Original: Dost thou not suspect my place? dost thou not suspect my years?
Modern: Don’t you respect my position? Don’t you respect my age?

Original: O that he were here to write me down an ass!
Modern: Oh, I wish he were here to call me a fool!

Original: But, masters, remember that I am an ass; though it be not written down, yet forget not that I am an ass.
Modern: But, gentlemen, remember that I am a fool; even though it’s not written down, don’t forget that I am a fool.

Original: No, thou villain, thou art full of piety, as shall be proved upon thee by good witness.
Modern: No, you scoundrel, you are full of holiness, as will be proven against you by good witnesses.

Original: I am a wise fellow, and, which is more, an officer, and, which is more, a householder, and, which is more, as pretty a piece of flesh as any is in Messina, and one that knows the law, go to; and a rich fellow enough, go to; and a fellow that hath had losses, and one that hath two gowns and every thing handsome about him.
Modern: I am a smart man, and what’s more, I’m an officer, and what’s more, I’m a homeowner, and what’s more, I’m as handsome as any man in Messina, and I know the law, I tell you; and I’m wealthy enough, I tell you; and I’m a man who has suffered setbacks, and I have two robes and everything fine about me.

Original: Bring him away.
Modern: Take him away.

Original: O that I had been writ down an ass!
Modern: Oh, I wish I had been called a fool!

In Act IV, Scene 2 of “Much Ado About Nothing,” the constable Dogberry, along with Verges and the Sexton, conducts an examination of the prisoners Conrad and Borachio, who were arrested the previous night by the Watch. The scene takes place in a prison, where Dogberry attempts to preside over what he calls an “examination” but which functions more as a formal interrogation. Despite Dogberry’s characteristic malapropisms and confused language, the truth about the plot against Hero begins to emerge through the testimony of the watchmen who overheard the villains’ conversation.

During the proceedings, Borachio confesses to his role in the deception that led to Hero being wrongly accused of infidelity at her wedding. He reveals how he wooed Margaret at Hero’s window while she wore Hero’s clothes, creating the illusion that Hero was unfaithful to Claudio. The Sexton, who has already heard news of Hero’s apparent death from shame and the disrupted wedding ceremony, recognizes the gravity of the situation. He orders that the prisoners be bound and brought before Leonato, while Dogberry, despite his linguistic fumbling, takes pride in having uncovered what he considers a significant crime. The scene concludes with the promise that the truth will finally be revealed to the wronged parties.

Much Ado About Nothing takes place in Messina, where Don Pedro, Prince of Aragon, arrives with his companions Claudio and Benedick after a military victory. Claudio immediately falls in love with Hero, daughter of Leonato (the governor of Messina), and Don Pedro arranges their engagement. Meanwhile, Benedick and Beatrice, Leonato’s niece, engage in a battle of wits, trading insults and declaring their mutual disdain for love and marriage. Don Pedro, Claudio, and Leonato conspire to trick Benedick and Beatrice into falling in love by staging conversations where each overhears how the other is supposedly lovesick for them.

Don John, Don Pedro’s illegitimate brother and the play’s villain, plots to destroy Claudio’s happiness by making him believe Hero is unfaithful. With his accomplices Borachio and Conrad, Don John arranges for Claudio and Don Pedro to witness what appears to be Hero meeting with another man at her window the night before her wedding. In reality, it is Hero’s waiting-gentlewoman Margaret being wooed by Borachio in disguise.

At the wedding ceremony, Claudio publicly accuses Hero of infidelity and rejects her. Hero faints from shock, and Friar Francis suggests they pretend she has died from the shame while they investigate the truth. Benedick, now in love with Beatrice, promises to challenge Claudio to a duel when Beatrice demands he prove his love by defending Hero’s honor. Meanwhile, the bumbling constable Dogberry and his watchmen accidentally overhear Borachio boasting about the deception to Conrad and arrest them both.

Through Dogberry’s interrogation, the truth emerges about Don John’s plot. Claudio learns of Hero’s innocence and agrees to make amends by marrying Leonato’s “niece” (actually Hero in disguise) the next day. At this second wedding ceremony, Hero reveals herself, and she and Claudio are reconciled. Benedick and Beatrice finally admit their love for each other and agree to marry as well. The play concludes with news that Don John has been captured while trying to flee, and the couples celebrate their double wedding.