Some other characters particularly the men are seen in a bad light. Claudio’s friend Don Pedro supports Claudio. His behaviour is dramatic and cruel and this destroys his reputation as well as feeling dishonoured and is shown as believing men not women. Don Pedro joins in the public humiliation and in Shakespeare’s time this would have been very important as women were expected to be virgins at marriage or they would be considered soiled goods. Joining in the public humiliation Don Pedro uses harsh language: “ I stand dishonoured that have gone about/To link my friend to a common stale” and he believes Claudio. This behaviour to many of the audience would have been very surprising because he was known as a gentle, noble and forgiving person, when he entered the play. Now he is shown as a cruel and harsh man who dishonours Hero and believes in Claudio, because of his honour and status in society, he was able to forgive Don John but not Hero. While this is happening Don John keeps quiet because he doesn’t want to be suspected.
Leonato’s behaviour is also striking and outrageous and because of his status in society as a man he chooses to believe Claudio and his friend Don Pedro. Once Leonato finds out what Claudio is speaking of he goes against his daughter and does not believe what she says. He has trust in the two princes and therefore does not think they would lie to him and so believes them. Leonato feels hurt and furious at what he has heard and in this line, speaks how he feels, “Hence from her, let her die”. This feeling towards his daughter shows the anger inside him and he behaves in a manner of most hatred. On line 102 Leonato speaks “Hath no man’s dagger here a point for me?” Here he is asking for a sword wishing he could kill himself, or Hero and seek revenge for what has happened. Leonato is more concerned like many men about his honour than much else and Hero is a possession of his that is to be traded in marriage, not something that he loves and treasures. He also shows extreme imagery and doesn’t show fatherly love. Leonato uses the word ‘mine’ 9 times throughout and uses it mostly from lines 127 to 131. He is different here as he really reveals how he feels about Hero. He talks about her being a possession that is tradable and sellable, and that she was a part of him, but he has no concern but himself. The thing that is most important to him is his honour, reputation and status in society.
Other characters are revealed in a more positive light. Running alongside the Hero/Claudio break up is the Beatrice and Benedick relationship. When they both reveal the love they have for each other, Beatrice asks Benedick to kill Claudio after the way he accused Hero of losing her virginity. Benedick refuses to do this, but has to make a choice between his friends and his love. From this, the audience is drawn to Beatrice and supports ‘Hero’, Beatrice wants to take action. Benedick’s choice to fight but not kill Claudio differs greatly from Claudio’s choice, which was to go with his friends and not believe Hero. This reveals Benedick to a very different person from Claudio and Don Pedro, he is one who thinks things through, doesn’t rush into things and treads carefully. By doing this, Benedick’s character is brought out in a different light from what we saw of him at the beginning where he was happy, jolly and absolutely detested Beatrice, now he is a more serious, gentle and thoughtful person with a purpose to make the right decision. Benedick does not take sides and because of this, he thinks before he speaks. While watching this angry and physical argument, Benedick studies each of the main people in turn. He suspects Don John, who automatically takes the side of Claudio and does not argue with Hero, but keeps quiet throughout. He knows that Hero is telling the truth and by knowing this asks her whether she really did it, her answer is no, he now knows that something evil is happening and someone has set her up, he guesses Don John has something to do with it and tries to find out more.
After the three princes have left and the Friar Francis has listened to all that has been said, he comes up with a plan of which is very dramatic and a rather dangerous one. The plan could end in death where comedy turns into tragedy a bit like the plan used in Romeo and Juliet, which went terribly wrong and ended in tragedy. This kind of plan makes the audience feel uneasy because of the outcome, good or bad. The plan is to act as if Hero has died from shock instantly because of what she has been accused of. Hero is indifferent to this, she says hardly anything, and this shows the uncertainty of it all. Hero faints, which worries Beatrice because of fear she could be dead. However Friar Francis looks and listens to Hero and prevents any more action happening. The idea of this plan is to make Claudio, Don Pedro and Leonato, the three men, who disbelieved her, feel bad about what they said, and start to forget her bad ways and remember her in different ways. This way, they will forgive her for what she has done and her reputation will be cleansed.
