Shakespeare’s structural development of the deception is also important in analysing its effectiveness in engaging the audience. Preceding the implementation of the plot, Benedick conveys his thoughts on Claudio’s engagement to the audience via soliloquy, and dramatically expresses surprise at Claudio’s willingness to get married after having made fun of marriage and laughed at other married man – ‘another man…after he hath laughed at such shallow follies in others, become the argument of his own scorn by falling in love…is Claudio.’ He then goes on to draw up a list of qualities he would expect in the perfect woman, and totally convinces himself that he will never ‘be converted and see with [the] eyes [of love]’ until ‘all graces be in one woman,’ which, of course, is an impossible scenario. Shakespeare uses structural presentation of plot to comically highlight the extent of self-deception Benedick has fallen into by placing this scene directly before the deception scene, so that the audience can contrast Benedick’s accentuated sentiments before the deception to the ironic and abrupt transformation of his character after the deception.
Also, it is a notable fact evident from the reference, ‘I should think this is a gull, but that the white-bearded fellow speaks it’, that Benedick’s first reaction is to query the information, in contradiction to Claudio’s instantaneous belief of the previous deception, and it is the only the involvement of a respectable character such as Leonato that convinces him of the reliability of false information he overhears. Leonato’s unexpected involvement is again resonant with the audience’s perception of Don Pedro’s position in the first deception, and acts to underline the fact that no character is above deceit in Shakespeare’s setting.
Beatrice’s deception and transformation is presented in the next scene and follows an analogous course of events, again emphasizing a symmetry and similarity between both characters. After being deceived by Hero and Ursula, Beatrice’s speech shows correspondence to Benedick’s when she cites the necessity to requite his love as a reason to ‘tame [her] wild heart to [his] loving hand.’ However there are several discrepancies evident in the comparison of both speeches, especially in the contrasting use of tone and language. While Benedick’s speech is in prose and has a tone of informality [‘Love me? Why it must be requited’], Beatrice’s is in formal, rhyming verse, spoken in a more passionate tone [‘If thou dost love, my kindness shall incite thee…’]; such subtle differences in characterisation is evidence for the use of deception as a means for character development.
Both deceptions end amiably, but there are complications caused by the introduction of secondary plots. These plots arise from the malevolent intent of Don John, Don Pedro’s ‘bastard brother’, and can be grouped under the malignly motivated deceptions.
The first malicious ploy is seamlessly initiated into the play through its strong linkage to Don Pedro’s first plan. Don John’s malignant intentions are made clear in the quotation, ‘if I can cross [Claudio] in any way I bless myself in every way’, and he decides to manipulate Claudio into believing that Don Pedro was himself ‘enamoured on Hero’. Notably, however, the audience is not enlightened to the specific nature of the ploy until its execution; this omission of detail is a method presentation used by Shakespeare to create a dramatic effect of suspense and tension within the deception plot.
When he is tricked by Don John, Claudio’s immediate belief of Don John’s words despite his villainous nature suggests insecurity and impressionability as his characteristic features. When he speaks in the soliloquy in Act II Scene ii (lines 156-166), he convinces himself that Don John has spoken truthfully, and simply relinquishes his love for Hero – ‘farewell therefore, Hero!’ His willingness to do this implies his love for Hero is not as strong as the audience was previously led to believe, otherwise conveying weakness and cowardice in his character. Although this net of deceptions ends amiably with Claudio rediscovering his love for Hero and friendship with Don Pedro, Shakespeare successfully puts the audience through series of doubts and suspicions, and by the end of the scene we, as the audience, have delved further into the individualities of each of the characters involved.
The complications that arise within the Benedick-Beatrice plot are consequences of a much larger malicious plot by Don John, in accordance and symmetry with the relative greater scale of the friendly trick.
