Leonato's Speech- Passion and Repetition

                The use of language in any Shakespearean drama is a fascinating aspect to study.  In the comedy, Much Ado About Nothing, Shakespeare has filled the culminating acts with impassioned speech and interesting language patterns and structures.  Particularly strong is Shakespeare’s repetition of particular words in act four, which is filled with high emotions and action.  The act contains the climactic scene in which Claudio questions Hero’s chastity and worthiness.  Being pure was an important topic in Elizabethan England and something Shakespeare writes about with passionate language, reflecting the seriousness of the topic.  Leonato, as Hero’s father, would have shared a significant amount of scorn and shame because his daughter was accused of being unchaste.  His speech is what I am most interested in during this portion of the text.

                After a verbally accosted and morally accused Hero falls, Leonato wishes her to “not live… do not ope thine eyes,” because of shame (4.1.122).  Enraged, he speaks with fierce words that culminate in the understanding that he would be better off if Hero were never born.  The pain he experiences at these claims made against his daughter makes him state that he desires the disgrace to be foreign and something he could cast off on someone else.  He is tortured that he now has dishonor to bear: “But mine, and mine I loved, and mine I praised,/ And mine that I was proud on, mine so much/ That I myself was to myself not mine,/ Valuing of her” (4.1.135-8).  Shakespeare uses the word “mine” six times in three lines.  This often spoken word is significant on many levels and is not to be ignored.  When one says “my” or “mine” it signifies ownership, or that something is in close relation to the speaker.  With “mine,” Leonato emphasizes his relationship with, or even ownership over, Hero.  As seen often in Shakespeare’s plays, like A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Egeus and Hermia, the father must be respected by the daughter and viewed as highly as a sort of creator and king.  As his “subject,” Leonato understands how poorly Hero’s impurity will reflect on him.  He does not wish to be associated with her, let alone call her “mine.”  “Mine” may even represent the sorrow at what he has undergone.  As the events become reality to Leonato, he feels the need to repeat the word, almost as a way to convince himself they are occurring.  Leonato evens states after Claudio’s accusation has been made “Are these things spoken, or do I but dream?” (4.1.64). Repeating a word not only lends rhythm and a unique sound when spoken, but it may show Leonato wrestling with what has been presented to him.

                After listening to the Friar’s claim that he believes Hero innocent, Leonato gives an impassioned speech revealing his anger and might.  If Hero is guilty, he will kill or “tear her” and if the men are lying he will fight them (4.1.190).  Leonato goes on to reveal his state and condition with: “Time hath not yet so dried this blood of mine,/ Nor age so eat up my invention,/ Nor fortune made such havoc of my means,/ Nor my bad life reft me so much of friends…”(4.1.192-5).  Here, Shakespeare repeats the word “nor” three times in three lines.  The repetition signals to the reader that Leonato is severely angered and ready to fight.  He has not succumbed to age, financial troubles, lack of friends, or even time itself.  He has everything on his side to defeat those that have put him and his daughter in this circumstance.  Most performers reciting these lines would place weight on the word “nor” because it emphasizes that Leonato is not weak.  The sound of words repeated can draw the audience further in by hypnotic resonance.    Interestingly, Shakespeare places the word “mine” in line 192, which harks back to the previous emotional language earlier in the scene.  Leonato attempts to feel in control of an extreme situation.  Shakespeare makes his character go through his resources verbally to announce to the audience how prepared his character is, and how he is taking control.  This speech could be considered Leonato’s battle cry of act four.  Shakespeare’s utilization of repetition makes for great drama and provides the audience with audible cues of the tension Leonato feels at the devaluing of his Hero. 

A Symbolic Rebirth

I was shocked when I read about the Friar’s proposal to redeem Hero’s honor.  Why would he find it necessary to fake to her death?  I wonder if the women in Shakespeare’s audience would have been horrified or pleased with this plan.  Was it common for women to become nuns if their reputations were somehow tarnished?  I decided to closely interpret the Friar’s scheme, and to meticulously analyze Hero’s character in order to better understand the status of women in Shakespeare’s time.  What message is Shakespeare trying to convey through Hero’s character? 

Basically, the Friar develops a scheme that involves concealing Hero’s existence.  He asks Leonato, who is utterly distraught over the accusations made against his daughter, to tell everyone that Hero died of shock and grief.  As he states, “The supposition of the lady’s death will quench the wonder of her infamy.  And if it sort not well, you may conceal her, as best befits her wounded reputation, in some reclusive and religious life” (4.1.237-41).  Thus, Friar Francis predicts that when the accusers hear that an innocent woman died, their anger will morph into regret.  If this is the case, Hero can safely return to the world.  If not, she can be quietly placed in the convent and become a nun.  It seems as though Hero must be symbolically “reborn” in order to re-enter society.  Friar Francis orders Hero, “Come lady, die to live.  This wedding day perhaps is but prolonged.  Have patience and endure” (4.1.253-54).  This successfully exhibits the importance of a woman’s chastity, for Hero’s name must be cleaned in order for her to figuratively come back to life.  Interestingly enough, despite the fact that it is Hero’s personal future on the line, she does not respond to the Friar’s suggestion, for it is Leonato who agrees to take his advice.  He proclaims, “Being that I flow in grief, the smallest twine may lead me” (4.1.249-50).  Again, this illustrates the inferiority of women.  Hero is his property, and he has authority over any matter that concerns her.        

It is interesting to note that Hero does not even attempt to angrily fight back against the allegations.  She simply takes a submissive stance and does not try to prove her innocence.  This portrays the idea that women were inferior to men, and that their opinions/words meant little.  It makes me further question the significance and irony of Hero’s name.  When I first looked at the names of the play’s characters, I originally guessed that Shakespeare might have named her in order to symbolize some sort of heroic behavior that she performs late in the play.  However, she is certainly not a “hero;” she is docile and does not fight back.  Therefore, I am guessing that the women in the audience probably did not view her as a feminine hero who rebels against patriarchal authority.  Nevertheless, perhaps women did view her as heroic because she is intelligent, and strong, since she keeps her mouth shut?  Since our society today is so different in terms of equality between men and women, it is hard to determine the reaction of Shakespeare’s female audience.  Personally, I am alarmed that such a drastic plan has to be designed in order for Hero to be “permitted” back into her society.  One of Shakespeare’s intentions of the play might have been to depict how significant patriarchal authority truly was in his society.  Could he have been questioning the severity of this authority, or was he simply trying to illustrate a fact?