In the play Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare, Don Jon and Don Pedro’s deceit are not only told for positive and negative reasons, but have calamitous outcomes on other characters. In the play, The bitter Don John has learned of the upcoming marriage of Claudio and Hero, and desires a way to prevent it. Don John’s servant Borachio devises a plan for Don John to go to Claudio and Don Pedro and tell them that Hero is not a virgin but a whore, a woman who has willingly corrupted her own innocence a day before her marriage and at the same time chosen to be unfaithful to the man she loves. In order to prove this accusation, Don Jon brings Don Pedro and Claudio below the window of Hero’s room on the night before the wedding, where they
“Indecency, vulgarity, obscenity (these are strictly confined to man); he invented them” (Twain). In this satirical essay Mark Twain discusses his ideas about mankind’s useless morel sense. He observes that humans are the only species to possess a moral sense, yet they use it to perform evil. He states after comparing animals to humans he is humiliated to conclude that man is the least evolved of all species. Despite his use of satire, false authority and hasty generalizations, his piece was successful.
Throughout Much Ado About Nothing, William Shakespeare develops the theme of deception through Beatrice and Benedick, who change their points of view on how life should be lived as a result of their experiences. The first encounter that we witness between Beatrice and Benedick has them
Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, is a play that illustrates the importance of respect and love through sacrifice. A character that sacrificed a great deal throughout the play is Hero. As the play progresses, Hero’s reputation is transformed and becomes flawed from false accusations that extinguish her pure and noble nature, sacrificing her righteousness. Hero values respect and love which explains how her angelic and upstanding character is sacrificed to illustrate the accustomed lifestyle that people observe and obey in regards to the social status of women throughout Shakespeare’s work as a whole.
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.
I wholeheartedly agree that Shakespeare brilliantly portrays a world in which deception and false appearances dominate. The masterfully crafted setting of Elsinore is a rotten cesspool of lies and deceit, filled with characters masquerading as honest and regarding over obsequiousness and espionage as perfectly moral practices. Nothing is ever as it seems and the dishonesty sweeps up even those opposed to it. Polonius is certainly the embodiment of sycophantic falsity in this play. He is constantly trying to ingratiate himself with others and is repeatedly seen to be prying into the business of others, which ironically leads to his demise.
However, the production made use of a modern English translation, making the play more accessible to a wider audience. Overall, the stage play of "Much Ado About Nothing" starring David Tennant and Catherine Tate was a successful modern interpretation of Shakespeare's classic play. The production's emphasis on humor and modern elements made the play accessible and engaging for contemporary audiences, while still retaining the essential themes and language of the original text. The chemistry between the lead actors, the contemporary setting, and the use of music all contributed to a fresh and entertaining experience for audiences. Analyzing the Original Stage Play "Much Ado About Nothing" is a classic comedy written by William Shakespeare in the late 16th century.
Play Analysis – Essay 1 “Much Ado About Nothing “ Submitted by Noor Ul Ain Shaikh (BSMS 2A) What seems to be a comedy play for an audience who enjoys a theatre with good humor and romance, “Much Ado About Nothing” contains much more than just entertainment. If we dig in deep, William Shakespeare’s play has much more than a tragic story with happy ending; even that is debatable. The theme of this play revolves around deception, plotting against your own, personal gains and rejection.
Within the play, Much Ado About Nothing, there is a central theme of deceitfulness, as a way to solve a problem or an issue amongst the characters. Though this deception may be evil, it can often lead to positive endings after several conflicts. In the creation of this theme, Shakespeare uses both negative and positive examples to contribute to his lesson on ruses. Within this particular scene, all of the cons the various characters have put on are officially revealed to each other. This scene highlights that deception is not always evil, nor is it always moral, but is always solved.
Not all forms of deception are negative, although they are not all positive either. People have various reasons for deceiving others in real life, as well as in literature. William Shakespeare wrote many memorable plays during his time living. One of those plays was Much Ado About Nothing, which presented themes which are still relevant to our modern society. In Much Ado About Nothing, some of the protagonists, such as Don Pedro and Benedick, have good intentions when deceiving others, but others, like Don John, deceive others purely out of hatred.
In Much Ado About Nothing, wit was the down fall to many of the characters, but it was also used to provide the audience with comedic relief. Beatrice‘s and Benedick’s pride in their cleverness, Claudio’s assumptions and gullibleness, and Dogberry’s lack or wit and intelligence lead to the misunderstandings and Discoveries throughout the play (Dennis 224). Dennis is saying that each character had a fatal flaw that Shakespeare highlighted by having something terrible or having something ironic happen to them. This shows how he used the elements and levels of wit to captivate the audience by leaving the characters blind to what was really going on. The audience knew the plan for Beatrice and Benedick, but their own confidence in their wit betrayed them.
Hero express that you must manipulate someone's love life no matter the consequences when she explains, “some cupids kill with arrows, some with traps” (3.2.112). You must use trickery, to reveal their true feelings for the other person. In Much Ado About Nothing trickery and deception are central themes in the play. At least, every character in this play have been a victim of trickery or deception. This comes to show that manipulation can reveal the true feelings and thoughts about one another.
Ed Sheeran once said, “People fall in love in mysterious ways.” Much Ado About Nothing is a play written by William Shakespeare. The play is a classic story where enemies become lovers through battles of quick and clever wit. Claudio quickly falls in love with Hero, while both Benedick and Beatrice, Hero’s cousin, despise the idea of falling into love’s trap. Despite their aversion, by the end of the play Benedick and Beatrice manage to fall in love.
