Summary: Act III, scene iv

On the morning of her wedding to Claudio, Hero wakes up early and tells her servant Ursula to wake Beatrice. Meanwhile, Hero’s maid Margaret argues affectionately with Hero about what she ought to wear for her wedding. Hero is excited, but she is also uneasy for reasons she cannot name; she has a strange foreboding of disaster. Beatrice arrives, and Margaret, in high spirits, teases her about her changed personality, saying that now Beatrice too desires a husband. Beatrice expresses annoyance, but Margaret is sure that she is right, and so she continues to tease Beatrice about Benedick—but in a manner subtle enough that Beatrice cannot accuse Margaret of knowing anything completely. Soon enough, Claudio arrives with his friends, accompanied by the large wedding party, apparently ready to take Hero to the church. They all set off together.

Analysis of Act III, scene iii

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.

Borachio’s account of the events of that night inform us that Don John’s plans have been put into action and that everything is working out as he intended. Once again, however, we are faced with a disturbing element in this action: Claudio and Don Pedro both believe Don John’s claims and are willing to believe that they are watching Hero without investigating the matter more closely or interrogating Hero herself about it. When we see how ready Claudio is to believe that the woman he supposedly is in love with is betraying him, we are likely to be deeply troubled about him, even though we know that the play—being a comedy—has to end happily.

Borachio lists a few factors that might make the deception of Claudio and Don Pedro more understandable. He suggests that we should blame Don John’s “oaths,” which first made Don Pedro and Claudio suspicious of Hero’s guilt; the “dark night, which did deceive them” (III.iii.136–137); and Borachio’s own flat-out lies when he testified to them that he had made love to Hero. Some critics focus on the fact that Claudio is quite young and that he does not really know Hero very well as mitigating his distrust of her. Indeed, he seems hardly to have spoken any words to her before they become engaged, although presumably they have conversed more in the week that has passed since their betrothal. Nevertheless, Claudio’s swift anger and the terrible revenge he has vowed to take—shaming Hero in public and abandoning her at the altar—has remained troubling to generations of critics and readers, as has Don Pedro’s complicity in this desired revenge. Don Pedro, after all, does not have the excuse of youth and inexperience. The brutality of the principal male characters remains a problem with which readers of Much Ado About Nothing must grapple. It is difficult to feel sympathy for Claudio and Don Pedro after seeing how quickly they believe evil of Hero—and after what they do to her in Act IV, scene i, on the day of the wedding itself.

Summary of Act III, scene iii

In a street outside Leonato’s house, the town policemen of Messina—collectively called the Watch—gather together to discuss their duties for the night. Dogberry, the head constable, and Verges, his deputy, command and govern them. Dogberry and Verges are well intentioned and take their jobs very seriously, but they are also ridiculous. Dogberry is a master of malapropisms, always getting his words just slightly wrong.

Under Dogberry, the Watch is very polite but not very effective at deterring crime. As Dogberry gives his orders to his men, it becomes clear that the Watch is charged with doing very little. For example, when asked how the men should react should someone refuse to stand in Don Pedro’s name, Dogberry replies, “Why then take no note of him, but let him go, and presently call the rest of the watch together, and thank God you are rid of a knave” (III.iii.25–27). Furthermore, the Watch is supposed to order drunkards to go home and sleep their drunkenness off—unless the drunkards won’t listen, in which case the men are to ignore them. The men are not to make too much noise in the street—they may sleep instead. They shouldn’t catch thieves, because it isn’t good for honest men to have too much to do with dishonest ones, and they should wake up the nurses of crying children—unless the nurses ignore them, in which case they should let the child wake the nurse by crying instead. In short, they may do anything they want and don’t have to do anything at all, as long as they are careful not to let the townspeople steal their spears.

Dogberry gives his men a final order: act particularly vigilant near the house of Leonato, for Leonato’s daughter, Hero, is to be married the next day, and the house is filled with commotion and chaos. After Dogberry and Verges depart, the men they have left behind sit down quietly on a bench and prepare to go to sleep.

Suddenly, the watchmen are interrupted by the entrance of Don John’s associates, Borachio and Conrad. Borachio, who does not see the watchmen, informs Conrad about what has happened this night. Acting on the plan he developed with Don John, Borachio made love to Margaret, Hero’s waiting maid, at the window of Hero’s room, with Margaret dressed in Hero’s clothing. Don Pedro and Claudio, who were hiding nearby with Don John, saw the whole thing and are now convinced that Hero has been disloyal to Claudio. Claudio, feeling heartbroken and betrayed, has vowed to take revenge upon Hero by publicly humiliating her at the wedding ceremony the next day. The watchmen, who have quietly listened to this whole secretive exchange, now reveal themselves and arrest Borachio and Conrade for “lechery,” by which they mean treachery. They haul them away to Dogberry and Verges for questioning.

Analysis: Act III, scenes i–ii

The trick that Hero and Ursula play upon Beatrice works just as well as the one Don Pedro and Claudio play upon Benedick in the preceding scene, as Beatrice, just as Benedick does, decides to stop resisting marriage and return her supposed pursuer’s love. Clearly, the friends of these two characters know them well. The conversations that Benedick and Beatrice are allowed to overhear are psychologically complicated, appealing to both the characters’ compassion and their pride. Beatrice, like Benedick, cannot help but be flattered to hear that her supposed enemy is in fact dying for love of her. But her sensitive side has been targeted: she is disturbed to hear that he is in such distress, and that she herself is the cause. Moreover, it seems likely that her pride is wounded when she hears people say that she has no compassion and that she would mock a man in love instead of pitying him. Just as Benedick is moved to prove the talkers wrong, so Beatrice seems to be stirred to show that she does have compassion and a heart after all. When Hero says, “Therefore let Benedick, like cover’d fire, / Consume away in sighs, waste inwardly. / It were a better death than die with mocks,” Beatrice is motivated to “save” poor Benedick and also to show that she is not heartless enough to be as cruel as Hero seems to think she is (III.i.77–79).

