Wednesday, 16 October 2013
Act 3 Scene 2
What is the serious social problem underlying the satire on Dogberry and his all-volunteer watch?
The satire in Act 3 Scene 2 mocks people' inability to question authority and although can be traced throughout the play however it is most present with Dogberry and his watch. The watch was historically a volunteer group of men who's job was similar to the police however Shakespeare ridicules this by using farcical characters such as Dogberry to show the incompetence of some institutes.
Throughout the play people trust those with authority, Don Pedro holds the most power and his plans are usually the ones used, for example Claudio let him woo Hero in "disguise" on his behalf and the later Claudio and the Prince slander Hero and nobody questions it, not even Leonato who as the protective father would be expected to fight for his daughter. Dogberry instructs his watch to "to offend no man" of the Prince, as to accuse a loyal subject of the Prince would be slanderous to the Prince and nobody can question the Prince as he is the highest authority in the play. Of course in the play this causes humor in the form of confusion and wordplay, the whole situation is a farce which creates physical humor and slightly hides the serious intentions of the scene.
Dogberry also fits in with the critics, Richard Henze's interpretation of the play, that the characters are "self-deceptive in their pretense." Dogberry is deceiving himself into thinking himself smarter than he is, this is shown by the constant use of malapropisms as he speaks and his instructions to the watch that appear counter productive, including finding "those that are drunk" and "take them to bed" but if they don't then to just "let them alone til they sober," and "comprehend all vagrams" showing that he is not the leader expected of a Watch constable. The use of malapropisms also suggest that despite his title of the constable of the watch he has very little power according to Camille Wells Slight as he has no ability to use "language as an articulation of power." These critics show that the watch are powerless which is a social problem if they are to protect the town from criminals.
Throughout the play people trust those with authority, Don Pedro holds the most power and his plans are usually the ones used, for example Claudio let him woo Hero in "disguise" on his behalf and the later Claudio and the Prince slander Hero and nobody questions it, not even Leonato who as the protective father would be expected to fight for his daughter. Dogberry instructs his watch to "to offend no man" of the Prince, as to accuse a loyal subject of the Prince would be slanderous to the Prince and nobody can question the Prince as he is the highest authority in the play. Of course in the play this causes humor in the form of confusion and wordplay, the whole situation is a farce which creates physical humor and slightly hides the serious intentions of the scene.
Dogberry also fits in with the critics, Richard Henze's interpretation of the play, that the characters are "self-deceptive in their pretense." Dogberry is deceiving himself into thinking himself smarter than he is, this is shown by the constant use of malapropisms as he speaks and his instructions to the watch that appear counter productive, including finding "those that are drunk" and "take them to bed" but if they don't then to just "let them alone til they sober," and "comprehend all vagrams" showing that he is not the leader expected of a Watch constable. The use of malapropisms also suggest that despite his title of the constable of the watch he has very little power according to Camille Wells Slight as he has no ability to use "language as an articulation of power." These critics show that the watch are powerless which is a social problem if they are to protect the town from criminals.
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