The Conventions of Courtly Love

"Courlty Love" is conventionally associated with Chivalry. The ideas of "Courtly Love" were probably first expressed in the love lyrics of the 11th century Troubadours of southern France, there may also be ties to Arabic love literature. Courtly Love was eventuially codified and defined in the court of Eleanor of Aquitaine by Andreas Capellanus (Andrew the Chaplain) in his Latin text The Art of Courtly Love (c.1174). Scholars still do not agree as to whether any individuals ever accepted Courtly Love as a serious way of life or it was merely a court game or pleasant literary convention. It seems that lovers were tried and judged under the rules of Courtly Love in Eleanor of Aquitaines court, but the seriousness of the trials is certainly in question. Some of the cases were more hypothetical proofs or examples of how a lover should behave than cases involving the actions of actual individuals. Whether seriously accepted in every day life or not, the rules of Courtly Love have found expression in numerous medieval texts and lovers had expectations for proper action of the part of themselves and their beloved based on many of these ideas. Sometimes Courtly Love seems especially chivalric, but at times (Guinevere/Lancelot/Arthur) its short comings are made quite explicit. Andreass text often reads like a medieval seduction manual, but it also contains many commonplaces applied to love throughout medieval literature. A similar type of love is used in Renaissance sonnets and sonnet cycles. Women could be the lovers and men the beloveds, but that was more the exception that proves the rule.

Some of the Conventions are: The Lover is smitten through the eyes and the beloveds image is imprinted in his heart/brain. Initially, he fears to make his love known to the lady. He suffers from love sickness, as a result he cannot eat or sleep and his health begins to fail. He writes highly emotional letters to his lady. (And he spends much time lamenting his lot.) A go-between delivers letters between he and his lady and pleads his case for him. The Lady holds herself aloof from his advances. Eventually, she assigns him difficult tasks so he may prove his love to her. Once he wins the lady, the lover is ennobled and possesses all virtues and accomplishments (or he believes this will happen). Absolute secrecy of their love must be maintained. The knight is a faithful champion of his lady. The Lady inspires the knight to achieve more than he could without her. Stories differ on how innocent their love play is and on how shamefully their actions may be interpreted.. There may be set backs in his progress to achieve his ladys love that cause him to lose faith in himself. With love interests of lower station the treatment of the lady may become increasingly less noble.
Courtly love was a medieval European conception of ennobling love which found its genesis in the ducal and princely courts in regions of present-day southern France at the end of the eleventh century. It involved a paradoxical tension between erotic desire and spiritual attainment, "a love at once illicit and morally elevating, passionate and self-disciplined, humiliating and exalting, human and transcendent."[1] It can be seen as a

combination of complex factors: Philosophical, social, religious, romantic, and erotic. The terms used for courtly love during the medieval period itself were "Amour Honestus" (Honest Love) and "Fin Amor" (Refined Love). The term "courtly love" was first popularized by Gaston Paris in 1883, and has since come under a wide variety of definitions. The French court of the troubadour Duke William IX was an early center of the culture of courtly love. William's granddaughter, Eleanor of Aquitaine, was a great influence in spreading this culture. She supported the ideals of courtly love throughout her reign in Aquitaine and brought it to England when she married Henry II. Her daughter, Marie of Champagne, encouraged Chrtien de Troyes to write Lancelot. Later, the ideas of courtly love were formally expressed in a three part treatise by Andr le Chapelain. In the thirteenth century, the lengthy poem, Roman de la rose, painted the image of a lover suspended between happiness and despair. Scholars have debated the degree to which courtly love was practiced in the real world versus being a literary ideal, as well as whether its literature was meant to represent a sexual relationship or a spiritual one, using erotic language allegorically.

History
Courtly Love comes in the basket

Courtly love had its origins in the castle life of four regions: Aquitaine, Provence, Champagne, and ducal Burgundy, beginning about the time of the First Crusade (1099). It found its early expression in the lyric poems written by troubadours, such as William IX, Duke of Aquitaine (1071-1126), one of the first troubadour poets. Poets adopted the terminology of feudalism, declaring themselves the vassal of the lady and addressing her as midons (my lord). The troubadour's model of the ideal lady was the wife of his employer or lord, a lady of higher status, usually the rich and powerful female head of the

