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Much Ado About Nothing Analysis

Decent Essays

In the play, “Much Ado About Nothing” by William Shakespeare, there is a common motif that Shakespeare uses to build relationships, break them down, and create chaos in the small town of Messina. Shakespeare uses deception and disguise throughout the play in different ways. He uses this motif as lighthearted interaction between characters or even devastating and malicious plots against one another. Shakespeare’s styles of deception and disguise shed light on the themes he has woven into the play. He uses deception to tell the audience that teamwork is a key to success in whatever form success may be to the team itself. He also uses deception to juxtapose the strengthening and destruction of loyalty over time, in a way that tells the audience, “know who your true friends are”. Shakespeare’s motif of deception in “Much Ado About Nothing” reaps different emotion from the characters and the audience, but it always comes back to the comedic love story this play is meant to be. Shakespeare’s themes that he integrated in the play have different roles when he tries to illuminate certain morals or lessons in the play. A large aspect of the play is built around the theme that teamwork can help you build towards a common goal, whether your goal is good or bad. In “Much Ado About Nothing” there are several teams of people that Shakespeare creates and in each team, they reach a certain extent of success. Even if one team is working to stop another, one may overcome the other, but they both have a certain level of success in their plan. Shakespeare does this to point at the general idea that working as a team can accomplish great things. However, he uses deception to contribute to this theme by making the goals of each to team to deceive. In almost every instance that a team comes together, their plan is to deceive or disguise something from another team. For example, the Prince, Claudio, Hero, Ursula, and Leonato form a team who wants to deceive Benedick and Beatrice, so they both come to a shattering realization that the other is in love with them. In the story Don Pedro says, “And I, with your two helps, will so practice on Benedick that, in despite of his quick wit and his queasy stomach, he shall fall in love with

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