Context

• The stereotype of Elizabethan women as chaste, modest, subservient and wholly dependent on men, whether a father or a husband, is taken mainly from how women were portrayed in literature
• Shakespeare, like other playwrights, borrowed plots from classic literature
• The storyline of Hero and Claudio likely came directly from a story by Italian poet Ludovico Ariosto
• This is not how most people lived their lives, but there were great differences between men's and women's roles in Elizabethan England
• Differences between men's and women's roles

  Mostly rooted in schooling
• Boys were able to attend grammar school from the ages of 6 or 7, whereas girls were mainly home-schooled (except for the poor)
• The lack of formal education for women led to a disparity between what men and women were thought to be capable of
• Women were allowed to own property, but the law dictated that ownership of any property transferred to a woman's husband upon marriage
• Beatrice


  Wishes she were a man to be able to take personal revenge on men like Claudio
• Beatrice has to ask Benedick to fight Claudio on her behalf because she is a woman
• The story of Beatrice and Benedick was original and very popular in Shakespeare's time
• Beatrice


  Embodies more male characteristics of being loud, talkative and funny
• Leonato says Beatrice is too outspoken and will never marry
• The theme of female solidarity is evident, as Beatrice passionately implores Leonato to believe Hero's innocence
• No one believes Hero and Beatrice simply because they are women
• Male friendship and bonding through banter


  Used to cement friendships between men and to exclude women from such conversations
• Leonato immediately makes a joke about whether or not his daughter Hero is really his
• Humour


  Acts as both a weapon and a shield, demeans women but also made because of men's insecurities
• In Elizabethan times, it was very important for a woman to maintain her virginity until she was at least engaged
• Any rumours that a woman was not a virgin would not only harm the woman's reputation, but also that of her father and future husband
• It was generally thought acceptable if an engaged couple had sex between the agreement to marry and the actual wedding ceremony
• The same expectations of virginity were not in place for men
• It was a father's duty to protect his daughter's chastity at all costs
• Leonato's extreme reaction at the altar when Claudio refuses Hero is explained by this
• A wife's faithfulness was a reflection of her husband's status and ability to control her
• Cuckolds became a running joke in Elizabethan plays
• After marriage, any expression of female sexuality or feminine desire was considered to be deeply disturbing
• Concerns about Hero's fidelity and virginity before marriage is a key plot point in the play
• The shaming of Hero is an example of male hypocrisy, as it was seen acceptable for men to sleep around, but obviously not women
• Don John is a symbol of infidelity as he is Don Pedro's illegitimate brother
• In Elizabethan society, the very fact that Don John is illegitimate makes him "evil"
• Discord is evident in the play, as it combines humour with more serious themes such as honour, shame and social conventions
• The play shares some plot elements with tragedies such as Romeo and Juliet
• The word "nothing"


  In Shakespeare's time had contradictory meanings - the absence of anything, but also pronounced as "noting", meaning observing or taking note
• Messina is a large port city on the Italian island of Sicily
• Before the formation of a professional police force, each area of a city was policed by ordinary citizens called the "watch" who arrested wrongdoers
• The play ends with a dance, like several other Shakespearean comedies, which signals harmony and restored order