The role of Dogberry and company in Much Ado About Nothing
In many Shakespearean plays, we find, intertwined and running parallel with the main action, a subplot serving as an allegorical commentary on the main theme of the play. In Much Ado About Nothing, this allegory is found in the actions of the comic char-acters: Dogberry, Verges, and their inept band of blundering nightwatchmen.
The central theme of Much Ado About Nothing is that we live in a disquieting world where thoughts and actions are frequently born of misperception. The play focuses on this aspect of our lives, its main theme summarized by three com-plementary motifs:
• Our partiality—attraction or aversion—is an arbitrary pro-jection based on imputed qualities not inherent in the object of our feelings.
• Our feelings of liking or hating are often conjured up by a misperception of reality.
• These arbitrary feelings, born of misperception, often create unnecessary strife and turmoil, and hence “much ado about nothing.”
Thus, the title, Much Ado About Nothing, expresses the mes-sage in the play. The strife and discord—the “much ado”—arise from feelings and attitudes that are mere imputations projected upon an object or situation; these feelings and attitudes are not inherent in the object or situation, and hence are really “noth-ing.”
The actions of Dogberry and company emphasize this by parodying those of the serious characters as well as our own behavior. The malapropisms of Dogberry and Verges, their misunderstanding of words and their roles, parallel our misread-ing of situations caused by the projection of extraneous feelings that do not correspond with reality. As an example, let us look at what happens in Act III Scene 3:
Dogberry: Are you good men and true?
Verges: Yea, or else it were pity but they should suffer salva-tion, body and soul.
Dogberry: Nay, that were a punishment too good for them, if they should have any allegiance in them, being chosen for the Prince’s watch.
The words “salvation” and “allegiance” are used wrongly, their meaning reversed, making a mockery of the pompous pronouncements of Dogberry and Verges. The declarations of these two are hilarious not only because their words are wrong, but more because the speakers strive so earnestly to sound dignified while making a mess.
This parody bites because often we too deem ourselves re-spectable and dignified while making a muddle of our actions. The behavior of Dogberry and Verges are hardly different from that of Benedick, Beatrice, Claudio, as well as the Prince, since all equally misunderstand the reality. The actions of Dogberry and Verges are also not much different from ours in the real world. A higher being, aware of our misunderstanding, would view us as acting like Dogberry and Verges.
Dogberry now addresses Seacole, the man selected to be the leader of his band of inept nightwatchmen.
Dogberry: You are thought here to be the most senseless and fit man for the constable of the watch; therefore bear you the lantern. This is your charge: you are to comprehend any vagrant men; you are to bid any man stand, in the Prince’s name.
Seacole: How if he will not stand?
Dogberry: Why, then, take no note of him, but let him go and presently call the rest of the watch together and thank God you are rid of a knave.
Verges: If he will not stand when he is bidden, he is none of the Prince’s subjects.
Dogberry: True, and they are to meddle with none but the Prince’s subjects.
Not only does Dogberry misunderstand words, he also misunderstands the purpose of the night watch. This may be likened to our misunderstanding of situations as well as a mis-understanding of our purpose in life. How then are we able to function correctly? Without awakening to the reality, it may be impossible to avoid a mockery of our attempts at proper be-havior, a state well reflected in Dogberry’s closing line:
Dogberry: Adieu, be vigitant, I beseech you.
A humorous, yet amazingly apt closing line for Dogberry. In truth, we can only be “vigitant,” whatever that means, and not vigilant, because, in our ignorance of the true situation, we do not really know what to look out for.
The actions of Dogberry and company, throughout the play, parody the actions of the serious characters in the play, as well as our own actions in the real world. Their role in the play is thus far from just providing comic relief. The scenes involv-ing Dogberry and company are absolutely part of the thematic resonance and cohesive unity of the play, meticulously crafted by Shakespeare to deliver its central meaning as a unified and compact whole.
We need to appreciate the cohesive unity in Shakespeare’s plays to fully grasp not only their lyrical brilliance, but also the dazzling artistic structural design that delivers sage messages of immense benefit to humanity.