Shakespeareo-types

One stereotype that was very evident to me during act four of the play (when Hero is accused of messing around with Borachio) was that women are expected to remain maids until they are married. Claudio accused his bethrothed of cheating on him and says, "Not to knit my soul to such an approved wanton" (IV.1.42). I feel that the statement Shakespeare is trying to make about this stereotype of women during this era was that often men are far too overly suspicious of them, and their suspicions are sometimes even proven to be wrong. Through Shakespeare's writing, the audience is able to see that most men wanted to marry the stereotypical virgin during this era, yet they were often so concerned about this that some women were wrongfully accused of sleeping around.
Another stereotype in the play came in act three, scene five when Dogberry and Verges are questioning Borachio and Conrade about the deceiful plot they had devised. He portrays these commoners as foolish since they are in a lower social class than the Prince and Leonato. Dogberry tries to tell Leonato about Don John's plot and says, "Our watch, sir, as you know, has /comprehended two auspicious persons. We'd like for you to examine them this morning"(III.5.39-40). Seeing as how Dogberry struggles with vocabulary and mistakes the word "comprehend" (III.5.40) for "apprehend",Leonato does not take into serious consideration what he has to say. Yet by ignoring Dogberry, Leonato is losing his chance to find out about the plot. Shakespeare shows the audience that the stereotype of poorer people being foolish doesn't always apply.
Through Shakespeare's use of stereotype, the audience is shown that by not judging people with stereotypes, a whole lot of trouble can be avoided in a person's life.