What happens
Holofernes and Sir Nathaniel discuss the deer hunt with Dull, then welcome Armado, who arrives with his page Moth and Costard. They banter about language, wit, and courtly behavior. Armado announces that the king wishes to present a pageant of the Nine Worthies to the princess. Holofernes agrees to organize it, assigning roles to himself, Nathaniel, Costard, Moth, and Dull, with plans to perform multiple worthies if needed.
Why it matters
This scene shifts focus from the lovers' scrambling to a subplot centered on pedantry and performance. Holofernes and Nathaniel embody the play's mockery of excessive learning—they speak in Latin, correct pronunciation obsessively, and prize ornate language over clarity. Their conversation about the deer hunt ('sanguis,' 'terra,' 'pomewater') shows how learned speech can obscure simple truth. Armado's arrival adds another layer: his grandiose language ('armipotent Mars,' 'demigod') contrasts with Moth's sharp wit, which constantly deflates his pretensions. The scene establishes that this pageant will be another arena for folly and performance.
The Nine Worthies pageant emerges as the play's final spectacular folly—a performance within the performance that will expose the gap between intention and execution. Holofernes' casting choices reveal the fundamental comedy: he assigns the humble Costard to play Pompey the Great, himself to play multiple roles, and Moth (a child) to play Hercules. These mismatches set up inevitable failure. The scene also deepens the play's interest in language as performance: Costard's innocent confusion about words ('remuneration,' 'l'envoy') and the scholars' endless verbal flourishes both demonstrate how words obscure rather than clarify meaning. By placing this scene before the pageant's actual performance, Shakespeare creates suspense while maintaining the comedy of incompetence.
