The word deceit means to take action or practice deceiving someone by concealing or misrepresenting the truth. In the novel Much Ado About Nothing, a theme of deceit is constantly present, and appears in many different forms. Deceit is used not only for wicked purposes, but mainly for good intentions. In Shakespeare's novel deception is used to initiate and continue the play's plot, by using the masking of characters, faking death and various other forms of deception to demonstrate how true deception can be in our lives.
Deception can often be used to mask a certain identity for a particular reason. In Benedick's case he is trying to mask his identity, however, this plan of his fails due to Beatrice's knowledge. "Why, he is the Prince's jester... I will leave him at the next turning" (Play). Benedick is trying to deceive Beatrice, in doing so he is hoping to uncover information about him
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In this novel, deception is a term that is used for both good and evil. It is used to mask identities or essentially hide the overall truth from someone. In this day and age, a new form of deceit has been formed through the internet known as "catfishing". “But over an extended period of time, I developed an emotional relationship with a woman I met online. We maintained what I thought to be an authentic relationship by communicating frequently online and on the phone, and I grew to care deeply about her. To realize that I was the victim of what was apparently someone’s sick joke and constant lies was, and is, painful and humiliating” (McCarthy). In a way, this relates to how a character in Much Ado About Nothing could deceive another person in hopes that they wouldn’t find out. People now mask their identity using social media, which is the same thing as in the novel except, they did not have a screen in front of their faces. Deception is something real which still continues today and was present in the