Deception Is the Primary Source of Comedy in Much Ado About Nothing. How Far Do You Agree with This Statement?

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Much Ado about Nothing is a comedy of manners and tells the story of high society’s courtship and deception in the 1600’s. The play centres on four lovers: Hero, Claudio, Beatrice and Benedick, all of which are both deceived and deceive. While some deceptions are harmless little trickery used to bring together two potential lovers, other deceptions come with dire consequences. The play starts with Don Pedro and his men arriving in Messina with his illegitimate brother, Don John. Don Pedro and Don John are both deceivers but while Don Pedro’s deceptions come from his desire to bring the lovers together, Don John’s deceptions derive from jealousy and spite. Don John, being the main antagonist, is made to be born outside of wedlock. Modern audiences watching this play may not understand why his character is the outsider that he is but Elizabethan audiences would understand that children born out of wedlock were largely presumed to be naturally evil. This is apparent in the language that Don John’s character uses because he often uses words that connote violence and death when plotting with his followers, Conrade and Borachio, to sabotage Hero and Claudio’s marriage. When inquiring how he could do this Don John describes what he wants as ‘the death of this marriage’ and in reply Borachio, his accomplice, says they will ‘misuse the Prince’, ‘vex Claudio’, ‘undo Hero’ and ‘kill Leonato.’ Although their words are not literal and they’re not really going to ‘kill’ Leonato, using words such as ‘death’ give very negative connotations and make the character sound like the villain he is. When Don Pedro plots to trick Benedick and Beatrice to fall in love with each other he tells Hero that ‘I will teach you how to humour your cousin that she fall in love with Benedick’. Don Pedro uses the word ‘humour’ and in doing so makes his deceptions sound more light-hearted and harmless.

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