castle. When her husband was away on a Crusade or other business, and sometimes while he remained at home, she dominated the household and especially its cultural affairs. The poet gave voice to the aspirations of the courtier class, for only those who were noble could engage in courtly love. This new kind of love, however, saw true nobility as being based on character and actions, not wealth and family history, thus appealing to poorer knights who hoped for an avenue for advancement. Eleanor of Aquitaine, William IX's granddaughter who was queen to two kings, brought the ideals of courtly love from Aquitaine first to the court of France, then to England. Eleanor enjoyed fame for her beauty and character, and troubadours wrote songs about her, "If all the world were mine from the seashore to the Rhine, that price were not too high to have England's Queen lie close in my my arms."[6] Her daughter, Marie, Countess of Champagne, brought the tradition to the Count of Champagne's court. The rules of courtly love were codified by the late twelfth century in Andreas Capellanus' influential work De Amore (Concerning Love).

Stages of courtly love

The following stages of courtly love were identified by scholar Barbara Tuchman from her studies of medieval literature. However, not all stages are present in every account of romantic love, and the question of how literally some of the stages should be taken is a point of controversy.[7] Attraction to the lady, usually via eyes/glance Worship of the lady from afar Declaration of passionate devotion Virtuous rejection by the lady Renewed wooing with oaths of virtue and eternal fealty Moans of approaching death from unsatisfied desire (and other physical manifestations of lovesickness) Heroic deeds of valor which win the lady's heart

 Consummation of the secret love Endless adventures and subterfuges avoiding detection

Impact
"God Speed!" by Edmund Blair Leighton: A lady giving a favor to a knight about to do battle

Courtly love had a civilizing effect on knightly behavior. The prevalence of arranged marriagesoften involving young girls to older men for strictly political purposesmotivated other outlets for the expression of personal love. At times, the lady could be a princesse lointaine, a far-away princess, and some tales told of men who had fallen in love with women whom they had never seen, merely on hearing their perfection described. Normally, however, she was not so distant. As the etiquette of courtly love became more complicated, the knight might wear the colors of his lady: Blue or black were the colors of faithfulness; green was a sign of unfaithfulness. Salvation, previously found in the hands of the priesthood, now came from the hands of one's lady. In some cases, there were also female troubadours who expressed the same sentiment for men.

Saint Bernard venerates the Virgin Mary

Courtly love thus saw a woman as an ennobling spiritual and moral force, a view that was in opposition to medieval ecclesiastical sexual attitudes. Rather than being critical of romantic love as sinful, the poets praised it as the highest ideal. The ideals of courtly love would impact on Church traditions in important ways. Marriage had been declared a sacrament of the Church, at the Fourth Lateran Council, 1215, and within Christian marriage, the only purpose was procreation with any sex beyond that purpose seen as nonpious. The ideal state of a Christian was celibacy, even in marriage. By the beginning of the thirteenth century, the ideas of courtly tradition were

condemned by the church as being heretical. However, the Church channeled many of these romantic energies into veneration of the cult of the Virgin. It is not a coincidence that the cult of the Virgin Mary began in the twelfth century as a counter to the secular, courtly, and lustful views of women. Bernard of Clairvaux was instrumental in this movement, and Francis of Assisi would refer to both chastity and poverty as "my Lady."

Literary conventions
The literary conventions of courtly love are evident in most of the major authors of the Middle Ages, such as Geoffrey Chaucer, John Gower, Dante, Marie de France, Chretien de Troyes, Gottfried von Strassburg, and Malory. The medieval genres in which courtly love conventions can be found include lyric poetry, the Romance, and the allegory.

Walther von der Vogelweide (Codex Manesse, c. 1300)

Lyric Poety: The concept of courtly love was born in the tradition of lyric poetry, first appearing with Provenal poets in the eleventh century, including itinerant and courtly minstrels such as the French troubadours and trouveres. This French tradition spread later to the German Minnesnger, such as Walther von der Vogelweide and Wolfram von Eschenbach. Romance: The vernacular court poetry of the romans courtois, or Romances, saw many examples of courtly love. Many of them are set within the cycle of poems celebrating King Arthur's court. This was a literature of leisure, directed to a largely female audience for the first time in European history. Allegory: Medieval allegory also shows elements of the tradition of courtly love. A prime example of this is the first part of The Romance of the Rose. More formal expressions of the concept also appeared. Perhaps the most

important and popular work of courtly love was that of Andreas Capellanus's De Amore, which described the ars amandi ("the art of loving") in twelfth century Provence. His work followed in the tradition of the Roman work Ars amatoria ("Art of Love") by Ovid, and the Muslim work Tawq al-hamamah (The Turtle-Dove's Necklace) by Ibn Hazm. The themes of courtly love were not confined to the medieval, but are seen both in serious and comic forms in Elizabethan times.

