Examine The Theme Of Deception In "Much Ado About Nothing".

Examine The Theme Of Deception In “Much Ado About Nothing”

Much Ado About Nothing is a social, romantic, Shakespearean comedy. This suggests that the characters involved will work through a series of events and come out as better people. The key idea in this play is deception. It appears in many forms, both positive and negative; positive deception resulting in good, reflecting the joyful, carefree nature of Messina (the town in which the play is set), and negative resulting in disruption, both in the characters involved and in what Messina stands for.

Shakespeare uses a character like Don John as a catalyst for the negative deception. This doesn’t require a well thought out character, he merely has to say the right things to invoke the reactions required by Shakespeare.

The personalities of Benedick and Beatrice are used for most of the beneficial deception. At the beginning of the play Don Pedro, Claudio, Benedick, Don John etc are returning from war. The first speech between Benedick and Beatrice sets up the apparent tension between them. This is implied when Leonato says, before Benedick has arrived, “There is a kind of merry war betwixt Signor Benedick and her”. This could be seen as a form of deception, where the two characters involved are deceiving themselves in so much that they do love each other really. Benedick is determined that love is not for him. He is the typical soldier. This is reflected in his speech on page 49 in which he says ““but till all graces be in one woman, one woman shall not come in my grace”. In this deception there is also an example of Shakespeare deceiving the audience. Until you read to the end of the play you believe that Beatrice and Benedick really aren’t ever going to get together.

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In contrast the first corrupt deception between Don John and Claudio caused the first seismic shift in Messina’s social and cultural centre point. Shakespeare, as a ground for the deception, used the masked ball taking place that night. It reflects the fun element of Messina yet also opens up an opportunity for interference. Don Pedro planned to woo Hero on Claudio’s behalf. This is another form of constructive deception. Don John along with Borachio told Claudio (thinking it was Signor Benedick) that they had heard Don Pedro “swear his affection” to Hero and that he “swore he would marry her tonight”. Claudio’s reflection upon hearing this news shows the audience more of his true character. He instantly believed the information he had heard, thus appearing gullible and untrusting. He shows this in his soliloquy when he is certain that “friendship is constant in all other things, save in the office and affairs of love”. He shows naivety.

The group of friends is brought together again by Don Pedro’s scheme to make Benedick believe Beatrice loves him and visa versa. This gulling is used by Shakespeare as a platform for comedy. Benedick was the first victim when Leonato, Claudio and Don Pedro allow Benedick to “over hear” a conversation in which they say Beatrice “dote on Signior Benedick” and they use phrases that show the passion of her love such as “she falls, weeps, sobs, beats her heart, tears her hair, prays, curses, O sweet Benedick, God give me patience”. This eventually makes Benedick’s original, negative responses to love change and this is shown in his last speech at the end of the scene. In particular he said that “[he] will be horribly in love with her” and “she’s a fair Lady, [he does] spy some marks of love in her”. The gulling of Benedick was done more overtly in contrast to the gulling of Beatrice. The men made Benedick believe that she was head over heels in love with him whereas Hero is cleverer about it and makes Beatrice feel guilty, she explores all of her flaws. For the first time in the play we see Hero’s true character and that she is really quite intelligent, wise and cunning. She uses phrases that will expose Beatrice to herself such as “she (Beatrice) is so self endeared”. The deception is following the positive idea of Messina. This is still before the change in Messina’s atmosphere. That is to come.

The most corrupt example of deception in Much Ado About Nothing is Don John’s splitting up of Claudio’s marriage. It is set to cause a seismic shift in Messina’s fun loving, lighthearted social/cultural axis. Don John persuades Borachio to woo Margaret and ravage her at the window of Hero’s room, pretending she is Hero. When Don John went and told Claudio and Don Pedro of her unfaithfulness it not only showed Claudio’s gullibility again but there is a change in Don Pedro’s character as well. He is seen as the moral upstanding soldier yet can still turn against some of his dearest friends at the word of a bastard brother, his word being “the Lady is disloyal” “Leonato’s Hero, your Hero, every mans Hero”. The next day, at the wedding, Claudio’s behaviour caused the change in Messina. He said things to Hero suggesting the acts of disloyalty had taken place, obviously she didn’t know what it meant. This is partly show in the phrase “what kind of catechising call you this?”. Towards Hero, many words were used that are opposite to what you would normally expect from Messina such as “wanton”, “stale” and “rotten orange”. Messina is very quick to take the side of Don Pedro and Claudio that shows us that they are all (all of Messina) nearly as gullible as the other two are. Even Hero’s father, Leonato, turns against his own daughter at first, “all this is so”. This changes when she explains but he still took a friends word over a relations. The deception becomes darker here and it is no longer a game.

In conclusion, Much Ado About Nothing is a play of two halves. One side of it is a light comedy in which people find love and other things that enhance their personality. The other side is much darker, turning the world in which the characters live upside down.