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- Much Ado About Nothing: the characters
Much Ado About Nothing: the characters
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The witty couple and the young lovers are a deliberate contrast. Beatrice and Benedick speak in sharp prose; Claudio and Hero barely talk to each other.
Beatrice and Benedick
Leonato describes "a kind of merry war betwixt Signior Benedick and her".
Beatrice is witty and independent: "I had rather hear my dog bark at a crow than a man swear he loves me."
Benedick mocks marriage, but after the trick declares "The world must be peopled."
When Hero is shamed, Beatrice cries "O God, that I were a man!" and Benedick proves his love by taking her side.
Beatrice is witty and independent: "I had rather hear my dog bark at a crow than a man swear he loves me."
Benedick mocks marriage, but after the trick declares "The world must be peopled."
When Hero is shamed, Beatrice cries "O God, that I were a man!" and Benedick proves his love by taking her side.
Claudio and Hero
Claudio is young and quick to believe the worst. He shames Hero in public instead of questioning the evidence.
Hero is quiet and obedient. Her silence makes her vulnerable when she is falsely accused.
Hero is quiet and obedient. Her silence makes her vulnerable when she is falsely accused.
Don John and Dogberry
Don John says "I am a plain-dealing villain."
Dogberry misuses long words (malapropisms), for example saying the Watch have "comprehended two aspicious persons" (meaning apprehended two suspicious persons). He is furious at being called an ass: "O that he were here to write me down an ass!"
Dogberry misuses long words (malapropisms), for example saying the Watch have "comprehended two aspicious persons" (meaning apprehended two suspicious persons). He is furious at being called an ass: "O that he were here to write me down an ass!"
Why does Beatrice say "O God, that I were a man!"?
- Hero has been shamed and no man is defending her.
- As a woman, Beatrice cannot challenge Claudio to a duel.
- She shows anger at the limits placed on women.
Answer: She is furious she cannot fight Claudio herself, which shows how restricted women were.
Beatrice and Benedick: witty, sparring, truly loyal. Claudio: rash and easily fooled. Hero: quiet, obedient victim. Don John: open villain. Dogberry: comic malapropisms.
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