Points of controversy
Sexuality
Court of Love in Provence in the fourteenth century (after a manuscript in the Bibliothque Nationale, Paris).

Within the corpus of troubadour poems there is a wide range of attitudes, even across the works of individual poets. Some poems are physically sensual, even bawdily imagining nude embraces, while others are highly spiritual and border on the platonic.[8] A point of ongoing controversy about courtly love is to what extent it was sexual. All courtly love was erotic to some degree and not purely platonic. The troubadours speak of the physical beauty of their ladies and the feelings and desires the ladies rouse in them. It is unclear, however, what a poet should do about these feelingslive a life of perpetual desire channeling his energies to higher ends, or strive for physical consummation of his desire. The view of twentieth century scholar Denis de Rougemont is that the troubadours were influenced by Cathar doctrines which rejected the pleasures of the flesh and that they were addressing the spirit and soul of their ladies using the metaphorical language of eroticism.[9] Edmund Reiss agreed that courtly love was basically spiritual, arguing that it had more in common with Christian love, or caritas, than the gnostic spirituality of the

Cathars.[10] On the other hand, scholars such as Mosch Lazar hold that courtly love was outright adulterous sexual love with physical possession of the lady the desired end.[11]

Origins
Many of the conventions of courtly love can be traced to Ovid, but it is doubtful that they are all traceable to this origin. The Arabist hypothesis, proposes that the ideas of courtly love were already prevalent in AlAndalus and elsewhere in the Islamic world, before they appeared in Christian Europe. According to this theory, in eleventh century Spain, Muslim wandering poets would go from court to court, and sometimes travel to Christian courts in southern France, a situation closely mirroring what would happen in southern France about a century later. Contacts between these Spanish poets and the French troubadours were frequent. The metrical forms used by the Spanish poets were similar to those later used by the troubadours. Moreover, the First Crusade and the ongoing Reconquista in Spain could easily have provided opportunities for these ideas to make their way from the Muslim world to Christendom.

Real-world practice
A continued point of controversy is whether courtly love was primarily a literary phenomenon or was actually practiced in real life. Historian John Benton found no documentary evidence for courtly love in law codes, court cases, chronicles or other historical documents.[12] However, the existence of the non-fiction genre of courtesy books may provide evidence for its practice. For example, the Book of the Three Virtues by Christine de Pizan (c. 1405), expresses disapproval of the ideal of courtly love being used to justify and cover-up illicit love affairs. Courtly love also seems to have found practical expression in customs such as the crowning of Queens of Love and Beauty at tournaments.

Courts of love
Another issue is the alleged existence of "courts of love," first mentioned by Andreas Capellanus in the twelfth century. These were supposed courts made up of tribunals staffed by ten to 70 women who would hear a case of love and judge it based on the rules of love. Nineteenth century historians took the existence of these courts as fact. However later historians such as John F. Benton noted "none of the abundant letters, chronicles, songs and pious dedications" suggest they ever existed outside of the poetic literature.[13] According to Diane Bornstein, one way to reconcile the differences between the references to courts of love in the literature and the lack of documentary evidence in real life, is that they were like literary salons or social gatherings, where people read poems, debated questions of love, and played word games of flirtation.[14]

Using Courtly Love to Investigate the relationship between booth couples

Shakespeares treatment of love in Much Ado About Nothing differs from his other romantic comedies. Sure, it shares the same stagy plot, which finishes with the lovers finally getting back together, but Shakespeare also mocks the conventions of courtly love which was popular at the time. Although Claudio and Heros courtly marriage is central to the plot, their relationship is the least interesting thing in the play. Instead, our attention is drawn to Benedick and Beatrices unromantic backbiting it is this relationship that seems more believable and enduring. By contrasting these two different types of love, Shakespeare manages to poke fun at the conventions of courtly, romantic love. Claudio uses highly contrived language when speaking of love, which is undermined by Benedick and Beatrices banter: Can the world buy such a Jewel? says Claudio of Hero. My dear Lady disdain! Are you yet living? says Benedick of Beatrice.

