Review of Act 2: Much ado about Nothing

Act 2 Scene 1

Explain Beatrice’s motives in calling Benedick a ‘Prince’s jester’ and why this is deemed as offensive and thus ‘un-comedic’

Beatrice takes advantage of the fact that Benedick doesn’t know that she knows who she is talking to, this way she can be outlandishly rude and she does so to such an extent that she actually breaks the boundaries of humour and enters offensive territory. She makes him appear a fool, someone who is ungentlemanly by referring to him as “in the fleet” which links to the idea of sailors being untrustworthy and therefore not manly. It is this aspect of her insult that perhaps makes it so controversial, for a woman to be stripping a man of his dominance would have been completely subversive at the time.

Explain the following quote, commenting on metaphor and theme; “She speaks poniards and every word stabs.”

This quote ties in with a running metaphor throughout the play of words being used and referred to as destructive items.  When Leonato talks about Beatrice and Benedick’s arguing routine, he calls is a “merry war.” Shakespeare has possibly chosen the word “poniards” because it almost has onomatopoeia like effects, it practically ‘sounds’ sharp, emphasizing Beatrice’s vicious linguistic nature.

Relate the following quote connected to disease to a quote from Beatrice; “If her breath were as terrible as her terminations, there were no living near her – she would infect to the North Star”

This quote can be connected to the quote that Beatrice says about Benedick; “O lord he will hang upon him like a disease he is sooner caught than the pestilence… if he had caught the Benedick, it will cost him a thousand pound ere a’ be cured.” In this quote, Beatrice is referring to Benedick as a contaminant – she shows false caring for Claudio, whom has been declared his “new sworn brother”. There are a couple of differences between these quotes, however – as Beatrice suggests that Benedick is ‘easier to catch than the plague’, whereas Benedick suggests that ‘no one wants to be around Beatrice due to her bad attitude’.

Analyse the following linguistic technique; “I cannot endure my Lady Tongue”

"Lady Tongue" is used not only to refer to Beatrice, but also to a common type of meat – ox tongue.  In this metaphor, Benedick is saying that all Beatrice does is talk, as would be a common stereotype of women at the time. Paradoxically Benedick talks a lot more than Beatrice does – this is an example of verbal irony used by Shakespeare to show a sexist double standard.

Analyse lines 252-255

Beatrice is saying that Benedick made her love him more than he loved her (“a double heart for his single one”). She feels that he put on a facade to make her love him. She feels that she lost her heart when Benedick broke it by making her fall in love and then showing his true colours, thus winning her heart under “false dice”.

Explain the scheming/plotting in this scene and how it relates to the comedic genre of the time

In this scene, Don Pedro, Leonato and Claudio make a plan to enamour Benedick with Beatrice. This is so that they can attain the glory of conquering Cupid by pairing together the two people who seem most unsuitable for one another. They form a plot to make it so that Benedick and Beatrice will hear people telling of their love for each other – consequently, Benedick will only discover his love for Beatrice when he ‘knows’ Beatrice loves him and vice versa. This would have been seen as comedic at the time due to the fact that there is a high chance of the characters being made a fool of as a result of Don Pedro’s, Leonato’s and Claudio’s Machiavellian styled deceit. There is also a lot of opportunity for the situation to go wrong as cases of mistaken identity usually do.

Act 2 Scene 2

Write a summary of the events in this scene comparing the scheming developments here with the previous scene

In Act 2 Scene 2, Don John learns of Claudio and Hero’s upcoming marriage, and he tries to think of a way to prevent it. Don John’s servant Borachio devises a plan that will make it seem as if Hero is not a virgin but a woman who has willingly had sex before marriage and simultaneously been unfaithful to Claudio. He will achieve this by setting up a scene where Hero looks to be cheating on Claudio with Borachio by dressing up Margaret, (Borachio’s real partner), as Hero and making sure that both Claudio and Don Pedro witness them in the act of ‘cheating’.  This shows scheming developments from the previous scene because before, the characters were using deceit to achieve a pleasant end result whereas the plotting that is taking place in this scene is being used for a malicious venture, even though it follows along similar lines.

