ACT V. Scene I.

The street, near Leonato's house.
[Enter Leonato and his brother Antonio.]

Ant.
If you go on thus, you will kill yourself,
And 'tis not wisdom thus to second grief
Against yourself.

Leon.
I pray thee cease thy counsel,
Which falls into mine ears as profitless
As water in a sieve. Give not me counsel,
Nor let no comforter delight mine ear
But such a one whose wrongs do suit with mine.
Bring me a father that so lov'd his child,
Whose joy of her is overwhelm'd like mine,
And bid him speak to me of patience.
Measure his woe the length and breadth of mine,
And let it answer every strain for strain,
As thus for thus, and such a grief for such,
In every lineament, branch, shape, and form.
If such a one will smile and stroke his beard,
Bid sorrow wag, cry 'hem' when he should groan,
Patch grief with proverbs, make misfortune drunk
With candle-wasters--bring him yet to me,
And I of him will gather patience.
But there is no such man; for, brother, men
Can counsel and speak comfort to that grief
Which they themselves not feel; but, tasting it,
Their counsel turns to passion, which before
Would give preceptial medicine to rage,
Fetter strong madness in a silken thread,
Charm ache with air and agony with words.
No, no! 'Tis all men's office to speak patience
To those that wring under the load of sorrow,
But no man's virtue nor sufficiency
To be so moral when he shall endure
The like himself. Therefore give me no counsel.
My griefs cry louder than advertisement.

Ant.
Therein do men from children nothing differ.

Leon.
I pray thee peace. I will be flesh and blood;
For there was never yet philosopher
That could endure the toothache patiently,
However they have writ the style of gods
And made a push at chance and sufferance.

Ant.
Yet bend not all the harm upon yourself.
Make those that do offend you suffer too.

Leon.
There thou speak'st reason. Nay, I will do so.
My soul doth tell me Hero is belied;
And that shall Claudio know; so shall the Prince,
And all of them that thus dishonour her.
          [Enter Don Pedro and Claudio.]

Ant.
Here comes the Prince and Claudio hastily.

Pedro.
Good den, Good den.

Claud.
Good day to both of you.

Leon.
Hear you, my lords!

Pedro.
We have some haste, Leonato.

Leon.
Some haste, my lord! well, fare you well, my lord.
Are you so hasty now? Well, all is one.

Pedro.
Nay, do not quarrel with us, good old man.

Ant.
If he could right himself with quarrelling,
Some of us would lie low.

Claud.
Who wrongs him?

Leon.
Marry, thou dost wrong me, thou dissembler, thou!
Nay, never lay thy hand upon thy sword;
I fear thee not.

Claud.
Marry, beshrew my hand
If it should give your age such cause of fear.
In faith, my hand meant nothing to my sword.

Leon.
Tush, tush, man! never fleer and jest at me
I speak not like a dotard nor a fool,
As under privilege of age to brag
What I have done being young, or what would do,
Were I not old. Know, Claudio, to thy head,
Thou hast so wrong'd mine innocent child and me
That I am forc'd to lay my reverence by
And, with grey hairs and bruise of many days,
Do challenge thee to trial of a man.
I say thou hast belied mine innocent child;
Thy slander hath gone through and through her heart,
And she lies buried with her ancestors-
O, in a tomb where never scandal slept,
Save this of hers, fram'd by thy villany!

Claud.
My villany?

Leon.
Thine, Claudio; thine I say.

Pedro.
You say not right, old man.

Leon.
My lord, my lord,
I'll prove it on his body if he dare,
Despite his nice fence and his active practice,
His May of youth and bloom of lustihood.

Claud.
Away! I will not have to do with you.

Leon.
Canst thou so daff me? Thou hast kill'd my child.
If thou kill'st me, boy, thou shalt kill a man.

Ant.
He shall kill two of us, and men indeed
But that's no matter; let him kill one first.
Win me and wear me! Let him answer me.
Come, follow me, boy,. Come, sir boy, come follow me.
Sir boy, I'll whip you from your foining fence!
Nay, as I am a gentleman, I will.

Leon.
Brother--

Ant.
Content yourself. God knows I lov'd my niece,
And she is dead, slander'd to death by villains,
That dare as well answer a man indeed
As I dare take a serpent by the tongue.
Boys, apes, braggarts, jacks, milksops!

Leon.
Brother Anthony--
Ant.

Hold you content. What, man! I know them, yea,
And what they weigh, even to the utmost scruple,
Scambling, outfacing, fashion-monging boys,
That lie and cog and flout, deprave and slander,
Go anticly, show outward hideousness,
And speak off half a dozen dang'rous words,
How they might hurt their enemies, if they durst;
And this is all.

Leon.
But, brother Anthony--

Ant.
Come, 'tis no matter.
 Do not you meddle; let me deal in this.

Pedro.
Gentlemen both, we will not wake your patience.
My heart is sorry for your daughter's death;
But, on my honour, she was charg'd with nothing
But what was true, and very full of proof.

Leon.
My lord, my lord--

Pedro.
I will not hear you.

Leon.
No? Come, brother, away!--I will be heard.

Ant.
And shall, or some of us will smart for it.
                                                [Exeunt ambo.]
              [Enter Benedick.]

Pedro.
See, see! Here comes the man we went to seek.

Claud.
Now, signior, what news?

Bene.
Good day, my lord.

Pedro.
Welcome, signior. You are almost come to part almost a fray.

Claud.
We had lik'd to have had our two noses snapp'd off with two old
men without teeth.

Pedro.
Leonato and his brother. What think'st thou? Had we fought, I
doubt we should have been too young for them.

Bene.
In a false quarrel there is no true valour. I came to seek you
both.

Claud.
We have been up and down to seek thee; for we are high-proof
melancholy, and would fain have it beaten away. Wilt thou use thy
wit?

Bene.
It is in my scabbard. Shall I draw it?

Pedro.
Dost thou wear thy wit by thy side?

Claud.
Never any did so, though very many have been beside their wit. I
will bid thee draw, as we do the minstrel--draw to pleasure us.

Pedro.
As I am an honest man, he looks pale. Art thou sick or angry?

Claud.
What, courage, man! What though care kill'd a cat, thou hast
mettle enough in thee to kill care.

Bene.
Sir, I shall meet your wit in the career an you charge it against
me. I pray you choose another subject.

Claud.
Nay then, give him another staff; this last was broke cross.
Pedro.
By this light, he changes more and more. I think he be angry
indeed.

Claud.
If he be, he knows how to turn his girdle.

Bene.
Shall I speak a word in your ear?

Claud.
God bless me from a challenge!

Bene.
[aside to Claudio] You are a villain. I jest not; I will make it
good how you dare, with what you dare, and when you dare.  Do me
right, or I will protest your cowardice. You have kill'd a sweet
lady, and her death shall fall heavy on you. Let me hear from
you.