Don John’s second plot again concerns the Claudio-Hero relationship, stressing his strong malevolent intent and passionate hatred of Claudio. His motivations are clarified in Act II Scene ii as being ‘to misuse the Prince, to vex Claudio, to undo Hero and kill Leonato.’ The deception is more, as Claudio and Don Pedro are deceived on the theme of Hero’s faithfulness as soon as Don John’s words have been reinforced by the apparent sight of Hero involved in an encounter with another man. Claudio is again comparatively easily deceived, and his vulnerability and impressionability is again evident in an instant, albeit partial, belief of Don John’s denunciation of Hero as ‘disloyal’ – ‘May this be so?’ This deception represents an amplified version of Don John’s previous plot and is the most significant carried out in the play, with respect to the overall plot; the deception is also crucial in its addition of the uncertainty and action required for the fulfilment of the romantic comedy genre. In similarity with the strong visual nature of Don John’s first deception, where the masked party, of which I will later investigate the existence of presentational significance, is used as a strong medium of presentation, this deception also illustrates strong visual imagery. This is especially the case in the effecting of the deception, where Don John can only trick Claudio and Don Pedro into belief of Hero’s unfaithfulness by the provision of visual evidence – ‘Go but with me tonight, you shall see her chamber-window entered…’ Furthermore, it is a paradoxical fact, highlighted in the presentation of the deception, that Don Pedro and Claudio, who are involved in the implementation of most of the deceptions in the play, are relatively effortlessly deceived by the villainous Don John, whereas Benedick is not as easily deceived even when tricked by respectable and revered characters such as Leonato and Don Pedro in the previous scene.
Don John’s ploy is strongly linked with a third strand of deception in its development. Proposed by the Friar, this plot can be classed as ambiguously motivated and follows a divergent progression. It is motivated by the Friar’s conviction of ‘a strange misprision [misunderstanding] in the princes’ and of a groundless accusation on Hero under some biting error.’ As friars were revered characters in the context of the play – ‘…my age, reverence, calling…divinity’ – this can be seen as another example of the misuse of authority to convincingly deceive a large group of characters; this deception moreover turns out to be vital to the non-tragic finale of the play. The Friar’s plot is strongly based on dramatic irony, as the audience is made very aware of the degree of Claudio’s deception in scenes such as the falsified funeral service of Hero, where Claudio reads an apparently self-written epitaph to a Hero ‘done to death by slanderous tongues’. As the Friar’s plan evolves, various other minor deceits are introduced, such as the trickery of Claudio into believing he was marrying Hero’s cousin in Act V; this deception further holds strong visual significance as it once again involves the use of veils, associated with the Claudio-Hero relationship. Shakespeare’s plot hinges strongly on this deception and in its conclusion, the other strands of deception are also tied up. The play ends on a relatively non-dramatic tone with the atmospheric tension of the climatic Act IV gradually dissipated in the cathartic subsequent scenes.
Language is a major technique used through the play for the characterisation of speakers, and tone is used to distinguish between deceptions of various natures. Also, there are many instances of extended imagery linked to deception, one of the most prominent being the relation of Beatrice and Benedick to imagery connected with nature and hunting in order to reveal features characteristic of self-deceivers. For example, the attribute of stubbornness, strongly related to self-deception, is reflected in Beatrice’s character when she is described to be ‘as haggards of the rock’ and compared to a fish in Act III Scene I: ‘the pleasant’st angling to see the fish.’ In Act IV Scene I, animalistic imagery is again linked to deception and is used to reflect Claudio’s unbridled passion, after his second deception by Don John, when he makes the comparison of Hero to the ‘pampered animals that rage in savage sensuality’. Shakespeare also uses an extensive range of literary techniques to present the differing reactions to each deception scheme. For example the constructive and balanced language form present in the oxymoronic phrase, ‘Thou pure impiety and impious purity’, is utilized in conveying Claudio’s passionate reaction to Hero’s vehement defiance in Act IV.
Furthermore, strong visual imagery is created in the ‘revelling’ – the confusing masked party in Act II Scene I, where recognition by the character of one another in uncertain but not totally absent. Shakespeare uses this event as a metaphorical representation of the web of deception woven across the play in its most tangible form. A dynamic atmosphere is created in this masked party by the incorporation of various minor and subtle deceptions involving most of the characters; the indulgence of such contrasting characters as Antonio and Ursula in these minor deceits presents deception as a universal trait that together all the characters in the play, transcending differences in gender and class. The masked party is also used to provide a contrast with the darker atmosphere generated with the execution of Don John’s plan further into the scene.
