Much ado Flashcards
‘Can the world buy such a jewel?’
When
Who
What
Act 1 Scene 1 Claudio talking about Hero Metaphor Rhetorical question Jewels look expensive and pretty and shiny but could be really bad quality, shows how superficial Claudio is
Claudio
Buy - Elizabethan women were ‘brought’ from their fathers by their husbands
Claudio objectifies hero and only values her for her appearance
‘You always end in a jade’s trick’
When
Who
What
Act 1 Scene 1
Beatrice talking to Benedick
Infers that they know each other, maybe something happened in the past between them.
In modern horseback a jade’s trick is when a horse, while moving, stops abruptly to dislodge a rider. This happens when a horse is tired or anxious.
Figuratively, Beatrice means that Benedick is lamely dropping out of the battle of wits because he’s anxious that he can’t keep up.
‘I would rather be a canker in his hedge than a rose in his grace’
When
Who
What
Act 1 Scene 3
Don John
Canker - can be painful and lethal but small injuries that form over years
Don john is saying that he would rather wait and just be a small painful part of don pedro’s life then even try and be nice to him for one second. He would rather wait and cause him pain over time then try to be civil with don pedro
Don John chooses the role of disruption, to “be a canker in a hedge,” the ugliness which stands out from everything around it as ill formed and out of place.
‘I had rather hear my dog bark at a crow than a man swear he loves me.’
When
Who
What
Act 1 Scene 1
Beatrice
The preference for dogs barking over words of love is hyperbole that emphasises Beatrice’s negative opinion about love and marriage
“O, she is fallen Into a pit of ink”
When
Who
What
Act 4 Scene 1 Leonato talking about Hero Metaphor - tainted and ruined, corrupted by her sin. Hero has ‘fallen’ into sin. She has been stained
Context
In the Elizabethan era men were considered more important and trustworthy than women. Even at the beginning, Don Pedro and Leonato joke about Hero being his daughter. In Act 4 Leontao believes Don Pedro over his own daughter because of statues and the inequality between genders.
‘His words are a very fantastical banquet’
When
Who
What
Act 2 Scene 3
Benedick talking about Claudio
This Metaphor is mocking Claudio for how his superficial love for the hero has changed him, and that he is now using the courtly love language. Shakespeare could be using Benedick to push his opinions about courtly love and the overcomplicated “sprezzatura” way of speaking. Ironically, later on after benedick is gulled about Beatrice being in love with him, he does the same and changes himself to a more romantic courtly version
Claudio is indeed the most romantic and sensitive of the soldiers now that he is captivated by Hero.
‘Most foul, most fair’
When
Who
What
Act 4 Scene 1
Claudio describing Hero
Claudio saying hero looks ‘fair’ but inside is ‘foul’ highlighting how he only loved her based on appearance.
‘Give not this rotten orange to your friend’
When
Who
What
Act 4 Scene 1
Claudio talking to Leonato about Claudio
Rejecting Hero because he believes she’s no longer a virgin, Claudio compares her to a piece of spoiled fruit.
Rotten orange - a fresh sweet orange has been turned rotten, connotes with loss of virginity .
Context
Actresses would sell oranges after the theatre to show they were a prostitute.
The play is set in Messina, Siciily and the mention of oranges reminds us of where it is set as Sicily is famous for its blood orange
‘Some Cupid kills with arrows, some with traps’
When
Who
What
Act 3 Scene 1
Hero talking
Shakespeare is noting that deception can be used for good (like with beatrice and benedick), and that love sometimes has to be caught for it to be noticed.
‘Leonato’s Hero, your Hero, every man’s Hero’
When
Who
What
Act 3 Scene 2
Don John
Hero is an especially easy target because she herself has said so little; it takes very few words to completely undo her. Don John takes advantage of the flimsy idealization of “every man’s Hero” and plants a new seed in Claudio’s mind: the possibility of disloyalty that Claudio has already proven all too willing to believe.
Don john is also using word play since hero also means like a saviour and it’s like she’s being the opposite of her name by not saving herself for claudio
Context
Relates to how women were just passed around like objects in the Elizabethan era. There is also a reference to the way women were essentially sold to their husbands by their fathers as he says ‘Leonatos’ then ‘your’ followed by ‘everyman’
Basic context points for much ado
Women like objects
Women owned by their fathers or husbands
Class was important
Deceptive behaviour is mirror in Elizabeth court
Women had to be virgins until they were married
Cuckold
Detailed context for cuckoldery
Cuckoldry is brought up when a woman is accused of being unfaithful to her man, thus potentially leaving him looking like a fool.
In the play, the men’s constant joking about marriage and cuckoldry can be seen as a passive aggressive way of revealing their anxieties about marriage. Women have the ability to dishonour men through cuckoldry; the men’s fears of cuckoldry reflect how much they are uncomfortable with this power.
Cuckold quote (3)
When
Who
What
‘if ever the sensible Benedick bear it, pluck off the bull’s horns and set them in my forehead: and let me be vilely painted’
Act 1 Scene 1
Benedick
He hopes he is too sensible to be married however if the time ever comes he knows he would have horns, meaning he knows he would end up a cuckold
‘In time the savage bull doth bear the yoke.’
Act 1 Scene 1
Don Pedro to Benedick
Metaphor
Referring to marriage as restricting like a yoke (a burden)
Don Pedro has gained lots of experience during his life, making him mature enough to know that even a savage bull can be tamed. Don Pedro also knows that as men mature their way of thinking changes. Life experience makes a person wiser.
This foreshadows the end of the play when Claudio teases him for looking nervous
‘he thinks upon the savage bull. Tush, fear not, man; we’ll tip thy horns with gold’
Claudio
Act 5 Scene 4
His friends will make sure his horns are gold so he will not look foolish
DOGBERRY