Claud.
Well, I will meet you, so I may have good cheer.

Pedro.
What, a feast, a feast?

Claud.
I' faith, I thank him, he hath bid me to a calve's head and a
capon, the which if I do not carve most curiously, say my knife's
naught. Shall I not find a woodcock too?

Bene.
Sir, your wit ambles well; it goes easily.

Pedro.
I'll tell thee how Beatrice prais'd thy wit the other day.  I
said thou hadst a fine wit: 'True,' said she, 'a fine little
one.' 'No,' said I, 'a great wit.' 'Right,' says she, 'a great
gross one.' 'Nay,' said I, 'a good wit.' 'Just,' said she, 'it
hurts nobody.' 'Nay,' said I, 'the gentleman is wise.'
'Certain,' said she, a wise gentleman.' 'Nay,' said I, 'he hath
the tongues.' 'That I believe' said she, 'for he swore a thing to
me on Monday night which he forswore on Tuesday morning. There's
a double tongue; there's two tongues.' Thus did she an hour
together transshape thy particular virtues. Yet at last she
concluded with a sigh, thou wast the proper'st man in Italy.

Claud.
For the which she wept heartily and said she cared not.

Pedro.
Yea, that she did; but yet, for all that, an if she did not hate
him deadly, she would love him dearly. The old man's daughter
told us all.

Claud.
All, all! and moreover, God saw him when he was hid in the
garden.

Pedro.
But when shall we set the savage bull's horns on the sensible
Benedick's head?

Claud.
Yea, and text underneath, 'Here dwells Benedick, the married
man'?

Bene.
Fare you well, boy; you know my mind. I will leave you now to
your gossiplike humour. You break jests as braggards do their
blades, which God be thanked hurt not. My lord, for your many
courtesies I thank you. I must discontinue your company. Your
brother the bastard is fled from Messina. You have among you
kill'd a sweet and innocent lady. For my Lord Lackbeard there, he
and I shall meet; and till then peace be with him.
                                                     [Exit.]

Pedro.
He is in earnest.

Claud.
In most profound earnest; and, I'll warrant you, for the love of
Beatrice.

Pedro.
And hath challeng'd thee.

Claud.
Most sincerely.

Pedro.
What a pretty thing man is when he goes in his doublet and hose
and leaves off his wit!
[Enter Constables Dogberry and Verges, with the Watch, leading
Conrade and Borachio.]

Claud.
He is then a giant to an ape; but then is an ape a doctor to such
a man.

Pedro.
But, soft you, let me be! Pluck up, my heart, and be sad!
Did he not say my brother was fled?

Dog.
Come you, sir. If justice cannot tame you, she shall ne'er weigh
more reasons in her balance. Nay, an you be a cursing hypocrite
once, you must be look'd to.

Pedro.
How now? two of my brother's men bound? Borachio one.

Claud.
Hearken after their offence, my lord.

Pedro.
Officers, what offence have these men done?

Dog.
Marry, sir, they have committed false report; moreover, they have
spoken untruths; secondarily, they are slanders; sixth and
lastly, they have belied a lady; thirdly, they have verified
unjust things; and to conclude, they are lying knaves.

Pedro.
First, I ask thee what they have done; thirdly, I ask thee what's
their offence; sixth and lastly, why they are committed; and to
conclude, what you lay to their charge.

Claud.
Rightly reasoned, and in his own division; and by my troth
there's one meaning well suited.

Pedro.
Who have you offended, masters, that you are thus bound to your
answer? This learned constable is too cunning to be understood.
What's your offence?

Bora.
Sweet Prince, let me go no farther to mine answer. Do you hear
me, and let this Count kill me. I have deceived even your very
eyes. What your wisdoms could not discover, these
shallow fools have brought to light, who in the night overheard
me confessing to this man, how Don John your brother incensed me
to slander the Lady Hero; how you were brought into the orchard
and saw me court Margaret in Hero's garments; how you disgrac'd
her when you should marry her. My villany they have upon record,
which I had rather seal with my death than repeat over to my
shame. The lady is dead upon mine and my master's false
accusation; and briefly, I desire nothing but the reward of a
villain.

Pedro.
Runs not this speech like iron through your blood?

Claud.
I have drunk poison whiles he utter'd it.
Pedro.

But did my brother set thee on to this?

Bora.
Yea, and paid me richly for the practice of it.

Pedro.
He is compos'd and fram'd of treachery,
And fled he is upon this villany.

Claud.
Sweet Hero, now thy image doth appear
In the rare semblance that I lov'd it first.

Dog.
Come, bring away the plaintiffs. By this time our sexton hath
reformed Signior Leonato of the matter. And, masters, do not
forget to specify, when time and place shall serve, that I am an
ass.

Verg.
Here, here comes Master Signior Leonato, and the sexton too.
     [Enter Leonato, his brother [Antonio], and the Sexton.]

Leon.
Which is the villain? Let me see his eyes,
That, when I note another man like him,
I may avoid him. Which of these is he?

Bora.
If you would know your wronger, look on me.

Leon.
Art thou the slave that with thy breath hast kill'd
Mine innocent child?

Bora.
Yea, even I alone.

Leon.
No, not so, villain! thou beliest thyself.
Here stand a pair of honourable men--
A third is fled--that had a hand in it.
I thank you princes for my daughter's death.
Record it with your high and worthy deeds.
'Twas bravely done, if you bethink you of it.

Claud.
I know not how to pray your patience;
Yet I must speak. Choose your revenge yourself;
Impose me to what penance your invention
Can lay upon my sin. Yet sinn'd I not
But in mistaking.

Pedro.
By my soul, nor I!
And yet, to satisfy this good old man,
I would bend under any heavy weight
That he'll enjoin me to.

Leon.
I cannot bid you bid my daughter live-
That were impossible; but I pray you both,
Possess the people in Messina here
How innocent she died; and if your love
Can labour aught in sad invention,
Hang her an epitaph upon her tomb,
And sing it to her bones--sing it to-night.
To-morrow morning come you to my house,
And since you could not be my son-in-law,
Be yet my nephew. My brother hath a daughter,
Almost the copy of my child that's dead,
And she alone is heir to both of us.
Give her the right you should have giv'n her cousin,
And so dies my revenge.

Claud.
O noble sir!
Your over-kindness doth wring tears from me.
I do embrace your offer; and dispose
For henceforth of poor Claudio.

Leon.
To-morrow then I will expect your coming;
To-night I take my leave. This naughty man
Shall fact to face be brought to Margaret,
Who I believe was pack'd in all this wrong,
Hir'd to it by your brother.

