This is an essay that discusses Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing. It covers a variety of themes, including vengeance, deceitfulness, honor, freedom, and manipulation. The essay discusses the question: '‘I will assume thy part in some disguise/ And tell fair Hero I am Claudio’ We accept the ...
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‘I will assume thy part in some disguise/ And tell fair Hero I am Claudio’ We accept the deceptions
in the play because mostly the characters’ intentions are benign. To what extent do you agree?
The dark comedy ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ (‘MAAN’), by Elizabethan playwright William
Shakespeare is centred around deception and dishonesty. Set in 15 th Century Messina, Sicily, the play
focuses on characters who manipulate one another to fulfil their own selfish desires. Characters in
the middle comedy fuelled by vengeance, but also the fear of losing their honour and a freedom.
They follow through with their schemes despite the collateral damage and act in their own favour.
Shakespeare uses language to exemplify the deceitfulness and treachery of his characters and to
explore the patriarchal views of the society that they lived in.
In ‘MAAN”, characters are motivated by their past experiences and seek revenge on those who have
wronged them in the past. Don John, who is the villain of the play, create schemes to bring apart his
brother, the Prince of Aragon, Don Pedro, and his comrades, to have vengeance. Despite being in his
brother’s good ‘faith’, Don John is still ‘sick in displeasure’ with him and Claudio of Florence and
refuses to be ‘[altered]’ by them. Led by his follower Borachio, he is commanded to ‘undo Hero’ and
‘kill Leonato’ to ultimately destroy Claudio. In an oxymoronic way, Borachio creates a scheme,
explaining that he can ‘cross’ Claudio and Hero’s wedding and ‘poison’ their reputation and, despite
being a follower, uses commanding language to convince Don John to follow through with his plan.
Don John views himself as a ‘plain-dealing villain’ and accepts the ‘melancholy’ implications of being
‘born under Saturn’. Due to his saturnine tendencies, Don John has had conflicts with Don Pedro in
the past and does not want to succumb to his brother’s commands, instead aiming to be a ‘canker in
a hedge’. Shakespeare uses language to exhibit his treachery; he is not of many ‘words’ and when he
does speak, he often does not rhyme, separating him from other characters in the play. Due to his
illegitimate birth, Don John’s society expects him to be evil and deceitful and he satisfies these
expectations by taking revenge on the people around him. He has harsh intentions, but in some
ways, it is not his fault, as his villainy is fuelled by his environment.
Characters in ‘MAAN’ uphold their honour and reputation and are willing to sacrifice others to do so.
Don John’s overarching scheme is designed to wreak havoc on Leonato’s household and bring great
dishonour to both Leonato and Claudio. However, his ploy ultimately harms Hero, who has her
reputation destroyed, not just in the eyes of her community, but her father as well. Upon hearing
the rumours that Don John created, Leonato, who lived for his daughter, accentuating that she was
‘[his]’, disowns her ‘foul, tainted flesh’ and is happy to ‘let her die’. Even though he is claimed to be
an ‘honourable father’, he is quick to rid himself of Hero to sustain his own reputation. Similarly,
Claudio, who is proud like a ‘lion’, is easily convinced that Hero is cheating on him, and to avoid
becoming the ‘cuckold’, decides to ‘shame’ her rather than properly investigating the situation. He
lets his insecurities get the better of him and is selfish in his response to the slander created about
Hero. Hero pleads that she is indeed ‘a maid’ but the men do not believe her, instead labelling her a
‘rotten orange’, ultimately silencing her. Shakespeare’s language illustrates the patriarchal views of
their society and exhibits how the men’s voices always trumped the women’s voices, even if they
were being foolish. Despite both apparently loving her, Claudio and Leonato are both susceptible to
Don John’s lies about Hero and, instead of examining the truth, jump to conclusions. They both
respond with the intention of protecting their own societal view, even if it means destroying the
people they supposedly care about.
In ‘MAAN’, the characters use hearsay and language to manipulate the relationships of those around
them. Beatrice and Benedick are both subject to the manipulations of their comrades and family,
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