Of course, all of these complicated motivations in the friends’ plans to dupe Beatrice and Benedick into falling in love with one another relate to the same essential cause: their friends are trying to make Beatrice and Benedick realize that each, in his or her private heart, does have the potential to love the other profoundly. The tricks could hardly work otherwise—Beatrice and Benedick both seem too mature and intelligent to be deluded into thinking that they are in love. Their friends are simply trying to make them realize that they already love each other.

Beatrice’s speech at the end of the scene is much shorter than Benedick’s in the preceding one, but the gist of it is the same. Profoundly affected by what she has heard, she decides to allow herself to change her views about marriage in order to accept Benedick. She has learned how others perceive her—”Stand I condemned for pride and scorn so much?”—and has decided to change these perceptions: “Contempt, farewell; and maiden pride, adieu. / No glory lives behind the back of such” (III.i.109–111). Now, she decides she will accept Benedick if he courts her, “[t]aming my wild heart to thy loving hand” (III.i.113).

In the next scene, however, the atmosphere grows dark. Don Pedro and Claudio’s merry teasing of the subdued Benedick amuses, but Don John’s shocking accusation against Hero suddenly changes the mood from one of rejoicing to one of foreboding. We also see Don Pedro and Claudio’s disturbingly quick acceptance of Don John’s word about Hero’s unfaithfulness—Don John has promised to show them “proof,” but it still seems strange that they so quickly believe evil about Claudio’s bride-to-be. Claudio earlier reveals his suspicious nature to the audience when he believes Don John’s lie in Act II, scene i that Don Pedro has betrayed him. His susceptibility to suspicion now returns to haunt him, this time with the support and encouragement of Don Pedro.

Summary: Act III, scene ii

Elsewhere, Don Pedro, Claudio, and Leonato begin to tease Benedick about his decision never to marry. Benedick announces that he has changed, and the others agree; they have noticed that he is much quieter. They say that he must be in love and tease him about it. But Benedick is too subdued even to answer their jokes. He takes Leonato aside to speak with him.

As soon as Claudio and Don Pedro are left alone, Don John approaches them. He tells them that he is trying to protect Don Pedro’s reputation and save Claudio from a bad marriage. Hero is a whore, he says, and Claudio should not marry her. The two are shocked, of course, but Don John immediately offers them proof: he tells them to come with him that night to watch outside Hero’s window where they will see her making love to somebody else. Claudio, already suspicious and paranoid, resolves that if what he sees tonight does indeed prove Hero’s unfaithfulness, he will disgrace her publicly during the wedding ceremony the next day, and Don Pedro vows to assist him. Confused, suspicious, and full of dark thoughts, Claudio and Don Pedro leave with Don John.

Summary: Act III, scene i

In Leonato’s garden, Hero prepares to trick Beatrice into believing that Benedick loves her. With the help of her two waiting women, Margaret and Ursula, she plans to hold a conversation and let Beatrice overhear it—just as Don Pedro, Leonato, and Claudio have done to trick Benedick in the previous scene. Margaret lures Beatrice into the garden, and when Hero and Ursula catch sight of where she is hiding, they begin to talk in loud voices.

Hero tells Ursula that Claudio and Don Pedro have informed her that Benedick is in love with Beatrice. Ursula suggests that Hero tell Beatrice about it, but Hero answers that everybody knows that Beatrice is too full of mockery to listen to any man courting her—Beatrice would merely make fun of both Hero and Benedick and break Benedick’s heart with her witticisms. Therefore, she says, it will be better to let poor Benedick waste away silently from love than expose him to Beatrice’s scorn. Ursula replies by disagreeing with Hero: Hero must be mistaken, because surely Beatrice is too intelligent and sensitive a woman to reject Benedick. After all, everybody knows that Benedick is one of the cleverest and handsomest men in Italy. Hero agrees, and goes off with Ursula to try on her wedding dress.

After Hero and Ursula leave the garden, winking at each other because they know they have caught Beatrice, Beatrice emerges from her hiding place among the trees. Just as Benedick is shocked earlier, Beatrice cannot believe what she has heard at first. Also, like Benedick, she swiftly realizes that it would not be so difficult to “take pity” on her poor suitor and return his love. She knows how worthy Benedick really is and vows to cast off her scorn and pride in order to love him back.

Analysis: Act II, scenes ii–iii

Don John’s malice resurfaces in Act II, scene ii, as we see him plotting to split Hero and Claudio. Once again, we must wonder about his motives, as his desire to hurt others so badly is inconsistent with his claim to be a low-grade villain. Borachio’s statement that his plan, if it succeeds, is sure “to misuse the Prince, to vex Claudio, to undo Hero, and kill Leonato” makes it clear that Don John’s schemes have some darker purpose in mind (II.ii.24–25).

