MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING

Act One: Harmony

Plot Development Leonato welcomes Don Pedro and Claudio, a young brave
soldier, after returning back to Messina from a battle. Beatrice
and Hero are there to accompany them.
Beatrice and Benedick insult each other and Benedick tells
her how he will never love a woman.
Leonato tells Don Pedro, Claudio, and Don John to stay with
him for at least a month, and they accept the offer.
Claudio shares with Benedick his love for Hero. He had
instantly fallen in love with Hero after making eye contact with
her. Claudio asks for Benedicks opinion of Hero, but he
teases Claudio instead. Benedick makes it clear that he
doesn't trust women, and that they will cheat on you.
Don Pedro enters and questions them about why they haven't
come into Leonatos place. He soon discovers Claudios love
for Hero. Don Pedro is happy with Claudios decision and
helps Claudio with this situation. Since he's very shy and is
not confident enough yet to tell Hero that he loves her, Don
Pedro offers to help him by going in disguise to the ball as
Claudio and declare his love to her for him. He will then talk to
Leonato, as they're close friends, and tell him to approve their
marriage.
Characters in this act LEONATO: Gorvenor of Messina, Hero's father.
HERO: Leonato's daughter. We don't see much of Hero in
this act, however she is talked about quite often by the other
characters.
BEATRICE: Leonato's niece. She and Benedick have a lot of
fights throughout this act - suggests that they have a
backstory which the audience are not yet aware of.
DON PEDRO: Prince of Arragon. Helpful character that
discovers Claudios love for Hero, and is offering to help out.
CLAUDIO: A brave soldier returning back from a battle with
Don Pedro. He has instantly fallen in love with Hero but is shy
to speak to her - wants to marry her.
BENEDICK: Companion of Don Pedro. Fights and insults
Beatrice quite a lot. Doesn;t believe in marriage and doesn't
trust women anymore - has a cynical view of marriage.
Aspects of Comedy Disguise Don Pedro plans to disguise as Claudio to help
him out with his situation with Hero.
Quotes BENEDICK: (to Beatrice)..I am loved of all ladies, only you
excepted.
This quote shows that there is a reason to why Benedick and
Beatrice fight a lot. We begin to realise that there is a back
story to their relationship.
BENEDICK: I will do myself the right to trust none: and the
fine is I will live a bachelor.
Here we see that Benedick has a very cynical view towards
marriage, and prefers to remain single. We think that maybe
something bad must've happened in the past, which makes
him have such hard feeling towards women.



Act Two: Complication
Plot Development This act starts off by Hero, Leonato and Beatrice talking about
the perfect man. Beatrice complains about how there is no
good man out there to be her husband, and that she prefers
to be alone. Leonato says that he hopes to see her married
one day, but Beatrice seems to be very sure about her being
unmarried for the rest of her life.
The dance begins:
- Don Pedro is disguised as Claudio he is talking to Hero
and tries to woo her.
- Benedick and Beatrice Beatrice insults Benedick but he
cannot blow his cover so he doesnt insult her back.
However, theyre both aware that theyre dancing together
but pretend that they dont.
- Beatrice has the upperhand can mock, insult Benedick
all she wants.
- Claudio pretends to be Benedick Don John and
Borachio deceive Claudio as they make him believe that
Don Pedro has stolen Hero from him.
When they all exit, Claudio shares his feelings to the audience
(soliloquy) which portrays his insecurity. He says how he
shouldnt get others involved in his affairs.
Benedick enters (unmasked) and uses contrasting images to
what Claudio must do.
- Give up on Hero and wear a willow garland a badge of
an unhappy lover.
Claudio is miserable and unhappy because of Don Pedros
betrayal. However, Don Pedro brings over Hero and Leonato
and tells him that he has done what Claudio asked him to do
and that Hero accepts the marriage most importantly,
Leonato is happy with this match. They discuss when to get
married, and Leonato decided that theyll have it a week after.
Don John and Borachio come up with a malicious plan to ruin
Heros honour they will tell them that Hero is not a virgin but
a whore, a woman who has willingly corrupted her own
innocence before her marriage and at the same time chosen
to be unfaithful to the man she loves.
Borachio will stand outside Heros balcony and make love to
Margaret, who he will convince to dress like Hero. The
watchers will believe that it is Hero inside being unfaithful to
Claudio.
Benedicks friends find a way to make him fall in love with
Beatrice. Hero, Ursula and Margaret try to trick Beatrice and
the men try to trick Benedick.
Aspects of Comedy Gulling Uses dramatic irony. Benedick is the gull that is
being tricked into believing that Beatrice is in love with him.
This creates comedy as the audience find it funny that hes
only being tricked into believing this.
Mistaken Identity Don Jon and Borachio deceive Claudio
into thinking that Don Pedro is in love with Hero.
Trickery Benedick and Beatrice are being tricked into falling
in love with eachother by their friends.
Quotes Claudios soliloquy:
- affairs as if everything was intentionally happening
behind his back
- trust no agent doesnt trust anybody he is gullible
which makes him feel stupid
- farewell, therefore, Hero willing to give up miserable.
Act Three: Disorder/chaos
Plot Development In Leonatos garden, Hero, Margaret and Ursula plan a way to
trick Beatrice into thinking that Benedick is in love with her.
They plan to praise Benedick so that Beatrice can remind
herself of the good things about Benedick, rather than the bad
things she always talks about. Beatrice overhears Hero and
Ursulas talk about Benedick, which was exactly what they
wanted. Hero tells Ursula that Claudio and Don Pedro have
informed her that Benedick is in love with Beatrice. Ursula
suggests that Hero tell Beatrice about it, but Hero answers
that everybody knows that Beatrice is too full of mockery to
listen to any man courting her.
Claudio and Don Pedro tease Benedick as they find out that
Benedick is in love they know its Beatrice however
Benedick has no idea. They agree that Benedick has become
more quieter lately and point out how he has also shaved his
beard. (In the previous acts, Beatrice says how she doesnt
like beards, which suggests why Benedick has shaved his)
Don John arrives telling Don Pedro and Claudio that Hero is a
whore and that they can come see themselves to see whether
its true or not (Borachios act). He tells DP and Claudio that
hes only trying to save their reputation and save a bad
marriage. Claudio is determined to see Hero being unfaithful
and plans to disgrace her if she is being false to him.
Characters in this act Dogberry - The constable in charge of the Watch, or chief
policeman, of Messina. Dogberry is very sincere and takes
his job seriously, but he has a habit of using exactly the
wrong word to convey his meaning. Dogberry is one of the
few middling sort, or middle-class characters, in the play,
though his desire to speak formally and elaborately like the
noblemen becomes an occasion for parody.
Verges - The deputy to Dogberry, chief policeman of
Messina.
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Act Four: Resolution
Plot Development
Characters in this act
Aspects of Comedy
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Act Five: Restoration (of harmony)
Plot Development
Characters in this act
Aspects of Comedy
Quotes