Deception in Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare

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Deception in Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare

Shakespeare was born in 1564, in Stratford-upon-Avon. Shakespeare did

not go to university but worked. There are no documents that can tell

us anything at all about Shakespeare, but we have learned that in 1592

he was known in London, becoming an actor and playwright.

They play 'Much Ado About Nothing' is set in Messina because it is

romantic, a fashionable setting and Shakespeare took inspiration from

Italian poets.

The restrictions on using large props and changing scenery were

difficult because it would almost impossible to carry a large piece of

scenery on stage. Therefore language and small props become important

at engaging the audience's attention.

There are several types of deception in this play, such as

eavesdropping, people pretending to be others, self-deception and

outright lies.

There are several characters that use deception to get what they want.

The characters fall into two groups. One of which the characters

deceive to cause harm and the other in which the characters deceive to

help others.

Characters in this play use the opportunity offered by the various

settings in the play to deceive others. The first example of this is

the Masque.

A masque is a masked ball. The ball is a celebration that the

characters have after the men have come back from war.

Several characters use this atmosphere to deceive others.

Beatrice uses this party atmosphere as an opportunity to insult and

get revenge on Benedick. Benedick is wearing a mask but Beatrice

recognises him and finds an opportunity to insult him, pretending that

she is talking a...

... middle of paper ...

...Claudio bring them back together. They prove to Benedick and

Beatrice that they have authentic feelings for each other because they

have written lame poems for each other that are true and not

artificial.

Beatrice and Benedick are no longer deceiving themselves about their

true feelings.

The atmosphere is happy and joyful at the play's end.

Don John has been captured, so Messina now knows that there will be no

deception ever again.

The dancing at the end of the play symbolises the happiness and unity

of Messina now that evil has been conquered and all of the lies have

been uncovered. They join hands to illustrate that they are a happy

family and community again.

In my view the dark setting contributes largely to the overall

atmosphere of the play because it symbolises the evil nature of

deception.

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