In the Renaissance, the virginity of an upper-class woman at the time of her marriage carried a great deal of importance for not only her own reputation but also for that of her family and her prospective husband. Adultery, unchaste behavior, or premarital sex in a noblewoman could be a fighting matter—one that could spur a parent to disown or even kill a daughter, a betrayed husband to murder his wife or rival, or a defender to challenge a woman’s accuser to a duel to the death in order to clear her name. If the entire community were to believe Hero unchaste, then her honor, name, and reputation would suffer permanently; Claudio would suffer considerably more than simple vexation; and the stress might well “kill” Leonato. This plot is far more than a merely troublesome game.

Meanwhile, a different kind of trick occurs in the garden, as Leonato, Claudio, and Don Pedro work together to try to convince Benedick that Beatrice is in love with him. Benedick, of course, unknowingly finds himself caught in the position of being the one deceived. He believes that he is eavesdropping upon his friends, but, because they are aware of his presence, they deliberately speak louder so that he will hear them. It is not difficult to imagine the speakers—Leonato, Don Pedro, and Claudio—trying hard to stifle their laughter as they speak in serious voices of Beatrice falling upon her knees, weeping, tearing her hair, and crying, “‘O sweet Benedick, God give me patience’” (II.iii.134–135).

Don Pedro understands Benedick’s psychology so precisely that his trick works on his friend just as he hoped it would—upon hearing that Beatrice is in love with him and that other people think he will be foolish enough to turn her down, Benedick realizes that it is not so difficult for him to find it in his heart to love Beatrice after all. In a speech memorable for both its humor and its emotional glimpse into Benedick’s genuinely generous and compassionate heart, Benedick decides that there is no shame in changing his mind about marriage, and declares, “I will be horribly in love with her. . . . The world must be peopled. When I said I could die a bachelor, I did not think I should live till I were married” (II.iii.207–215).

By the time Beatrice herself appears to order him in to dinner, Benedick is so far gone that he is able to reinterpret all her words and actions as professions of her love for him—doubtless a hilarious scene for the audience, since Beatrice is hostile to Benedick, and the audience knows that she is not at all in love with him. But the buoyant Benedick can hardly wait to “go get her picture”—that is, to go and get a miniature portrait of her (II.iii.232). Later on, Benedick even tries his hand at writing a sonnet to Beatrice. Sonnets and miniature portraits were the typical accoutrements of the Renaissance lover, male or female. By carrying around these objects, Benedick becomes a cliché of Renaissance courtship.

Summary: Act II, scene iii

Meanwhile, ignorant of the evil that Don John stealthily plots, Benedick’s friends enact their own benign trick to get Benedick and Beatrice to fall in love. They know that Benedick is currently wandering around in the garden, wondering aloud to himself how, although he knows that love makes men into idiots, any intelligent man can fall in love. He ponders how Claudio can have turned from a plain-speaking, practical soldier into a moony-eyed lover. Benedick thinks it unlikely that he himself will ever become a lover.

Suddenly, Benedick hears Don Pedro, Claudio, and Leonato approaching, and he decides to hide among the trees in the arbor and eavesdrop. Don Pedro and Claudio, noticing him there, confer quietly with each other and decide it’s time to put their scheme into effect. They begin to talk loudly, pretending that they have just learned that Beatrice has fallen in love with Benedick. Benedick, hidden in the arbor, asks himself in shock whether this can possibly be true. But Don Pedro, Leonato, and Claudio embellish the story, talking about how passionately Beatrice adores Benedick, and how they are afraid that her passion will drive her insane or spur her to suicide. She dares not tell Benedick, they say, for fear that he would make fun of her for it—since everyone knows what his mocking personality would do. They all agree that Benedick would be a fool to turn her away, for he currently seems unworthy of so fine a woman as Beatrice.

The others go in to have dinner, and the amazed Benedick, emerging from the arbor, plunges himself into profound thought. Don Pedro’s plan has worked: Benedick decides that he will “take pity” upon the beautiful, witty, and virtuous Beatrice by loving her in return. He has changed his mind, and far from wanting to remain an eternal bachelor, he now desires to win and marry Beatrice. Beatrice appears, having been sent out to fetch Benedick in to dinner. She deals as scornfully as usual with him, but he treats her with unusual flattery and courtesy. Confused and suspicious, Beatrice mocks him again before departing, but the infatuated Benedick interprets her words as containing hidden messages of love, and he happily runs off to have a portrait made of her so that he can carry it around with him.

Summary: Act II, scene ii

The bitter and wicked Don John has learned of the upcoming marriage of Claudio and Hero, and he wishes that he could find a way to prevent it. Don John’s servant Borachio devises a plan. Borachio is currently the lover of one of Hero’s serving women, Margaret. He suggests that Don John go to Claudio and Don Pedro and tell them that Hero is not a virgin but a whore, a woman who has willingly corrupted her own innocence before her marriage and at the same time chosen to be unfaithful to the man she loves. In order to prove this accusation, Don John will bring Don Pedro and Claudio below the window of Hero’s room on the night before the wedding, where they should hide and watch. On the balcony outside Hero’s room, Borachio will make love to Margaret—whom he will have convinced to dress up in Hero’s clothing. The watchers will then see a woman who resembles Hero making love with Borachio, and will thus believe Don John’s claim that Hero has been false to Claudio. Very pleased with the plan, Don John promises Borachio a large reward if he can pull it off and prevent the planned wedding.

