A Stage Full of Shakespeare Stories

by Angela McAllister

  Brutus assured Mark Antony that they wished him no harm. “You see blood on our hands but you cannot see the pity in our hearts,” he told him. “When we explain ourselves to the people you’ll understand the reason for what we’ve done.”

  Mark Antony looked each one of them in the eye. “If you can satisfy me that you had good cause for this then I shall be your friend,” he told them. “I only ask to take Caesar’s body and speak at his funeral.”

  Cassius was suspicious. “Don’t let Mark Antony speak to the people, he may stir them up against us,” he told Brutus.

  But Brutus was trusting. “Have no fear,” he replied. “I’ll speak first and explain everything.” Then Brutus and his followers left Mark Antony to attend to Caesar’s body.

  Mark Antony knelt in respect beside his lifeless friend. “Here are the ruins of the noblest man that ever lived,” he cried. “I swear that anger and war will follow this foul deed.”

  Caesar’s body was covered with a shroud and taken to the market square, where a great crowd had gathered, demanding to know what had happened.

  Brutus spoke first. “Fellow Romans, you know that I am an honourable man,” he began. “I didn’t commit this terrible act because I loved Caesar any less than you do, but because I love Rome more. Caesar had grown ruthless and ambitious. His rule threatened to end our right to govern ourselves, so we did what was necessary to protect our freedom. If anyone feels that I’ve been unjust then I’ll use the same dagger to end my own life.”

  The crowd muttered amongst themselves. They trusted Brutus and believed that he’d acted in the best interest of Rome. “Brutus must live!” they cried and they called for statues to be made in his honour. Relieved to have the support of the people, Brutus left them and went home.

  Then it was Mark Antony’s turn to speak.

  Mark Antony stood sorrowfully beside Caesar’s shrouded body. “Friends, Romans and countrymen,” he said, “I am not here to speak fine words like honourable Brutus, but to mourn my friend and tell you how much Caesar loved you.” He waved a scroll before the crowd. “Here, the proof is written in his will.”

  “Read it!” the crowd demanded.

  But Mark Antony shook his head. “First let Caesar’s wounds speak,” he said and he pulled back the shroud. The crowd gasped in horror at the sight of Caesar’s body. “Here is where honourable Brutus showed his love for Caesar,” said Mark Antony. “And this is the mark of his good friend Cassius.”

  “How could Brutus be so cruel?” the people cried.

  “In his will, Caesar left money to each one of you,” continued Mark Antony. “He instructed that his parks and gardens should be made public for you all to enjoy. Is this the wish of a man who wanted to take away your freedom?”

  “We’ve been tricked by Brutus and his friends!” cried a voice in the crowd. “They aren’t honourable men, they’re traitors.”

  “Give us Caesar’s body,” shouted another, “we’ll use his funeral fire to burn down their houses.” With angry protest the crowd hurried off to search for the conspirators.

  “Now let revenge do its work,” said Mark Antony.

  Brutus and Cassius heard the uproar in the streets with alarm. They guessed that Mark Antony had turned the people against them. Moving fast, they fled the city.

  Caesar’s death stirred up chaos. People rioted for days, houses were burned and citizens fought against each other. Nobody could restore order in Rome until Caesar’s young heir, his nephew Octavius, arrived with an army. Octavius went at once to see Mark Antony and together they took control of the city.

  Brutus and Cassius knew that it wouldn’t be long before they were pursued. They gathered their own armies and waited for the mighty forces of Rome. Soon, they heard news that Octavius and Mark Antony were approaching.

  “Should we march out in the morning to meet them?” suggested Brutus.

  “No,” said Cassius. “Let our men rest and our enemies weary themselves by marching further.”

  But Brutus sensed that the day of battle had come. “Our legions are brim-full and our cause is ripe. If we don’t act on this tide of fortune we may be lost with the current against us,” he said.

  So Cassius agreed.

  On the morning of battle, Cassius saw birds of prey circling above their camp. “This is a bad omen,” he thought but he kept his fears to himself.

