How Does Shakespeare Use Deceit In Much Ado About Nothing

Deceit in much ado about nothing:

How and Why did Shakespeare use deceit as such a major theme in Much Ado About Nothing? While usual thought as a purely negative action, in Much Ado About Nothing deceit is used in many countless ways. Deceit commonly defined as overlooking or concealing the truth through trickery. This definition basically sums up the complete plot of Much Ado About Nothing. Deceit is used both to help and to hinder characters, as well as to create situations, that help make the play more interesting and complex.

Shakespeare uses deceit in Much Ado About Nothing to create specific situations. The whole plan of how Leonato, Don Pedro, Claudio, Hero, and her maids got Beatrice and Benedict together sums up perfectly of how Shakespeare created situations. These character had Beatrice and Benedict overhear them saying that Beatrice/Benedict was madly in love with Benedict/Beatrice. Without the element of deceit, these characters would have never admitted that they loved each other. Even Don John whose motives are purely evil still uses deceit to create the situation in which Claudio thinks that Hero has cheated on him. Essentially every time deceit is used in Much Ado About Nothing is a way to create a situation.

As I said before deceit is used in both negative and positive ways in Much

Shakespeare is known for writing with large possible audiences in mind, and deceit is a theme that most people could relate to. Even over 400 years later I can still relate to these situations. I have overheard my friends talking about something, and thought they were talking about one thing, but they were talking about something entirely different. This kind of first hand ability to relate situations to your own life, is one of the more clever things about Shakespeare’s writing is what makes him one of the most renowned play-writes in history, and even modern