Analysis of Act II, scene i

Analysis

This long scene resolves the first of the play’s important questions: whether Claudio will receive Hero’s consent to love and marry her. When the two lovers are finally brought together, Claudio is too overwhelmed with joy to profess his love in elevated language, saying to Hero simply, “Silence is the perfectest herald of joy. I were but little happy if I could say how much” (II.i.267–268). While Claudio can find few words to express his joy, Hero can find none. Indeed, it is Beatrice who formalizes Hero’s return of Claudio’s love, commenting to Claudio, “My cousin [Hero] tells him [Claudio] in his ear that he is in her heart” (II.i.275–276). We never hear Hero’s acceptance of Claudio, but nonetheless we know what occurs.

These two quiet characters—Claudio and Hero—seem well matched, and Claudio’s addressing of Beatrice as “cousin” confirms that he will soon marry into her family (II.i.277). Nonetheless, a troubling element of Claudio’s character comes to light in this scene. Don John’s attempt to thwart the match has come to nothing; although he does manage to trick Claudio into believing that Don Pedro has betrayed him and is going to marry Hero himself, Claudio learns the truth before anything bad can happen. But here we see that Claudio is prone to making rash decisions. He is very quick to believe that his friend has betrayed him, not even questioning Don John’s claims. Acknowledging that Don Pedro seems to be wooing Hero for himself, Claudio declares that

Friendship is constant . . .
Save in the office and affairs of love.
. . .
. . . Farewell, therefore, Hero.
           (II.i.153–160)

Claudio’s readiness to believe that his friend would betray him is disturbing, and Don John’s plotting coupled with Claudio’s gullibility ominously foreshadows worse things to follow.

Beatrice and Benedick continue their “merry war” of wits with one another, but it seems to veer off course and turn into a much more hurtful competition. This time, Beatrice gets the better of Benedick while Benedick cannot defend himself. Dancing with him during the ball, while masked, she insults Benedick by mocking his “wittiness” and declaring his jokes boring. Beatrice’s jabs at Benedick are psychologically astute. We see how apt her comments are when Benedick cannot stop repeating her words to himself later in the scene. Moreover, the fact that Benedick begs Don Pedro frantically to let him leave so he will not have to talk to Beatrice suggests that he finds her company not simply annoying but also damaging.

Though Beatrice repeats in this scene her intention never to marry, her attitude seems a little changed. A certain wistfulness marks her words as she watches the betrothal of Hero to Claudio: “Good Lord, for alliance! There goes everyone to the world but I, and I am sunburnt. I may sit in a corner and cry ‘Heigh-ho for a husband!’” (II.i.278–280). Beatrice jests, as always, but it is hard to tell how seriously she takes this matter. Don Pedro’s sudden offer of himself to her in marriage also seems both lighthearted and serious, and Beatrice’s gentle rejection of him compels us to wonder whether she really does want to get married.

Analysis: Act I, scenes ii–iii

Overhearing, plotting, and misunderstanding occur frequently in Much Ado About Nothing, as characters constantly eavesdrop or spy on other characters. Occasionally they learn the truth, but more often they misunderstand what they see or hear, or they are tricked into believing what other people want them to believe. In these scenes, Antonio’s servant and Don John’s associate both overhear the same conversation between Don Pedro and Claudio, but only Borachio understands it correctly, while Antonio’s servant (and, consequently, Antonio himself) misunderstand. He carries this incorrect information onward, first to Leonato and then to Hero.

It appears that Don John has no strong motive for the villainy he commits and that his actions are inspired by a bad nature, something he acknowledges fully: “though I cannot be said to be a flattering honest man, it must not be denied but I am a plain-dealing villain” (I.iii.23–25). Yet, the fact that Don John is Don Pedro’s bastard brother—that he is of a much lower station than Don Pedro and possesses little chance of rising in society because of his bastard birth—suggests that there is more to his behavior than his evil character. He most likely resents Don Pedro, the most powerful figure in the play’s social hierarchy, for claiming the authority and social superiority of a legitimate heir. His jealousy of his brother’s success is most likely what drives him to wreak havoc on Claudio and Don Pedro. His insistence on honesty in this scene might appear admirable, but he lies to many people later on, casting his statements here about being harmless into doubt.

To understand Don John’s claim of natural evil, we should remember that he stands in a very difficult position. As the illegitimate brother (or half-brother) of Don Pedro, Don John is labeled “the Bastard.” Illegitimate sons of noblemen found themselves in a tricky position in Renaissance England. Often, their fathers acknowledged them and gave them money and an education, but they could never be their fathers’ real heirs, and they were often excluded from polite society and looked upon with disdain. In plays, bastard sons were sometimes admired for their individualism, enterprise, and courage, but in Shakespeare’s works, their anger about their unfair exclusion often inspires them to villainy. Like Edmund in Shakespeare’s tragedy King Lear, Don John seems to be a villain at least in part because he is a bastard, and like Edmund he is determined to cross his legitimate brother in any way that he can.

In Much Ado About Nothing, Don John is in the difficult position of having to behave well and court favor with his more powerful brother, Don Pedro, while at the same time being excluded from the privileges Don Pedro enjoys because of his illegitimacy. Don John is bitter about the restrictions imposed upon him: “I am trusted with a muzzle, and enfranchised with a clog. Therefore I have decreed not to sing in my cage” (I.iii.25–27). He complains, in essence, that he is not trusted at all and not given any freedom; he rails against the constraints of his role, refusing to “sing” in his “cage,” or make the best of things. Instead, he seems to want to take out his frustrations by manipulating and hurting other people for his own amusement. Don John’s claim that he hates Claudio because he is jealous of Claudio’s friendship with his brother seems questionable; it seems more likely that Don John simply hates anyone happy and well liked and thus wants to exact a more general revenge upon the world.

