Capítulo 4 de 24 · 2'22"
Claudio admits he loves Hero but cannot say so himself, so Don Pedro offers to do it for him. He will disguise himself at the night's revels, pretend to be Claudio, and 'take her hearing prisoner' with a fine speech before approaching her father.
Benedick Swears He'll Never Marry
❝ Monólogo · 7 frases Claudio's confession
He traces his feeling from a soldier's glance to a room full of desires, admitting the truth without a single boast.
Don Pedro's Plan to Woo Hero
Claudio tells Don Pedro that he loved Hero even before the war, but had no time then to turn that liking into love. Don Pedro urges him to cherish it and promises to speak to Hero and her father. At the night's revels he will take Claudio's part in disguise.
The proposal is generous, but it is also a performance, and Don Pedro knows it. Claudio's confession is wordy — war thoughts 'have left their places vacant' and desires come 'thronging' — and his friend teases him for it: 'Thou wilt be like a lover presently, and tire the hearer with a book of words.' Having said that, Don Pedro immediately makes the love affair his own project. He will 'assume thy part in some disguise, and tell fair Hero I am Claudio,' then 'break with her father.' It is efficient and well meant, yet it means Claudio never speaks for himself, and the prince borrows both his name and his voice. The whole plan rests on disguise and borrowed words, which is exactly what goes wrong later.
A1–C2 es la escala MCER. Las tarjetas por encima del nivel elegido se atenúan y la reproducción no se pausa en ellas.
“I shall see thee, ere I die, look pale with love.”
It gets its force from timing: the speaker expects to live just long enough to see this sworn bachelor fall.
literary
“Thou wilt be like a lover presently, and tire the hearer with a book of words.”
Calling love talk a book of words mocks it as endless reading that exhausts anyone listening.
Informal
“If thou dost love fair Hero, cherish it.”
After all the courtship talk, the prince gives one plain piece of advice: if the love is real, keep it.
Formal
“I will assume thy part in some disguise, and tell fair Hero I am Claudio.”
The plan lands in one line: hide my face, borrow your name, and speak to her as you.
Formal
“And in her bosom I'll unclasp my heart, and take her hearing prisoner with the force and strong encounter of my amorous tale.”
Courtship becomes a siege: he unclasps his heart and takes her hearing prisoner with his tale.
literary
My lord, when you went onward on this ended action, I looked upon her with a soldier's eye that liked, but had a rougher task in hand than to drive liking to the name of love. But now... I am returned and that war thoughts have left their places vacant, in their rooms come thronging soft and delicate desires, all prompting me how fair young Hero is. Saying... I liked her ere I went to wars.
Siguiente · 05cross someoneLa escena: Don John Plots Against ClaudioClaudio admits he loves Hero but cannot bring himself to court her, so Don Pedro volunteers to speak for him, first to Hero and then to her father.
He knows there is revelling that night. He will disguise himself as Claudio, tell Hero that he is Claudio, and make an elaborate speech of love before going to her father.
No. He is shy and tongue-tied about his own feelings, so he lets the prince take his part, even though it means someone else will speak his love for him.
Claudio has suddenly become wordy about love, so Don Pedro jokes that he is about to bore everyone like a typical lover.
At the masked revels nobody knows who is speaking. Pretending to be Claudio lets Don Pedro press the courtship in Claudio's name without exposing the trick to Hero.
