MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING

Act 5 Scene 4

(Enter Leonato, Antonio, Benedick, Beatrice, Margaret, Ursula, Friar Francis, and Hero)
l1l	Friar	 Did I not tell you she was innocent?
l2l	Leonato	So are the Prince and Claudio who accused her
l3l		Upon the error that you heard debated.
l4l		But Margaret was in some fault for this,
l5l		Although against her will as it appears
l6l		In the true course of all the question.
l7l	Antonio	Well, I am glad that all things sorts so well.
l8l	Benedick	And so am I, being else by faith enforced
l9l		To call young Claudio to a reckoning for it.
l10l	Leonato	Well, daughter, and you gentlewomen all,
l11l		Withdraw into a chamber by yourselves,
l12l		And when I send for you come hither masked.
		(Exeunt Beatrice, Hero, Margaret, and Ursula)
l13l		The Prince and Claudio promised by this hour
l14l		To visit me. You know your office, brother,
l15l		You must be father to your brother’s daughter,
l16l		And give her to young Claudio.
l17l	Antonio	Which I will do with confirmed countenance.
l18l	Benedick	Friar, I must entreat your pains, I think.
l19l	Friar	To do what, signor?
l20l	Benedick	To bind me or undo me, one of them.
l21l		Signor Leonato, truth it is, good signor,
l22l		Your niece regards me with an eye of favour.
l23l	Leonato	That eye my daughter lent her, ’tis most true.
l24l	Benedick	And I do with an eye of love requite her.
l25l	Leonato	The sight whereof I think you had from me,
l26l		From Claudio and the Prince. But what’s your will?
l27l	Benedick	Your answer, sir, is enigmatical.
l28l		But for my will, my will is your good will
l29l		May stand with ours this day to be conjoined
l30l		In the state of honourable marriage,
l31l		In which, good Friar, I shall desire your help.
l32l	Leonato	My heart is with your liking.
	Friar	And my help.
l33l		Here comes the Prince and Claudio.
		(Enter Don Pedro and Claudio with attendants)
l34l	Don Pedro	 Good morrow to this fair assembly.
l35l	Leonato	Good morrow, Prince. Good morrow, Claudio.
l36l		We here attend you. Are you yet determined
l37l		Today to marry with my brother’s daughter?
l38l	Claudio	I’ll hold my mind, were she an Ethiope.
l39l	Leonato	Call her forth, brother, here’s the Friar ready.
		( 39 Exit Antonio)
l40l	Don Pedro	 Good morrow, Benedick. Why, what’s the matter
l41l		That you have such a February face,
l42l		So full of frost, of storm and cloudiness?
l43l	Claudio	I think he thinks upon the savage bull.
l44l		Tush, fear not, man, we’ll tip thy horns with gold,
l45l		And all Europa shall rejoice at thee
l46l		As once Europa did at lusty Jove
l47l		When he would play the noble beast in love.
l48l	Benedick	Bull Jove, sir, had an amiable low,
l49l		And some such strange bull leapt your father’s cow
l50l		And got a calf in that same noble feat
l51l		Much like to you, for you have just his bleat.
		(Enter Antonio with Hero, Beatrice, Margaret, and Ursula, masked)
l52l	Claudio	 For this I owe you. Here comes other reck’nings.
l53l		Which is the lady I must seize upon?
l54l	[Antonio]	This same is she, and I do give you her.
l55l	Claudio	Why then, she’s mine. Sweet, let me see your face.
l56l	Leonato	No, that you shall not till you take her hand
l57l		Before this Friar and swear to marry her.
l58l	Claudio	(to Hero)
		 Give me your hand before this holy friar.
l59l		I am your husband if you like of me.
l60l	Hero	(unmasking)
		 And when I lived I was your other wife#
l61l		And when you loved, you were my other husband.
l62l	Claudio	Another Hero!