Analysis: Act I, scene i

This opening scene introduces all of the major characters, as well as the play’s setting—Leonato’s welcoming, friendly house in Messina. Don Pedro and the others are just returning from a war in which they have been victorious, seemingly setting the stage for a relaxed, happy comedy in which the main characters fall in love and have fun together. While the play opens with a strong feeling of joy and calm, the harmony of Messina is certainly to be disturbed later on.

Beatrice and Benedick are perhaps Shakespeare’s most famously witty characters; neither ever lets the other say anything without countering it with a pun or criticism. One notable characteristic of their attacks upon each other is their ability to extend a metaphor throughout lines of dialogue. When Benedick calls Beatrice a “rare parrot-teacher,” Beatrice responds, “A bird of my tongue is better than a beast of yours” (I.i.114). Benedick continues the reference to animals in his response, saying, “I would my horse had the speed of your tongue” (I.i.115). It is as if each anticipates the other’s response. Though their insults are biting, their ability to maintain such clever, interconnected sparring seems to illustrate the existence of a strong bond between them.

Beatrice and Benedick have courted in the past, and Beatrice’s viciousness stems from the fact that Benedick previously abandoned her. When she insists that Benedick “set up his bills here in Messina and challenged Cupid at the flight, and my uncle’s fool, reading the challenge, subscribed for Cupid,” she describes a “battle” of love between herself and Benedick that she has lost (I.i.32–34). The result is what Leonato describes as “a kind of merry war betwixt Sir Benedick and [Beatrice]. They never meet but there’s a skirmish of wit between them” (I.i.49–51).

Another purpose of the dialogue between Benedick and Beatrice, as well as that among Benedick, Claudio, and Don Pedro, is to explore the complex relationships between men and women. Both Benedick and Beatrice claim to scorn love. As Benedick says to Beatrice, “[I]t is certain I am loved of all ladies, only you excepted. And I would I could find it in my heart that I had not a hard heart, for truly I love none” (I.i.101–104). Benedick thus sets himself up as an unattainable object of desire. With her mocking reply that “I had rather hear my dog bark at a crow than a man swear he loves me,” Beatrice similarly puts herself out of reach (I.i.107–108). Both at this point appear certain that they will never fall in love or marry.

Benedick’s disdain for matrimony arises again when he realizes that Claudio is seriously contemplating asking Hero for her hand in marriage. Until this point, all the soldiers have exhibited a kind of macho pride in being bachelors, but Claudio now seems happy to find himself falling in love, and Don Pedro rejoices in his young friend’s decision. Benedick alone swears, “I will live a bachelor” (I.i.201). Don Pedro’s teasing rejoinder, “I shall see thee ere I die look pale with love. . . . ‘In time the savage bull doth bear the yoke,’ ” suggests his belief that love does conquer all, even those as stubborn as Benedick 

Much Ado About Nothing: Novel Summary: Act 2, Scene 1

Leonato and Antonio wonder aloud where Don John has gone.  Beatrice and Hero comment about their dislike of such a melancholy and disagreeable man.  Beatrice jests that a man who is a cross between Benedick and Don John would be perfect, neither too garrulous or reticent.  She, like Benedick, extols the virtues of being a bachelor and condemns marriage for those with inferior wit and mental strength.  Leonato tells her that he hopes that she will be happily married one day. 
Day turns to night and a dance is underway.  Since everyone must wear a disguise to the party, there are naturally a few misidentifications.  Don Pedro escorts Hero to a secluded spot to speak with her.  Balthasar, one of Don Pedro's attendants, flirts with Margaret, Hero's maid.  At the same time, the gentlewoman Ursula converses with Antonio.  Beatrice and Benedick are in yet another corner of the room.  Beatrice cannot figure out who Benedick is under the mask, although he realizes whom he is talking with.  He pretends to be someone else and Beatrice launches in a tirade of insults against Benedick, whom she supposes is somewhere else in the party.  Benedick hides his hurt and rage against this gratuitous volley of insults and leaves the party.
Now, only Don John, Borachio and Claudio remain in the room.  Don John addresses Claudio as Benedick, although he knows his true identity.  Claudio, who is unaware of Don John's scheme, innocently plays along and pretends to indeed be Benedick.  Don John tells him that Don Pedro is in love with Hero.  Don John pretends that as a loving brother he opposes the union.  This is, of course, entirely false, but Claudio believes it to be true.  After Don John and Borachio leave, Claudio is enraged at his friend's supposed treachery.  The real Benedick reenters and tells Claudio that Don Pedro has successfully persuaded Hero to marriage.  Claudio erroneously believes that Benedick is talking about Don Pedro and Hero's marriage, when the opposite is true.
Don Pedro reenters and asks Benedick about Claudio's whereabouts.  Benedick tells him about the count's strange reaction to the happy news.  Don Pedro vows to set Claudio straight about whom Hero will marry.  Benedick then complains about Beatrice to Don Pedro.  Beatrice, Claudio, Hero and Leonato join the group.  Benedick, in fear of Beatrice's sharp tongue, quickly exits.  Don Pedro tells Claudio the truth about Hero and Claudio is overwhelmed with joy that he will soon marry his love.  Beatrice jokingly complains about want of a husband for herself, when Don Pedro promptly proposes to her.  She refuses, but neither takes the situation too seriously.  She leaves the room shortly after this banter.
Leonato tells everyone else that the wedding will take place in one week.  In order to amuse himself for the duration of the next week, Don Pedro decides to play matchmaker between Benedick and Beatrice.  Leonato, Hero and Claudio agree to help him out.

