Act III, Scene 5

Dogberry and Verges inform Leonato that two suspicious men have been arrested. In their own bumbling, malapropistic way, they try to inform Leonato of the nature of the incident, but he is preoccupied with his daughter's upcoming nuptials. He tells Dogberry to investigate the two men and let him get to his daughter's wedding.

Chance has an important part to play here. If Dogberry and Verges had been able to elucidate their concerns clearly enough, the unhappiness of the next few scenes could have been averted. If Leonato had simply been more perceptive, or even wiser, he would have known his watchmen were rather foolish and he might have listened to them more carefully. If he had been wise and patient enough to investigate he would have known the truth about the conspiracy and spared Hero the sorrow and insult of the church incident.

This tragically ironic circumstance paves the way for the climactic moments of the play, when the evil deeds of Don John and Borachio temporarily mar the happiness of the good characters. The suspense of the near miss-the possibility that tragedy might have been averted-is tantalizing to the audience.

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