Bora.
No, by my soul, she was not;
Nor knew not what she did when she spoke to me;
But always hath been just and virtuous
In anything that I do know by her.
Dog.
Moreover, sir, which indeed is not under white and black, this
plaintiff here, the offender, did call me ass. I beseech you let
it be rememb'red in his punishment. And also the watch heard them
talk of one Deformed. They say he wears a key in his ear, and a
lock hanging by it, and borrows money in God's name, the which he
hath us'd so long and never paid that now men grow hard-hearted
and will lend nothing for God's sake. Pray you examine him upon
that point.

Leon.
I thank thee for thy care and honest pains.

Dog.
Your worship speaks like a most thankful and reverent youth, and
I praise God for you.

Leon.
There's for thy pains. [Gives money.]

Dog.
God save the foundation!

Leon.
Go, I discharge thee of thy prisoner, and I thank thee.

Dog.
I leave an arrant knave with your worship, which I beseech your
worship to correct yourself, for the example of others.  God keep
your worship! I wish your worship well. God restore you to
health! I humbly give you leave to depart; and if a merry meeting
may be wish'd, God prohibit it! Come, neighbour.
                               [Exeunt [Dogberry and Verges.]

Leon.
Until to-morrow morning, lords, farewell.

Ant.
Farewell, my lords. We look for you to-morrow.

Pedro.
We will not fall.

Claud.
To-night I'll mourn with Hero.
                            [Exeunt Don Pedro and Claudio.]

Leon.
[to the Watch] Bring you these fellows on.--We'll talk with

Margaret,
   How her acquaintance grew with this lewd fellow.
                                                     [Exeunt.]

Antonio confronts the grieving Leonato and pleads with him not to be so suicidal. Leonato claims Antonio can say nothing to make him happy again--he can only be consoled by someone who's gone through exactly what he's going through right now. He also says it's easy for people who have it good to give advice, which is more of him telling his brother, "You have no idea how I feel, so stop trying to tell me what to do." Leonato's main point here is that he feels perfectly justified in crying. After all, even philosophers, for all their philosophizing, whine when they have a toothache. Antonio points out that Leonato is justified in his suffering. Instead of internalizing all of the suffering, though, it's only right he should spread his suffering around, especially with the people that are the source of his grieving. Leonato says it's time to let everybody know that Hero was innocent, especially Claudio, Don Pedro, and Don John. Claudio and Don Pedro wander on to the scene. Leonato tries to pick a fight with the younger men, but they claim to be in a hurry to go somewhere. Leonato seems to think that Claudio put his hand on his sword, leading Leonato to announce that he doesn't fear Claudio's sword thrusting at all. Claudio fairly politely explains that he's not really interested in beating up senior citizens. Leonato declares that he may be old, but he's still a mean sword thruster. Leonato says that Claudio has no choice but to lay aside the gentle reverence of elderly people. Leonato insists Claudio has wrongly framed his child, and sent her to the family tomb, borne by false scandal. Claudio is surprised that he's being accused of doing anything wrong. He swears didn't lie about Hero, and only charged her with things he had proof of. But Leonato and Antonio--especially Antonio--are really itching for a fight on behalf of Hero's honor. Antonio declares he knows these young boys, they're the type who go around threatening others, and generally trying to seem really tough, but they're just full of hot air. Don Pedro attempts to diffuse the situation; he says he's sorry for Hero's death, but the men need to realize that the accusation against Hero was proven true. Don Pedro refuses to hear Leonato's appeals. Leonato and Antonio leave, spitting out a whirlwind of threats. Don Pedro and Claudio seem unfazed by the encounter. They greet the approaching Benedick with the news that they narrowly avoided a fight with two old, toothless men. Don Pedro and Claudio say they came to find Benedick to lighten their spirits. Benedick, however, is all business. They tease that Benedick looks rather angry, but they don't get just how angry until Benedick pulls Claudio aside and tells him what's what in a rather threatening way. Benedick calmly asserts that Claudio is a villain, and is responsible for the wrongful death of Hero. Benedick challenges Claudio to meet him--wherever, whenever--so they can settle this score. If Claudio should back down, Benedick will declare him a coward. Otherwise, we hope he's feelin' lucky, punk. Claudio, however, doesn't seem to take Benedick's threat very seriously. Claudio makes light of the situation, vaguely saying to Don Pedro that Benedick has accused him of being all kinds of stupid. Don Pedro and Claudio then launch into a series of silly taunts about Beatrice's love for Benedick, which they claim they heard from Hero . Finally they ridicule Benedick, saying that when he marries Beatrice, he'll be hung with cuckold's horns, though he claimed to once be an untameable bull. Benedick doesn't think any of this is funny. He says the men may be full of jokes now, but they're like braggarts who talk big, but don't know how to use a sword. Benedick goes on to thank Don Pedro for his many courtesies, but he says he'll have to part ways with Don Pedro's company from here on out. Further, he informs Don Pedro that his brother Don John has fled from Messina, and all three of them are implicated in the wrongful death of Hero. He calls Claudio "Lord Lackbeard," playing on Claudio's youthful lack of a beard, and promises Claudio will get what's coming to him. Don Pedro and Claudio are left alone to wonder at all this very serious business from Benedick. He seems to be earnest in his love for Beatrice, and earnest in his challenge on Claudio's life, both of which are a bit more severe than they're used to. As Don Pedro wonders about why Don John suddenly skipped town, Dogberry enters to clear up the matter, followed by Verges and the watchmen, with Borachio and Conrade in tow. Don Pedro recognizes Conrade and Borachio as the henchmen of his brother, Don John. Don Pedro wonders at what offense the men committed in order to be brought forth in chains. Dogberry, as usual, muddles his explanation. After playing with Dogberry for a bit, Don Pedro finally asks Borachio what he's done. Borachio breaks the mood of merriment, and finally reveals all of the truth, even though he's scared Claudio will kill him. Borachio says he could have tricked these fine men's eyes, but he was caught by fools. The watchmen heard him brag to Conrade about the counterfeit scene where Borachio courted Margaret, who posed as Hero. Borachio admits this very scene was at the root of many evils: Hero's undoing, Claudio's denouncement of Hero, and Hero's subsequent death. Borachio is actually really sorry, and says he and Don John are to blame for the death of an innocent lady. Don Pedro and Claudio are shocked, and Don Pedro asks again for confirmation that this was all Don John's doing. Borachio admits he was paid handsomely by Don John for his wrongdoing. Now Don Pedro understands why Don John was so quick to skip town. Claudio also realizes that he is an ass, and Hero appears now in his mind's eye just as sweet and innocent as when he first realized he loved her. Dogberry breaks up the scene by ordering the accused away . Dogberry informs us that the sexton has gone off to tell Leonato about all of the new discoveries. He also adds to the list of Borachio and Conrade's crimes, informing the men that the prisoners called him an ass, which is really important compared to the national scandal and wrongful death issues. Leonato enters with the sexton, and demands to know if Borachio is responsible for Hero's death. When Borachio claims the fault is his alone, Leonato jumps to his defense. Actually, he says, the blame belongs to Claudio, Don Pedro, and Don John, as well as Borachio. Leonato then thanks Don Pedro and Claudio for their roles in all this villainy, which probably makes them feel pretty bad. Claudio and Don Pedro are brief with Leonato, but full of sorrow. Claudio says Leonato can have any revenge desired, though he's quick to point out that his only actual sin was mistaking. Don Pedro jumps on the "I'm completely guilty, except..." bandwagon, though he says that whatever punishment Leonato wants to put him through, he'll accept. Leonato says he just wants his daughter be alive again, and that isn't within either of the perpetrator's power. Still, they can earn their forgiveness by explaining to the people of Messina that Hero was actually innocent. Also, Don Pedro and Claudio should go to Hero's tomb, hang an epitaph for her, and mourn over her. Finally, Claudio will be accepted back into Leonato's fold if he shows up at Leonato's house tomorrow morning for another wedding; this time Claudio will marry Leonato's niece , who is almost an exact copy of Hero. Claudio agrees to marry this other random niece, and thanks Leonato copiously for his kindness. Leonato will expect them all in the morning for Wedding 2.0. In the meantime, he's off to question Hero's maid, Margaret, who was likely involved in this whole conspiracy. Borachio speaks up again, saying Margaret had no idea what she was doing, she wasn't involved in the plot, and is a just and virtuous girl. Again, Dogberry addresses everyone, and reminds them he's been called an ass, which he'd like to have added to the list of Borachio and Conrade's crimes. There's some blabbering here as Dogberry insists that Borachio also must be examined about his knowledge of a thief named Deformed. . Dogberry putzes around some more like a tiresome fool, and finally leaves Leonato alone to punish the prisoners as he sees fit. Don Pedro and Claudio promise they'll see Antonio and Leonato at the wedding tomorrow morning; tonight they'll be busy mourning at Hero's tomb. In the meantime, Leonato will busy himself finding out the details of Margaret's relationship with Borachio.

