DON JOHN:
“It is so. The Count Claudio shall marry the daughter of Leonato.”
- Explanation: Claudio is going to marry Hero, Leonato’s daughter.
- Analysis: Don John acknowledges the news with bitterness.
- Themes: Jealousy, deception
- Language: Simple declarative sentence; sets the plot in motion.
BORACHIO:
“Yea, my lord, but I can cross it.”
- Explanation: Yes, but I can ruin it.
- Analysis: Borachio immediately shows his willingness to sabotage the marriage.
- Themes: Manipulation, betrayal
- Language device: “Cross” means both to oppose and to ruin – a double meaning.
DON JOHN:
“Any bar, any cross, any impediment will be med’cinable to me.”
- Explanation: Any obstacle will be like medicine for me.
- Analysis: Don John hates Claudio so much that harming him feels healing.
- Themes: Hatred, revenge
- Language device: Metaphor – calls sabotage “medicinal,” suggesting he’s emotionally unwell.
“I am sick in displeasure to him, and whatsoever comes athwart his affection ranges evenly with mine.”
- Explanation: I’m so unhappy with Claudio that anything that ruins his happiness suits me.
- Analysis: Shows Don John’s envy and desire to hurt Claudio emotionally.
- Themes: Envy, malice
- Language: “Sick in displeasure” personifies his hatred as illness.
“How canst thou cross this marriage?”
- Explanation: How will you ruin the marriage?
- Analysis: Don John is eager for a plan.
- Language: Archaic “canst thou” shows formal, plotting tone.
BORACHIO:
“Not honestly, my lord, but so covertly that no dishonesty shall appear in me.”
- Explanation: Not honestly, but secretly enough that it won’t seem dishonest.
- Analysis: He plans to deceive without getting caught.
- Themes: Deception, appearance vs. reality
DON JOHN:
“Show me briefly how.”
- Explanation: Tell me quickly.
- Analysis: Don John is impatient for mischief.
- Tone: Commanding and cold.
BORACHIO:
“I think I told your Lordship a year since, how much I am in the favor of Margaret, the waiting gentlewoman to Hero.”
- Explanation: I told you before that Hero’s maid Margaret likes me.
- Analysis: He’s using a romantic connection as a tool for deception.
- Themes: Love as manipulation
DON JOHN:
“I remember.”
- Explanation: I recall that.
- Analysis: Don John is intrigued and sees the usefulness of this.
BORACHIO:
“I can, at any unseasonable instant of the night, appoint her to look out at her lady’s chamber window.”
- Explanation: I can make her look out of Hero’s bedroom window late at night.
- Analysis: Sets up the visual trick that will fool Claudio.
- Themes: Trickery, identity
DON JOHN:
“What life is in that to be the death of this marriage?”
- Explanation: How can that ruin the wedding?
- Analysis: He wants to understand how the plan will work.
- Language: Oxymoron – “life” and “death” contrast.
BORACHIO:
“The poison of that lies in you to temper.”
- Explanation: You must mix the poison – that is, use the trick to ruin the marriage.
- Analysis: Borachio gives Don John the role of spreading the lie.
- Language: Metaphor of poisoning – highlights the moral corruption.
“Go you to the Prince your brother; spare not to tell him that he hath wronged his honor in marrying the renowned Claudio… to a contaminated stale, such a one as Hero.”
- Explanation: Tell Don Pedro that he dishonors himself by marrying Claudio to a promiscuous woman like Hero.
- Analysis: They plan to slander Hero to cause scandal.
- Themes: Honor, reputation, gender roles
- Language: “Contaminated stale” – a cruel phrase suggesting Hero is unchaste; evokes disgust.
DON JOHN:
“What proof shall I make of that?”
- Explanation: How can I prove it?
- Analysis: Don John wants something convincing to use.
- Theme: Reputation – especially how it hinges on proof.
BORACHIO:
“Proof enough to misuse the Prince, to vex Claudio, to undo Hero, and kill Leonato.”
- Explanation: Enough proof to hurt everyone involved.
- Analysis: Dramatic exaggeration (hyperbole) to show how serious the effects will be.
- Themes: Destruction, lies
- Language: List of consequences adds dramatic weight.
“Look you for any other issue?”
- Explanation: What else do you expect from it?
- Tone: Sarcastic and darkly humorous.
DON JOHN:
“Only to despite them I will endeavor anything.”
- Explanation: I’ll do anything just to make them suffer.
- Analysis: Shows how spite fuels his actions.
- Theme: Revenge, malice
BORACHIO:
“Go then, find me a meet hour to draw Don Pedro and the Count Claudio alone.”
- Explanation: Find a time to get Don Pedro and Claudio alone.