Much Ado About Nothing: Novel Summary: Act 1, Scene 3

Don John, who is Don Pedro's illegitimate brother, walks with his companion Conrade.  Although Don John is infamous for his lechery and violence, Don Pedro welcomed him as a companion anyway to give him a second chance.  Don John, however, is not prepared to fawn and grovel his way into society's graces; he has returned to his old ways.  Don John's henchman Borachio enters and tells him about the impending Hero-Claudio marriage.  With this information, Don John devises a method of simultaneously wreaking havoc and getting his revenge on Claudio and Don Pedro.  The trio leaves to further plot their scheme.

Much Ado About Nothing: Novel Summary: Act 1, Scene 2

Leonato and his brother Antonio (Don Pedro's father) converse in a room.  Antonio reveals that he has just learned from a messenger that Don Pedro and Claudio were discussing Hero and how best to woo her.  The brothers believe this turn of events to be uncalled-for good fortune.  Antonio sends for the messenger that overheard the conversation and Leonato prepares to break the news to Hero.

Much Ado About Nothing: Novel Summary: Act 1, Scene 1

Leonato, the governor of Messina, his daughter Hero and his niece Beatrice introduce the scene.  Leonato tells the ladies that Don Pedro of Arragon will be arriving that night in Messina.  Apparently, a war has been raging and peace is a recent status quo, so many soldiers are returning home after a long interim period.  The group also learns that Don Pedro favors a young warrior named Claudio and that another soldier named Don Peter has distinguished himself.  The Lady Beatrice asks if Signior Benedick of Padua has also returned from battle.  Beatrice has enjoyed a merry war of wits between herself and Benedick; both manifest emotions of disgust for the other.  While her companions jovially extol Benedick's virtues, Beatrice calls him a fool.

At this point, Leonato's nephew Don Pedro and Benedick arrive.  Benedick and Beatrice engage in a war of words.  Don Pedro interrupts to tell everyone that Leonato has agreed to let Benedick and Claudio stay in his home for at least a month.  After some more chitchat, everyone goes inside except Benedick and Claudio.  Claudio has fallen in love at first sight with Hero and asks for his friend's opinion of her.  Benedick replies that she is indeed fair and compassionate, but he also compares marriage to eternal bondage.  Don Pedro reenters and Benedick informs him of this new amorous development.  The three quarrel about women and marriage, with Benedick stoutly refusing to ever fall for feminine wiles and instead remain a bachelor.  Don Pedro in turn swears to see the day when Benedick will be married.  Benedick then leaves the room in a huff.  Claudio tells Don Pedro that he does not know how to profess his love to Hero; Pedro replies that he will disguise himself as Claudio and woo Hero.  Thus, Claudio will secure her hand in marriage without having to embarrass himself in front of her.

Characters of MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING.

Don Pedro: Prince of Arragon and a distinguished soldier.  He returns to his uncle Leonato's home in Messina with several companions after the war is over.  Don Pedro helps Claudio woo Hero but also rejects her after falsely believing that she has a licentious character.  He also acts as matchmaker between Beatrice and Benedick.

Don John: Don Pedro's illegitimate brother.  He hates Claudio and Don Pedro and plots to ruin Claudio's marriage with Hero.

Claudio: A young lord of Florence and one of Don Pedro's close companions.  He falls in love with Hero but their relationship falls apart when he falsely accuses her of infidelity.

Benedick: A young lord of Padua and one of Don Pedro's close friends.  Initially, he hates Beatrice but later falls in love with her.

Leonato:Governor of Messina, Hero's father, Beatrice/Don Pedro's uncle.  He is enraged when Don Pedro and Claudio accuse his daughter of licentious activities and defends her honour.

Antonio:Leonato's brother.

Balthasar: One of Don Pedro's attendants.

Conrade Borachio: Followers of Don John.  Conrade pretends to woo Hero in exchange for 1,000 ducats; Claudio sees "Hero" and her lover and breaks off the marriage.

Friar Francis:Adviser to Leonato who urges him to pretend that Hero is dead.  Claudio's hate soon turns into remorse and love because of this.

Dogberry Verges: Constables who arrest Conrade and Borachio and bring to light Don John's evil scheme.

Hero: Daughter to Leonato.  She falls in love with Claudio and is to marry him when she is suddenly accused of infidelity and loose morals.  Hero pretends to be dead until the truth about her character is revealed.

Beatrice: Niece to Leonato.  She initially hates Benedick but later falls in love with him.

Margaret Ursula: Gentlewomen attending on Hero.  Against her will, Margaret pretends to be Hero and kisses Conrade near her window, in full view of Claudio and Don Pedro.

Messengers, Watchmen, Attendants.

Much Ado about Nothing.

From today I shall discuss on the novel "MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING" by William Shakespeare.