Leonato, Hero's father, falls into a state of deep grief and shock. Torn by his worries about whether Hero is indeed chaste as she claims and his questions about what actually occurred, he cannot function. His brother Antonio tries to cheer him, telling him to have patience. But Leonato answers that although people can easily give advice when they are themselves not unhappy, people in great pain cannot follow the advice so easily. Don Pedro and Claudio enter, see Leonato and Antonio, and quickly try to leave. But Leonato follows them and accuses Claudio of having lied about Hero and having caused her death. Leonato announces that, despite his great age, he challenges Claudio to a duel for the crime Claudio has committed against Hero by ruining her good name; Leonato states that he is not too old to kill or die for honor and for the love of his child. The embarrassed Claudio and Don Pedro pretend to ignore their challengers. Finally, Leonato and Antonio leave, vowing that they will have their revenge. After Leonato and Antonio depart, Benedick enters. Claudio and Don Pedro welcome him, asking Benedick to employ his famous wit to cheer them up. But Benedick is in no mood to be funny. He tells Claudio that he believes Claudio has slandered Hero, and he quietly challenges him to a duel. When the other two keep on trying to joke with him, Benedick finally discloses that he can no longer be their companion since their slanderous accusations have murdered an innocent woman. Benedick informs Don Pedro that Don John has fled the city and leaves. At first, Claudio and Don Pedro take in this change in Benedick's behavior and the information of Don John's flight with shock and confusion. Slowly they begin to realize Benedick's serious intent--and they rightly guess that his love for Beatrice must be the only thing that could have motivated him to challenge his dearest friend to a fight to the death. Dogberry and Verges suddenly enter, accompanied by the other men of the Watch, dragging behind them the captured villains Conrad and Borachio. Dogberry tells Claudio and Don Pedro that Borachio has confessed to treachery and lying, and Borachio admits his crime again. Shocked and horrified, Claudio and Don Pedro realize that this information supports Hero's true innocence and that she has died because they have wrongly accused her, tarnished her reputation forever, and ruined her family. Leonato and Antonio return. Claudio and Don Pedro beg Leonato's forgiveness, offering themselves up to any punishment Leonato thinks fit for killing his daughter with wrongful accusations. Leonato orders Claudio to clear Hero's name by telling the entire city that she was innocent and to write her an epitaph--that is, a poem honoring her in death--and to read and sing it at her tomb. He also tells Claudio that Antonio has a daughter who is very much like Hero, and he asks Claudio to marry his niece in Hero's place in order to make up for the lost Hero. Claudio, weeping at Leonato's generosity, accepts these terms. Leonato orders that Borachio be carted away for further interrogation

Act V, scenes i-ii By showing Leonato's grief and anger to the audience, Shakespeare drives home the intensity of the pain and distress that Claudio's accusation against Hero has caused Hero and her family. Although Hero is not really dead, Leonato grieves as if she were, because she has lost her reputation. He has come to her side, believing that Claudio must have been wrong about her--"My soul doth tell me Hero is belied," he confesses to Antonio . But his concern for her, coupled with the shock of Claudio's public humiliation of her, is enough to overwhelm him with grief. He rejects Antonio's attempts to make him feel better, telling him that "men / Can counsel and speak comfort to that grief / Which they themselves not feel" . He suggests that once a person actually becomes unhappy, good advice does him or her no good: "For there was never yet philosopher / That could endure the toothache patiently" . His anger at Claudio for ruining his daughter is very real, and this scene provides the audience with a fascinating view of Leonato. He is powerful here in his righteous anger, just as much as he is overwhelmed with despair in Act IV, scene i. The revelation of Borachio's crime to Claudio and the rest marks another turning point in the play. Don John's deception has led inexorably to Claudio's rejection of Hero, darkening the play's atmosphere of lighthearted comedy. Dogberry and the Watch's accusation of Borachio and Conrad seems to open the way to understanding and resolution. Claudio's reaction to the information mirrors what the wise friar predicts in Act IV, scene i: he begins to remember Hero's good qualities. "Sweet Hero, now thy image doth appear / In the rare semblance that I loved it first," he says to himself . The punishment that Leonato extracts from him might seem light revenge for the death of a daughter, but, of course, we know--as he knows--that Hero isn't really dead. The punishment obviously establishes the grounds for a happy ending. If all goes well, it seems, Claudio is being set up to marry Hero, in a sort of redemptive masquerade. Act V, scene ii, which develops the growing relationship between Benedick and Beatrice, is one of the funniest and most touching courtship scenes in Shakespeare's works. It gives the audience a chance to laugh at Benedick and Beatrice as they grapple with the apparent folly of their love for one another, and also to see that their relationship is developing into one that is both affectionate and mature. Moreover, somehow they manage to speak sweetly to each other without losing their biting wit. Benedick, in fact, laughs at himself when he laments his inability to write love poetry. "No," Benedick concludes, "I was not born under a rhyming planet, nor I cannot woo in festival terms" . Benedick's inability to write underlines the difference between the witty and improvisatory court rhetoric that he is so good at and the very stylized conventions of Renaissance love poetry. Beatrice and Benedick interlace their conversation with news about developments in the main plot of the play, but, throughout, they tease one another with gentle affection--and, of course, with never-ending insults. Benedick sums up their situation by saying, "Thou and I are too wise to woo peaceably" . This assessment seems to be true in several respects--they will never have peace, for both are too lively and independent. But both are also wise, and it looks as if their love will grow into a deep, mature relationship in which both will continue to sparkle in the other's company. The two also express genuine fondness. To Beatrice's assertion that she feels unwell psychologically, Benedick asks her to "serve God, love me, and mend" . When she invites him to come with her to talk with Leonato, he answers, "I will live in thy heart, die in thy lap, and be buried in thy eyes. And moreover, I will go with thee to thy uncle's" . Here Benedick plays with a typical Renaissance sexual euphemism, the idea of dying referring to a sexual orgasm.


