Stupidity in Much Ado About Nothing Essay

The Honesty in Stupidity

As Harold C. Goddard points out in his analysis of William Shakespeares Much Ado about Nothing, Words can say only a little. But they can reveal a great deal by what they conceal. (57). Secrets and lies are, and always have been, an extremely important part of society, and the action of this play does not revolve around the plot or characters, but rather around the theme of deception. Similar to many of Shakespeares other comedies, appearance versus reality becomes a large part of the story, but unlike the others, the series of deceptions in the play are experienced through other deceptions and disrupt the society in the play. Also unlike many of Shakespeares other plays, Messina is a world of reality. The characters and plot are both realistic, and in order to make something out of nothing, Shakespeare adds wit and drama as important elements of the play. As John Wilders describes, Much Ado about Nothing is a play much concerned with the ways in which people perceive one another, with out tendency to see in other people whatever by character and experience we are predisposed to see. (Chidester 5). Because of this, peoples experiences and emotions can be used against them, making it easy to trick one another into believing things that world normally seem absurd or impossible. Shakespeare uses deception in Much Ado about Nothing as a device to change character relationships both positively and negatively, but the lovely world of Messina is saved in the end by a little stupid honesty.

The first deception seen in the play, and the scene in which all of the action in the play begins, is the masked ball that takes place in the beginning of Act II. As David Lucking describes, The dance scene provides a kind of encapsulated anticipation of what will occur subsequently, an emblem of the confusion then ensues (11). Figurative masks can be seen throughout the play, such as Claudio viewing Hero through the hazy mists of romantic attraction and Benedick through the mask of a professed tyrant to their sex (Chidester 5). However, this scene is almost the only place where the characters experience deception through literal masks, some made to develop new relationships and some made to destroy others. It is full of lies, deceptions (innocent and not so innocent), and imagination, and these things grade into one another as imperceptibly as darkness does into light. (Goddard 55). The innocent lies that Goddard is referring to include Benedick fooling Beatrice into talking about him and Don Pedro pretending to be Claudio so that he can win Heros affection for him. On the other hand, the not so innocent plot is that of Don John, who, when left alone with Claudio, pretends to believe that he is speaking to Benedick and tells a story of Don Pedro wooing Hero for himself. The irony of this scene can truly be observed in Claudios speech following this conversation:

Friendship is constant in all other things

Save in the office and affairs of love

Therefore all hearts in love use their own tongues

Let every eye negotiate for itself

And trust no agent, for beauty is a witch

Against whose charms faith melteth into blood. (2.1.145-150)

As Claudio stands and expresses his emotions, he states that all people should act for themselves when in love. However, neither he nor the other characters in the play succeed at doing so, which leads to the events throughout the rest of the play. They allow themselves to be deceived, some experiences more harmful than others. However, because we know that Much Ado about Nothing is a successful comedy of Shakespeares, we know that there will be a happy ending and that this is merely foreshadowing the upcoming events of the play. As Bertrand Evans describes, If guests and hosts saw with their eyes, nothing memorable would occur during the visit. (82).

In particular, one of the two relationships on which the deception of the play has the most influential role is that of Benedick and Beatrice. At the beginning of the play, Benedick has just returned from the war, but he is also in a war of wits with Beatrice, the playful cousin of Hero. Although the two are constantly mocking and criticizing each other, their close friends can see the fighting for what it really is, and they devise a plan to bring them together. In order to make them fall in love with each other, they must be deceived into believing that the other is in love with them first. Hero describes the plan to Margaret when she states:

Our talk must only be of Benedick

When I do name him, let it be thy part

To praise him more than ever man did merit.

My talk to thee must be how Benedick

Is sick in love with Beatrice. Of this matter

Is little Cupids crafty arrow made,

That only wounds by hearsay. (3.1.17-23)

In a planned overhearing, Beatrice hears this news and immediately expresses her love for Benedick, and the same trick is played on him, with the same results. Although they have both originally rejected each other, the passionate flame begins to burn in their bosoms the moment they think that their affection is requited. (Snider 31).

Indeed, this plan involves much deception and is quite feasible in a world where deception evades the observations of the characters. However, the ability to deceive and be dishonest are not always considered the best of qualities. How is it, then, that Hero, Margaret, and the others felt justified in their actions? Based on their strong belief that the two are destined to be together, they believe it is worth the risk as long as the two end up happy.