First off, “The Odyssey” and “Much Ado about Nothing” both have a similar theme of lies and deceit. In “The Odyssey”, Odysseus is practically the king of lies. He is constantly trying to deceive people. Many other people throughout the book are the same way too. It is a book filled to the brim with deception. In “Much Ado about Nothing”, deception is just as present. It is a regular thing among the characters, yet never seems to be absolutely wrong or right. It’s almost a neutral thing depending on the intentions.
Another theme these two books have in common is pride. Odysseus is a very prideful man, because he’s good looking with a good looking wife, smart, etc. You get the picture. He’s kind of full of himself, and he’s got things going for him to back it up. Also, he was too prideful to take ownership when he said, “the god took away their homecoming” (Homer 419). In reality, the men themselves were at fault and not the god. In contrast, the pride found in “Much Ado about Nothing” is different because instead of the characters shooting up their own pride, they try to wound other characters’ pride. It is the cause for much action.
Last, both books share the common theme of family. In “The Odyssey”, family sticks together through thick and thin. Anything you do reflects on your parents and ancestors. The strongest family ties in “The Odyssey” is the father-son relationship. In “Much Ado about Nothing”, the strongest ties are husband-wife relationships. Claudio had his heart set on marrying Hero, and the family ties of marriage was a huge theme in this book. He said, “I would scarce trust myself, though I had sworn the contrary, if Hero would be my wife” (1. 1. 193).
In conclusion,