A walk on the road

I saw a man and his son walk by. They made no sound as they drifted beside my shelter, more ghosts than people. The man began coughing and the boy seemed concerned, I saw no reason for this as my children had themselves a cold and splutterd the same as him. But when the coughing did not stop I crept forward to see the man fall, his child jumping to his side and hear a few scraped words uttered from man to son. Silently I moved back and returned to the main camp, leaving my covering beside the road, I slid under the blankets with my wife and said my nightly prayer. When morning came I was awoken by my wife who told me that the man and boy where still beside the road, though it seemed the man was dead. We decided that this was an opportunity from God, to save another life. I shouldered my shotgun and walked out to meet the boy.

Much ado about nothing - imaginary scene Dogberry at the pub

Write a short scene involving Dogberry, Verges and the Watch immediatly after the Watch have arrested Borachio and Conrade. Include missundersandings, dramatic irony, malapropisms (otherwise known as dogberryism) and farce.


scene opens, Dogberry and verges are at a table along with members of the Watchmen, Borachio and Conrade are also present, however they are being carried by the watchmen.

Dogberry- Members of the watch, why are you at this place? (to Verges) where are we?

Watchman 1- I've just arrested a villain so I have.

Watchman 2- No I've just arrested a villain.

Watchman 3- No we've arrested two peoples suspected of appropriate activity.

Dogberry- Truly you people are drunk, well masters I think you must go to your homes before those sirs in
fancy cuffs arrest you.

Verges- I think those are the people they've arrested...

Dogberry- What have you done you, you highbrow's!

Watchman 2- we were conducting are busy ness as you sayed and then these two appeared shouting slander at the Princes brother.

Watchman 3- and there was somehting about someones Hero.

Dogberry- so they were slandering the Princes brother by calling him their Hero?

Watchman 1- Yes.

Watchman 3- No.

Watchman 2- Maybe.

Verges- What happend?

Dogberry- Well its simple these idiots arrested the two gentlemen there for calling the Princes brother their hero and that one thinks that it's salimander. Verges unarrest these men and say sorry.

Watchman 3- No thats not what happend.

Watchman 2- And he called you an ass!

Dogberry- He did what?

Watchman 1- The fat one called you an ass constable.

Dogberry- Thats it, lets string em up here.

Verges- But thats against the law sir.

Dogberry- (to Verges) There comes a time, sir when we must take the law into our own hands.

Borachio- Constable if you wouldent mind my interupting.

Dogberry- Yes I would mind your trumpeting.

Borachio- I can't trumpet you ass, just let me speak.

Verges- You will not use the Constables ass as a trumpet.

Conrade- (to Borachio) just let it go they wont hang us, they're too stupid.

Watchman 1- we are not stupid sir.

Dogberry- First you call me an ass, now you call all of us stupid. I was wrong to call you a Gentleman sir, you sir, are a bastard.

Verges- (to dogberry) Sir calm down, we will take him to the court.

Dogberry- Yes i will not lever myself to his level.

Watchman 2- Does that mean we have to carry them there too?

Watchman 1- Yea they're legs are'nt working

Verges- It looks like they do.

Dogberry- Sirs by the grace of god there legs are working now, now get them there.

exeunt

Much ado about nothing - Act 3 scene 3 - Malaprpism, idiocy and farce

over veiw of scene - Dogberry tells all of the watchmen to command people to stop in the name of the prince, bt to be thankfull if the person runs off as it would be better for the watchmen not to come into contact with such rude people. Dogberry commands all of the watchmen to allow peopel they suspect of being theifs to go without question so that the theif may steal something and thus the watchman be proven correct. Finally Dogberry tells all of the watcmen to arrest the prince if they see him but to let him go if he doesnt like being arrested. Later Conrade and Borachio apppear and confess to their roles in destroying Hero's image infornt of the watchmen, the watchmen then arrest the two because they think that the two look funny.

Much ado about nothing - recipe for Don John

why did I choose Don John?
I chose the character of Don John as he is the catalyst for trouble in the play, shakespear could have waited for a more comical bad guy to appear in the play but instead placed Don John who would be more suited to a tradegy than a comedy, his character seems to show that of someone who is under appriciated and has turned against those he once was loyal to in retalliation. I think Don John could have been a more developed character that even shakespeare uses without fulfilling the characters potential.

What was my first impression of the character?
my first impression of Don John was that of a mysterious unknown, his character appeared with Don Pedro but seemed lacking in depth and speach, maybe this is because he knew his words would carry no weight, or maybe he was harbouring sme deep resentment at those of the company at the time.

Quotations and what they suggest:

DON JOHN
"I wonder that thou (being, as thou say'st thou art, born
under Saturn) goest about to apply a moral medicine to a
mortifying mischief. I cannot hide what I am: I must be sad when
I have cause, and smile at no man's jests; eat when I have
stomach, and wait for no man's leisure; sleep when I am drowsy,
and tend on no man's business; laugh when I am merry, and claw no man in his humour."

this qoute shows the life that Don John leads, he has to follow his brother through any conquest he is given, he must pretend to laugh and smile at things of bad taste, eat at feasts that hold nothing but ridicule for him. this littel speech shos how Don John believes himself to be under appriciated and used for the amusment of the other charaters in the play.

