Understanding Shakespeare: Much Ado about Nothing by Robert A. Albano - HTML preview

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Act II, Scene 1: The Dance

 

The dance and the reveling begin. Don Pedro and the other men are wearing masks, and Don Pedro immediately begins to dance with Hero so that he can woo her for Claudio. The dancing and conversation are quick and lively and full of the carnival atmosphere. The couples move with the music, so that Don Pedro and Hero are in the front of the stage for only a brief while (beginning at line 71). Once they move away, the servants Balthasar and Margaret move to the front (at line 83). Balthasar attempts to woo Margaret, but Margaret stops him with her jokes. Then an older couple, Antonio and the servant Ursula, move to the front of the stage (at line 94). The masked Antonio tries to hide his identity from Ursula, but Ursula is too clever for him and quickly reveals that she knows who he is. In the carnival atmosphere, rules regarding class distinction are also set upside- down. A servant can dance with a member of the upper class. Moreover, as Shakespeare reveals here, occasionally the servant is the more clever of the two. When Antonio and Ursula move aside, Beatrice and Benedick come to the front of the stage (at line 106).