MAAN & Stereotypes

In the play "Much Ado About Nothing" Shakespeare shows many sterotypes mainly based off of social class. This is most apparent towards Dogberry and Verges who are obviously of a lower social class than Leonato, the Prince, Benedick and Claudio. Since they are poorer then the others in the play, the stereotype that they are stupid and insane is shown throughout the play. We can see this first of all because everytime they speak, their lines are written in prose and never in verse which showed intelligence. Also, the reader sees this sterotype in the way they are treated, for example when Dogberry is speaking to Leonato about the men they captured last night, Leonato basically mocks him when Dogberry says, "all men are not alike, alas, good neighbor!" and Leonato replies, "Indeed, neighbor, he comes too short of you" (III.5.34-36). Leonato mocks him directly to his face because Leonato thinks he is simply crazy and cannot produce a coherent sentence let alone tell him something important. Also, Dogberry is again mocked by Claudio as being unintelligent when Claudio says to the Prince, "Rightly reasoned, and in his own division; and, by my troth, there's one meaning well suited." (V.1.210-211). Dogberry does not speak in the same way that Claudio and the Prince speak, so they mock his speech and act as if he is completely insane.
I do not think Shakespeare believed in the stereotype he presented with Dogberry and Verges because he has Dogberry hold the extremely important information that everyone needed to know in order to avoid alot of grief and complications. The people in the play who seem the craziest are the only ones who actually know the truth and can help the most. If only the people of higher social class and status would have listened, there would not have been any problem.
In addition, Shakespeare shows gender sterotypes in "Much Ado About Nothing" against women. He shows this stereotype in a speech by Beatrice when she exclaims, "O God, that i were a man! I would eat his heart in the marketplace." (IV.1.301-302). This shows that because Beatrice is a woman she cannot do anything to Claudio for revenge, she can only get a man to do it for her. In order to do anything about her problems Beatrice must be a man, so she convinces Benedick to do her dirty work for her.
I think Shakespeare did believe in this stereotype, because he lived in a more traditional time when a woman's job was merely to be a mother and a wife. Also, because in the play Beatrice's intelligence is seen as unattractive and also Beatrice doesn't do anything about her problem, she gets Benedick to do it.