Studies in Shakespeare Fall 2018 

Prof. Christina M. Squitieri  September 12th, 2018  

Much Ado About Nothing Act I

 
“I am loved of all ladies, only you excepted; and I would I could find in my heart that I had not a 
hard heart, for truly I love none”
 
A Brief Summary of Act I 
● The play opens in Messina, Italy, as Prince Don Pedro returns from war to the 
house of wealthy nobleman Leonato, whose beautiful niece (Beatrice) and 
daughter (Hero) reside with him 
● Among the other men coming back are decorated soldier Count Claudio and 
obstinate, witty gentleman Benedick 
● Sharp-tongued Beatrice and Benedick (re)engage in witty repartée, a “merry 
war” (1.1.60) 
● Benedick swears up and down he will never marry, while shy Claudio pines for 
the virtuous Hero; Don Pedro offers to disguise himself as Claudio and declare 
love for Hero in Claudio’s stead at a forthcoming Costume Ball 
● Later in Scenes II and III, a servant mis-reports to Leonato that it is Don Pedro 
who desires Hero’s love, and the sulky Don John plots sabotage against Claudio 
Act I Scene I in Performance 
● Much Ado About Nothing​ (1993) dir. Kenneth Branagh 
Close Reading Selection 
BENEDICK: But I hope you have no intent to turn husband, have  
you? 
CLAUDIO: I would scarce trust myself, though I had  
sworn the contrary, if Hero would be my wife. 
BENEDICK: Is ’t come to this? In faith, hath not the 
world one man but he will wear his cap with 
suspicion? Shall I never see a bachelor of threescore 
again? Go to, i’ faith, an thou wilt needs thrust 
thy neck into a yoke, wear the print of it, and sigh 
away Sundays.  (1.1.189-198) 
What’s Going On Here? 
● On the literal plane, Benedick asks Claudio of his intent to marry Hero. 
Claudio’s reply is unsure, yet suggests a cautious interest in the match. 
Benedick’s response to this interest is a small tirade about men’s undoing at the 
hands of marriage  
● Claudio’s inclusion of the qualifier “though I had sworn the contrary” hints at a 
Studies in Shakespeare Fall 2018 
Prof. Christina M. Squitieri  September 12th, 2018  
change of heart, prior to the events of the play. In other words, he once 
believed, as Benedick does, that marriage is a kind of manacle 
● Benedick’s hyperbolic rhetorical questions (e.g. asking if there is even “one 
man” who will not marry or if he will ever see a 60 year old bachelor again) 
establish his initial fidelity to the anti-marriage position.  
● Shakespeare’s presentation of Benedick’s philosophy in a language of 
obstinance inclines an audience to root for an eventual match for Benedick.   
● Claudio indicates that when Hero is involved he “would scarce trust [him]self”; 
this highlighting of trust is a bit of foreshadowing on Shakespeare’s part 
concerning forthcoming developments in their courtship… stay tuned! 
Discussion Questions 
● What is Shakespeare’s take on the themes of love and marriage in these early 
scenes? What are his characters’ takes? How do these disparate amorous 
philosophies engender friction and conflict?   
● How does this text explore the concept of war? What is achieved through the 
juxtaposition of Beatrice and Benedick’s “merry war” and the wider conflict of 
the Italian city-states? 
● What is Don John’s primary incentive in the plot against Don Pedro and 
Claudio? Status, Familial Rivalry, etc? Use the text to argue a particular motive.