Much Ado About Nothing: Character Quotations (Edexcel GCSE English Literature)

Key word or phrase to memorise: “I would not marry her” and “all that Adam had”

What the quotation means: Benedick insists that he would never marry Beatrice, even if she were able to offer him paradise like Adam (in the biblical story) had before he and Eve were cast out

Theme: Gender Roles and Attitudes

• Shakespeare presents Benedick as strongly opposed to, and critical of, marriage:

  • His emphatic statement, “I would not”, portrays him as rigid in his stance 

• Benedick’s cynical attitude to love, and his hyperbolic criticism of Beatrice is humorous:

  • He draws on biblical allusions to insist he would refuse “all” offer of paradise rather than marry Beatrice

  • His reference to Adam who “transgressed” (sinned) in the Garden of Eden alludes to the idea that a female first tempted man, and was responsible for the downfall of humanity

Key word or phrase to memorise: “appetite” and “in his youth”

What the quotation means: Benedick reflects on the overheard and set-up conversation that Beatrice is in love with him. He considers why his earlier opinions on love and marriage may be changing, and puts it down to age and maturity

Theme: Love

• This line, spoken in an aside, is humorous as it illustrates Benedick’s arrogance:

  • Benedick also exposes his vulnerabilities here

  • He is only able to speak of his love once he believes it is safe to do so because Beatrice loves him

• The metaphor of food and eating is often used by Benedick and Beatrice:

  • It may connote to the idea of physical needs and desire

  • Here, Benedick’s rhetorical question implies love is an “appetite”

• The oxymoronic “youth” and “age” implies Benedick’s need to justify his feelings as a natural part of ageing

Key word or phrase to memorise: “too wise to woo”

What the quotation means: Benedick tells Beatrice that they are similar, in that their intelligence makes it difficult to fall in love without having arguments (suggesting that this makes their standards high)

Theme: Honour and virtue

• Shakespeare presents the consequences of prideful nature when it comes to love:

  • Benedick and Beatrice, challenge each other throughout the play

  • Their sophisticated wit and cynicism creates barriers between one another

  • The alliterative “wise” and “woo” emphasises Benedick’s point that wisdom impedes love

  • Benedick, ironically, is unaware that his words sound arrogant, which Beatrice is keen to point out

Key word or phrase to memorise: “Not till God make men of some other metal” and “overmastered”

What the quotation means: Beatrice is insistent that she will not marry until men are somehow less flawed (implying that she will never marry a man), and asks why women would allow themselves to be ruled by mortals who are made of earth and whose  only redeeming feature is bravery

Theme:  Gender Roles and Attitudes

• Shakespeare portrays Beatrice as similar in attitude and wit to Benedick (in fact, at times her wit far exceeds his!):

  • Shakespeare, perhaps, makes gender their only difference to challenge stereotypes

  • Her strong opposition to marriage and emphatic “Not till” mirrors Benedick’s exaggerated refusal to marry in Act 2, Scene 1

• In contrast to Hero, Beatrice’s rhetorical question asks why any woman would want to be “overmastered” by a man:

  • Her metaphor alludes to men being mortal, made of dust

  • Beatrice defies Elizabethan social norms by speaking of her love for single life

Key word or phrase to memorise: “double heart for his single one” and “false dice” 

What the quotation means: Beatrice explains her criticism of Benedick to Don Pedro, saying that he cheated her by making her fall in love with him while he was unable to love anyone but himself 

Theme:  Deception

• Shakespeare’s comedy explores deception in matters of love:

  • Beatrice’s metaphor alludes to being cheated by a “false dice”

  • This suggests that love is a gamble in which there are winners and losers

• Shakespeare illustrates how Beatrice’s decision to avoid relationships gains her autonomy:

  • It is portrayed as self-preservation

  • Her metaphor contrasts her “double heart” (big-heartedness) with his “single” love for himself

Key word or phrase to memorise: “Contempt, farewell” and “maiden pride”

What the quotation means: From her hiding place, Beatrice expresses her shock at what she has heard, that Benedick loves her and that Hero disapproves of her “scorn”, and, at this, Beatrice decides conclusively to stop being so proud and cynical

Theme: Love

• While Hero is presented as the most virtuous character, Beatrice is the character who develops the most over the course of the play:

  • Beatrice’s use of “condemn’d” indicates the judgement that she feels as a result of Hero’s tricks 

  • Despite her independence, it is clear that the opinions of others do affect her

  • Although she is tricked into making some of these changes, her love for Benedick is shown to be genuine

  • The implication is that love has the power to transform a person if they allow it to

• Beatrice reflects on her attitude to love in a rhetorical question that brings clarity:

  • Her dramatic change is signalled by the exclamatory “farewell” 

  • Beatrice implies that her “maiden pride” has judged men unfairly, with “scorn” and “Contempt”

