Significance of Deception and Overhearing in Much Ado About Nothing

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Deception and overhearing is a device commonly deployed in typical Shakespearian comedies such as ‘Twelfth Night’ and ‘The Comedy of Errors’, and both play a vital role in the play ‘Much Ado About Nothing.’ The title of the play is reflective of the content as the word ‘nothing’, when it was first performed in 1598 would have been pronounced ‘noting’ which had several meanings; it can mean to take notice, eavesdrop, or to observe, however, these aren’t necessarily accurate. A character can misunderstand a meaning, mishear, or misreport something, in the process of noting, too which can lead to tragedy or comedy depending on the actions a character takes. The situations that result from noting, significant comedic features, are the basis on which the entirety of Much Ado about Nothing is built upon. When the character Claudio is introduced he is said to have performed ‘in the figure of a lamb, the feats of a lion’ which instantaneously presents his unstable nature and his potential for violence and foreshadows the denunciation of Hero in Act 4 Scene 1. He is a young character and therefore impressionable, easily manipulated and naïve. He falls in love with Hero at first sight, asking ‘Benedick, didst thou note the daughter of Signior Leonato?’ and referring to her as a ‘modest young lady’ highlighting that he is a conventional romantic, idealistic lover and that, because of his youth he acts as the a traditional comedy stock character that is taken advantage of by his elders. However by being manipulated Claudio could also be seen as the victim of a tragedy genre as the plot to separate him from Hero is similar to that of Iago’s in Othello.
Don John, the Machiavel character of the so called comedy takes advantage of the nature of Claudio and uses deception to create an ideal situation for himself. He intends to break the relationship of Claudio and Hero, ‘How

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