Benedick is tricked into eavesdropping by a well planned conversation, which involves Benedick overhearing his name in a conversation-a typical way of intentionally getting someone to eavesdrop. He eavesdrops because he hears his name and the conversation follows through to the subject of romance, which captures Benedick’s attention and keeps it, meanwhile Benedick is determined to stay hidden from “Monsieur Love”. He is told that Beatrice has an undying love for him but she would never tell him because it would ruin their constant wit matches. The deceivers signal to each other when they know that they have Benedick’s attention by referring to hunting phrases, as though he has been caught into a trap, which indeed he has.
“We’ll fit the hid-fox with a pennyworth”
He believes what he hears because of everything that is said about Beatrice not wanting to tell him how much she loves him, which is characteristic of her. Leonato has a white beard which, in Shakespeare’s day was said to show wisdom in a man, a man with a white beard always tells the truth, or so Benedick believes. Benedick has also seen Claudio turn from a devoted soldier, a man who would do anything for an honest fight into a lover who is to be married as a soldier by trade. Benedick too has devoted himself to staying a bachelor all of his life but now finds himself compromising, “I did not think I should live till I were married” being his only excuse after he has heard the conversation and considered its meaning. It is worth noting that in “Twelfth Night”, things happen in a reflected manner of the events in “Much Ado”, in “Twelfth Night”, Malvolio is hidden from by his deceivers but Benedick has to do the hiding himself. Benedick is cornered into hiding where the speakers can keep track of him. Just as the conversation between Benedick’s colleagues is well planned, so is the letter forged by Maria. Both are conveniently planned and carried out in a certain way, the conversation is spoken in a certain place where it is definite that Benedick’s attention will be captured and the letter for Malvolio is dropped in a place where it is definite that Malvolio will find it before anyone else and Malvolio being the person he is would definitely read it regardless of whether or not it was addressed to him.
At the end of the scene Benedick has been called into dinner by Beatrice and is trying to analyse what she said to him. He believes that she is in love with him but doesn’t want to show it so she is acting how she would normally act towards Benedick, trying to make it a match of wits as usual. Beatrice has a wit match with Benedick, even though he is just trying to return any affection. As he reads a “double meaning” into what Beatrice has said, it does not occur to him that he has been deceived and that Beatrice knows nothing of the trick.
“If I do not take pity on her, I am a villain; if I do not love her, I am a Jew”
At the beginning of the scene however, Benedick is questioning how it is possible for Claudio to have once been such a devoted soldier and swearing that he would never marry but has now found love in Hero and is due to marry her. Deciding not to follow Claudio’s tracks, Benedick swears to himself that he will never love and never marry. He gives the picture of his ideal woman, one so perfect that he assures himself he will never find a woman to match his criteria so he will remain a bachelor forever, as he has always intended to do. This is completely different to how he feels at the end when he is considering the relationship with Beatrice might actually be worth the time and effort. When Malvolio reads the letter from “Olivia” he acts it out as he reads, trying to imagine what it would be like for himself and Olivia to be partners.
“Therefore in my presence smile, dear my sweet…”
He imagines her at his side, walking with him and talking with him. He compliments her and shows his appreciation for her. It is as though when he reads the letter it is coming true as he speaks, which the audience know will never happen. Benedick too reacts to what he has heard by asking himself if he could actually get along with Beatrice then it might work. In both cases the people being tricked are left questioning their better nature as to events that could happen which they had not considered.
Benedick takes all of the humour that is being used against him very seriously, he believes that Beatrice must love him and his companions would never lie to him about someone loving him. The audience can see the funny side of the situation because of the dramatic irony, but the characters of Benedick, and eventually, Beatrice, are none the wiser to the whole “farce”. Although in both scenes the plot is dealing with romance through deception, it is dealt with in two different ways but the underlying idea is the same. However both plots include some form of lie, eavesdropping ,hiding and luring into the situation, although some of the characters are unaware of how meticulously planned each situation is. Another feature of both plots is that someone makes a fool of themselves when actually they think they impress someone. In the case of “Much Ado”, this is Benedick being pleasant to Beatrice when she is deliberately annoyed that she has to call him in for dinner.
“Against my will, I am bid you come in to dinner”
In the case of Twelfth Night, Malvolio is persuaded to wear yellow stockings with cross garters to impress Olivia, when in fact, she hates yellow and can’t stand it when a man has cross garters, again he is making a fool of himself in front of a woman whom he thinks loves him. The suspense created by Don Pedro about Beatrice’s “feelings” for Benedick and Maria’s trick on Malvolio adds suspense to the whole storyline. There is a lot of reference to people hiding possibly suggesting that the letter and conversation are supposed to be secret but the characters being tricked are lured into getting involved. In “Much Ado”, it is Benedick who hides to hear the whole conversation but in “Twelfth Night” it is Malvolio who is hidden from because the deceivers want to see his (somewhat over dramatic) reaction. We as the audience find it funny to see Malvolio and Benedick talking to themselves as they are taken through the deception. It is also quite humorous the way that both characters have no idea that everything is a trick and eventually it turns into reality. It seems quite ironic that Benedick and Beatrice should marry after the witty exchanges in the first part of the play. To see Malvolio getting dressed into yellow stockings and crossed garters to impress a woman who does not love him as he thinks she does is hilarity in itself.
In conclusion the use of deception and trickery in both of these classic Shakespearean stories provides humour, suspense and dramatic irony for the audience. Deception can be a difficult and challenging idea to write into a play but Shakespeare has excelled in the deception whilst still holding the comedy that can effectively run alongside such an idea with great ease. The dramatic irony created by the hiding and eavesdropping creates humour in another dimension also adding to the audiences’ enjoyment. The anticipation that comes with deception and waiting to see if anything becomes of the deception is a well used dramatic tool in both plays and as it turns out, Benedick does eventually marry Beatrice, an event which could be called dishonest as they were tricked into showing feelings for each other and may have been having sarcastic verbal fights forever if their friends hadn’t intervened. The use of hunting language throughout both scenes make you feel as though the characters being deceived have literally been captured, an interesting thought seeing as it were the deceivers’ intentions to “catch” them into an imaginary trap. Words related to fishing and bear baiting can compare the people being deceived to innocent and unsuspecting animals as well as being used to show the idea of the victim being caught.
