How does Dogberry confuse various criminal charges?
He prioritises the slander of Don John’s name opposed to the
true crime which is the accusation against the Lady Hero. Dogberry refuses to
hear of the true crime and dismisses it as he believes that the disgrace of Don
John is a more important and relevant matter.
What event, reported here for the first time, tends to
confirm the charges against the bad guys?
The confession of Borachio and Conrade’s involvement is a
matter of payment on behalf of Don John ‘a thousand ducats’ this confirms Don
John’s involvement in the crime but Dogberry dismisses this absurdly relevant statement
as he is focused on the wrong crime entirely.
What is the worst crime, according to Dogberry, that the bad
guys are guilty of? Why is it so important to Dogberry that the evidence of
this crime is written down? How does Dogberry justify himself against this
criminal slander?
The account of Don John being a villain seems to be the most
heinous crime in Dogberry’s opinion and he want all of the evidence written
down so he can be recognised for his part in this trial and therefore be
praised for his involvement in bringing the men to justice. He does justify the
criminal slander by talking highly of himself ‘everything handsome about him’.
Again parallels between Dogberry and the other characters can be drawn. The fixation with defending patriarchal honour creates humour when spoken by Dogberry yet why don't we find humour in Leonato's and Claudio's reactions?
ReplyDeleteWhy does it take Beatrice's impassioned pleas to force Benedict to defend Hero's honour? Why does Hero remain mute during her 'outing'?