CHILD LABOUR

Childhood is the most innocent phase in human life. It is that stage of life when the human foundations are laid for a successful adult life. Many children, instead of spending it in a carefree and fun-loving manner while learning and playing, are scarred and tormented. They hate their childhood and would do anything to get out of the dungeons of being children and controlled and tortured by others. They would love to break-free from this world, but continue to be where they are, not out of choice, but force. This is the true story of child labor. Innocent children are employed by industries and individuals who put them to work under grueling circumstances. They are made to work for long hours in dangerous factory units and sometimes made to carry load even heavier than their own body weight. Then there are individual households that hire children as domestic help and beat and physically torture them when they make a mistake. The children are at times made to starve and are given worn out clothes to wear. 
                                                
Such is the story of millions of children in India painful and yet true. The two primary reasons for the ever-growing social malice of child labor are poverty and lack of education. Poor parents give birth to children thinking them as money-making machines. They carry infants to earn more on the streets from begging. Then as they grow they make them beggars, and eventually sell them to employers. This malady is rampant across the length and breadth of India. According to the United Nations stipulation in article 32 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the International Labor Organization, child labor is to be considered if "...States Parties recognize the right of the child to be protected from economic exploitation and from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with the child's education, or to be harmful to the child's health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development." In other words, child labor is any kind of work children are made to do that harms or exploits them physically, mentally, morally, or by preventing access to education. However, all work is not bad or exploitative for children.

In fact, certain jobs help in enhancing the overall personality of the child. For example, children delivering newspapers prior to going to school or taking up light summer jobs that do not interfere with their school timings. When children are given pocket money earning oriented tasks, they understand the value of money, as well as respect it even more. Child labor coupled with child abuse has today become one of the greatest maladies that have spread across the world. Each year statistics show increasing numbers of child abuse, more so in the case of the girl child. When a girl is probably abused by someone at home, to hide this fact she is sold to an employer from a city as domestic help, or then as a bride to an old man. Though eradicating the menace seems like a difficult and nearly impossible task, immense efforts have to be made in this direction. The first step would be to become aware of the causes of child labor. The leading reason is that children are employed because they are easier to exploit. On the other hand, people sell their children as commodities to exploitative employers to have additional sources of income. Most such employers pay a lump sum for the child and then keep him or her imprisoned within the factory unit till the child cannot work due to deteriorating health as a result of harsh living and working conditions. Lack of proper educational facilities is another reason that forces parents to send their children to work. India accounts for the second highest number of child labor after Africa. Bonded child labor or slave labor is one of the worst types of labor for children. This system still continues in spite of the Indian Parliament enacting the Bonded Labor System (Abolition) Act in 1976. It is estimated that approximately 10 million bonded children laborers are working as domestic servants in India. Beyond this there are almost 55 million bonded child laborers hired across various other industries. A recent ILO report says that about 80 per cent of child laborers in India are employed in the agriculture sector. Generally, the children are sold to the rich moneylenders to whom borrowed money cannot be returned. 'Street children' is another type of child labor where children work on the streets as beggars, flower sellers, etc, instead of going to school. Sometimes they are made to go hungry for days together so that people feel sorry for them and give alms.
Among the industries, glass and bangle industry is estimated to employ around 60,000 children who are made to work under extreme conditions of excessive heat. An equal number are estimated to be employed in matchbox factories, where they are made to work over twelve hours a day, beginning work at around 4 a.m., everyday. The brass and the lock industries also employ an estimated 50,000 children each. However, it is the carpet industry in India which employs the largest number of children estimated to be more than four lakhs. The statistical information regarding child labor cannot be taken to be precise, as there are areas where no accounting has been done. There are innumerable workshops and factories that have cramped up rooms where children work, eat and sleep. No one from the outside world would even know that they are working there. However, people working towards the welfare of child laborers, with the tip-off from insiders, have been able to rescue a number of children from such units. The National Policy on Child Labor formulated in 1987 seeks to adopt a gradual and sequential approach with a focus on rehabilitation of children working in hazardous occupations and processes. The Action Plan outlined the Legislative Action Plan for strict enforcement of Child Labor Act and other labor laws to ensure that children are not employed in hazardous employments, and that the working conditions of children working in non-hazardous areas are regulated in accordance with the provisions of the Child Labor Act. It also entails further identification of additional occupations and processes, which are detrimental to the health and safety of the children. Government has accordingly been taking proactive steps to tackle this problem through general strict enforcement of legislative provisions along with simultaneous rehabilitative measures. To bring the social malady of child labor under control, the government has opened a special cell to help children in exploitative circumstances. These cells comprise of social inspectors, as well as other administrative personnel, employed specifically to deal with child labor issues. Also, in recent years, the media has helped unravel what is happening in certain industrial units with journalists visiting such places with a hidden camera. The efforts made by sections of the government, social workers, non-government organizations and others to rescue and rehabilitate the children must be applauded.

In addition, each individual should also take responsibility of reporting about anyone employing a child below the age of fourteen years. However, considering the magnitude and extent of the problem, concerted efforts from all sections of the society is needed to make a dent. Measures need to be taken not only to stop this crime against children, but also to slowly, steadily and surely provide every child a well-deserved healthy and normal childhood.

Essay on Global Warming...

Global Warming

Global warming is the increase of world's average temperature, mainly in the sector of atmosphere, seas and the land on Earth. here are three serious factor, namely the crack on the lower part of atmosphere, pollution on Earth an so many green houses. The first factor is on the atmosphere. Recent years, many researches show that atmosphere has some kind of crack because of the heat from sun's emission. The layer of atmosphere seems can not take the heat anymore. The third factor is that the green houses, reflected the sun-ray that supposed to be stayed on Earth sending the sun ray back to space, but remember though, there is the gases that block the process of sending away the sun-ray. If the green houses don't stop being built, that will just be a helpful tool to make the atmosphere and our Earth worst. 

 The crack gets larger as the sun-ray holds in the atmosphere as there are gases as what it seems to be the cause. This second factor, pollution, takes its toll as the one which makes the sun-ray stuck n the atmosphere. These gases are very thick that even the sun-ray can not get through it, or at least it is hard to do it. 

