Don Johns second attempt at deceit is nearly the point that ruins the harmony of the play and reveals his true nature as an unscrupulous schemer. From start to finish he acts as a brooding threatening presence. This is where; with a huge amount of help for Borachio he plans to show Margaret acting as Hero being unfaithful to Claudio before the marriage therefore being a ‘contaminated stale’. Borachio again is involved in the deception, as he was the one who informed Don John about Pedro, supposedly wooing for himself. It therefore appears that Borachio is the ‘brains behind the operation’. Again Claudio falls for the bait and is captured in Don John’s net of deceit. In my view Don John is a disturbed character but uses deception to make himself feel better. As an outcast he cannot involve himself in the social world of Messina. Don John’s plan is point out Margaret with Borachio on the balcony having sex, getting Claudio to think Margaret is Hero.
This plan works to the point of Claudio believing it. Claudio ditches Hero at the altar, and starts interrogating them. Claudio accuses Hero of knowing ‘the heat of a luxurious bed’. Leonato finds it impossible to believe it and is confused as to what Claudio is saying. This is possibly the height of Claudio’s inexperience and his insults are aimed purely at hurting Hero’s feelings. All these lies have stemmed from Don John’s lie. A question may be asked as to why Beatrice decided to make a joke in ‘this looks not like a nuptial’ rather than coming to her cousins defence. Leonato is outraged and says ‘do not live Hero’, meaning he would rather his daughter be dead than be dishonoured. Leonato also reacts by saying; ‘she has fallen into a pit of ink, that the sea has too few drops to wash her clean again And salt too little which may season give her foul tainted flesh. This is all to do with the theme of honour. Although Don Pedro, Claudio and Leonato appear to have made up their minds, the Friar has a plan from Leonato’s speech. Benedick is also suspicious and is involved with the concocting of a plan to deceive people themselves. The Friar’s plan is to pretend Hero has died of shock, to maybe make the accusers feel guilty and in doubt. If Hero is dead then maybe she was innocent. The audience will think the plan will work as it is a comedy, and they have experience of all the characters being somewhat gullible. Dogberry the fool somehow manages with help from the sexton to unveil some unscrupulous scheming. The truth about Hero is revealed to Leonato and he decides to continue with the plot.
As the deception is put into place from the Friar, Don Pedro, Claudio, Leonato and Antonio have a chance to share their views. Leonato now doubts Claudio’s accusations. There are insults thrown at Leonato by Claudio such as calling him 'an old fool’. In Kenneth Branaghs film of the play, Antonio plays the part of restraining Leonato as if he were to strike Claudio. When Benedick enters although he is friends' with the prince and Claudio he is involved in the deception. Benedick at this point seems to have lost his temper with Claudio and really lets Claudio know what he thinks of him; ‘You are a Villain; I jest not’, and ‘fare you well boy; you know my mind. I leave you now to your gossip like humour’. Benedick keeps the humour running and even refers to Claudio as ‘Lord Lackbeard’ When it is revealed Hero is dead, Claudio seems to change his mind again. He is full of remorse and wishes to receive a punishment to redeem himself. Here, this is a sign of Claudio’s character progressing in maturity throughout the course of the play. Claudio is willing to sacrifice his own desires to repay the terrible thing he has done. This is a change from Claudio being wrapped up in himself and not being selfish. Claudio is told that if he is truly sorry he will marry Leonato’s niece who will be veiled until the vows are spoken as compensation to him. Without ever meeting her, Claudio accepts and makes a huge sacrifice. He is seen as a selfish, spoilt character in love but seems to be willing to redeem himself. Claudio throughout the ceremony and build up remains constant and is not a usual feature of Claudio’s character. The vale is removed and to Claudio’s shock it is Hero. Claudio is stunned and for once is speechless.
The other various forms of deception, which and audience will witness in the course of watching ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ is that of Beatrice and Benedick. There is a sense of self-deception here, as neither character truly hates each other. They are deceiving themselves in thinking they are not attracted to one another. Beatrice and Benedick have both played a role so long that their associates have come to expect it of them: the whole joke of Don Pedro's plot depends on the assumption that the two are virtually irreconcilable to each other. Yet they fall for the deceit that is practised upon them. During the scene (where Leonato, Don Pedro and Claudio attempt to trick Benedick into thinking Beatrice is in love with him), Leonato is an important character here as Benedick says ‘I think this is a gull, but that the white bearded fellow speaks it’. Leonato’s appearance is enough to convince Benedick it is not a trick. The next step by Don Pedro, Claudio and Leonato is to entice Benedick by insulting him and saying he would be too proud to reveal his love for Beatrice, as he is contemptuous. The three reveal Beatrice would also not reveal her true feelings, thereby trying to push Benedick to make the first move by insulting him. They say if this were to happen, Benedick would need to change his behaviour ‘wish he would modestly examine himself’. The gull, which Benedick’s friends play on him, makes marvellous viewing to the audience. The comedy may come from the conspirator’s words and plots. In the ‘Cambridge students guide to Much Ado About Nothing’ it is made clear that some directors play the ‘scene in the arbour’ in different ways. One production saw Benedick smoking a cigar whilst hiding in a tree, sending puffs of smoke out at his displeasure showing anger, amazement and indignation. Another director had Benedick grab a pair of shears and pretends to be a gardener clipping at a hedge. These are all things an audience would react to and find amusing. Benedick is now completely different. From appearing to hate Beatrice he is now in love with Beatrice. In a parallel scene Hero and Ursula trick Beatrice. In this case Beatrice is the ‘fish’ whilst Ursula and Hero provide the ‘bait’. Both Beatrice and Benedick seem to let down their guards when love is mentioned, maybe showing their true insecurity. Shortly after the two scenes of good deception Beatrice is asked to fetch Benedick for dinner and says to him ‘against my will I am sent to bid you to come to dinner’. Benedick is so sure of Beatrice’s love he thinks there is ‘a double meaning in Beatrice’s words.
The conclusion of the play is not surprisingly a happy one. Hero’s reaction is very much in character. Hero is surprisingly forgiving, maybe unlike this situation nowadays. A modern day audience would sympathise a lot more. Claudio and Hero are to wed and unsurprisingly so are Beatrice and Benedick. From the start they had witty banter, which sometimes seemed to be true hatred. A modern day audience would have equality with Beatrice. Their relationship is not as sickening as that of Hero and Claudio. Deception here has brought the two together. Shakespeare makes the point clear that Don Pedro ends up alone. Beatrice rejects him early on at the masked ball and it is out of character in Shakespeare’s plays to have a character end up alone. Don John is captured and left outside the community social circle just as in the beginning. He is a dark note on the celebrations and reminds us of his evil at the end of play. The play is designed so the audience are fully aware of the deception being played on each character. For this simple reason it will be amusing to an audience as they see the character fall in to the trap they have witnessed been set up.
First draft; 2017 words