Key word or phrase to memorise: “beauty is a witch” and “charms”

What the quotation means: Claudio tells himself in an aside that a beautiful woman has “charms” that can cast a spell on a man, against which he will become powerless as his trust melts into “blood”

Theme: Love

• Claudio is presented as foolish and hypocritical:

  • He tells himself to “trust no agent” as he pretends to be Benedick

  • He lacks self-awareness, though, and is both victim to a deceitful prank and involved in one

• Shakespeare portrays his love for Hero as superficial through his hyperbolic language: 

  • His love is based on her purity and beauty 

  • Yet he says that beauty is a “witch”, attributing it with supernatural “charms” and implying its danger

Key word or phrase to memorise: “more intemperate in your blood” and “savage sensuality” 

What the quotation means: Claudio tells Hero that she has deceived him and that, in reality, her true nature is wild and undisciplined, and that she is like a spoilt animal who enjoys unabandoned pleasure

Theme: Gender Roles and Attitudes

• Using dramatic irony, Shakespeare presents Claudio as cruel and unfairly judgemental:

  • He is easily convinced that Hero has spent the night with another man

  • This shows his poor judgement

• Shakespeare challenges contemporary  attitudes to female sexuality via Claudio:

  • Sibilance stresses his criticism of her “savage sensuality”, creating a sound as though he is spitting the words out

  • He compares Hero to “Venus”, an erratic, lustful goddess

  • He describes her as “intemperate” implying she is excessive and primal

  • This is ironic because his own behaviour here is clearly excessive and unthinking

Key word or phrase to memorise: “slanderous tongues” 

What the quotation means: Claudio is horrified to find out that Hero, now dead, is innocent and did not spend the night with another man so, in remorse, he reads a tribute to her from a scroll, calling her a “Hero” who was killed by gossip

Theme: Deception

• Shakespeare’s comedies use deception to expose hypocritical characters:

  • Claudio’s sudden remorse and love for Hero once her purity is confirmed raises questions about gender norms 

  • The deceptive prank on Claudio, while malicious, exposes his love for Hero as flawed and imbalanced

• Claudio’s speech draws attention to the tragic consequences of lies or gossip:

  • Alliteration in “Done to death” highlights the danger of “slanderous tongues” 

• His passive tone emphasises his hypocritical nature:

  • He subtly removes himself from the crimes against Hero by speaking as though his was not the most slanderous tongue of them all

Key word or phrase to memorise: “All matter else seems weak” and “she cannot love”

What the quotation means: Hero tricks Beatrice by pretending to have a conversation about her prideful behaviour towards Benedick: she says that Beatrice values her intelligence above all else, and this means she is unable to love

Theme: Deception

• Shakespeare presents Hero as a compliant female who values her modesty and virtue:

  • She prioritises marriage and love, presenting a stereotypical female foil to the unconventionally assertive and independent Beatrice

  • Her prank is “Cupid’s crafty arrow”

  • She is a foil to the defiant Beatrice

• This scene depicts Hero’s prank and, while it is comedic, it presents key ideas about love:

  • While Hero’s conversation is under false pretences, she presents a genuine challenge to Beatrice

  • Her extreme language that “All matter else” is “weak” paints Beatrice as arrogant and prideful

  • The emphatic “she cannot love” seems intended to provoke Beatrice

Key word or phrase to memorise: “blot that name”

What the quotation means: Hero pleads her innocence to Claudio, asking him to remember who she is, and that her reputation (“name”) is so clean that anyone trying to smear or stain it must be doing so unfairly

Theme: Gender Roles and Attitudes

• Shakespeare’s presentation of Hero highlights the importance of reputation for females in his society:

  • Hero’s horror at having her virtue questioned conveys its value

  • Her response is shown as justifiable as Claudio refuses to marry her as a result of the rumour

• Shakespeare conveys Hero’s pride in her pure name and virtuous nature:

  • Her rhetorical questions convey distress at this being challenged  

  • The metaphorical “blot” implies the value of being unstained (virginal)

  • But third person references (“that name”) suggest a detached identity, as though the shock of these events has unmoored her from reality 

Key word or phrase to memorise: “lived” and “loved”

What the quotation means: When Hero unmasks herself and reveals that she is alive to Claudio, she appears to want to start their relationship anew, as if they are different people — a charitable and noble act, given how Claudio mistreated her

Theme:  Love

• Shakespeare’s comedy typically ends with a happy resolution that includes a marriage (and sometimes more than one!):

  • Hero’s dramatic reveal is portrayed as romantic and restorative 

  • The alliterative lines, connecting “lived” with “loved”, perhaps implies the necessity of love to life, and reflects the connection between Hero and Claudio

  • Hero’s hopeful suggestion, that they are new people, suggests forgiveness and the possibility of moving beyond Claudio’s mistakes