 From these explanations, details and examples, my conclusion is that someone has got to do something and not just keep inventing new technology or fancy factories because what we need now is not something that can make life easier but something that can decrease the temperature.

 

For further details any student can write to me at g.snehasish@outlook.com                                           

A paragraph for the students on Sarba Shiksha Abhiyan....

                                                  SARBA SHIKSHA ABHIYAN

 Sarba Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) is Government of India's flagship programme for achievement of Universalisation of Elementary Education (UEE) in a time bound manner, as mandated by 86th amendment to the Constitution of India making free and compulsory education to the children of 6-14 years age group, a Fundamental Right. SSA is being implemented in partnership with State Governments to cover the entire country and address the needs of 192 million children in 1.1 million habitations. Under the programme, new schools are being opened in those habitations which do not have schooling facilities and existing school infrastructure is being strengthened through provision of additional class rooms, toilets, drinking water, maintenance grant and school improvement grants. Additional teachers are being provided to existing schools with inadequate teacher strength. The capacity of existing teachers is being strengthened by extensive training, grants for developing teaching- learning materials and strengthening of the academic support structure at a cluster, block and district level. The SSA programme is an attempt to provide an opportunity for improving human capabilities to all children, through provision of community-owned quality education in a mission mode. It seeks to provide quality elementary education including life skills. It has a special focus on girl's education and children with special needs. The programme also seeks to provide computer education to bridge the digital divide. Some of the major norms of intervention by SSA are at least one teacher for every 40 children in primary and upper primary schools, at least two teachers in a primary school, and at least one teacher for every class in the upper primary. Similarly, the norms for schooling facility are a school within one kilometer of every habitation. SSA effectively involves the Panchayati Raj Institutions, School Management Committees, Village and Urban Slum level Education Committees, Parents' Teachers' Associations, Mother Teacher Associations, Tribal Autonomous Councils and other grass root level structures in the management of elementary schools. Though the programme is a partnership between the Central, State and the local governments, it provides an opportunity for States to develop their own vision of elementary education. The aim of the SSA is to provide useful and relevant elementary education for all children in the 6 to 14 age group by 2010. SSA's another goal to bridge social, regional and gender gaps, with the active participation of the community in the management of schools. Its aim is to allow children to learn about and master their natural environment in a manner that allows the fullest harnessing of their human potential both spiritually and materially. The programme focuses on elementary education of satisfactory quality with emphasis on education for life.

Clear-cut time-frame objectives were set out for the programme with 2003 being the year to achieve 'All children in school', Education Guarantee Centre, Alternate School, and 'Back-to-School' camp. The other objectives were: all children complete five years of primary schooling by 2007; all children complete eight years of elementary schooling by 2010; bridge all gender and social category gaps at primary stage by 2007 and at elementary education level by 2010; and universal retention by 2010. The two aspects of SSA are that it provides a wide convergent framework for implementation of Elementary Education schemes, and it is also a programme with budget provision for strengthening vital areas to achieve universalisation of elementary education. The SSA programme had a framework for implementation to allow states to formulate context specific guidelines within the overall framework, to encourage districts in States and UTs to reflect local specificity, to promote local need based planning based on broad National Policy norms, and to make planning a realistic exercise by adopting broad national norms. The objectives of the SSA are expressed nationally though it is expected that various districts and States are likely to achieve universalisation in their own respective contexts and in their own time frame. 2010 is the outer limit for such achievements. The emphasis is on mainstreaming out-of-school children through diverse strategies, as far as possible, and on providing eight years of schooling for all children in 6-14 age group. The thrust is on bridging of gender and social gaps and a total retention of all children in schools. Within this framework it is expected that the education system will be made relevant so that children and parents find the schooling system useful and absorbing, according to their natural and social environment. Under the SSA programme, the states were to make an objective assessment of their prevalent education system including educational administration, achievement levels in schools, financial issues, decentralization and community ownership, review of State Education Act, rationalization of teacher deployment and recruitment of teachers, monitoring and evaluation, status of education of girls, SC/ST and disadvantaged groups, policy regarding private schools and ECCE. Many States have already carried out several changes to improve the delivery system for elementary education. The SSA programme is based on the premise that financing of elementary education interventions has to be sustainable. This calls for a long -term perspective on financial partnership between the Central and the State governments. The programme calls for community ownership of school-based interventions through effective decentralization, augmented by involvement of women's groups, VEC members and members of Panchayati Raj institutions.

The SSA conceives a major capacity building role for national, state and district level institutions like NIEPA, NCERT, NCTE, SCERT, SIEMAT, and DIET. It calls for improvement of mainstream educational administration by institutional development, infusion of new approaches and by adoption of cost effective and efficient methods. The programme has a community based monitoring system. The Educational Management Information System (EMIS) correlates school level data with community- based information from micro planning and surveys. Besides this, every school is encouraged to share all information with the community, including grants received. The SSA works on a community based approach to planning with habitation as a unit of planning. Habitation plans form the basis for formulating district plans. Further, SSA lays a special thrust on making education at the elementary level useful and relevant for children by improving the curriculum, child-centered activities and effective teaching learning strategies. SSA recognizes the critical and central role of teachers and advocates a focus on their development needs. Setting up of Block Resource Centers/Cluster Resource Centers, recruitment of qualified teachers, opportunities for teacher development through participation in curriculum-related material development, focus on classroom process and exposure visits for teachers are all designed to develop the human resource among teachers.

Written by Snehasish Ghosh.

For further information please write to g.snehasish@outlook.com