Classic Literature

Much Ado About NothingAct 5, Scene 3

Act 5

Scene III

A church.

	Enter Don Pedro, Claudio, and three or four with tapers.
Claudio	Is this the monument of Leonato?
A Lord	It is, my lord.
Claudio	Reading out of a scroll.
	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, 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.
Claudio	Now, unto thy bones good night! Yearly will I do this rite.
Don 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.
Claudio	Good morrow, masters: each his several way.
Don Pedro	Come, let us hence, and put on other weeds; And then to Leonato’s we will go.
Claudio	And Hymen now with luckier issue speed’s Than this for whom we rend’red up this woe! Exeunt.

Companion

Previously

Act 5, Scene 2: Benedick asks Margaret to fetch Beatrice and, left alone, admits that he cannot express his love in rhyme. He tells Beatrice that he has challenged Claudio, and they continue their courtship through jokes and arguments. Ursula brings news that Hero's innocence is proved and Don John is responsible, and they go together to Leonato's house.

Who's who so far

Leonato He challenges Claudio for slandering Hero, then requires a public declaration of her innocence, mourning at her tomb and marriage to a woman he presents as Antonio's daughter.
Hero Rejected and accused at her wedding, she faints, recovers and denies speaking to any man the previous night, while the friar proposes concealing her and announcing her death.
Beatrice She asks Benedick what has passed between him and Claudio, continues their courtship through teasing and invites him to hear the news clearing Hero.
Messenger A messenger who brings news of Don Pedro's approach, praises Claudio's conduct in battle and defends Benedick against Beatrice's mockery.
Don Pedro After defending the accusation against Hero, he hears Borachio expose Don John's fraud and offers to undertake whatever Leonato imposes.
Don John According to the Sexton, he has secretly left that morning, while the Watch reports that he paid Borachio to accuse Hero falsely.
Claudio Borachio's confession convinces him Hero was falsely accused, and he accepts Leonato's penance and proposed marriage while describing his sin as a mistake.
Benedick Struggling to express his love in verse, he tells Beatrice that he has challenged Claudio and goes with her to hear the news that Hero's innocence is proved.
Balthasar He sings a song about men's inconstancy and agrees to arrange music at Hero's chamber window for the following night.
Antonio He first counsels his grieving brother, then angrily challenges Claudio and condemns the young men's claims to courage.
Conrade Examined alongside Borachio, he insists that he is a gentleman and insults the officers as the prisoners are ordered to be bound.
Borachio He confesses to deceiving Claudio and Don Pedro for Don John's money, asks for a villain's punishment and insists Margaret did not know what she was doing.
Margaret Though Leonato suspects her involvement in the plot, Borachio insists she did not understand what she was doing when she spoke to him.
Ursula She summons Beatrice home with news that Hero was falsely accused and that Don John devised the wrong and has fled.
Boy A boy whom Benedick sends to fetch a book from his chamber window and bring it to the orchard.
Dogberry He brings the prisoners before Don Pedro and receives Leonato's thanks and reward, while still demanding that the insult against him be remembered.
Verges He tells Leonato that the Watch has caught two knaves, but Dogberry interrupts him and the prisoners' offence remains unexplained.
First Watch He testifies that Borachio called Don John a villain and said Claudio intended to disgrace Hero before the assembled wedding guests.
Second Watch He testifies that Borachio said he had received a thousand ducats from Don John for accusing Hero wrongfully.
Friar Francis The friar conducting the wedding, who believes Hero innocent and proposes hiding her and reporting her death to turn slander into remorse.
Sexton He guides the examination, hears the Watch's evidence against the prisoners and leaves to show Leonato the record after reporting Don John's departure and Hero's supposed death.
A Lordnew An attendant at the church who confirms for Claudio that this is Leonato's family monument.

Words to know

tapers: candles
guerdon: a reward or recompense
weeds: clothes or garments

Spoiler-free: these notes only cover what you have read.

Act 5, Scene 3 in brief

Don Pedro and Claudio enter a church with attendants carrying tapers, and a lord confirms the location of Leonato's monument. Claudio reads a scroll that names slander as the cause of Hero's death and claims that death has replaced her shame with lasting fame. A song asks pardon for those who killed her and calls on the graves to yield their dead. Claudio then promises to repeat the rite every year, making mourning part of the penance he has accepted. The audience's knowledge that Hero is alive gives the ceremony dramatic irony, even as the words publicly honour the woman Claudio rejected. With dawn breaking, Don Pedro proposes changing their clothes before visiting Leonato, and Claudio invokes marriage with a wish for a better outcome.

Key quotes

Done to death by slanderous tongues Was the Hero that here lies:

Why it matters The epitaph makes damaging speech the agent of Hero's supposed death. Claudio now reads aloud a judgement that contradicts the accusation he made at the wedding.

Honour and reputationWit and the power of languageAppearances, deception and overhearing

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

Why it matters Claudio turns a single night's ceremony into a promise of continuing remembrance. His address to Hero's bones also preserves the gap between his belief in her death and the audience's knowledge that she lives.

Honour and reputationLove and marriageAppearances, deception and overhearing

Themes in this chapter

Honour and reputationWit and the power of languageAppearances, deception and overhearingLove and marriage

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