Leonato
English Lit: AQA GCSE Much Ado About Nothing, topic 9.1.18
Leonato
LEONATO: Hath the fellow any wit that told you this?
Key line
- LEONATO: Hath the fellow any wit that told you this?
Dramatic function
- Conversations between Antonio and Leonato (likely the eldest characters in the play) often revolve around status and reputation.
- In this way, the dramatic function of these two characters is to reflect the traditional views held by men in society at the time the play was both set and written.
Wit
- The concept of “wit” or intelligence being important is established here and creates irony for later in the play when Dogberry (fulfilling the role of a Shakespearean fool) and the Watch uncover the truth of Don John and Borachio’s villainy.
Act 5, Scene 1
- As Borachio informs Don Pedro in Act 5, Scene 1:
- “What your wisdoms could not discover,
these shallow fools have brought to light,”
Test yourself on Leonato
Which character says Hath the fellow any wit that told you this?
Which character fulfils the role of a Shakespearean fool in Much Ado About Nothing?