Dogberry: ‘Marry, sir, they have committed false report; moreover they have spoke 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.’
Here, clearly, Dogberry is coming across as very foolish. He repeats himself numerous times and it actually doesn’t make much sense at all. He says ‘secondarily’ when it is his third point; ‘sixth and lastly’ when it is his forth point; he then goes back to say ‘thirdly’ when it is his fifth point before concluding with virtually exactly what he’s already said.
It is also extremely funny when Dogberry and the Watch are trying to interview Borachio and Conrade. Again, they make many verbal errors.
Dogberry: ‘Is our whole dissembly appeared?’ ( he actually means to say assembly but his mistake is rather unfortunate as the strange word he uses sounds like dissemble i.e. conceal or deceive which is just the opposite of what a court of law should be doing.)
Sexton: ‘Which be the malefactors?’
Dogberry: ‘Marry, that am I and my partner.’ (Dogberry thinks that ‘malefactors’ means prosecutors when it really means the opposite.)
Dogberry: ‘O villain! Thou wilt be cast into everlasting redemption for this. (He means ‘damnation’, yet again the opposite.)
These errors turn the whole interview into a complete mockery which is in fact very funny. Dogberry has no idea what he is saying and has turned everything upside down.
The part that is especially comical is when Dogberry is called an ass by Conrade. He is astounded by this and wants to make sure everyone remembers that he is an ass.
Dogberry: ‘... O that he were here to write me down an ass! But, masters, remember that I am an ass.... .... forget not that I am an ass.... O that I had been writ down an ass!’
Later on in Act Five, he brings the matter up again and makes sure that everyone clearly knows that he is an ass.
Dogberry: ‘...... do not forget to specify ... that I am an ass.’ ‘.... the offender, did call me an ass.’
When Dogberry is bidding farewell to Leonato he cannot do it lightly. He exaggerates it very much and ends up ‘rambling on’ for a whole speech. He uses a lot of repetition especially with the word ‘worship’. It again doesn’t make much sense but makes him look very foolish.
Dogberry: ‘I leave an arrant knave with your worship which I beseech your worship to correct yourself, for the example of others. God keep your worship! I wish your worship well. God restore you to health! I humbly give you leave to depart; and if a merry meeting may be wished, God prohibit it!’
Another aspect of the comedy of the play is the deception towards Beatrice and Benedick to trick them into falling in love with each other. It is Don Pedro’s plan, in which he hopes to entertain everyone in the time approaching the marriage.
Don Pedro: ‘...the time shall not go dully by us .... ... to bring Signor Benedick and Lady Beatrice into a mountain of affection, th’one with th’other.
The way Benedick is so gullible and somehow convinces himself that it is all true is very humorous.
Don Pedro: ‘...your niece Beatrice was in love with Signor Benedick?’
Benedick: ‘... Is’t possible? Sits the wind in that corner?’
The audience would know that it is all a trick so it would be very funny to watch. Benedick is getting more and more excited, when what they are saying isn’t really true.
Benedick: ‘I should think this a gull, but the white-bearded fellow speaks it.’
Benedick thinks that it could be a trick but the fact that Leonato is in on it sways him to believe that it is all true and that Leonato would not lie about this.
The scene in which they deceive Beatrice is also very amusing. Throughout earlier scenes Beatrice has shown that she doesn’t think much of Benedick by mocking him, yet she is just as gullible as Benedick and easily deceived.
Beatrice: ‘And Benedick, love on. I will requite thee, taming my wild heart to thy loving hand.’
The change of character in Benedick is also very comical. Just before he is deceived by his friends he has a long speech in which he declares he will never be in love and he will never marry.
Benedick: ‘One woman is fair, yet I am well; another is wise, yet I am well; another virtuous, yet I am well; but till all graces be in one woman, one woman shall not come in my grace.’
Then, after he has been deceived his whole attitude changes. He really believes that Beatrice loves him which in turn convinces him that he is in love with her.
Benedick: ‘...Here comes Beatrice. By this day, she’s a fair lady! I do spy some marks of love in her.’
What is even more comical is that when Beatrice comes to call Benedick for dinner, he thinks that her words have a double meaning and tries to turn what she says into evidence for her love for him.
Benedick: ‘Ha! ‘Against my will I am sent to bid you come in to dinner’- there’s a double meaning in that.’
The Elizabethan audience would’ve enjoyed the comedy in this play a great deal. They liked witty jokes and puns and there are a lot those in this play.
However, the play is not entirely made up of comedy scenes. There are many dark undertones to the story. For instance, Claudio’s character is sometimes rather unpleasant. He is a very weak character and can be fooled easily e.g. by Don John’s plans. Firstly he believes that Don Pedro is wooing Hero for himself. When he finds out he makes no attempt to win Hero back but just ‘bids farewell’ to her and lets her go.
Claudio: ‘Farewell therefore, Hero!’
