Study Questions
1. Who overheard the conversation between Claudio and Don Pedro, and where did he hear it?

2. Why does Antonio tell his brother about this conversation?

3. What is the misinformation conveyed in this scene?

4. How quickly does news travel in Messina and in what manner?

5. How did this misinformation probably come about?

6. How is "nothing" used as a pun in the title of this play?

7. Is there any other word used in the title of the play which might also be a pun?

8. What does the action of the scene tell us about hearsay?

9. Leonato prefers to treat the information he received in this scene as a dream. Why?

10. Who will tell Hero the news?

Answers
1. Antonio's servant overheard the information in the orchard.

2. Antonio tells Leonato about this conversation in order to prepare him for the situation and give him some time to prepare his answer.

3. The misinformation conveyed in this scene is that the prince is in love with Hero and will ask her hand in marriage for himself.

4. News travels very quickly in Messina and is spread by word-of-mouth.

5. The misinformation of the servant is most likely due to the fact that he heard only part of Don Pedro's and Claudio's conversation.

6. Nothing was pronounced like noting during Elizabethan times.

7. "Ado" may be a pun for adieu, the French word for farewell, which characterizes the characters' formal breakups as a result of the misinformation generated in the play.

8. The action of this scene tells us that hearsay is oft repeated.

9. Leonato treats the information he learned in this scene as a dream because it is hard for him to readily accept the reality that the prince is in love with and wants to marry his daughter, a commoner.

10. Leonato directed Antonio, her uncle, to tell Hero of the prince's plans.