As an audience, we are supposed to share Benedicks frustration with Claudios transparent, pompous rhetoric of love: He was wont to speak plain and to the purpose, like an honest man and a soldier His words are a very fantastical banquet, just so many strange dishes.

1. Attraction to the lady, usually via eyes/glance 2. Worship of the lady from afar 3. Declaration of passionate devotion 4. Virtuous rejection by the lady 5. Renewed wooing with oaths of virtue and eternal fealty 6. Moans of approaching death from unsatisfied desire (and other physical manifestations of lovesickness) 7. Heroic deeds of valor which win the lady's heart 8. Consummation of the secret love 9. Endless adventures and subterfuges avoiding detection

An essay
In The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, the famous British poet William Blake wrote that "without contraries there is no progression - Attraction and repulsion, reason and imagination, and love and hate are all necessary for human existence" (Blake 122). As Blake noted, the world is full of opposites. But, more importantly, these opposites allow the people of the world to see themselves and their thoughts more clearly. For, as Blake asserts, without attraction, one cannot understand repulsion, and without imagination, one cannot understand reason. In Much Ado About Nothing (MAAN), William Shakespeare uses this idea of the power of opposites to show the differences in two types of love. Using the relationship, language, and actions of Hero and Claudio as a foil against those of Beatrice and Benedick, Shakespeare has painted a world in which the ideas of courtly love only serve to illuminate those of true love. He is, from the very beginning of the play, hopelessly in love with Hero, but that love is a relatively superficial thing. This is proven by the fact that he easily believes others comments about her and even goes so far as saying that "she knows the heat of a luxurious bed" and refusing to marry her based solely on false allegations made by other characters. Hero, just like her suitor, follows the model, at least in the eyes of Claudio, of the perfect ideal woman. Even though Benedick does not like her and thinks that she is "too low.., too brown.., too little.., [and] unhandsome" (Shakespeare 1.1.138-141), Claudio thinks that she is "the sweetest lady that ever [he] looked on" (Shakespeare 1.1.151-152). Throughout the play, Hero is a model of speechless modesty. She has very little

to say or do in the play except live up to the expectations of the courtly lover. For example, rather than violently or angrily objecting to the false accusations made against her by Claudio at the alter, she, as would be considered proper for the ideal woman, only swoons, blushes, and blanches. If Claudio and Hero can be accepted as the perfect models of courtly love, than Beatrice and Benedick's love is easily proven as a flawless example of true love both through an understanding of their characters as well as their interaction. Benedick, a young lord of Padua, is, like Claudio, a gallant gentleman, but this is where their similarities cease. Benedick is baffled by the emotions which seize him whenever he sees Beatrice, but, unlike Claudio, he does not rely on the definitions of courtly love to explain them. Even though he seems to like to interact with Beatrice using witty and absurd statements, he does not object when Claudio and Don Pedro tell him of Beatrice's supposed love for him. In fact, when he spies Beatrice approaching, he calls her virtuous, intelligent, and "a fair lady" (Shakespeare 2.3.217). This true love and true relationship causes him to become physically sick with love in the possibility of her rejection, something that Claudio would never have to endure. But he recovers from this love sickness (or "the toothache" as he calls it) and does express his love for Beatrice and eventually, at the end of the play, marries her (Shakespeare 3.2.18). Beatrice, unlike Hero, does not get lost in the conventions of the ideal woman, and, therefore becomes the true lover. This becomes apparent not so much through a study of her character, but through an analysis of her interaction or "merry war" with Benedick. At the beginning of the play, Beatrice and Benedick constantly rattle and torment each other. Benedick says that Hero "speaks poniards, and every word stabs," and Beatrice obviously believes the same of him. But, only through an understanding of the language under the merry war does their true love become apparent, as is shown when Beatrice states: And Benedick, love on; I will requite thee Taming my wild heart to thy loving hand! If thou dost love, my kindness shall incite thee To bind our loves up in a holy band; For others say thou dost deserve, and I Believe it better than reportingly. (Shakespeare 3.2.112-117) In this passage, Beatrice clearly shows that her disdain that she expresses for Benedick is really a way to cover up her true feelings. These true feelings rely on this cover to maintain their truth rather than become false like those of the courtly lovers. Through the magnificent power of Shakespeare's hand, a simple story that is truly Much Ado About Nothing, becomes a commentary on the idea of love. True love becomes illuminated through its reflection in its own foil - the ideals of courtly love. The true relationship of Beatrice and Benedick compared to the relationship of Claudio and Hero, gives the reader not only a better understanding of the power of the literary foil, but also a foil into which that reader can reflect and better understand himself.

