3.1.1.5The play at a glance
Soldiers return from war to Messina. Claudio falls in love with Hero and they agree to marry; Beatrice and Benedick, who have a history, trade insults. Their friends trick each into believing the other is in love, and it works. Don John deceives Claudio into believing Hero unfaithful, and Claudio denounces her at the altar. Hero's death is faked; the incompetent Watch uncovers the plot; Claudio agrees to marry Hero's supposed cousin, who proves to be Hero, and the two couples marry.
The play dates from around 1598. Female chastity carried enormous social and financial weight, a broken betrothal was a serious matter, and the parish constable was an unpaid and often untrained office, which is the joke behind Dogberry.
- noting
- observing, and also overhearing; the title puns on it, since 'nothing' and 'noting' sounded alike
- the merry war
- the running contest of wit between Beatrice and Benedick
- gulling
- deceiving someone for their own good, as the friends do to Beatrice and Benedick
3.1.1.5Characters
Beatrice speaks first in the play and controls almost every exchange she enters. Her wit is a defence, and 'O God, that I were a man' exposes the powerlessness beneath it.
Benedick's change is the most complete in the play: he moves from mocking marriage to challenging his closest friend on Beatrice's word.
Hero is nearly silent, which is both characterisation and commentary. Claudio is quick to believe the worst and never fully answers for it. Don John is defined entirely by opposition to his brother and is disposed of off stage.
3.1.1.5Themes
Honour and reputation govern everything. Hero's worth is destroyed by an accusation before any evidence is examined, and her own father believes it.
Deception drives both plots. The friends' benevolent trick and Don John's malicious one use exactly the same method, which is the play's most uncomfortable observation.
Love is presented in two competing models: the conventional courtship of Claudio and Hero, and the negotiated equality of Beatrice and Benedick.
Common mistake
Treating the play as a light comedy throughout. The church scene is genuinely brutal, and the ending depends on a woman pretending to be dead before she can be believed.
3.1.1.5Shakespeare's methods
Prose and verse divide the couples: Beatrice and Benedick spar in prose, which gives them speed and equality, while Claudio and Hero court in formal verse.
The staged overhearings put the audience in the position of watching people watch, which is the play's structural signature.
Dogberry's malapropisms invert meaning, so he says the opposite of what he intends while still delivering the truth.
Worked example
Answer:
- The title puns on noting, which is the mechanism of the whole plot
- The benevolent and malicious deceptions use the same method
- Prose gives Beatrice and Benedick equality
- The comedy is resolved only by accident, through the Watch
AO1-AO4How this text is examined
This text is examined in Paper 1, Section A. The question is worth 34 marks and an extract from the play is printed, and the question asks you to start with that extract and then write about the play as a whole. Allow about 55 minutes.
The marks are divided as AO1 12 marks, AO2 12 marks, AO3 6 marks, AO4 4 marks. AO1 rewards a clear argument supported by well-chosen references. AO2 rewards analysis of how the writer achieves an effect, which means writing about choices rather than about events. AO3 rewards context used to deepen a reading of the text.
Common mistake
Retelling the plot. Narrative summary earns nothing under any assessment objective, however accurate it is. Every paragraph should be making a point about how or why, not about what happens.
Four of the marks are for AO4: vocabulary and sentence structures used to control meaning, and accurate spelling and punctuation. These are the cheapest marks on the paper and the easiest to lose by rushing the final paragraph.