DON JOHN
"The word is too good to paint out her wickedness. I could say
she were worse; think you of a worse title, and I will fit her to
it. Wonder not till further warrant. Go but with me to-night, you
shall see her chamber window ent'red, even the night before her
wedding day. If you love her then, to-morrow wed her. But it
would better fit your honour to change your mind"

this quote shows how much Don John believes his word would be taken into the trust of Claudio and Don Pedro, this is because Don John the princes own brother has to set forth borachio onto margaret so that his word may be proven to the two who should (if they trusted him and his station) have taken his word as truth to begin with.

DON JOHN
"I thank you. I am not of many words, but I thank you."

this quote could show to other characters in the play the humility of Don John and how his charater is quiet and humbeld by the people around him. However the quote could be showing that Don John knows what he is going to do and does not want any drawn out conversations which could draw him into the light of the scheme that he sets in place to ridicule his brother and claudio.

DON JOHN
"Sir, they are spoken, and these things are true."

this quote shows how much weight Don Johns words would have carried had he been trusted by Don Pedro and Claudio to begin with, also that he knew when Beatrice was about to come forth with some evidence on the contrary with his own.

BORACHIO
"Marry, it is your brother's right hand."
DON JOHN
"Who? the most exquisite Claudio?"
BORACHIO
"Even he."
DON JOHN
"A proper squire!"

This quote shows the contempt Don John held for Claudio who was trusted and treated as Don Pedros favourite, this position should have been Don Johns as he was Don Pedros brother, this could have been the reason that he puts in place the plan o get rid of hero and destroy the spirit of Claudio in order to claim his rightful place.

what ingredients would I use to explain this character?
-green food colouring to represent his envy and jealousy of Claudio
-expencive chocolate to represent how he could be liked and how he is rich
-marhmellows to represent how he looks nice from the outside
-green or red liquorice laces to represent the maddness he harbours and the tanged nature of his emotions and position

Much ado about nothing - Benedictus Act 3 scene 4

How has Beatrice changed in this scene from her previous behaviour? Identify two sexual jokesthe girls make in this scene.

During this scene Beatrice has mellowed and is presented as being ill, although Hero and Margaret are shown to believe that this illness is the same as Benedicks, that she is only appearing ill to hide her new found emotions towards the character of Benedick.

joke 1 - "Twill be heavier soon by the weight of a man."
joke 2 - "A maid and stuffed! There's a goodly catch of a cold."

the sexual jokes made by Margaret shows a steriotypical veiw of the lower class, this veiw presents them as being more down to earth and bawdy compared to other members of the play, the first sexual joke also fore shadows Hero's guilt over her ruined marrage, her heart heavy as she believes that the fault is hers for Claudio's out burst during the wedding.


What is the "Cardius Benedictus" referred to in the scene? And what does Beatrice think this means?

Cardius Benedictus is a herbal remedy used to cure illness, however Beatrice took the offering as an offence as her character would have seen it as a cure to her love sickness over benedick with him being the cure, tis links to earlier in the play when Benedick is asked to come insde by Beatrice and believe's that she took great troubles to see him while in reallty she had not.


Are we decieved by Mararets humour?

Margarets humour was used as a ploy to make the audience of he play forget about Claudio and Don Pedro's pact to ruin the marrige, Margaret is used as a comic relief keeping theplay comedical and light hearted, her part in the scene would build pon the comic aspects show by Dogberry and he watchmen the scene before, however after two scene's of comedy by contrast the tradegy of the wedding scene would be worse than if it had not had a light hearted build up.

Much ado about nothing - Leonato's Hero, your Hero, every man's Hero

How does Don Johns choice of language make the impact of Caudios revelation about Hero all the more devastating?

Don John's choice of langage is very blunt, "Leonato's Hero, your Hero, every man's Hero" thus implying rather forcefully that Hero had been and continues to be "disloyal" to Claudio. This way of telling Claoudio would be all the more devastating as the character could either accept the word of Don Pedros brother while before him, or believe in Hero and potentially have Don Pedro try to step in.

Much ado about nothing - Benedick's change in appearance

Act 3 Scene 2
line 41 Claudio - No, but the barbers man hath been seen with him and the old ornament of his cheek hath already stuffed tennis-balls.
line 51 Claudio - And when was he wont to wash his face.

According to Claudio and Don Pedro how has Benedick changed since we last saw him? How does Benedick explain the change in his behaviour?

Claudio and Don Pedro state that they believe Benedick to be strangely dressed in comparison to his usual garb, that he does no look himself and is instead wearing "strange disguises". The characters comment on how Benedick must not know what to be " a Duchman today, a Frenchman tomorrow" thus poking fun at him. The characters of Caudio and Bnedick also take great pains in describing his facial appearance and his smell, the character of Claudio is shown to say "the old ornament of his cheek hath already stuffed tennis-balls" meaning that he has been shaved of his beard, while Don Pedro is shown to comment on Benedicks scent "Nay, 'a rubs himself with civet; can you smell him out by that?" with civet being a kind of perfume. From what we are told by the two characters we find that the Benedick who was highly strung and adorned with a beard has gone, leaving a fancily dressed, well shaved, man who is in love with Beatrice.

Benedick however complains to the charaters levying these acusations agianst him that he is mearly sufferng from a "toothache" and that he needs not their attention, though this is a ploy to get the other character to leave him alone so that he could pursue Beatrice.