Secondly, when he sees Borachio with Margaret and believes it to be Hero he does not speak to Hero about it first, but waits until the wedding so that he can take his revenge and humiliate her in front of everybody. This is extremely cruel of Claudio as he doesn’t even know whether what he has seen is true. If he is to be married to Hero then he should trust her and listen to her side of the story before jumping to conclusions. In Act Four, at the wedding his language is very harsh and his use of assonance works very well.
Claudio: ‘...Give not this rotten orange to your friend.’
The words rotten orange give the idea that although Hero may look sweet on the outside, inside she is rotten and sinful. It also gives the impression that she is disgusting for having slept with another man before being married. The use of assonance in ‘rotten orange’ makes it sound even stronger and emphasizes the angriness that Claudio is now feeling.
Claudio: ‘O what men dare do! What men may do! What men daily do, not knowing what they do!’
In this outburst Claudio uses a lot of repetition of the words ‘men’ and ‘do’. It brings out the harsh inner character of Claudio. He is waiting for the right moment in which he will disgust everyone by revealing what he thinks Hero has done.
Claudio: ‘...that rage in savage sensuality.’
The alliteration of the‘s’ sound is very effective in making you think of blood which he mentions earlier. The word ‘savage’ also sounds ruthless, like Claudio’s character which he brings out.
Claudio: ‘O Hero! What a Hero hadst thou been...’
Here he is mocking Hero by using her name in a pun. He means that she would have been a hero had she been as sweet in her ways as in her looks. He is extremely cruel to Hero.
Claudio’s attitude to Hero’s death is also rather unpleasant. He will not let them say that it was his fault that Hero died, because he believes that what he said was the truth. He wants to have nothing to do with it and does not apologize for his actions.
After Leonato and Antonio have left, and Benedick arrives, his mood immediately changes and he seems to have forgotten about the news of Hero’s death. He becomes cheerful and light-hearted which shows a lack of respect. He has paid very little attention to what he has heard.
Another dark undertone of the play is the malicious character of Don John. Being a bastard, and having far less grandeur than his brother makes him determined to ruin everyone’s lives, only through his own jealousy. His plans to ruin Hero and Claudio’s relationship work well as Claudio is such a weak and gullible character but they are still very spiteful. He even pays Borachio to woo Margaret so that Claudio will think it is Hero.
Don John: ‘You may think I love you not. Let that appear hereafter, and aim better at me by that I now will manifest....’
This shows that Don John is also a very duplicitous character. He pretends that what he is revealing to his brother and Claudio is out of love and he hopes that they will think better of him because he is telling them. In fact he is being very manipulative and just deceiving his brother and Claudio so that they think he has nothing to do with it.
Leonato also plays a part in the dark side of the play. When he hears what Hero has supposedly done, he does not listen to her story either. He immediately judges her for it and is so ashamed. Although he is her father he doesn’t seem to trust her at all.
Leonato: ‘...But mine and mine I loved and mine I praised and mine that I was proud on, mine so much that I myself was to myself not mine..’
He uses extreme repetition of the word ‘mine’ which gives the impression that he is thinking more of himself than his daughter. He doesn’t care how she is feeling but only worries about what she has done to his reputation and how she has ashamed him.
Leonato: ‘..To her foul tainted flesh!’
This is very harsh language which he uses to show his disgust of his daughter. He, like Claudio, describes Hero as disgusting and dirty for having done as they think she has.
Leonato: ‘...Hence from her, let her die!’
Here, Leonato declares that he is even prepared to leave her and let her die because he is so disgusted by her. This is a very harsh thing for a father to say as he should not be prepared to let his own daughter die when he doesn’t even know whether what she has supposedly done is true.
The Friar also appears to have strange character as even though he appears to believe Hero to be innocent,
Friar: ‘...I have marked a thousand blushing apparitions to start into her face, a thousand innocent shames in angel whiteness beat away those blushes;...’
he thinks it would be a good idea to pretend that she is dead so that people will take pity on her and excuse her of anything she was accused of.
Friar: ‘...She dying, as it must be so maintained , upon the instant that she was accused, shall be lamented, pitied, and excused of every hearer;..’
Lastly, I also think that Beatrice’s character is slightly sinister at one point in the play. In Act Four, when she and Benedick are alone together Benedick pronounces his love for her and they show much affection for each other.
Benedick: ‘...I protest I love thee.’
Beatrice: ‘I love you with so much of my heart that none is left to protest.’
The scene is very affectionate and we like what is happening between Benedick and Beatrice. Benedick says he will do anything for Beatrice.
Benedick: ‘Come, bid me do anything for thee.’
At this point the love scene is broken by the harsh words that then come from Beatrice’s mouth.
Beatrice: ‘Kill Claudio.’
The alliteration of the harsh ‘k’ sound makes the words even more severe. Also, the sharpness of the words and the fact that the sentence is so short makes them stand out and has a great effect especially in the middle of a love scene.
In conclusion, I think much of the play is filled with comical scenes and it is very amusing but we mustn’t forget that there are some dark undertones which add great effect and help to make it a play of such wonderful contrasts.
