Much Ado About Nothing Trickery Quotes

Trickery and deceit were one of the common themes in Shakespeare’s play “Much Ado About Nothing”. There’s many examples where trickery and deceit were used as a malicious act, also as a good natured act. Don John used a evil intentioned deception by trying to destroy Claudio and Hero’s relationship. While Leonato and Hero deployed a plan with the assistance of Leonato and The Prince to make Benedick and Beatrice fall in love with each other. Hero used both trickery and deceit by faking her death and make Claudio feel guilty for what he has done. All the actions that were done all lead up to love and romance between Benedick and Beatrice, Claudio, and Hero even though they had a bump in the road they managed to come back to each other. The
Leonato and Hero made this plot to use kindhearted trickery towards Benedick and Beatrice. An example of this, “By my troth, my lord, I cannot tell what to think of it, but that she loves him with an enraged affection, it is past the infinite of thought” (2.3.106-109). This quote explains how Beatrice loves Benedick. Prince, Claudio and Leonato are talking amongst each other while Benedick overhears them. They know that Benedick is overhearing the and that is the intention for them talking about Beatrice loving him out loud. Another example is “My talk to thee must be how Benedick is sick in love with Beatrice. Of this matter is little Cupid’s crafty arrow made, the only wounds by hearsay.”, (3.1.21-24). Hero is telling Ursula how Benedick has a hankering love for Beatrice out loud, since they know that Beatrice is eavesdropping in on their conversation. Owing to the fact that Benedick would say he would always have the“bachelor” lifestyle, and no special lady would make him fall in love. For that fact, Beatrice had her doubts that he truly desires her, but ended up believing
An example of that is when Leonato said “I cannot bid you bid my daughter live- that were impossible- but, I pray you both, possess the people in Messina here how innocent she departed his life”, (5.1.292-295). He’s trying to make Claudio feel guilty for what he did, yet he doesn’t hate him for it or wish revenge upon him. The only reason why he doesn’t wish revenge upon him was because he knows that she didn’t die. Claudio thinks that people in Messina thought she died not being the angel that people thought out she was to be. Leonato just wants people in Messina to know that she died accused, and innocent. That’s exactly what he did, was tell the whole country of Messina that she was setup and blamed.

Essential themes in “Much Ado About Nothing” by William Shakespeare are trickery and deceit. They had many obstacles, that still lead up to couples falling in love with one another. With all this trickery, not all was malevolent, but also benevolent such as when Benedick and Beatrice fell in love, since Leonato set them up after seeing Claudio and Hero fall in love. Even though Don John tried to ruin Claudio and Hero’s relationship, by saying she was unfaithful and ended up “faking” her death to make them feel guilty for what they did. Even with the falling out they had, they still managed to get back