Deception Is One of the Main Themes of Much Ado About Nothing.
Deception is one of the main themes of 'Much Ado about Nothing'. Discuss.
The plot in 'Much Ado about Nothing' is based upon a series of deceptions and lies. There are good deceptions and bad deceptions throughout the play, but in the end, good wins over evil.
In Act I, Don Pedro, Prince of Arragon, returns to Messina, Italy from a war with his bastard brother Don John. Count Claudio of Florence and Signor Benedick of Padua accompany Don Pedro. Don John is accompanied by his followers, Borachio and Conrade. Signor Leonato is governor of Messina, and with him is his brother, Signor Antonio. Leonato's heir is Hero, his only daughter, and his niece is Beatrice, an orphan.
In Act I scene i, we see the 'skirmish of wit' between Beatrice and Benedick. Throughout the play, there are not many mentions of why Beatrice and Benedick continue their 'merry war', although in Act II scene i, Beatrice speaks of how she gave 'a double heart for his single one'. This suggests that they have had a previous encounter where Benedick broke her heart.
The first of the deceptions take place in Act II scene i, the masqued ball. In this, all of the men wear masks to hide their identity, which is a huge deception in itself. The first deception at the masqued ball is a good one. Don Pedro woos Hero while pretending to be Claudio. Don John hears of this and decides to take advantage of the situation. He pretends to think Claudio is Benedick, and confides in him that Don Pedro woos Hero for himself. Claudio believes this evil deception, but when there is a confrontation between Don Pedro and him, he sees his error and good wins over evil. At the end of scene i, Don Pedro proposes to 'undertake one of Hercules' labours' and make Benedick and Beatrice fall in love with each other. This is the beginning of another good deception.
In Act II scene ii, Borachio, Conrade and Don John discuss their failed plot at the masqued ball. Borachio proposes a plan to:
"Misuse the prince, to vex Claudio, to undo Hero, and kill Leonato." Don John agrees.
In Act II scene iii, Benedick is deceived by Don John, Claudio and Leonato into believing that Beatrice loves him. This good deception takes place in Leonato's orchard, where Benedick hides and listens to their conversation about Beatrice's love for him. The deceivers know where Benedick is, but pretend they don't in order to deceive him. The deceivers ...
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In Act II scene ii, Borachio, Conrade and Don John discuss their failed plot at the masqued ball. Borachio proposes a plan to:
"Misuse the prince, to vex Claudio, to undo Hero, and kill Leonato." Don John agrees.
In Act II scene iii, Benedick is deceived by Don John, Claudio and Leonato into believing that Beatrice loves him. This good deception takes place in Leonato's orchard, where Benedick hides and listens to their conversation about Beatrice's love for him. The deceivers know where Benedick is, but pretend they don't in order to deceive him. The deceivers then leave, and Beatrice arrives to tell Benedick that dinner's ready. Benedick says:
"By this day she's a fair lady, I do spy some marks of love in her." This, and other things that Benedick says, shows that he is convinced of Beatrice's love for him; he doesn't suspect a thing.
In Act III scene i, Beatrice is deceived, by Hero and Ursula, into thinking that Benedick loves her. Hero and Ursula are waiting for Beatrice, and when they see where she is, Hero says:
"Then go we near her, that her ear lose nothing of the false sweet bait that we lay for it."
Hero and Ursula then proceed to deceive Beatrice into thinking that Benedick loves her. When Hero and Ursula have gone, Beatrice says:
"And Benedick, love on, I will requite thee, taming my wild heart to thy loving hand."
This proves that Beatrice believes the deception, and now loves Benedick herself.
In Act III scene ii, Don John begins the worst deception in the play. He invites Don Pedro and Claudio to see Hero's disloyalty, and they do. However, in Act III scene iii, the watch overhear the drunken Borachio confessing, to Conrade, his part in Don John's deception. He tells us of how he pretended that Margaret (Hero's maid) was Hero while he 'wooed' her in Hero's bedchamber. He also speaks of how Don John showed Don Pedro and Claudio this, and of how he was paid a thousand ducats for doing so. The watch then arrests the two villains.
In Act III scene v, Dogberry, constable of the watch, tries to inform an impatient Leonato of the arrest of Borachio and Conrade. However, Dogberry, as always, mixes his words, and never gets to the point. Leonato impatiently leaves. If Leonato had been more patient, and Dogberry had spoken more clearly, then the play would've had a happier ending, but would have been two acts shorter.
Act IV scene i is the wedding scene. In this, Claudio, Don John and Don Pedro cruelly humiliate Hero. The only people who believe in Hero's innocence are Benedick, Beatrice and Friar Francis; even her own father is convinced of her own guilt! When Don Pedro, Don John and Claudio have left, Friar Francis comes up with a plan. The remaining characters will tell everyone that Hero has tragically died (another deception). Friar Francis hopes that this will rekindle Claudio's love for her, but if this fails, then hero can be sent to a nunnery.
At the end of Act IV scene i, Beatrice asks Benedick to avenge Hero's humiliation by killing Claudio. Benedick refuses at first, but Beatrice soon convinces him due to his love for her. In this scene, the full effects of Don John's deception were seen, and they caused a lot of damage.
In Act IV scene ii, the watch interrogate Conrade and Borachio. Borachio confesses to all and is taken away, to reappear in Act V scene i, where Leonato starts Friar Francis' deception. At first, the news of Hero's death has little effect on Claudio, but when Borachio confesses his part in Don John's deception, Claudio says to Leonato:
"Impose me to what penance your invention can lay upon my sin."
This proves that he felt guilt for his part in Hero's death, but only when he learnt of Don John's deception. Leonato asks him to mourn at Hero's tomb that night, and also tells him to marry his niece. Claudio agrees.
At the start of Act V scene iv, Leonato tells Hero, Beatrice, Margaret and Ursula to prepare for the wedding by masking themselves. Benedick reluctantly admits his love for Beatrice, and asks for her hand in marriage; Leonato willingly agrees. Don Pedro and Claudio arrive, and Antonio brings in the four masked women. Hero is brought forward, as Beatrice, and Claudio agrees to marry her, whom he thinks is Beatrice. When the deception is revealed, Claudio graciously accepts Hero. Then Beatrice and Benedick publicly admit their love for each other, and marry. It is then the end of the play, despite Don Pedro remaining alone. Punishment of Borachio and Don John are left until after the festivities, so that the happy mood of the play is not disrupted.
The deceptions in the play, especially Don John's, have enormous repercussions on the rest of the plot. If there were no deceptions in 'Much Ado about Nothing', then the play would be very short. As the play's name suggests, noting, or spying, also has an important effect on the play, and without it, some of the deceptions could not take place.
In the end, the play had a happy ending, but it could easily have been a tragedy, if Don John's evil plot had been successful. Even though good won over evil, the bad deceptions still did a lot of damage, Benedick and Claudio's friendship may never be the same again. During the play, the audience knows about all the deceptions because the aim of the play is to entertain an audience, which it succeeds in doing.