Dogberry in Much Ado About Nothing
Dogberry in Much Ado About Nothing Shakespeare How is Dogberry the fool or jester of the play? What is the significance of Dogberry's discovery about the plot against Hero? Do you think that Dogberry's ignorance is actually knowledge about life? Support your answers with details from text. "Marry, sir, they have committed false report; moreover, they have spoken untruths; secondarily, they are slanders; sixth and lastly, they have belied a lady; thirdly, they have verified unjust things; and, to conclude, they are lying knaves (5.1.225-233)." I don't think anyone could read these lines without a smile. Not only Dogberry can't count, but he repeats the same accusation, without realizing that it's all one crime. Dogberry's stupidness brings him a role of a jester in the play, providing comic relief in the event of Hero's tragedy. Dogberry has a great significance in the play. Although, Dogberry's presence is a lampoon of authority, by uncovering the plot, he proves that even people like him can be somewhat of importance, because their simple foolishness and "dumbness" can catch very important points. "What your wisdoms could not discover, these shallow fools have brought to light...(5.1.242-244)." If Dogberry has not had the control, Hero, most likely, would still carry the false accusations. I think that Dogberry could be the real hero of the play because out of his
The presentation and function of Dogberry, Verges and The watch in Much A do about Nothing.
The presentation and function of Dogberry, Verges and The watch in Much Ado about Nothing. In Shakespearean times, Elizabethan audiences enjoyed play's in which involved a character that denoted 'slapstick' comedy into the play. In the play Much Ado about Nothing, this character is Dogberry and his close companions Verges and the Watch. Comedy is excellent as a dramatic device as it involves opportunities for misunderstandings and comical episodes. Throughout the play it is apparent that the characters contribute a great deal too dramatic interest of the play. Dogberry and his companions enter the play at a moment of high drama: the time is not just in the very middle of the play itself, when the dramatic tension is at its greatest, but it is just after Don John's plot, turn's Claudio against Hero, the woman whom Claudio is to marry the following day. Without these characters in the play, it would surely be lacking in the broad humour of working class men , and be exclusively about courtiers whose wit is different from broad humour, and no substitute for it. The audience laughs openly at Dogberry and the townsmen whereas we do not laugh outright at the people of the court, except in the case of Beatrice and Benedick and the way they are deceived and deceive themselves. The character of Dogberry denotes the comedy of the play. Hi along with his companion and sidekick
How far would you agree that Much Ado About Nothing is simply comedy?
Antoine Lacour 3ème2 2nd DRAFT : ESSAY ON MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING How far would you agree that Much Ado About Nothing is simply comedy? Much Ado About Nothing is a play written by William Shakespeare. In this essay, I'm going to examine the different moments of comedy and tragedy or if there are more serious ideas in the play such as death, revenge and treachery and then see whether the play is simply a comedy or is it also partly tragedy. I'm going to start by looking at the moments of comedy in Much Ado About Nothing. Already in the first scene (Act 1 Scene 1), the mocking of Benedick by Beatrice starts when the Messenger announces the arrival of Don Pedro and his men. She calls Benedick 'Signor Mountanto' (meaning Sir Sword Thruster). The Messenger attempts to defend Benedick's reputation facing a barrage of remarks from Beatrice ('he hath an excellent stomach';' he hath every month a new sworn brother';'he wears his faith but as the fashion of his hat, it changes with the next block'). As soon as Don Pedro's men enter, Beatrice starts teasing Benedick. She says ' I wonder that you will still be talking, Signor Benedick, nobody marks you' meaning nobody takes notice of him. He replies by calling her 'Lady Disdain'. He also asks 'are you yet living'. She replies by saying that he is her 'food'. The argument continues until Don Pedro and Leonato interrupt. Also in