  Brutus agreed to face Octavius and Cassius prepared to fight Mark Antony. They wished each other good luck. “Today we must finish what the Ides of March began,” said Brutus. “We may never meet again, old friend, so let us say goodbye.”

  That day, Brutus and his army won a victory against Octavius, but Cassius’s men were defeated. His soldiers ran from the battlefield and the news came that Mark Antony had entered his camp.

  Cassius sent his friend, Titinius, to the camp to confirm whether the news was true but a short while later a messenger came to report that Titinius himself had been captured. Cassius remembered the fateful birds that he’d seen that morning. “All is lost,” he declared. Rather than return to Rome in prisoner’s chains, he took his own sword and killed himself.

  However, the messenger had been mistaken; it was not Mark Antony who had entered the camp but Brutus and his men. Moments later Titinius returned bearing a victory wreath from Brutus, but it was too late for Cassius. So Titinius laid the wreath upon Cassius’s head.

  When Brutus arrived and saw what had happened he wept. “Rome will never produce such fine men again,” he said and he ordered the body of Cassius to be taken away, so that the soldiers wouldn’t be disheartened and give up the fight.

  Then Brutus gathered his men for a second battle that day against Mark Antony’s army. The rebels fought valiantly but the battle was lost. Exhausted and without hope, Brutus thanked his loyal men. “There is more glory in losing this noble fight than Octavius and Mark Antony gain by winning,” he told them. “We have fought hard for our beloved Rome.” Then he told them to flee for their lives.

  One man alone chose to stay with him.

  “My bones are ready to rest,” sighed Brutus. “Hold my sword, farewell friend.” And he plunged the blade into his heart.

  When Octavius and Mark Antony found Brutus’s body they felt no triumph.

  “This was the noblest Roman of them all,” said Mark Antony sadly. “Those other conspirators murdered Caesar out of jealousy but Brutus only acted in the interests of the people and the republic that he loved. Nature made him the finest man.”

  “Then he shall rest like a soldier in my own tent,” said Octavius, “and we will bury him with all the respect an honourable Roman deserves.”

  “Thou and I are too wise to woo peaceably.”

  CAST OF CHARACTERS

  Hero

  The Duke of Messina’s daughter

  Don Pedro

  A nobleman from Aragon

  Don John

  Don Pedro’s brother

  Beatrice

  Hero’s cousin

  Benedick

  A soldier and nobleman

  Claudio

  A soldier who fought under Don Pedro

  MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING

  It was a day of excitement at the beautiful country estate of Leonato, the Governor of Messina. Leonato’s old friend, Don Pedro, and his men were coming to visit on their journey home from war.

  “It seems an age since they stayed with us on their way to fight,” Leonato said to his daughter, Hero. “I hear that Claudio, the young man who showed you so much attention, has won great honour as a soldier.”

  Hero’s heart quickened when she heard Claudio’s name.

  “Will Signor Benedick be with them?” asked Leonato’s niece, Beatrice.

  Leonato nodded with a smile. Whenever Beatrice and Benedick met there was a merry war between them as they tried to outdo each other with their sharp tongues and clever wit.

  “I wonder who Benedick’s favourite companion will be this month,” said Beatrice. “He changes
friends as often as he changes hats.”

  Hero laughed at her lively cousin. “I see he’s not in your good books,” she said.

  “If Benedick was in my good books then I’d burn down my library!” Beatrice replied with a grin.

  When Don Pedro and his men arrived that afternoon there was a high-spirited, happy reunion of friends. Beautiful Hero caught Claudio’s eye and they gazed at each other admiringly.

  Benedick greeted Beatrice with a bow. “Why, my dear Lady Scorn, are you still here?” he asked.

  “How could I miss your visit, my lord, when you give me so much to be scornful of?” she said with a sweet smile.

  Benedick sighed. “All the ladies love me except you,” he said, “although I must be hard hearted, for I don’t love any of them.”

  “Well, that’s good news for women,” snapped Beatrice. “It spares them the trouble of a husband like you. I would rather hear my dog bark at a crow than hear a man telling me that he loves me.”

  “Excellent!” declared Benedick. “You are saving some poor gentleman from the scratch of your claws!”