- Analysis: Begins the step-by-step plan to execute the trick.
“Tell them that you know that Hero loves me…”
- Explanation: Tell them Hero is secretly in love with me.
- Analysis: He’s creating a fake love triangle to trigger jealousy.
- Themes: Jealousy, deception
“…intend a kind of zeal both to the Prince and Claudio…”
- Explanation: Pretend you’re only telling them because you care about their honor.
- Analysis: Manipulation by pretending to be loyal.
- Language: Irony – pretending to care while planning betrayal.
“…who is thus like to be cozened with the semblance of a maid…”
- Explanation: Claudio is being tricked into marrying someone who only seems to be a virgin.
- Theme: Appearance vs. reality, chastity
- Language: “Semblance of a maid” – points to how reputation is based on how things appear.
“They will scarcely believe this without trial.”
- Explanation: They won’t believe it unless they see proof.
- Analysis: The plan depends on tricking the eye.
“Offer them instances, which shall bear no less likelihood than to see me at her chamber window…”
- Explanation: Let them see me at the window, as if I’m Hero’s secret lover.
- Theme: Misinterpretation, illusion
“…hear me call Margaret ‘Hero,’ hear Margaret term me ‘Claudio,’”
- Explanation: I’ll call Margaret “Hero” and she’ll call me “Claudio” to fool them.
- Language Device: Dramatic irony – the audience knows the truth, but the characters won’t.
“Bring them to see this the very night before the intended wedding…”
- Explanation: Set this up just before the wedding.
- Theme: Timing, betrayal
“…for in the meantime I will so fashion the matter that Hero shall be absent…”
- Explanation: I’ll make sure the real Hero isn’t there.
- Analysis: Ensures no one can prove the truth in time.
- Theme: False appearances
“…and there shall appear such seeming truth—”
- Explanation: It will look so real that they’ll believe it.
- Language: Oxymoron: “seeming truth” – shows how lies can look real.
- Theme: Truth vs. illusion
“of Hero’s disloyalty that jealousy shall be called assurance and all the preparation overthrown.”
Paraphrase:
We’ll create such a convincing scene of Hero being unfaithful that people won’t just suspect it—they’ll be absolutely certain. This will ruin all the wedding preparations.
Analysis:
- Theme – Deception & Appearance vs. Reality: The scheme relies on visual trickery—what people think they see becomes “proof,” even though it’s a lie.
- Language Device – Irony: The plan aims to make jealousy seem like certainty, which is a dark irony since jealousy is usually rooted in doubt.
- Tone – Sinister and conniving: Borachio reveals how easily perception can be manipulated.
✦ Line:
DON JOHN: “Grow this to what adverse issue it can, I will put it in practice.”
Paraphrase:
Whatever bad outcome this causes, I don’t care—I’m going to make it happen.
Analysis:
- Theme – Villainy and Revenge: Don John doesn’t care who gets hurt. His only goal is to ruin others’ happiness.
- Character Insight – Don John: This shows his cold, calculating nature. He sees others’ misery as his victory.
- Language Device – Foreshadowing: His line hints at the chaos and heartbreak that will unfold.
✦ Line:
“Be cunning in the working this, and thy fee is a thousand ducats.”
Paraphrase:
Be clever and careful with this plan, and I’ll pay you a thousand gold coins.
Analysis:
- Theme – Corruption & Greed: Borachio’s motivation is partly financial, showing how money is used to fuel wrongdoing.
- Language Device – Imperative: “Be cunning” shows Don John’s commanding tone—he’s the one orchestrating the evil.
- Character Insight – Don John: Willing to pay a huge sum just to cause pain, showing how deep his malice runs.
✦ Line:
BORACHIO: “Be you constant in the accusation, and my cunning shall not shame me.”
Paraphrase:
If you stick firmly to the accusation, my trick will be clever enough to succeed and not embarrass me.
Analysis:
- Theme – Honor & Reputation: Borachio’s pride lies in how “clever” his trick is, not in being moral.
- Language Device – Assonance in “cunning” and “shame”: Creates a smooth flow, hinting at the slippery nature of deceit.
- Character Insight – Borachio: He takes pride in manipulation, much like a con artist would.
✦ Line:
DON JOHN: “I will presently go learn their day of marriage.”
Paraphrase:
I’ll go right now and find out when the wedding is.
Analysis:
- Plot Development – Rising Action: This moves the story forward—the plot to ruin the wedding is now set in motion.
- Language Device – Dramatic Irony: The audience knows what’s coming, but the innocent characters (Hero, Claudio) do not.
- Theme – Manipulation of Time & Events: They’re timing their trap perfectly to destroy the wedding just before it happens.
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