	Hero	Nothing certainer.
l63l		One Hero died defiled, but I do live,
l64l		And surely as I live, I am a maid.
l65l	Don Pedro	The former Hero, Hero that is dead!
l66l	Leonato	She died, my lord, but whiles her slander lived.
l67l	Friar	All this amazement can I qualify
l68l		When after that the holy rites are ended
l69l		I’ll tell you largely of fair Hero’s death.
l70l		Meantime, let wonder seem familiar,
l71l		And to the chapel let us presently.
l72l	Benedick	Soft and fair, Friar, which is Beatrice?
l73l	Beatrice	(unmasking)
		 I answer to that name, what is your will?
l74l	Benedick	Do not you love me?
	Beatrice	Why no, no more than reason.
l75l	Benedick	Why then, your uncle and the Prince and Claudio
l76l		Have been deceived. They swore you did.
l77l	Beatrice	Do not you love me?
	Benedick	Troth no, no more than reason.
l78l	Beatrice	Why then, my cousin, Margaret, and Ursula
l79l		Are much deceived, for they did swear you did.
l80l	Benedick	They swore that you were almost sick for me.
l81l	Beatrice	They swore that you were wellnigh dead for me.
l82l	Benedick	’Tis no such matter. Then you do not love me?
l83l	Beatrice	No, truly, but in friendly recompense.
l84l	Leonato	Come, cousin, I am sure you love the gentleman.
l85l	Claudio	And I’ll be sworn upon ’t that he loves her,
l86l		For here’s a paper written in his hand,
l87l		A halting sonnet of his own pure brain,
l88l		Fashioned to Beatrice.
	Hero	And here’s another,
l89l		Writ in my cousin’s hand, stol’n from her pocket,
l90l		Containing her affection unto Benedick.
l91l	Benedick	 A miracle! Here’s our own hands against our
l92l		hearts. Come, I will have thee, but by this light, I take
l93l		thee for pity.
l94l	Beatrice	I would not deny you, but by this good day, I
l95l		yield upon great persuasion, and partly to save your
l96l		life, for I was told you were in a consumption.
l97l	Benedick	(kissing her)
		 Peace, I will stop your mouth.
l98l	Don Pedro	 How dost thou, Benedick the married man?
l99l	Benedick	 I’ll tell thee what, Prince: a college of wit-
l100l		crackers cannot flout me out of my humour. Dost thou
l101l		think I care for a satire or an epigram? No, if a man
l102l		will be beaten with brains, a shall wear nothing
l103l		handsome about him. In brief, since I do purpose to
l104l		marry, I will think nothing to any purpose that the
l105l		world can say against it, and therefore never flout at
l106l		me for what I have said against it. For man is a giddy
l107l		thing, and this is my conclusion. For thy part, Claudio,
l108l		I did think to have beaten thee, but in that thou art
l109l		like to be my kinsman, live unbruised, and love my
l110l		cousin.
l111l	Claudio	I had well hoped thou wouldst have denied
l112l		Beatrice, that I might have cudgelled thee out of thy
l113l		single life to make thee a double dealer, which out of
l114l		question thou wilt be, if my cousin do not look
l115l		exceeding narrowly to thee.
l116l	Benedick	Come, come, we are friends, let’s have a dance
l117l		ere we are married, that we may lighten our own
l118l		hearts and our wives’ heels.
l119l	Leonato	We’ll have dancing afterward.
l120l	Benedick	First, of my word. Therefore play, music.
		(To)
l121l		Don Pedro) Prince, thou art sad, get thee a wife, get
l122l		thee a wife. There is no staff more reverend than one
l123l		tipped with horn.
		(Enter Messenger)
l124l	Messenger	 My lord, your brother John is ta’en in flight,
l125l		And brought with armèd men back to Messina.
l126l	Benedick	 Think not on him till tomorrow, I’ll devise thee
l127l		brave punishments for him. Strike up, pipers.
	(Dance, and exeunt)