Scene II.

Leonato's orchard.
[Enter Benedick and Margaret [meeting.]

Bene.
Pray thee, sweet Mistress Margaret, deserve well at my hands by
helping me to the speech of Beatrice.

Marg.
Will you then write me a sonnet in praise of my beauty?

Bene.
In so high a style, Margaret, that no man living shall come over
it; for in most comely truth thou deservest it.

Marg.
To have no man come over me? Why, shall I always keep below
stairs?

Bene.
Thy wit is as quick as the greyhound's mouth--it catches.

Marg.
And yours as blunt as the fencer's foils, which hit but hurt not.

Bene.
A most manly wit, Margaret: it will not hurt a woman.
And so I pray thee call Beatrice. I give thee the bucklers.

Marg.
Give us the swords; we have bucklers of our own.

Bene.
If you use them, Margaret, you must put in the pikes with a vice,
and they are dangerous weapons for maids.

Marg.
Well, I will call Beatrice to you, who I think hath legs.

Bene.
And therefore will come.
                                              [Exit Margaret.]
   [Sings] The god of love,
           That sits above
       And knows me, and knows me,
         How pitiful I deserve--
 I mean in singing; but in loving Leander the good swimmer,
Troilus the first employer of panders, and a whole book full of
these quondam carpet-mongers, whose names yet run smoothly in the
even road of a blank verse--why, they were never so truly turn'd
over and over as my poor self in love. Marry, I cannot show it in
rhyme. I have tried. I can find out no rhyme to 'lady' but 'baby'
--an innocent rhyme; for 'scorn,' 'horn'--a hard rhyme; for
'school', 'fool'--a babbling rhyme: very ominous endings! No, I
was not born under a rhyming planet, nor cannot woo in festival
terms.
               [Enter Beatrice.]
 Sweet Beatrice, wouldst thou come when I call'd thee?

Beat.
Yea, signior, and depart when you bid me.

Bene.
O, stay but till then!

Beat.
'Then' is spoken. Fare you well now. And yet, ere I go, let me go
with that I came for, which is, with knowing what hath pass'd
between you and Claudio.

Bene.
Only foul words; and thereupon I will kiss thee.

Beat.
Foul words is but foul wind, and foul wind is but foul breath,
and foul breath is noisome. Therefore I will depart unkiss'd.
Bene.
Thou hast frighted the word out of his right sense, so forcible
is thy wit. But I must tell thee plainly, Claudio undergoes my
challenge; and either I must shortly hear from him or I will
subscribe him a coward. And I pray thee now tell me, for which of
my bad parts didst thou first fall in love with me?

Beat.
For them all together, which maintain'd so politic a state of
evil that they will not admit any good part to intermingle with
them. But for which of my good parts did you first suffer love
for me?

Bene.
Suffer love!--a good epithet. I do suffer love indeed, for I love
thee against my will.

Beat.
In spite of your heart, I think. Alas, poor heart! If you spite
it for my sake, I will spite it for yours, for I will never love
that which my friend hates.

Bene.
Thou and I are too wise to woo peaceably.

Beat.
It appears not in this confession. There's not one wise man among
twenty, that will praise himself.

Bene.
An old, an old instance, Beatrice, that liv'd in the time of good
neighbours. If a man do not erect in this age his own tomb ere he
dies, he shall live no longer in monument than the
bell rings and the widow weeps.

Beat.
And how long is that, think you?

Bene.
Question: why, an hour in clamour and a quarter in rheum.
Therefore is it most expedient for the wise, if Don Worm (his
conscience) find no impediment to the contrary, to be the
trumpet of his own virtues, as I am to myself. So much for
praising myself, who, I myself will bear witness, is
praiseworthy. And now tell me, how doth your cousin?

Beat.
Very ill.

Bene.
And how do you?

Beat.
Very ill too.

Bene.
Serve God, love me, and mend. There will I leave you too, for
here comes one in haste.
                     [Enter Ursula.]

Urs.
Madam, you must come to your uncle. Yonder's old coil at home.
It is proved my Lady Hero hath been falsely accus'd, the Prince
and Claudio mightily abus'd, and Don John is the author of all,
who is fled and gone. Will you come presently?

Beat.
Will you go hear this news, signior?

Bene.
I will live in thy heart, die in thy lap, and be buried thy eyes;
and moreover, I will go with thee to thy uncle's.
                                                    [Exeunt.]

In Leonato's orchard, Benedick jokes with Margaret, asking her to help him write love poems to Beatrice. Margaret suggests that if she does, he should then write a poem in praise of her beauty. Benedick says he'll write something so wonderful no man will ever be able to top it, which Margaret turns into a sexual innuendo. The pair jests back and forth for a bit, with Margaret continuing to turn everything into a sexual pun--she takes "bucklers," the word for a shield with a spike in the middle, to mean "vaginas." It's like a scene out of Animal House. Margaret leaves to get Beatrice and we get a sampling of Benedick's mad poetry skills. Benedick laments that he is a terrible writer of love poems. He says he loves more fiercely than Leander, Troilus, and all the great heroes of love epics, but he doesn't seem to have quite the same ability with romantic words as they did. In fact, he can only rhyme "scorn" with "horn," "school" with "fool," and so on. Benedick's inability with words on the page is rather funny, given how quick he is in his speech. Benedick gives up on writing silly poetry in the Renaissance style, and greets Beatrice, who has just entered the scene. Benedick is pleased that Beatrice came when he called her, and she says that she'll gladly stay until he tells her to go. Then she teases him by suggesting that he's told her to leave when he hasn't. It's kind of a cute little dance they're doing to confirm that they like each other. They get to the meat of the matter when Beatrice asks what happened with Claudio. Benedick says he went through with his promise, and now he's just waiting for Claudio's answer to his formal physical challenge, American Gladiator style. The two then degenerate into love babble about who loves who, and how, but they do maintain their previous character by being kind of affectionately mean with each other. Benedick says he loves Beatrice against his will. Benedick says the two of them are too smart to flirt without challenging one another, but Beatrice says he can't possibly be wise because wise men never have to tell people they're wise. Benedick finally asks after the supposedly dead Hero, who Beatrice says isn't doing well. Beatrice says she's not so hot, either, and Benedick tells her his love with help heal her. Just then, Ursula rushes in with great news. It has just been discovered that Hero was falsely accused, Claudio and Don Pedro were misled, and Don John is to blame for it all. She asks Beatrice to come to Leonato's house immediately, and Beatrice ask Benedick to come along. Benedick says he'll happily go with her everywhere, always, and manages to get in a sex joke, too . He's a true Shakespearean hero.