Malapropisms

Thesaurus noun

she's famous for her hilarious malapropisms: wrong word,

solecism, misuse, misapplication, infelicity, slip of the tongue, Freudian slip, blunder. Dictionary noun the mistaken use of a word in place of a similar-sounding one, often with unintentionally amusing effect, as in, for example, dance a flamingo (instead of flamenco). ORIGIN mid 19th cent.: from the name of the character Mrs. Malaprop in Sheridan's play The Rivals (1775) + -ism
A malapropism (also called a Dogberryism or acyrologia) is the substitution of a word for a word with a similar sound, in which the resulting phrase makes no sense but often creates a comic effect. It is not the same as an eggcorn, which is a similar substitution in which the new phrase makes sense on some level. Occasionally a phrase, rather than a single word, replaces the original word, for example Stan Laurel said "What a terrible cat's after me!" (i.e., catastrophe) in Any Old Port![citation needed]. Malapropisms by Dogberry in Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare Act III Scene III Dogberry: First, who think you the most desertless man to be constable? (deserving) Act III Scene V Dogberry: Marry, sir, I would have some confidence with you that decerns you nearly. (concerns) Act III Scene V Dogberry: Comparisons are odorous: palabras, neighbour Verges. (odious) Act III Scene V Dogberry: One word, sir: our watch, sir, have indeed Comprehend two aspicious persons, and we would Have them this morning examined before your worship. (suspicious) Act VI Scene II Dogberry: Is our whole dissembly appeared? (assembly)

Significance of the Watch

Much Ado About Nothing Act III, Scene iii Summary

Dogberry, a constable, enters a street with Verges, a church officer, to inspect a couple of men who stand on watch over Messina. Dogberry goes on to have a self-important time of critiquing the watch (meaning the guards), full of pompous airs. Dogberry tries to pick one among the watch to be the constable, and two men who can read and write are suggested. Dogberry commends one of the men, accidentally dismisses reading and writing as vanity, and puts that man in charge of the watch. Dogberry announces the watch should look out for vagrants. If they see any vagrants, the watch should make them stop in the name of the Prince. Dogberry goes on to give a series of nonsensical instructions to the watch: if a man doesnt stop, he should be let go to do as he pleases, because any man who doesnt stop isnt one of the Princes subjects and therefore is not under the jurisdiction of the watch. Further, the watch should be grateful to be saved the trouble of dealing with vagrants.

 In fact, Dogberry essentially gives the men permission to sleep through their shift, but advises that they make sure they arent robbed while theyre dozing. More of Dogberrys ridiculous instructions include: drunken men should be reprimanded, unless theyre too drunk, in which case they should be left alone to sober up. Thieves should be avoided, because getting involved with them would compromise ones honesty. The men on watch should wake up nurses (nannies) whose babies are crying. If the nurses do not wake up at the watchs calls, the babies cries are sure to wake their nurses up eventually. Dogberry goes on in this vein, with Verges throwing in some supportive comments. Whenever they open their mouths, the two men generally reveal that Messina is very lucky to be a quiet town, as their watch is completely incompetent to handle any real crime or disturbance. The watch doesnt need to do much, except be careful that their swords dont get stolen. Before Dogberry leaves, he tells the men on watch to carefully observe Leonatos door. With the wedding coming tomorrow, theres likely to be a big to-do tonight. (If only he knew!) Lastly, he tells them to "Be vigitant!" (mistaking the word vigilant). Dogberry and Verges exit.

