Much Ado About Nothing - Act III, scene 3
1st part of the scene: l. 1-77
Characters: Dogberry, Verges, and the Watch (Seacoal, Watchman 1, Watchman 2) [the
watch = a group of local citizens chosen for police duties ⇒ introduction of new
characters]
Summary: Dogberry and Verges meet with the members of the night watch to appoint a new
constable. They appoint a man who is literate (which might not be the case of Dogberry).
Dogberry gives the new constable and watchmen nonsensical advice, constantly
misunderstanding words and the law.
Comic relief:
The tragic apprehensions stirred by the last scene are quickly relieved as
Shakespeare introduces his broadly comic auxiliary plot in the person of Dogberry, who also
brings a common touch to a play peopled with aristocrats: Dogberry and Verges provide
welcome comic relief amid Don John’s evil plotting. Their brand of humor is completely
different from that provided by Benedick and Beatrice; while the two witty antagonists spar
with a brilliant display of wit, Dogberry and Verges get half their words wrong, providing
humor with their ignorance. Yet, like Benedick and Beatrice, they are in their own way
good-hearted and sincere, and the humor of both duos, sophisticated and unsophisticated,
hinges on punning and verbal display.
Language and communication, perception and reality:
Dogberry often says the reverse of what he means (salvation/damnation,
tolerable/intolerable, comprehend/apprehend, vigitant/vigilant, etc.). His malapropisms
(misuses of words) and general lack of intelligence set up a major irony in the play:
Dogberry, who later has the information to stop and to uncover Don John’s deception, is too
incompetent and inarticulate to do so. This ties in with the play’s theme of language and the
perception of reality. Dogberry’s inability to use language will cause the other characters to
misperceive reality. Besides, we can notice that Verges also adopts Dogberry’s use (or
misuse) of language because he is trying to imitate his superior.
The fact that Dogberry mistakes writing and reading as a sign of vanity is a good
introduction to exactly how he views the world. To him, being a learned man is a good way
to show off how refined you are. He attempts to use grandiose speech in an effort to
sound authoritative and educated and to convince everyone that’s he’s a gentleman...
even though he doesn’t really have a grasp of the vocabulary he employs.
→ Dogberry - Come hither, neighbor Seacoal, God hath blessed you with a
good name. To be a well-favored man is the gift of Fortune, but to write
and read comes by
nature.
1st part of the scene: l. 1-77
Characters: Dogberry, Verges, and the Watch (Seacoal, Watchman 1, Watchman 2) [the
watch = a group of local citizens chosen for police duties ⇒ introduction of new
characters]
Summary: Dogberry and Verges meet with the members of the night watch to appoint a new
constable. They appoint a man who is literate (which might not be the case of Dogberry).
Dogberry gives the new constable and watchmen nonsensical advice, constantly
misunderstanding words and the law.
Comic relief:
The tragic apprehensions stirred by the last scene are quickly relieved as
Shakespeare introduces his broadly comic auxiliary plot in the person of Dogberry, who also
brings a common touch to a play peopled with aristocrats: Dogberry and Verges provide
welcome comic relief amid Don John’s evil plotting. Their brand of humor is completely
different from that provided by Benedick and Beatrice; while the two witty antagonists spar
with a brilliant display of wit, Dogberry and Verges get half their words wrong, providing
humor with their ignorance. Yet, like Benedick and Beatrice, they are in their own way
good-hearted and sincere, and the humor of both duos, sophisticated and unsophisticated,
hinges on punning and verbal display.
Language and communication, perception and reality:
Dogberry often says the reverse of what he means (salvation/damnation,
tolerable/intolerable, comprehend/apprehend, vigitant/vigilant, etc.). His malapropisms
(misuses of words) and general lack of intelligence set up a major irony in the play:
Dogberry, who later has the information to stop and to uncover Don John’s deception, is too
incompetent and inarticulate to do so. This ties in with the play’s theme of language and the
perception of reality. Dogberry’s inability to use language will cause the other characters to
misperceive reality. Besides, we can notice that Verges also adopts Dogberry’s use (or
misuse) of language because he is trying to imitate his superior.
The fact that Dogberry mistakes writing and reading as a sign of vanity is a good
introduction to exactly how he views the world. To him, being a learned man is a good way
to show off how refined you are. He attempts to use grandiose speech in an effort to
sound authoritative and educated and to convince everyone that’s he’s a gentleman...
even though he doesn’t really have a grasp of the vocabulary he employs.
→ Dogberry - Come hither, neighbor Seacoal, God hath blessed you with a
good name. To be a well-favored man is the gift of Fortune, but to write
and read comes by
nature.
