Trickery in Much Ado About Nothing Essay

In the Play Much Ado about Nothing the role of tricks and trickery is an important one that is portrayed in its fullest. The play is based upon deliberate trickery and numerous schemes that are used to manipulate the thoughts of nearly every character and convince themselves by putting on a different public facade instead of showing their true feelings and personalities. The tricks and trickery the characters perform on each other have a big effect on the story.

The first example of trickery is in Act 2, it involves Beatrice and Benedick. Although the main plot focuses on the drama between Claudio and Hero, Beatrice and Benedick are vital characters that provide some of the wittiest dialogue in the play. They are worldlier and both of them protest that they never intend to marry. This makes the audience enjoy even more; their rapid acceptance of each other's affection is when they are tricked into falling in love with each other.

In Act Two, out of pure amusement Don Pedro asks Leonato and Claudio to assist him in bringing Beatrice and Benedick together, If we can do this, Cupid is no longer an archer and the glory shall be ours. Claudio, Leonato and Don Pedro notice Benedick in the garden and attempt to trick him into falling in love with Beatrice.

The three men do this by loudly discussing Beatrice's unrequited love towards him and in his eavesdropping; he believes them and shows his feelings in his soliloquy. This can be no trick . . . I will be horribly in love with her.

Benedick realizes that he loves Beatrice also when he says, Why, it must be requited. This is another example of being hoaxed and leaves a questioning atmosphere.

In Act Three, Hero, Margaret and Ursula perform the same trick on Beatrice to make her fall in love with Benedick.

They speak highly of Benedick praise him more than ever man did merit and say that Benedick loves Beatrice so entirely. In her eavesdropping Beatrice falls for the same trick If it proves so, then loving goes by haps: Some Cupid kills with arrows, some with traps this trickery influnces beatrices thoughts and encourages her to fall in love with bendick.

As a result of this in Beatrice's soliloquy she discloses her thoughts of Benedick false affections towards her. She is willing to tame her heart so that Benedick and she can be together. Taming my wild heart to thy loving hand. Beatrice's submissiveness shows her subconscious yearnings to be in love, as well as Benedick even though she and Benedick are not willing to admit it and proves the trickery to be successful..

The next example of tricks and trickery initiates the main drama of the play. Don John acts upon the gullibility of Claudio. Don John devises a plan to trick Don Pedro and Claudio into seeing Borachio and Margaret, pretending to be Hero and her secret lover, at Hero's window. But even before he has witnessed anything, Claudio speaks of shaming her at their wedding. Where I should wed, there I will shame her. When he unknowingly sees Margaret and Borachio instead of the supposed Hero and her lover, Claudio is infuriated and Don Pedro agrees to shame her on their wedding day. I will join thee to disgrace her, in effect Don John has proved Hero to be unfaithful, which is false and a result of his trickery.

In Act 4, Claudio announces that, Hero Knows the heart of a luxurious bed, her blush is guiltiness, not modesty. It is ironic that Claudio also says are our eyes our own because he seems to be using everybody's eyes but his own throughout the entire play. This postpones the wedding and creates confusion among every one around. Claudio shows no sense of trust in Hero and neither does her father Leonato. Right away he says that the only forgiveness for such a sin would be death, even though the rumor of her infidelity has not been confirmed. He was being branded disloyal to his love, as a consequence of Don Johns trickery.

After the public shaming of Hero at the wedding, Friar Francis conducts another plan of trickery upon Claudio and Don Pedro. Friar Francis suggests that Let her a while be secretly kept in, and publish it that she is dead indeed to make Claudio feel guilty and realize his mistake. This is an essential part of the play because otherwise Claudio would continue to believe that Hero was a rotten orange and her reputation would be ruined. Friar Francis ploy here has provoked Claudio into feeling that he has murdered Hero whom is honest; this demonstrates the trick has had an impact on Claudio to make him feel accountable.

In Act 5 the final example of tricks and trickery in the play is yet again conducted against Claudio. After Claudio has been told of Hero's innocence he feels a vast amount of remorse. And asks Leonato to Impose me to what penance your invention, Can lay upon my sin. To which he replies that as you could not be my son-in-law, be yet my nephew: my brother hath a daughter. Leonato craftily proposes that Claudio marries Antonio's daughter as a way of redeeming himself as part of his scheme. As the women are masked to hide their identities at the wedding, Claudio supposedly believing that he is about to wed Antonio's daughter, asks Sweet, let me see your face. This is a great scene because it builds up excitement within the audience, as they know that Hero will be the one to marry him instead. When Hero unmasks, Claudio is overjoyed to witness another Hero! This final twist is that Leonato, Friar Francis and Antonio are all aware of Hero being masked on the wedding day. The conclusive effect of this is that Claudio inadvertently marries Hero through trickery.

In Much Ado about Nothing tricks and trickery is wildly used to manipulate the thoughts of nearly every character. It is ironic and a comical essential in the play that nearly every character is too distracted by trying to trick other characters to realize that they are being tricked themselves. These tricks that were performed tactfully had a immense effect on the play as every character was induced into believing what they thought they saw or heard.