 The watchs plan to settle into a peaceful sleep is interrupted by the entrance of Borachio and Conrade, Don Johns two partners-incrime. Borachio and Conrade havent noticed the watchmen, though the watch has noticed them. The incompetent men on watch listen carefully for signs of treason. Borachio updates Conrade on the nights events, sparing no little detail, and announcing that hes earned his 1000 ducats from Don John. Conrade wonders how Borachios villainous assistance could come with such a high price tag. Borachio points out that when a rich villain needs a poor villains help, the poor villain can name any price. Borachio compares his robbery to the robbery that fashion commits fashion has a habit of making men change their minds too often. Conrade chimes in that fashion is indeed a robber, as men will throw out their apparel because its no longer in style even before the clothing has been worn out. Conrade notes that Borachio must be stricken by the fashion sickness too, as its distracted him from the point of his story: how he brought about the ruination of Hero this very night. Borachio describes how his plan went off without a hitch: Margaret

leaned out of Heros window and bid him a thousand goodnights (were not sure what they were up to before they said goodbye, but likely it involved Borachio not being outside of Heros bedroom). Anyway, Borachio replied to Margarets goodnights, but he called her "Hero." Meanwhile, Don John was stationed with Don Pedro and Claudio in an orchard, close enough to hear what was going on, but not close enough to see that the woman was Margaret, not Hero. Borachio confirms that Don Pedro and Claudio were fully convinced of Heros disloyalty, and didnt suspect that the scene was a villainous plot masterminded by Don John. Borachio makes the insightful point that the scheme had many layers, like an onion, or a layer cake. Claudio and Don Pedro were first inspired to distrust Hero by Don Johns claim of her disloyalty. Because they were primed to think of her as disloyal, Borachios villainy, combined with the dark night, cemented Claudio and Don Pedros suspicions. Claudio became enraged after "witnessing" Heros disloyalty, and he vowed to reveal Heros love affair in front the whole congregation tomorrow at their would-be-wedding. Hes determined to send her home without a husband (or her dignity!). There will be no marriage, but everyone will get their

moneys worth in the spectacle. The watchmen, who have been listening this whole time, finally step out and seize Borachio and Conrade, calling them out for lechery (when they really mean treachery). The disease of poor grammar and word usage is apparently contagious; the watch suffer from it nearly as badly as Dogberry. Borachio and Conrade surrender, but weve still got some unraveling to do before things get really good.

Much Ado About Nothing Act III, Scene iv Summary

Its the morning of the wedding, and the scene is set in Heros bedroom. Hero has sent Ursula off to go get Beatrice, and Margaret is helping Hero get dressed. They go back and forth fondly over what Hero should wear. Margaret describes the beautiful dress Hero will wear as full of gold, silver, and pearls, but Hero seems uncomfortable. Hero hopes the dress will bring her joy, because she says her heart is heavy. Instead of noting that Hero is clearly unhappy and has a weird feeling, Margaret makes a joke about the fact that soon, Heros chest will be heavy under the weight of a husband.

These people and their cheap sex jokes. Incorrigible. Beatrice (who also feels weird) enters and, as usual, becomes the focus of attention. Margaret teases Beatrice and alludes to the fact that Beatrice might be in love. Beatrice wonders when Margaret became so witty, but the last straw is when Margaret suggests Beatrice could be cured of her ailment by some holy thistle. Beatrice, like any person who hates love and worries other people might suspect her of being in love, flies off the handle. Beatrice thinks theres some hidden meaning to Margarets offer of holy thistle, called "Carduus Benedictus," especially since that particular thistle was thought to cure people of venomous bites. (Maybe venomous like the bite of love!) Beatrice might also be tripped up on "Benedictus," which sounds like a certain someones name. In response to Beatrices tizzy, Margaret basically says, "You think that I believe that youre in love, but of course I dont think that, wink wink!" Still, Margaret points out that Benedick used to share Beatrices views on the absurdity of love. Lately, however, Benedick seems to have come around to thinking of love like every normal man does.

 Margaret says, maybe theres a chance that Beatrice could look on love with the eyes of a normal woman. Beatrice is all, "What the hell are you saying?" But she gets interrupted by Ursula, who informs them that everyone is ready to take Hero to the church where she will be married, or die!

Much Ado About Nothing Act III, Scene v Summary

Dogberry and Verges arrive at the door of Leonatos house with what they claim is news very relevant to Leonato. They have captured two knaves running around Messina, and theyd like to examine these men in Leonatos presence. Unfortunately, this simple message is really poorly delivered, and Dogberry and Verges manage to totally obscure their meaning. Worse, their bad speech makes Leonato think theyre tedious, which is true, but their message is important. Leonato is kind of occupied trying to get his daughter married, and he tells Dogberry and Verges to do the examination themselves, and report back to him on the outcome. Leonato leaves for the wedding. Dogberry and Verges plan to have a writer transcribe the interrogation theyre about to begin.