Meanwhile, near Leonato's estate, Benedick asks Margaret to bring Beatrice to speak to him. Alone, he laments his inability to write poetry. He has unsuccessfully attempted to write Beatrice a love sonnet according to the flowery and ornamental conventions of Renaissance love poetry. Ironically, despite his great skill at improvising in conversation, he is no good at all at writing. Beatrice arrives, and the two lovers flirt and tease each other with gentle insults but also with great affection--as they now seem always to have done. Benedick tells Beatrice he has challenged Claudio to a duel according to her wishes and that Claudio must respond to his challenge soon. Suddenly, the maid Ursula arrives in great haste to tell them that the scheme against Hero has come to light. Benedick pledges his love to Beatrice once again, and the two follow Ursula to Leonato and the rest of the house, which is in an uproar


Scene III.

A churchyard.
[Enter Claudio, Don Pedro, and three or four with tapers,
followed by Musicians.]

Claud.
Is this the monument of Leonato?

Lord.
It is, my lord.

Claud.
[reads from a scroll]
                  Epitaph.
    Done to death by slanderous tongues
      Was the Hero that here lies.
    Death, in guerdon of her wrongs,
      Gives her fame which never dies.
    So the life that died with shame
    Lives in death with glorious fame.
Hang thou there upon the tomb,
                                      [Hangs up the scroll.]
Praising her when I am dumb.
Now, music, sound, and sing your solemn hymn.
                 Song.
    Pardon, goddess of the night,
    Those that slew thy virgin knight;
    For the which, with songs of woe,
    Round about her tomb they go.
    Midnight, assist our moan,
    Help us to sigh and groan
      Heavily, heavily,
    Graves, yawn and yield your dead,
    Till death be uttered
      Heavily, heavily.

Claud.
Now unto thy bones good night!
Yearly will I do this rite.

Pedro.
Good morrow, masters. Put your torches out.
The wolves have prey'd, and look, the gentle day,
Before the wheels of Phoebus, round about
Dapples the drowsy east with spots of grey.
Thanks to you all, and leave us. Fare you well.

Claud.
Good morrow, masters. Each his several way.

Pedro.
Come, let us hence and put on other weeds,
And then to Leonato's we will go.

Claud.
And Hymen now with luckier issue speeds
Than this for whom we rend'red up this woe.         [Exeunt.]

Claudio and Don Pedro meet in the churchyard at Hero's family tomb. Claudio has brought with him the epitaph that Leonato asked him to write. He reads it aloud, and it basically says that Hero was put to death by slander, and Death will try to compensate for her wrongful passing: though her life was ruined by shame, her death will be marked with fame . Then there's more singing about how Hero was a virgin knight of that virgin goddess, the moon. Claudio announces he'll come to Hero's tomb and read poetry every year. Don Pedro notes that the sun is coming up. It's about the hour when they should go off and change out of their funeral clothes and into some wedding clothes, because it's party time! They exit, with Claudio being like, "Man, I hope this goes better than the last time I tried to get married, like two days ago."

Early in the morning, at the tomb where Hero supposedly lies buried, Claudio carries out the first part of the punishment that Leonato has ordered him to perform. Claudio has written an epitaph, or death poem, celebrating Hero's innocence and grieving the slander that led to her death. He reads the epitaph out loud and hangs it upon the tomb. He solemnly promises that he will come and read it here at this time every year. Everyone then goes off to prepare for Claudio's wedding to Leonato's niece, the supposed Hero look-alike, which is to occur that very day

Act V, scenes iii-iv This final scene brings the play to a joyous conclusion, drawing it away from the tragedy toward which it had begun to move and letting everyone wind up safe and sound. Claudio and Hero are about to be happily married, as are Benedick and Beatrice. The deception has been revealed, and Don John has been caught and brought to justice. Everybody has made friends again, and the final dance symbolizes the restoration of order and happiness in a world that has been thrown into chaos by Don John's accusation and Don Pedro and Claudio's rash action. But in order for the play to reach this point, Hero must go through a symbolic death and rebirth, washing away the taint of the accusation of her supposed sin. Claudio's writing and reading of an epitaph at her tomb seems to create a sense of closure, in relation to his false accusation of Hero and her supposed death. He acknowledges his error in having accused Hero: "Done to death by slanderous tongues / Was the Hero that here lies" . The song similarly pleads, "Pardon, goddess of the night, / Those that slew thy virgin knight" . When dawn arrives at the end of the scene, and Don Pedro says, "Good morrow, masters, put your torches out," we can literally see the plot emerging from darkness . It is now time to attend the wedding meant to release Claudio from his guilt for Hero's death. From darkness and pain, the story now returns to daylight and happiness. The emotional dynamics of the masked wedding must be complicated, and many readers wonder why Hero still loves Claudio after what he has done to her. The story can be read as one of real love that has been tainted by misunderstanding, paranoia, and fear but that has miraculously ended happily. Hero does seem to love Claudio still, and they are joyful at being reunited. Claudio's amazement, awe, and wonder at finding Hero still alive may serve to wipe out any last traces of resentment or anger on either side. Beatrice and Benedick finally profess their love in public--amid the laughter and teasing of all their friends--and are clearly happy to be marrying one another. Unlike Hero and Claudio, they are both very communicative people, and there is little doubt as to how they feel about one another. Benedick's long struggle with his aversion to marriage is also finally brought to an end. Just as he privately declares his decision to change his mind after he comes to believe, through Claudio and Don Pedro's trick, that Beatrice loves him, he now announces to the entire world that he is determined to get married, in spite of everything he has said against the institution. Benedick also renews his friendship with Claudio, and the two of them note with considerable pleasure that they are now relatives. Leonato partakes in this sentiment as well, since Benedick will be Leonato's nephew-in-law. Benedick is so fully changed from a willful cavalier into a submissive lover that he even commands Don Pedro, "Prince, thou art sad, get thee a wife, get thee a wife" . This order serves partly as a joke, but it contains a drop of melancholy. Perhaps Don Pedro really is sad--an idea that seems even more probable when we recall his lighthearted, but perhaps not entirely joking, proposal to Beatrice, in Act II, scene i, and her gentle rejection of it. As so often happens in Shakespeare's comedies, it seems as if somebody must be left out of the circle of happiness and marriage. At the play's end, Don John is more alienated from the happy company of nobles than he is at the beginning of the play. But Benedick does not even permit us to think about Don John. The villain's torture will take place offstage, after the play's end. The play's closing words are a call to music, and the play's final action is a joyful wedding dance. With the exception of a sad prince and a villain who remains to be punished, everybody has come to a happy ending.