  Leonato and Don Pedro laughed at their jest.

  “You must all stay with us for a month,” insisted Leonato. “We shall have a masked ball this evening in your honour.”

  Don Pedro warmly accepted his old friend’s invitation and so did everyone in his company. But one man stood apart, sullen-faced; Don Pedro’s brother, Don John, thanked his host with cold politeness. He was a man who had no desire for pleasure.

  That evening, Don John didn’t join the others for dinner. His companion, Borachio, came to his room later with some gossip.

  “Claudio wishes to marry Hero,” he told Don John. “I overheard him asking for your brother’s help.”

  Don John listened with interest. He hated being dependent upon his wealthy brother and was looking for an opportunity for revenge against Claudio, who had become Don Pedro’s new favourite. “There may be a chance for mischief here,” he said thoughtfully.

  At the masked ball that evening, there was plenty of opportunity for mischief.

  The guests teased each other with their disguises. Beatrice pretended not to recognise Benedick. “Do you know Signor Benedick?” she asked as they danced together. “He’s Don Pedro’s jester, a very dull fool.”

  Benedick swung her firmly around. “No,” he said, frowning behind his mask. “But if we meet, I’ll tell him how little you think of him.”

  When she’d left him, Benedick complained to Don Pedro. “The Lady Beatrice has called me a dull fool,” he said. “She hurled so many insults at me that I felt like a shooting target.” Don Pedro wasn’t fooled by the sharp words that flew between Beatrice and Benedick. He was sure that they liked each other, even though they hid it well. However, when he tried to make peace between them during the evening they both outwitted him.

  “I’d rather be sent on an errand to the end of the world than befriend my lady Beatrice,” said Benedick. “Send me to fetch you a toothpick from the furthest inch of Asia.”

  “I was born to speak all mirth and no matter,” Beatrice insisted with a merry smile.

  Don Pedro had more success in his matchmaking with Claudio and Hero. By the end of the night, Claudio had confessed his love to Hero and won her heart. With joy, she agreed to marry him and her father was delighted to give the couple his blessing. Claudio was eager to wed Hero the very next day but Leonato insisted that they wait a week while arrangements were made.

  “Don’t look disappointed,” Don Pedro told Claudio. “I have an idea for passing the time until the wedding. Let’s work together to persuade Beatrice and Benedick to fall in love with each other. They both swear they are against marriage but anyone can see they are a perfect match.”

  “I’ll do anything to find a good husband for my cousin,” said Hero and Leonato and Claudio agreed to help.

  “Then I shall tell you my plan,” said Don Pedro. “If we succeed in this, Cupid can hang up his bow, for we shall be the gods of love!”

  Don John received the news of Claudio’s engagement with a villainous scowl. “What can we do to upset this wedding?” he asked Borachio.

  Borachio had a suggestion. At their last visit to Leonato’s house he had befriended Hero’s maid. “The night before the wedding, I’ll ask her to come to her mistress’s bedroom window,” he said. “Then I’ll climb up from the garden and sweet talk her, so it appears as if I am wooing Hero herself. Meanwhile, you tell Don Pedro and Claudio that Hero is being unfaithful and bring them to see the evidence before their eyes. Jealousy should do the rest.”

  Don John liked what he heard.

  Meanwhile, the following day, Don Pedro lost no time in putting his own plan into action.

  Benedick took a walk in the garden, bemoaning the change in his friend, Claudio. “All day he mopes about listening to minstrels playing love songs and talking about romance,” Benedick grumbled to himself. “Huh! I’ll never let love change me!”

  He didn’t notice Don Pedro, Leonato and Claudio hide themselves behind a high hedge nearby. As Benedick came close they began to talk loudly, so as to be overheard.

  “Tell me, Leonato,” said Don Pedro, “is it true that your niece Beatrice is in love with Signor Benedick?”

  Benedick stopped in surprise. He crept close to listen.

  “I never thought she would love any man,” said Claudio.

