QUERIES FOR DISCUSSION

Is Berowne's speech to "salve" their "perjury" (IV, iii, 309-383) the
moral of the piece? If so why should not the Play end here? How does
Berowne's final speech in this Act foreshadow the conclusion of the
Play?


ACT V

SPORT IS BY SPORT OVERTHROWN

What were the main events of the last Act and of this one, and how do
they bear upon one another? Why is the revenge planned by the Princess
both fair and prudent? Are the men more in earnest than they seem? Do
the women seem less in earnest than they are? Which man first draws a
lesson from being outwitted, and how is it justified? Show how this
lesson suits the trend of the Play, and advances upon the outcome of
the preceding Act. To whom is Berowne's line (V, ii, 477)--"Speake for
yourselves, my wit is at an end"--addressed? How is the King brought
to confusion? Is the Princess too hard upon him? Why does Berowne
scoff so fiercely at Boyet?

Is the presentation of the Nine Worthies too absurd in itself to mix
well with the courtliness, learning, and elaborate wit of the rest of
the Play? Note Berowne's defence of it (V, ii, 569-571) and his rebuke
to the King for despising it? The Princess's defence of it and its
correspondence with that of Theseus for the show of the "base
mechanicals" in the "Midsommer Nights Dreame." How does Berowne's