5.4.1

Summary

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Act 3, Scene 4

The morning of the wedding, Hero is getting ready with Margaret and Ursula.

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Tragic foreboding

  • Initially, the scene resembles Act 3, Scene 1 and it may appear as though all is well and there will be a continuation of the trick to fool Beatrice, as at the start of Act 3, Scene 2.
  • However, the audience being privy to all the events know what has already transpired and know what Claudio is intending to do.
  • An air or tragic foreboding hangs over this scene.
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Hero

  • Shakespeare again demonstrates to the audience a confident, assertive side to Hero’s character when she states: “My cousin’s a fool, and thou art another: I’ll wear none but this.”
  • To state that Hero acts as a foil and contrasts to Beatrice’s outspoken, radical character is an oversimplification.
  • Hero can also be headstrong, although more privately than her cousin.
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Tragedy

  • The sense of tragedy is emphasised when Hero states “my heart is exceedingly heavy”.
  • Characters having premonitions of ill fortune are a common dramatic device in tragedies.
  • In ‘Romeo and Juliet’, Juliet has a vision of Romeo dead at the bottom of a tomb before he departs to begin his banishment from Verona.
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Innocence

  • Margaret attempts to lighten the mood, telling Hero her heart will soon be heavier “due to the weight of a man.”
  • Hero’s embarrassment at Margaret’s crude, sexual humour is again illustrative of her purely innocent character and contrasts to the accusation made in Act 4 that she “knows the heat of a luxurious bed”.

Jump to other topics

1Key Terminology

2Structure & Form

3Act 1: Plot Summary

4Act 2: Plot Summary

5Act 3: Plot Summary

5.1Act 3, Scene 1

5.2Act 3, Scene 2

5.3Act 3, Scene 3

5.4Act 3, Scene 4

5.5Act 3, Scene 5

6Act 4: Plot Summary

7Act 5: Plot Summary

7.1Act 5, Scene 1

7.2Act 5, Scene 2

7.3Act 5, Scene 3

7.4Act 5, Scene 4

8Key Themes

9Recap: Main Quotes

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