Much Ado About Nothing Act III, Scene v Summary

  • Dogberry and Verges arrive at the door of Leonato’s house to tell him something very important. 
  • Leonato says he's busy, but asks them what's up.
  • Dogberry and Verges spend some time talking about how honest they both are, and Leonato tells them they are tedious. 
  • Dogberry thanks him, thinking that was a compliment, and says that even if he were as tedious as a king (he must think tedious = wealth or wisdom), he'd be happy to give all of his tediousness to Leonato. 
  • "Gee, thanks," says Leonato. "Now what do you want?" 
  • Dogberry and Verges finally get to the point. Sort of. They say they've captured two knaves, and they’d like to examine these men in Leonato’s presence. Unfortunately, this simple message is really poorly delivered, and Dogberry and Verges manage to totally obscure their meaning.
  • 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.
  • A messenger arrives to tell Leonato it's time for him to give his daughter away, and they leave together. 
  • Dogberry tells Verges to get Francis Seacoal (um...his name is George—not Francis) to meet them at the station. 
  • Seacoal is one of those fancypants guys who can read and write, so they'll have him transcribe the interrogation (which Dogberry calls an excommunication). This should be good.