Much Ado About Nothing Report
Much Ado About Nothing Report By Russell Melton Yr 9 The Elizabethan Theatre To start this report I am going to explain a little about the Elizabethan theatre and the plays that were performed, like this one, and also a little on what it would have been like. For example the lighting, sound and costumes as these played a very large role in these times. Firstly a little about the theatre itself, the Elizabethan was named after Queen Elizabeth I and was built for Shakespeare and many other play writers. The theatre itself was very different back then from theatres today. Nowadays you can go and pay an affordable price and sit in a good seat in a comfortable theatre and have perfect lighting and great sound to illuminate the actors and have complicated background and scenery to give impressions of indoor and outdoor scenes, but back then they were very different. The centre of the theatre had no roof. And since there was no powerful lighting they had to depend on sunlight. The centre, open part, contained a stage and a courtyard. Unlike today, many people had to stand in the yard in front of the stage and the stage was raised so everyone could see. Only wealthy people could sit in the high storeys which were covered by a roof. There was no scenery back then so Shakespeare's actors could move freely across the stage. Costumes were often rich and impressive but were
Much Ado About Nothing - Little Humor
Much Ado About Nothing: Little Humor The happy resolution of Claudio and Hero's stormy courtship in Much Ado About Nothing is the primary reason for classifying the play as a comedy, but the scenes involving the young lovers contain little humor. Claudio and Hero are essentially static and stereotypical characters, creating no comedic moments on their own. Nevertheless, they are comedic simply because they are not tragic - their struggle to overcome the obstacles preventing their happiness is successful. Despite the destructive lies concocted by Don John and his follower, Borachio, Claudio and Hero's relationship triumphs and they can be married at the end of the play. Reconciliation and unity are the elements of their comedy; functional but not humorous. For authentic humor we look elsewhere, to the witty verbal exchanges between Beatrice and Benedick and the ineptitude of Dogberry and his companion, Verges. The "merry war" (1.1.62) between Beatrice and Benedick constitutes the verbal and intellectual comedic elements in the play. Their witty repartee begins in the first scene: Benedick: What, my dear Lady Disdain! are you yet living? Beatrice: Is it possible disdain should die while she hath such meet food to feed it as Signior Benedick? Courtesy itself must convert to disdain, if you come in her presence. Benedick: Then is courtesy a turncoat. But it is
Discuss the different kinds of humour in the play. Is it effective today?
Much Ado About Nothing Discuss the different kinds of humour in the play. Is it effective today? What is its purpose? Much ado about nothing is a comedy written by William Shakespeare. There are many kinds of humour in the play. The first kind of humour we come across is the skirmishes of wit between Beatrice and Benedick. Beatrice and Benedick are both sarcastic people and incidentally are sarcastic about each other. Sarcasm is a very good kind of humour, which is still effective to this day. Many people understand sarcasm and it's a good way of putting a point across. The main purpose of sarcasm is probably mockery. Sarcasm is usually used when you say something that you don't mean literally, the point of this particular sarcasm is to tell the audience that Beatrice and Benedick don't exactly see eye to eye and basically mock each other. Another kind of humour in the play we find as we go on is stupidity. This mainly is featured around Dogberry and Verges. Dogberry and Verges have a funny sort of relationship. Dogberry is the more intelligent of the two where as Verges is a little more on the dim side. The funny side here is that Dogberry isn't as clever as he thinks he is. He often uses long complicated words which actually make no sense "is most tolerable and not to be endured". In this quote Dogberry is talking about the watch talking and not paying attention to
The whole of Much Ado About Nothing depends on illusions and deceptions: they are the foundation of the world of the play.