Scene IV

The hall in Leonato's house.
[Enter Leonato, Benedick, Beatrice, Margaret, Ursula, Antonio,
Friar [Francis], Hero.]

Friar.
Did I not tell you she was innocent?

Leon.
So are the Prince and Claudio, who accus'd her
Upon the error that you heard debated.
But Margaret was in some fault for this,
Although against her will, as it appears
In the true course of all the question.

Ant.
Well, I am glad that all things sort so well.

Bene.
And so am I, being else by faith enforc'd
To call young Claudio to a reckoning for it.

Leon.
Well, daughter, and you gentlewomen all,
Withdraw into a chamber by yourselves,
And when I send for you, come hither mask'd.
                                              [Exeunt Ladies.]
The Prince and Claudio promis'd by this hour
To visit me. You know your office, brother:
You must be father to your brother's daughter,
And give her to young Claudio.

Ant.
Which I will do with confirm'd countenance.

Bene.
Friar, I must entreat your pains, I think.

Friar.
To do what, signior?

Bene.
To bind me, or undo me--one of them.
Signior Leonato, truth it is, good signior,
Your niece regards me with an eye of favour.

Leon.
That eye my daughter lent her. 'Tis most true.

Bene.
And I do with an eye of love requite her.

Leon.
The sight whereof I think you had from me,
From Claudio, and the Prince; but what's your will?

Bene.
Your answer, sir, is enigmatical;
But, for my will, my will is, your good will
May stand with ours, this day to be conjoin'd
In the state of honourable marriage;
In which, good friar, I shall desire your help.

Leon.
My heart is with your liking.

Friar.
And my help.
 [Enter Don Pedro and Claudio and two or three other. ]
Here comes the Prince and Claudio.

Pedro.
Good morrow to this fair assembly.

Leon.
Good morrow, Prince; good morrow, Claudio.
   We here attend you. Are you yet determin'd
To-day to marry with my brother's daughter?

Claud.
I'll hold my mind, were she an Ethiope.

Leon.
Call her forth, brother. Here's the friar ready.
                                             [Exit Antonio.]
Pedro.
Good morrow, Benedick. Why, what's the matter
That you have such a February face,
So full of frost, of storm, and cloudiness?

Claud.
I think he thinks upon the savage bull.
Tush, fear not, man! We'll tip thy horns with gold,
And all Europa shall rejoice at thee,
As once Europa did at lusty Jove
When he would play the noble beast in love.

Bene.
Bull Jove, sir, had an amiable low,
And some such strange bull leap'd your father's cow
And got a calf in that same noble feat
Much like to you, for you have just his bleat.
[Enter [Leonato's] brother [Antonio], Hero, Beatrice, Margaret,
Ursula, [the ladies wearing masks.]

Claud.
For this I owe you. Here comes other reckonings.
Which is the lady I must seize upon?

Ant.
This same is she, and I do give you her.

Claud.
Why then, she's mine. Sweet, let me see your face.

Leon.
No, that you shall not till you take her hand
Before this friar and swear to marry her.

Claud.
Give me your hand before this holy friar.
I am your husband if you like of me.

Hero.
And when I liv'd I was your other wife;       [Unmasks.]
And when you lov'd you were my other husband.

Claud.
Another Hero!

Hero.
Nothing certainer.
One Hero died defil'd; but I do live,
And surely as I live, I am a maid.

Pedro.
The former Hero! Hero that is dead!

Leon.
She died, my lord, but whiles her slander liv'd.

Friar.
All this amazement can I qualify,
When, after that the holy rites are ended,
I'll tell you largely of fair Hero's death.
Meantime let wonder seem familiar,
And to the chapel let us presently.

Bene.
Soft and fair, friar. Which is Beatrice?

Beat.
[unmasks] I answer to that name. What is your will?

Bene.
Do not you love me?

Beat.
Why, no; no more than reason.

Bene.
Why, then your uncle, and the Prince, and Claudio
Have been deceived; for they swore you did.

Beat.
Do not you love me?

Bene.
Troth, no; no more than reason.

Beat.
Why, then my cousin, Margaret, and Ursula
Are much deceiv'd; for they did swear you did.

Bene.
They swore that you were almost sick for me.

Beat.
They swore that you were well-nigh dead for me.

Bene.
'Tis no such matter. Then you do not love me?

Beat.
No, truly, but in friendly recompense.

Leon.
Come, cousin, I am sure you love the gentleman.

Claud.
And I'll be sworn upon't that he loves her;
For here's a paper written in his hand,
A halting sonnet of his own pure brain,
Fashion'd to Beatrice.

Hero.
And here's another,
Writ in my cousin's hand, stol'n from her pocket,
Containing her affection unto Benedick.

Bene.
A miracle! Here's our own hands against our hearts.
Come, I will have thee; but, by this light, I take thee for pity.

Beat.
I would not deny you; but, by this good day, I yield upon great
persuasion, and partly to save your life, for I was told you were
in a consumption.

Bene.
Peace! I will stop your mouth.             [Kisses her.]

Bene.
I'll tell thee what, Prince: a college of wit-crackers cannot
flout me out of my humour. Dost thou think I care for a satire or
an epigram? No. If a man will be beaten with brains, 'a shall
wear nothing handsome about him. In brief, since I do purpose to
marry, I will think nothing to any purpose that the world can say
against it; and therefore never flout at me for what I have said
against it; for man is a giddy thing, and this is my conclusion.
For thy part, Claudio, I did think to have beaten thee; but in
that thou art like to be my kinsman, live unbruis'd, and love my
cousin.

Claud.
I had well hop'd thou wouldst have denied Beatrice, that I might
have cudgell'd thee out of thy single life, to make thee a
double-dealer, which out of question thou wilt be if my cousin do
not look exceeding narrowly to thee.

Bene.
Come, come, we are friends. Let's have a dance ere we are
married, that we may lighten our own hearts and our wives' heels.

Leon.
We'll have dancing afterward.

