Quote: “What should I do with him—dress him in my apparel and make him my waiting

gentlewoman? He that hath a beard is more than a youth, and he that hath no beard is less
than a man; and he that is more than a youth is not for me, and he that is less than a man, I
am not for him.”-Beatrice
Method: rhetorical question, anaphora of the word ‘man’ and ‘me’
Effect: Beatrice uses the rhetorical question to express why she doesn’t want to get married
because no man is a perfect match for her. that s She does not accept a man who does not
have a beard straight after she mocks men who have beards. This highlights the theme of
social grace as Beatrice continuously insults men with her wit in order to keep her reputation
since she bases it off her wit. This anaphora of the words ‘man’ and ‘me’ emphasises the
fact that Beatrice considers herself as an honorable woman that should not be tied up in a
relationship with anyone since she is not satisfied with any menof them, and is afraid that
they would not be able to bear her mocks. This also challenges the theme of deception
because even though at the start of the story, Beatrice thinks that she would live on as a
bachelor, soon, she begins to fall in love with Benedick and eventually marries him willingly.
Later, Benedick shaves his beard when he falls in love with her.

Quote: “They say the lady is fair. ‘Tis a truth, I can bear them witness. And virtuous—’tis so, I
cannot reprove it. And wise, but for loving me. By my troth, it is no addition to her wit—nor no
great argument of her folly, for I will be horribly in love with her.”-Benedick
Method: soliloquy
Effect: Benedick has just overheard Claudio, Leonato, and Don Pedro discussing Beatrice’s
fabricated love for him. Alone on the stage, he ponders this news and concludes that the
best thing for him to do is to return this love: “for I will be horribly in love with her” (II.iii.208).
This line produces a comical effect, as it seems preposterous that someone would fall
“horribly” in love with another person after simply weighing that person’s virtues. The choice
of the word “horribly” accentuates the comic aspects of Benedick’s decision. Not only does
he return her love, but he does so to the point of overthrowing her, and all others in his
midst, with love. The choice of “horribly” could also echo a bit of the merry war Beatrice and
Benedick have been fighting with their wits. There has always existed an element of
competition between them. It is not enough for Benedick to reciprocate Beatrice’s passions;
he must outdo them, perhaps in order to unseat her and win the competition. The actor
playing Benedick has a number of choices in performing this soliloquy: he can reveal that he
has always been in love with Beatrice but is in denial about his true feelings and therefore
must go through the motions of weighing the pros and cons of loving her in a rational
manner. Or he can simply treat this moment as one more parry in the thrusts and blows of
their “merry war” and conclude that the only way to win is to surpass her, even in love.

Quote: “O Hero! What a Hero hadst thou been

If half thy outward graces had been placed
About thy thoughts and counsels of thy heart!
But fare thee well, most foul, most fair, farewell”-Claudio
Method:Method: repetition

Effect: Claudio has just openly rebuked Hero at their wedding ceremony, throwing her back
to Leonato, her father. He believes that she has not only been unfaithful to him but has lost
her virginity, and therefore her purity and innocence, to someone else before her marriage.
Claudio’s belief is the result of Don John’s evil plot to deceive him and make him lose Don
Pedro’s goodwill. These lines demonstrate Shakespeare’s ability to fill a speech with double
meanings and wordplay through repetition. For instance, “Hero” appears twice in the first
line, changing meaning the second time. The first time, Claudio addresses his former beloved
directly. The second time, Claudio compares “Hero” to an ideal conqueror of his heart, as
classical heroes conquered and won great battles. Yet Hero has lost her heroic qualities. “Fare
thee well most foul, most fair, farewell” plays with repetition and opposites: the sound of the
word “fair” is repeated three times in the space of one line, underscoring Claudio’s despair at
discovering that Hero’s outward beauty or fairness conceals a “foul” spirit, as he thinks.

There might also be some play on the double meanings of “fair”—as beautiful, and as
balanced and true. In Claudio’s eyes, Hero is not only no longer “fair,” meaning beautiful
(she is “foul”), but she is also no longer “fair,” meaning truthful, but is its opposite, false or
dissembling. Both the combination of “fair” and “foul” in the same line and “pure impiety
and impious purity” in the following line demonstrate a rhetorical technique Shakespeare is
famous for using in his plays: antithesis, or the combining of paradoxical opposites in one
line for emphasis. Moments in which characters spout antitheses usually occur at the height
of passion. For Claudio to use these particular opposites to describe his frustration with
Hero’s seemingly fair exterior and false and foul interior reveals that he is livid with rage and
driven to despair.