The use of masks is also strongly linked to that of veils through several of the deception plots. Shakespeare, for example, makes an extensive use of masks and veils in the development of the Beatrice-Benedick relationship, highlighting the theme of self-deception. In Act V Scene iv, it is only after Beatrice has physically taken off her veil, suggesting an eradication of self-deception in her character, that both characters can resolve their differences and proclaim their genuine feelings.
Moreover, it is notable that the expected strong distinction in language between classes is not clearly made through the play, in reflection of the strong interaction between characters created predominantly by mass involvement in deceptions.
Balthasar’s song in Act II Scene iii also holds vital significance in the analysis of Shakespeare’s theatrical presentation of deception through sound. The lyrics of the song focus on the theme of men as deceivers, therefore providing an echo of the situation in the play where all the deceptions have been engineered by men. The line, ‘men were deceivers ever’, is a reference to the constancy present within the male characters, for example Don Pedro’s unchanging nature is reflected by the strong similarity between his ploys. In addition the light-hearted tone of the song is a resonance of the friendly intentions behind the trickery of Benedick, which occurs in the same scene. The theme of the song is also reflected by Benedick’s words in the scene, ‘Knavery cannot, sure, hide himself in such reverence’, where he gives knavery or deception a male gender. On the other hand, the theme is in contradiction to the cuckoldry stereotype and related imagery of horns recurrent through the play which, for the most part, represents the deceit of men by women in marriage. For example, in the quotation, ‘If the sensible Benedick ever bear [the yoke of marriage]…pluck off the bull’s horns and set them in my forehead’, Benedick makes a humorous reference to the reasoning behind his vehement stance on marriage.
Finally, it is important to examine closely the theme of self-deception running strongly through the play. Beatrice and Benedick are ideal examples and, through their largely exaggerated stances – Beatrice claims that she will not fall in love till ‘man be made from some other metal than earth’ while Benedick convinces himself that he ‘will live a bachelor’ and that his attitude to love and marriage ‘is the opinion that fire cannot melt of [him] – and the scepticism of their surrounding characters, Shakespeare conveys to the audience that they succeed in convincing only themselves with their passionate soliloquies against love and marriage. Dogberry’s character also indulges in the self-deception that he can be as witty in language as members of the upper-class and produces comic effect through malapropisms such as the command, ‘Come bring away the plaintiffs’ when he means just the opposite, the defendants; Shakespeare uses this self-deception to lighten the tone of the play, even throughout the grave atmosphere created as a consequence of Don John’s successful deception. Dogberry also draws vanity from his knowledge of legal procedures and, for example, in the trial of Borachio by the Sexton, he attempts to play the part of a knowledgeable judge, but ends up making a mockery of the process of law by assuming guilt before examining the accused – ‘Masters, it is proved already that you are little better than false knaves…’ Consequently, Dogberry becomes a means of obstruction to the discovery of truth, promoting wider deception, therefore, through his own self-deception. Even the messenger at the beginning of the play can be counted among the self-deceivers; like Dogberry, he manages to persuade himself that he has to talk in the courtly style of the nobles around him and not in the simple style of someone who has a message to deliver. His excessive efforts to achieve this are highlighted in the reference: ‘He hath indeed better bettered expectation that you must expect of me to tell you how.’
In actual fact the only character who strikes us as being altogether free of self-deception is the evil Don John, who is a master in the art of deceiving others, in his own right.
In conclusion, Shakespeare uses his consistently constructive presentation of deception not just for character and plot development, but also to enlighten his audience towards other more subtle themes in the play. There is a sense of balance in the development of the various deception ploys, especially between Benedick and Beatrice, and also in the presentation of schemes of various motivations. In addition, the words of Balthasar’s song in Act II Scene iii are echoed through the course of the play through the male organisation of all the deception plots, and reflects the patriarchal setting of the play. There is also a strong significance in the setting of the play in Italy as this was a region thought in Shakespeare’s time to be the natural home for plotting and dishonesty.
Furthermore, Shakespeare highlights the fact that, in the same way the characters deceive and manipulate each other, and perhaps in the greatest deception of all, the play, and plays in general, are manipulative of audiences’ feelings. Therefore there is an undertone of irony running through the play in the fact that we should laugh at or commiserate with victims of other deceptions, while we, ourselves are being deceived.