Many of the major themes in this play are brought into this scene and give it a more serious than comic storyline. The characters, to express their feelings, use the major themes of honour, love and deception and judging on appearances gives it a dramatic feel. Honour is used in the storyline by mainly the men, Claudio, Leonato and Don Pedro, who take on the behavior of men who believe honour is a part of their status in society. Claudio’s honour is shown when he accuses Hero of betraying him the night before. He uses strong and powerful language and tries to prove her guilt. This particular line prior to leaving the scene tells us how he now feels after what has happened, “But fare thee well, most foul, most fair, farewell. Thou pure impiety purity, for thee I’ll back up the gates of love”. Don Pedro agrees and believes Claudio because he is his friend. This shows that if Don Pedro had not believed Claudio he would not be showing honour by believing Hero instead. Leonato, Hero’s father is known through the play up until this scene to be a kind, gentle character who wishes for nothing more other than his daughter to be happy. However in this scene a dramatic change in the character of Leonato appears and much fury comes around him. Leonato’s honour is important to him like it is to the other characters but especially it is important to him because he feels horrified at the thought of what his daughter has done and is aware of what it could do to him. He does not believe his daughter and is outraged at what has happened; this is shown in the scene by his fuming behavior and furious language towards Hero who at this point does not know what is happening and why she’s being tormented by these men, in particular Leonato and Claudio. Hearing this language and enraged behavior from Leonato and Claudio, the audience see a complete change around in both characters behavior, this is called ‘volte face’. Love is tested greatly in this scene between a few of the major characters, Beatrice and Benedick and between Hero and Claudio. Deception is also dealt with in the scene through many of the characters that are unaware of Don John’s plan, although the Friar Francis, Beatrice and Benedick all believe that Hero is not guilty and that something is not quite right. Beatrice and Benedick may have long been enemies in the past but this scene however brings them closer together. Beatrice, as a woman must be careful in what she says and does and in this part of the play you see a different and stronger image of her. Benedick sees this and proves his love to her by his sword and hearing this Beatrice does the same. However love is tested in their relationship when Beatrice asks Benedick to kill Claudio after he has bid to do anything for her. Benedick does not accept this, but promises to have a duel against him. The love between Hero and Claudio is tested greatly because of deception on both of them, yet they do not know it. Claudio truly believes that what he saw the night before was Hero and does not deny it. Hero however pleads innocent to these charges made against her. The characters in this deceive themselves and this is what makes it so dramatic and powerful. It’s also about making and trusting judgements and judging on the appearances of other people and this is what the characters have done and they have made it difficult for themselves.
Conflict is relied on in this scene, which is vital for successful theatre, so that the audience can engage on the different characters. Trickery, which has been fun, turns sour and resentful. Language is extreme and the theme of love is turned upside down. The scene can be played with a lot of physical violence, at speed and with a lot of noise. There is some hope at the end but there is still the possibility of something going wrong. The audience might still be uneasy and very angry at certain characters such as Don John and maybe Claudio or Leonato because of the way they treat Hero. The role of conflict in the scene changes the mood of the whole play and it becomes a severe and wicked game of deceit and judgement. The idea of playing tricks on Claudio and Don Pedro may sound fun at the beginning but at the basis of it all is pure evil and dishonesty, which makes it an engaging scene. The violence, speed and noise of the scene bring it alive by showing the characters in a more cruel and harsh attitude. From seeing this scene there is hope and disbelieve from the audience about what the outcome maybe of Hero and the other characters.
The structural changes in the scene are important and this is no more a comical play with comical feelings, but a serious play, with serious feelings. The scene begins in blank verse spoken by Claudio and Leonato to express their feelings, where as at the end of the scene it moves to prose, which is spoken more, by Benedick and Beatrice. With Benedick and Beatrice speaking in prose it brings out the relationship and sets up the contrast between them and the others. The chilling moment when Beatrice demands Benedick to kill his friend Claudio is isolated on one line, the whole passage and makes it very sudden. This has a modern audience with a vital link of loyalty, friendship and being put to the test and everyone can relate to his horrible choice and having to make decisions in life. Beatrice is no longer shown as a merely witty and amusing but as a powerful protagonist, who wants to take action against Claudio for what he has done to Hero. From here on the play is more serious but still has the comical image. It shows how characters can change so suddenly from acting one way to another and this has a big effect on the audience watching the play.
Everything in this entire scene is a vital part of the play, which brings it alive with the characters behaviour and subtle language. If Leonato had listened to Dogberry in the first place before the scene took place, his rejection of Hero would not have happened, however without this scene the play would have been quite boring and not so exciting. I think that Don John’s character was portrayed well, to give you the sense of hatred or evil, the plan he thought up was one, that would be most loathed by the male characters of Claudio, Don Pedro and Leonato and the general community at the wedding. It is surprising that Benedick is listed as one of the men who feel honour is more important than friends and love. In fact he is the reverse, he does not care much about honour and reputation, but more about his friends and his love for Beatrice. I feel quite strongly about the vengeance and revenge that Beatrice has towards Claudio for suspecting Hero of doing such an evil thing. As she is so close to Hero, she feels that anyone who could hurt Hero in such a way should be punished severely; such is the proposal to Benedick to kill Claudio. However she has to be careful because, she is only Hero’s cousin and being a woman, she could lose her home and family, if she were to react with vengeance.
I think this scene is brought alive very much, in that strong, physical behavior is used as well as the powerful language in which the characters speak. It portrays each character in a way that you don’t expect and gives them a different identity. Hero is one of the few characters who doesn’t change her character, but still keeps her honest, innocent, gentle loving behavior in tact. The men have the strongest change in character and it takes a while for the audience to get used to it because their language and behaviour changes.