Bene.
First, of my word! Therefore play, music. Prince, thou art sad.
Get thee a wife, get thee a wife! There is no staff more reverent
than one tipp'd with horn.
                   [Enter Messenger.]
Mess.
My lord, your brother John is ta'en in flight,
And brought with armed men back to Messina.

Bene.
Think not on him till to-morrow. I'll devise thee brave
punishments for him. Strike up, pipers!
                                            Dance. [Exeunt.]

At Leonato's house, Leonato, Benedick, Beatrice, Margaret, Ursula, Antonio, Friar Francis, and Hero are gathered and recounting all the recent developments. Everyone's glad that Hero is innocent. Don Pedro and Claudio are innocent too, since they were only misled. Further, Leonato says it came out in the court examination that that though Margaret played a role in the deception, she didn't know it, and is innocent of the crime too. Leonato's glad things turned out so well, and Benedick is glad that he won't have to kill or severely maim his friend Claudio after all. It's about time for Don Pedro and Claudio to arrive, and Leonato begins to instruct people on the roles they should play. The ladies should all go away and not come back until they're called. When they arrive, they should all have their faces masked in some way. Antonio will play his part by pretending the masked girl he'll present to Claudio for marriage is his daughter, when actually it's Hero! With the ladies out of the room, Benedick speaks with Leonato and Friar Francis. He says that Beatrice loves him , and the he loves Beatrice . Benedick doesn't quite understand what Leonato means, but he does say he'd like to be married to Beatrice today if possible. Leonato gives his blessing, and the Friar says he's happy to perform the service. Double wedding, everybody! Then Don Pedro, Claudio, and some others enter. Leonato asks if Claudio is still ready to marry Antonio's daughter, and Claudio graciously replies that he'll marry her even if she's an Ethiope Leonato sends Antonio off to get "Antonio's daughter." Don Pedro and Claudio start heckling Benedick, who they think is looking out of sorts, likely over the marriage situation. Benedick doesn't reveal to them his intention to marry Beatrice just yet, instead he compares Claudio's mom to a cow. Before Claudio can call Benedick's mom a heifer, Antonio re-enters with all the masked ladies. Claudio would like to see his soon-to-be wife's face, but Leonato says he has to take her hand and accept her first. Claudio takes the mystery girl's hand and swears that he's her husband, if she'll have him. Hero whips off her mask, and Claudio is psyched to see "another Hero." Hero says that the Hero who was slandered is dead, but this Hero--who is still an innocent maiden--lives. Prince Don Pedro then declares this is the former Hero, the one that's dead. Um...at least they're getting warmer. Leonato clarifies that Hero was "dead" only while her slander lived on. The Friar says he'll explain everything, but for now, they should just roll with it and get this marriage in the books. There's another hold up on the way to the chapel, as Benedick stops the Friar and asks which masked lady is Beatrice. Beatrice steps forth, and then she and Benedick engage in the most silly, passive aggressive exchanges ever to happen between two lovesick people. Benedick publicly asks Beatrice if she loves him, and she denies it --kind of. So Benedick also kind of denies it when she throws the same question back at him. Both seem a little taken aback, first by how publicly their word is being tested, but also by the fact that they each had "inside information" about the other's secret crush. They're about to shake hands and relegate each other to a life of being in simply the friend zone, but thankfully Hero and Claudio pipe up. Claudio shows off a little note he's stolen--it's a really bad poem in Benedick's handwriting, clearly meant for Beatrice. Hero is also a thief, as she's taken from her cousin Beatrice's pocket a similar note, declaring Beatrice's love for Benedick. Benedick and Beatrice realize their hands have revealed their hearts. Though they tease that they're only marrying each other out of pity, they finally just start making out . Prince Don Pedro again teases Benedick about getting married . Benedick says nobody can wreck his mood today, and he won't listen to any bad words about marriage--not even his own. Then he tells Claudio that he would have kicked his butt if they had ever dueled, but he'll let Claudio off the hook now that their related by marriage. Claudio jests that he hoped Benedick wouldn't marry Beatrice, as Claudio wanted to see Benedick become a married man and also a cheater. Then again, Benedick might end up being a cheater anyway...if Beatrice doesn't keep a close eye on him. Benedick calls for dancing, though Leonato thinks they really should have marriages before dancing. The old man is ignored, and Benedick calls for music. Then Benedick teases Don Pedro about needing to get a wife. Finally, randomly, a messenger comes in and announces that Don John was captured and brought back to Messina. Benedick counsels Don Pedro to not worry about this right now, and instead, to be merry, and everyone exits in a dance.

Meanwhile, in the church, Leonato, Antonio, Beatrice, Benedick, Hero, Margaret, Ursula, and the friar prepare for the second wedding of Claudio and Hero. We learn from their conversation that Margaret has been interrogated, and that she is innocent of conspiring with Borachio and Don John--she never realized that she was taking part in Don John's treachery. Benedick is also very relieved that Don John's trick has come to light, for now he does not need to fight his friend Claudio. Quietly, Benedick also takes Leonato aside and asks him for his permission to marry Beatrice. Don Pedro and Claudio enter, and Antonio goes off to fetch the masked women. While they are waiting, Don Pedro and Claudio tease Benedick about his love for Beatrice and about the fact that he will soon be married, although they do not know that he actually does plan to be married that very day. Hero, Beatrice, and the waiting women enter, all wearing masks. Claudio vows to marry the masked woman by his side, whom he believes to be Leonato's mysterious niece. But when Hero takes off her mask, the shocked Claudio realizes that it really is Hero. Leonato and Hero tell him that now that Hero's name has been cleared, she can figuratively come back to life and be his wife, as she should have been before. The party prepares to go to the chapel to finish the ceremony, but Benedick stops everybody. He asks Beatrice, out loud and in public, whether she loves him. Beatrice denies it, and Benedick, in turn, denies loving her. They both agree that they are good friends, but not in love. But, laughingly, Claudio and Hero tell them that they know that isn't the truth--and both whip out scribbled, half-finished love poems that they have found in their friends' rooms and pockets, written from Benedick to Beatrice and from Beatrice to Benedick. Benedick and Beatrice realize that they have been caught red-handed and, giving in, finally agree to marry. Benedick silences Beatrice, for the first time, by kissing her. Claudio and Don Pedro begin to tease Benedick again, but Benedick laughingly says that he does not care--he remains determined to be married, and nothing he has ever said against marriage in the past makes any difference to him now. He and Claudio assert their friendship again, and Benedick calls for a dance before the double wedding. Suddenly, a messenger rushes in to inform the company that Leonato's men have arrested Don John in his flight from Mes-sina. They have brought him back to Messina a prisoner. Benedick instructs Don Pedro to put off thinking about the villain until tomorrow, when Benedick will invent fine tortures for him. In the meantime, Benedick insists that all must dance joyfully in celebrating the marriages, and he commands the pipers to strike up the music