From Much Ado About Nothing. Ed. A. Wilson Verity. London: Rivingtons.
In this scene the names of the actors, not of the characters, are prefixed to the different speeches; while the assignment of
the parts is arbitrary and incorrect. The first Folio does not
correct the errors of the Quarto.
4 That am I. "Malefactors" had such a lordly ring, that
Dewberry at once takes it in a complimentary sense. The longer
the word, the more is he impressed; in act iii. 5. 23 "tediousness" touched him deeply. Cf. too the next note.
5-6 Exhibition to examine. A blunder, says Steevens, for
examination to exhibit = 'make an official report of our enquiry.'
Exhibit, in the legal sense, occurs several times; e.g. in Merry
Wives, ii. I. 29. So exhibiter = 'one who presents a bill in
Parliament,' Henry V. i. i. 74. The suggestion seems to me
far-fetched. Much more probably Dogberry uses exhibition because it sounds well.
17-21 Omitted in the Folios, in obedience, no doubt, to the
Act against profanity on the stage. See note on ii. 3. 172.
32 Eftest. 'Most convenient.' Eft = 'quickly' is not uncommon in Spenser; and eftsoons = 'by-and-by' comes in
Pericles, v. I. 256. Deftest, easiest, are needless conjectures.
Even if eftest were more curious than it is, the editors might
remember that the speaker is Dogberry, for whom convention
has no terrors.
63-64 Verg. Let them be in the hands —
Con. Off, coxcomb!
Printed as a single speech in the Quarto and first Folio. Marked as corrupt in Globe Edition. The most probable explanation of
the passage is this: Verges was going to say, "Let them be in the hands of justice" (or "the law," or some such word), and
moved towards Conrade and Borachio; but before he could
touch them, or finish his sentence, Conrade burst in with, "Off,
coxcomb!" and the official command remained an abrupt anacoluthon. That Conrade, and not Borachio, interrupted is
pretty clear firom what follows. Of course there is no lack of
76 As pretty a piece. Compare Twelfth Night, i 5. 30- 31,
"As witty a piece of Eve's flesh as any in Illyria." Piece is often
used in this way of persons; e.g. in Troilus and Cressida, iii. i. 62.
How to cite the explanatory notes:
Shakespeare, William. Much Ado About Nothing. Ed. A. Wilson Verity. London: Rivingtons, 1890. Shakespeare Online. 20 Feb. 2010. (date when you accessed the information) < http://www.shakespeare-online.com/plays/much_4_2.html >.