Shakespeare William - Much ado about nothing

parish officer

a character who never speaks: she may have been created in the writing and omitted in the performance

named after the loyal lover of Leander who killed herself after he drowned swimming the Hellespont to see her

from the Latin beatrix meaning she who blesses

i.e. Don Pedro

kingdom in northern Spain

a league is about three miles

battle

high rank

reputation/distinction/noble status

person from the city of Florence, in northwest Italy

rewarded

form/image

i.e. the uncles

that demonstrate that his

is modestbadge badge worn by a noblemans servant (a sign of inferiority and humility)

natural

more genuine/virtuous/honest

from the fencing term montanto, an upward thrust, suggestive of the verbal dueling Benedick engages in with Beatrice (there may also be a sexual play on mount on to)

from the Latin benedictus meaning blessed

northern Italian city known for its university

amusing/merry

notices advertising a public entertainment

god of love who shot love-inducing arrows into peoples hearts

archery with flight-arrows (light, well-feathered arrows)

probably a professional fool employed by Leonato for entertainment

took up the challenge on behalf of

blunt arrow safe enough to be used by children or fools

in faith (i.e. truly)

censure/disparage

even

moldy, stale food

helped

hearty eater (valiant plays on the sense of courageous as Beatrice implies that the only thing Benedick tackles with boldness is food) a trencher is a wooden plate

appetite (puns on the sense of courage)

be compared to/faced with

full/replete

figure stuffed to resemble a man/man sated with food

between

five mental faculties (imagination, memory, fantasy, estimation, common sense)

limping

in heraldry the sign that distinguished the junior branch of a family (in this case Benedick)

identified as one in possession of the faculty of reason (i.e. human)

brother-in-arms (one who swore brotherly loyalty and support in combat to a friend)

fidelity/oath of brotherhood

mold for shaping new fashions of hats

good books, favor

if

brawler/quarrelsome rogue

plague/disease

immediately

before

remain

i.e. by catching (falling in love with) the Benedick

ruinous/wicked

did not pay her any special attention

get married and invite suspicion when wearing his cap that it covers horns (signs of being a cuckold i.e. having an unfaithful wife)

Benedick owes loyalty to both Claudio, his sworn brother, and to Don Pedro, prince and military leader

a reference to Adam Bell, a famous archer

mock (me) with old tags of letters/fragments of cloth

whatever is useful and will suffice is suitable

once and for all

conversational address/military assault

a general term for any relative or close friend

i.e. the news

as the outcome (event) determines/proves

prints (the book metaphor continues with cover)

look promising

walk overarched by densely intertwining branches

revealed

of the same opinion/agreeable

seize the opportunity

good sense/acumen

manifests

with it

perhaps

beg your pardon

i.e. one of the attendants, a musician

what the devil

immoderately

proportion/moderation/limit

circumstances that provoke (my sadness)

immediate

endurance

those born under the influence of Saturn were thought to be naturally morose and melancholy

fatal disease

attend/see to

soothe/flatter

restraint

i.e. opposed Don Pedro in the recent war

favor

create

wild rose (puns on the sense of cancer)

disposition/illegitimate status

by

invent a demeanor/behavior

like a fierce dog, only trusted when wearing a muzzle

only given liberty with a heavy block of wood tied to my leg

am always discontented/discontent is my only resource

from the Spanish borracho meaning drunkard

architectural plan

i.e. a troubled life

accomplished/perfect

fine lover (the tone is contemptuous)

precocious/eager/ardent/presumptuous

very young thing (could apply to Hero or Claudio, though Claudio seems likely)

employed as burner of sweet-smelling herbs in the rooms of a house

perfuming

serious

large tapestry hung on a wall for insulation (with sufficient space behind it for a man to conceal himself)

upstart

i.e. defeat in the war

thwart

reliable, loyal

merriment, joy

low in spirits/conquered

put to the test/find out by experience

sourly, bitterly

suffer heartburn (indigestion)

statue

a widows eldest son (traditionally a favored and indulged child), evermore tattling

i.e. shapely

mischievous/sharp

perverse/shrewish

in her response Beatrice plays on the senses of cuckolds horns and penis

exactly right

rough wool blankets (rather than a husband with a scratchy beard)

clothing

as an advance payment

proverbially, the fate of an old maid was to lead apes in hell

keeper of bears (and possibly apes)

virgins

heavens gatekeeper

a mild exclamation, but also with the sense of in order to get to heaven or away to Saint Peter as one who is in charge of entry to heaven

unmarried people of both sexes

supplied (with suggestion of a vagina filled with a penis)

material (puns on mettle meaning temperament)

a reference to the Christian notion that God made man from dust (whereas women were formed from one of Adams ribs)

unreasonable/changeable clay

brothers

marry a relative

entreat/woo

manner (i.e. with talk of marriage)

soon/in time to the music

pressing, urgent

moderation (puns on the dance known as a measure)

a lively dance

a slow, stately dance

a lively dance involving five (cinque) steps (pas) and pronounced sink-a-pace (thus leading to Beatrices pun on sink)

wooing

passionate/vigorous

imaginative/full of wild movements

decorously moderate

ceremonious dignity and old-fashioned formality

tottering or perhaps gout-ridden legs resulting from old age

interpret things very severely/discern things very sharply

friend/lover

so long as

face

a metaphorical reference to Don Pedros (apparently unattractive) mask

mask

the peasant Philemon entertained a disguised Jove (king of the gods) in his humble cottage

i.e. like Philemons cottage perhaps a suggestion that Don Pedro is bald or balding, or that his mask lacks hair

i.e. a parish clerk who led the responses during a church service

in brief

shaking, either the tremblings of old age or a gesture that accompanied his denial in the previous line

imitate

imitate his inadequacies so well

a result of age

all over/in every respect

silence

attractive personal qualities/virtues

a popular collection of crude comic anecdotes

his only

unbelievable

those who disregard moral laws and follow their own inclinations

wicked humor/discourtesy/low-minded jesting