The whole of Much Ado About Nothing depends on illusions and deceptions: they are the foundation of the world of the play. In light of this quotation, examine the ways in which Shakespeare explores illusions and deceptions, in Much Ado About Nothing. You should include in your answer an examination of Act I Scenes 2 and 3. Much of the play Much Ado About Nothing is based on illusions and deceptions. The foundation of each new issue in the play is based on either an illusion or a deception created by Shakespeare. There are many illusions in this play two of which I will be closely looking at. The first is the illusion of Claudio seeing Hero as a maid even though he doesn't actually know her well enough, which leads to the shaming scene and finally the joint illusion of Hero pretending to be dead. The second is the illusion where Antonio and Leonato misunderstand the motives of Don Pedro and think that Don Pedro intends to woo Hero for himself, therefore asking her hand in marriage. The deceptions in the play are that of Don John's deception by making Claudio believe that Don Pedro is wooing Hero for himself. The second is the self-deception of Dogberry who believes he is more intelligent and higher in status than he actually is, he does this using malapropisms. It is worth noticing that not only most of the illusions but also the deceptions are tragic, which arises the
MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING COURSEWORK
An exploration of how the play Much Ado About Nothing falls within the genre of comedy. Much Ado About Nothing is a play that Shakespeare wrote as a comedy for the Elizabethan audience. In this essay I am going to analyse and study the characters that provide comedy and the different aspects of comedy in the play. I will look at the language that makes the audience laugh and how it shapes one of the main themes, comedy. I am going to try to investigate what Shakespeare does and what methods and characters he uses to produce a comical feel to the play. The two sets of characters that offer comedy are Dogberry and Beatrice and Benedick. But what I am going to try and find out is what they do and how they do it, and how that makes the audience laugh. The most obvious source of comedy in the play is Dogberry and the Watch. These characters are quite ridiculous and give the audience plenty of laughs. When they are first introduced to the audience they are presented to give some comic relief after the unveiling of Don John's evil plan. This reoccurs throughout the play, as every time something tragic happens, Dogberry and the watch are in the next scene to provide some light hearted humour. The main comedy provider is Dogberry, who is the leader of the watch. He uses big words to look more superior but instead makes himself look foolish because he gets his words mixed up, "have
Much AdoAbout Nothing Essay - 'A Sparkling Comedy'
Much Ado About Nothing Essay 'A Sparkling Comedy' Much Ado About Nothing is clearly a classic comedy; lots of wit, puns, a group of stupid characters (Dogberry and the Watch) and although there are complications during the middle Acts, everything turns out right in the end. The first scene contains a lot of witty jokes and uses puns to show that right from the start of the play it is a comedy. Messenger: 'And a good soldier too, lady.' Beatrice: 'And a good soldier to a lady.' Beatrice and Benedick appear to have a 'teasing relationship'. They are both very witty characters and are often making jokes of each other. Beatrice: 'I pray you, is Signor Mountanto returned from the wars, or no?' The word montant is a fencing term and she implies that Benedick lives for fencing and not real fighting in a battle. She is mocking Benedick and confusing the messenger, as of course, there isn't really anyone called Signor Mountanto. Beatrice: 'But how many hath he killed? For I promised to eat all of his killing.' Again she is mocking Benedick as she is confident that Benedick will not have killed anyone and therefore she will not have to eat anyone. When Benedick enters, the mocking continues and it amuses others that watch. Benedick: 'Well you are a rare parrot-teacher.' Beatrice: 'A bird of my tongue is better than a beast of yours.' Benedick is teasing Beatrice by
In which ways does much ado about nothing display elements of both romantic comedy and tragedy?
In which ways does much ado about nothing display elements of both romantic comedy and tragedy? To answer the question it is necessary to explain and explore the different elements of tragedy and romantic comedy in the Shakespeare play "Much Ado About Nothing". Traditional conventions of an Elizabethan comedy include a rural or pastoral setting, which adds to the idyllic environment. Moreover this is a main aspect for a romantic comedy as it automatically gives the impression for a happy and blissful storyline. Moreover the play is set in Messina, Italy, that adds to the love theme. Many of Shakespeare's plays are set in Italy, for example Romeo and Juliet. . In Messina everything is perfect, tranquil and serene so with all this perfection it is perceived that nothing can ever go wrong, including relationships. In addition there is usually a pair of lovers, male and female, who are pestered by the malcontent. Furthermore there is always a happy ending in traditional Elizabethan romantic comedies. However different aspects of tragedy threaten this for instance Claudio's excessive behaviour and the malcontent in the play, Don John. The two main characters that add comic elements to the play are Dogberry and Verges. One reason for their inclusion is to break up the tragic scenes and reconfirm the comic aspects of the play. During the play Dogberry tries to be formal and