Quote: “Thou pure impiety and impious purity.

For thee I’ll lock up all the gates of love,
And on my eyelids shall conjecture hang
To turn all beauty into thoughts of harm,
And never shall it more be gracious.”-Claudio
Method: antithesis, metaphor, dramatic tension
Effect: Shakespeare’s usage of antithesis emphasises the theme of deception. Even after
Hero attempts to explain herself, Claudio continuously lays a blind eye to the truth and
assumes the worst. His only desire is to maintain his good reputation even though that
means disrespecting Hero and running ruining her’s. Through this metaphor, Claudio
expresses that he will never be able to trust love and marriage the same way again. This is
the turning point of this character since before Borachio’s plot worksed, Claudio has always
been a young man who is desperate for affection, and he also could not wait for the day of
the wedding. This also displays the theme of social grace because Claudio chooses to make
the revelation of Hero’s ‘infidelity’ in front of the public instead of dealing with it privately. This
is because he does not want to be remembered as a ‘cuckhold’.

Quote: “You seem to me as Dian in her orb,

chaste as is the bud ere it be blown.
But you are more intemperate in your blood
Than Venus, or those pampered animals
That rage in savage sensuality.”-Claudio
Method: Animal imagery, classical allusion, dramatic irony, angry tone, contrast
Effect: Claudio uses this classical allusion to compare Hero as looking like Dian, the
goodness of the moon and chastity, but the fact is a woman that actually resembles Venus,
the goodness of sexual love. This showcases the theme of deception since Claudio has
been deceived by the darkness of the night and Borachio’s plan into believing that Hero has
been unfaithful towards him. This classical allusion explores the theme of gender roles and
expresses the superiority of the male gender through explaining Claudio’s abilities and
power to humiliate Hero without ruining his own reputation. This also expresses that women
has a low status during the Elizabethan era and their words are not usually taken seriously.

Quote: “What should I say? I’ve been dishonored: I arranged for a friend of mine to marry a
common whore.”-Claudio
Method: rhetorical question, angry tone, dramatic pause
Effect: The rhetorical question expresses Claudio’s anger towards Hero’s infidelity. Since
Claudio sees social grace as an important quality, he did does not want to ruin his reputation
by being called a ‘cuckhold’, ; therefore, he decides to ruin Hero’s reputation in order to save
his own. Shakespeare creates dramatic pause to explain to the readers that Claudio values
his social status highly, and desperately wants to keep being considered an honorable man
by the others around him. That’s why instead of trusting the words of Hero, he decides to
listen to his friends instead and proceeds to to deny refuse to marry her in front of the whole
assembly. This dramatic pause also highlights the theme of gender roles, and the fact that
the male gender is more important during the Elizabethan era since everyone immediately
takes Claudio’s side despite Hero’s explanations.

Quote: “I had rather be a canker in a hedge than a rose in his grace, and it better fits my
blood to be disdained of all than to fashion a carriage to rob love from any.”-Don John
Method: jealous tone, angry tone, metaphor
Effect: This metaphor displays Don John’s jealousy towards his brother Don Pedro. This
foreshadows his various attempts to try to destroy Claudio’s wedding because Claudio is
one of Don Pedro’s closest friends who helps him to win the battle. This metaphor also
showcases the theme of honor, as Don John is the illegitimate brother, which means that he
does not receive the same amount of power as his brother Don Pedro, and he does not have
a good reputation, especially after losing the battle against Don Pedro and having to become
friends with him again. Don John’s usage of an angry tone contributes to the tense
atmosphere since many people have already been deceived by the intended marriage and
Don Pedro and Claudio’s plan.

Quote: “You are a villain. I jest not. I will make it good how you dare, with what you dare, and
when you dare. Do me right, or I will protest your cowardice.”-Benedick
Method: anaphora/repetition of the word ‘dare’, dramatic irony
Effect: This dramatic irony expresses the theme of deception. Since Benedick has to prove
he does love Beatrice, he decides to stand on her side and try to prove Hero’s innocence by
dueling with Claudio. Although what he does not know is the fact that Claudio has actually
been deceived by Don John’s plan. This dramatic irony also showcases the theme of gender
roles, ; it demonstrates to the readers that males are able to fight for their honor and
reputation during the Elizabethan era, but women are not able to get themselves out of
sticky situations since they have a low status, which also shows so everyone takes a male’s
words against a female’s. The use of anaphora in this quote challenges the fact that
Benedick is extremely annoyed at Claudio’s behavior and does not believe that his own best
friend would be desperate enough to humiliate the woman he loves and cares for in front of
the whole Messina.