Explain why these plans are beyond the ‘comedic’ and harbour potentially tragic outcomes

This kind of scheming breaks comedic boundaries because there is nothing funny to be found in its content. It is purely being undertaken for the means of villainy and it will almost certainly harbour tragic outcomes for several of the characters. Claudio, he will feel cheated and untrusting of Hero, who is being accused of something that was seen as slanderous at the time – something that she didn’t even do and perhaps even Leonato will suffer as he would  have to live with the burden of ‘knowing’ that his daughter is a ‘whore’.

Act 2 Scene 3

Why do you think Benedick is delivering a soliloquy and furthermore, why does he deliver it in prose?

Benedick delivers a soliloquy after he hears of Beatrice’s affections because it is clearly a significant event to him  – his pent up feelings for Beatrice that have for so long been hidden by his denial are now allowed to come forth and influence his thoughts and actions. The fact that these thoughts are presented in a soliloquy are so that the audience has a clear picture of his stream of consciousness. The fact that the soliloquy is delivered in prose is significant because if it were to be presented in elaborate code such as Petrarchal terminology, then it would have appeared to be less sincere whereas the realisation is actually a very important matter to Benedick, even if it is more of a joke to Leonato, Don Pedro and Claudio.

Explore Benedick’s attitudes towards ‘masculinity’ in this soliloquy and how being in love might affect it

All throughout the beginning of the play, Benedick is constantly setting himself up for a fall my swearing that he will never fall in love or be married; it is at this point he decides to change his mind. He has slight concerns that people will mock him for betraying his beliefs so readily and so he almost instinctually creates excuses to perhaps even reassure himself and others that it is simply a matter of his tastes (beliefs) “maturing”.  However, there is a definite difference in the way Benedick talks and presents himself in thins soliloquy compared to the rest of the play, for instance – his usual sense of arrogance has gone amiss and has been replaced with something resembling modesty – he even suggests that the only dent in Beatrice’s cleverness is loving him which shows the change in his masculinity now that the idea of ‘love’ has been introduced.

What could Shakespeare’s motives be for including the ditty and how does it add thematically to the play?

The song has the message of telling women not to worry any more (“sigh no more, ladies”) – they should relax and sing as there is nothing that they can do to change their men.  Shakespeare may have wanted to include this in the play to show that men were supposed to be reliable and non-impulsive characters which shows a little bit of Benedick’s subversive nature which is also reflected in his lack of Petrarchal terminology. The song could add thematically to the play as there is always a lingering idea that people are always based on stereotypes and the song could be there to show that stereotypes can and will be broken.

What witty remark does Benedick say after the song? Do you think he believes the song’s message?

After the song has been played, Benedick compares the singer to a dog howling, furthermore – a dog howling so badly that it would have been hung. He also makes reference to the plague, saying that he would rather catch it than listen to the song again. It is of my opinion that Benedick protests too exuberantly, perhaps he does agree with the song but he feels ashamed about it. After all, the song is about men deceiving and/or cheating on women – this could once again be a reference to Benedick and Beatrice’s past that Benedick may not be too proud of, and so he slates the song for being terrible to once again hide his real emotions.

From line 210-233 Benedick delivers a soliloquy. In what ways does the soliloquy mark a change in Benedick?

This soliloquy marks a significant change within Benedick and his attitude towards Beatrice. Where once he had insisted that he were never to have a wife, he now considers marriage an option (“I did never think to marry” / “When I said I would die a bachelor, I did not think I should live till I were married”). And, where once he was adamant that Beatrice was a “harpy” and that he could not “endure [his] Lady Tongue”, he now sees her as the partner to which he would like to marry. All of this change has been a result of his eavesdropping and so it could even be classed as comedic – not just because he has been made to look like somewhat of a fool, but because of how easily influenced he can be on matters of which he was previously so rigidly set upon.

How is Benedick’s attitude different to Beatrice at the end of the scene?

By the end of the scene, Benedick’s attitude towards Beatrice has changed most dramatically – he would usually address Beatrice by insulting her a few times and indulging himself on an argument with her, however – due to the fact that Beatrice has not been ‘baited’ yet, she still greets Benedick in the regular fashion whereas he meets her with a lighter and more casual tone. He also tries to find positive aspects in her frosty discourse that prove what he had just overheard (“there’s a double meaning in that”). He manages to not be rude to Beatrice throughout their entire conversation, which, as would be expected, is met with some confusion from Beatrice.