  “Me neither,” said Leonato, “but it seems that she loves him with a passion. Unfortunately it’s a tragic case. Beatrice says that she’ll die if Benedick doesn’t love her and yet she’d rather die than tell him how she feels. The poor girl is afraid that Benedick will only mock her feelings.”

  “Should we tell him?” asked Claudio.

  “No, no,” said Don Pedro. “Hopefully her love will cool with time. Benedick is my good friend, but he’s not worthy of such an excellent lady as Beatrice.”

  With Cupid’s work done, the three friends walked back to the house.

  Benedick was struck with wonder. “Beatrice loves me!” he exclaimed. “Well then, her love must be requited. It’s true that she is a most excellent lady. People may laugh at me for loving her as I’ve spoken against marriage for so long, but any man can change his mind.”

  Suddenly, to his delight, Beatrice appeared. Benedick greeted her with a smile. “She is much more beautiful than her cousin, Hero,” he thought to himself.

  Beatrice strode up to him with her hands on her hips. “Against my will I have been sent to tell you that lunch is ready,” she said.

  “I thank you for your pains,” said Benedick, still smiling.

  “If it had been painful, I would not have come,” said Beatrice.

  “So you took pleasure in the message?” said Benedick.

  “About as much pleasure as one might take in choking a bird,” said Beatrice, thinking that Benedick was acting very strangely today. Then, without waiting for a reply, she flounced off.

  “Hmm…” Benedick pondered on her words. “‘Against my will I have been sent to tell you that lunch is ready.’ I’m sure there must be a double meaning in that. If I don’t love her, I’m a fool!”

  Later that day, Hero sent a message asking Beatrice to join her in the garden. When Beatrice went outside she heard her name being whispered. Hero was talking to her ladies-maid in a hushed tone. Beatrice hid behind a statue to listen.

  “Are you sure that Signor Benedick loves Lady Beatrice?” the maid asked her mistress.

  “Yes, Claudio told me,” said Hero sounding surprised. “But I’ve told him that Benedick must look for a wife elsewhere, for Beatrice is far too proud to love anyone.”

  “It’s true,” the maid agreed. “They say Signor Benedick is the most desirable bachelor in Italy but I’m sure Lady Beatrice would only make a mockery of his love.”

  Hero sighed loudly. “It’s such a shame. Benedick is an excellent man,” she said. And with that the two women walked away, leaving Beatrice dumbstruck.

&
nbsp; “Benedick loves me!” she thought and her heart leapt. “How can people think I’m too proud to feel the same? Well, they’ll soon see how easily I can requite his love. It’s true, he is an excellent man!”

  Next day, Don Pedro and Claudio were laughing at how Benedick had suddenly taken to sighing like a love-struck schoolboy, when Don John came to speak to them.

  “I have troubling news of the lady Hero,” Don John said darkly. “She is disloyal to you, Claudio.”

  “Disloyal?” Claudio couldn’t believe it.

  “I have proof that Hero loves another man,” said Don John. “Meet me in the garden at midnight. When you see the evidence you may wish to save yourself from an unwise marriage tomorrow.”

  Full of dismay, Claudio and Don Pedro agreed. When they met Don John that night, they looked up at Hero’s window, and were shocked to see Borachio whispering words of love to a shadowy figure they mistook for Hero herself. However, the woman they saw was really Hero’s maid who had no idea she was being used to deceive Claudio. As Borachio intended, Claudio was broken-hearted. He vowed to Don Pedro that he would meet Hero at the chapel next day as planned and then confront her with the shameful truth of her betrayal.

  Next morning the wedding guests gathered in Leonato’s chapel. Claudio waited, stony-faced, for his bride. When Hero arrived, the Friar asked if anyone had an objection to the marriage.

  Claudio turned to him. “Hero has given her heart to another man,” he declared.

  Hero stared in bewilderment.

  “It is true,” said Don Pedro. “We both saw Hero talk of love to another man from her window last night.”

  “But I didn’t talk to anyone,” cried Hero.

  “Liar!” shouted Don John.

  Hero saw the look of deep disappointment on Claudio’s face and fainted into her father’s arms. As Beatrice and the Friar rushed to her side, Claudio and his friends marched out of the chapel.