conversation because he does not pick up on the social cues that should show him that Leonato does not want to talk to him. This indicates his naivety in social situations.

Throughout the scene, Dogberry says multiple malapropisms, or the mispronunciation or mistaken use of a word in place of the right word. These mistakes show that he is of the uneducated lower class. They give Leonato a reason to dismiss his concerns and the audience a reason to laugh at him.

Virgins were thought to be very modest and easily embarrassed by even the mention of sex. Claudio indignantly says that Hero’s blushing indicates her “guiltiness,” not her virginity. Rather than simply cancelling the wedding in private for her supposed adultery, Claudio humiliates Hero in front of the entire wedding ceremony. Claudio’s extreme reaction and awful allegations here indicate his fear of being shamed and made a cuckold.

Once again, Claudio has been duped into believing that Hero is unfaithful. He picks up on Leonato's "I dare" from the previous line and begins (loudly) questioning the very nature of agency and mistakes—particularly the mistake he believes Hero has made.

That is, Hero is not blushing because she is guilty; she is blushing because she is angry at the unjust accusations of these princes against her innocence.

This is an important statement by Don John because he states affirmatively that Hero is unfaithful when he knows that she is not.  Later, this statement will seal his fate.

Leonato, ever the loyal father, appeals to the prince to intervene because it was the prince who is responsible for arranging the marriage of Claudio and Hero.

Leonato does not suspect the import of Claudio's objections.  He believes that Claudio, as the prospective husband, has conquered Hero's modesty.  He cannot grasp the possibility that Hero might have been unfaithful to Claudio.

In other words, she is unfaithful.  The word luxury, in Shakespeare's language, had the connotation of sexual or lustful activity, so Claudio is accusing her of having an illicit affair before her marriage.

Here, Dogberry mistakes “suspect,” a verb meaning to regard someone with suspicion or distrust, with “respect,” a verb meaning to value or esteem. Notice that throughout the scene, Dogberry’s malapropisms tend to convey the opposite meaning of what he intends. They make him not only look like a fool, but they also make him sound culpable in the crimes he is prosecuting. If anyone were taking him seriously, these malapropisms could have dire consequences.

Notice that Dogberry asks the Sexton to write down that the prince is a villain before he realizes what has been said. This makes Dogberry into a type of puppet who is performing his role as constable.

“Eftest” is an adjective that means best or most convenient. Dogberry gives up “questioning” these rogues when he discovers that there is a more convenient way to accuse them. This should cause the audience to laugh because the constable does not know the procedure after arresting criminals.

Notice that Dogberry’s questions take the form of accusations. He is not “examining them” and therefore he does not learn any details about their crime. This demonstrates that Dogberry is an inept constable.

Dogberry again wastes everyone’s time by attempting to adhere to the proper order of things. He is inefficient and foolish because he cares more about these formalities than he does about getting to the bottom of the case. In this way, Shakespeare mocks bureaucracy and the police.

Notice that Dogberry tells the Sexton to write down everything that happens in this scene. He micromanages the Sexton and therefore does a poor job with his own duties. His dictation to the sexton could also suggest that he cannot write himself.

Dogberry mistakes “malefactors” for “accusers.” Notice that in this mistake, the constable confesses to the crime. His lack of education is comical here; however, if he were a character in a tragic play it could cause his downfall.

Dogberry believes he is due some respect because he has suffered at some time in the past.

Dogberry, always confused, doesn't seem to understand that Don John's own men have called him a villain, which undoubtedly means that Don John is a villain.

As usual, Dogberry has things backward—usually, charges are brought on the basis of suspicion ("to be thought so shortly") and then the charges are proved.

Leonato seeks revenge for the alleged death of Hero, who he says died from the shame of being charged with infidelity. He is particularly interested in punishing Don Pedro and Claudio because, though they didn't lie about Hero's virtue, they readily believed in her loss of virginity.

With the morning of his daughter’s wedding ruined and his honor indirectly affected, Leonato is upset. When Antonio tells Leonato that indulging in grief and self-pity is childish, Leonato responds that even philosophers, who appear godlike and immune to human suffering, will fail to “endure” a “toothache.” Essentially, Leonato is using this example to defend his emotional vulnerability, which is part of human nature.

Dogberry is, in his completely confused way, recounting an earlier comment by Borachio in which he said "fashion" was like a deformed thief.  Dogberry and his fellow night-watch members did not understand the metaphorical nature of the comment and assumed Borachio was talking about a deformed person who wore a lock in his hair. Dogberry continually provides comic-relief to an otherwise fairly grim episode.

By calling Claudio sir boy, Antonio is trying very hard to goad Claudio into a fight.  Under other circumstances, Claudio would not let this insult go unanswered.

That is, you incredible liar!  Leonato's use of thou rather than the more polite* you* indicates his disgust with Claudio.

“Rheum” means tears and snot. Benedick claims that a widow will only mourn and produce rheum for an hour before she forgets about her diseased lover. He uses this hyperbole in order to justify his boastful nature.

Though Benedick is in love with Beatrice and soon to be married, he again jokes about marriage, saying that he is still unsure about whether or not marriage will prove to be his downfall. Shakespeare here makes Benedick seem like a more realistic character. Benedick has been critical of marriage throughout the entire play, and his opinions would not simply vanish altogether once he fell in love if he were a real person.