Much Ado About Nothing: Shakespeare and the Comic Constable, or, Dogberry: Fact vs Fiction

Shakespeare Anyone?

In today's episode, we are investigating Shakespeare's comic constable in Much Ado About Nothing, Dogberry, and why this character is portrayed as a clown. We'll look at a survey of historical records from Shakespeare's time to determine if early modern constables were truly as ineffective as Dogberry appears to be and if there is a contextual reason that Shakespeare's audience would want to see them depicted as foolish on stage.

We will also discuss what the job of the early modern constable entailed, how it developed, and who the "real-life Dogberry" would have been in their communites. Finally, we will discuss how this context can shift our understanding of the character Shakespeare wrote.

Shakespeare Anyone? is created and produced by Kourtney Smith and Elyse Sharp.

Music is "Neverending Minute" by Sounds Like Sander.

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Works referenced:

Kent, Joan. “The English Village Constable, 1580-1642: The Nature and Dilemmas of the Office.” Journal of British Studies, vol. 20, no. 2, 1981, pp. 26–49. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/175635. Accessed 4 Aug. 2024.

Spinrad, Phoebe S. “Dogberry Hero: Shakespeare’s Comic Constables in Their Communal Context.” Studies in Philology, vol. 89, no. 2, 1992, pp. 161–78. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/4174417. Accessed 4 Aug. 2024.