Reading Check and Short Answer Questions on key points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

ACTS I-II

Reading Check

1. Where is the play set?

2. How is Leonato related to Beatrice?

3. Who is Don Pedro’s half-brother?

4. Who are Don John’s two companions and helpers?

5. What does Benedick promise he will never do?  

6. What is Benedick doing while his friends discuss Beatrice’s supposed love for him? 

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What is the nature of the relationship between Beatrice and Benedick at the beginning of the play?

2. What is Don Pedro’s plan to help Claudio win Hero’s love?

3. Why is Don John envious of Don Pedro?

4. Why does Conrade tell Don John he should stay in Don Pedro’s good graces?

5. How does Hero’s lady-in-waiting Margaret inadvertently help Don John sabotage Claudio’s marriage to Hero?

6. Why does Benedick avoid Claudio after he becomes engaged to Hero?

7. How do Claudio, Don Pedro, and Leonato trick Benedick into loving Beatrice?

Paired Resources

“Did Shakespeare Visit Italy? “

• This article from The London Magazine looks at the compelling arguments on both sides of the article’s title question, considering the Italian settings of many of Shakespeare’s plays and what Shakespeare might have known about Italy and the people of Italy.