Much Ado About Nothing

By William Shakespeare


Essay by:
Gibran Ali Jamshed
1215146














Much Ado About Nothing is a comedy written by William Shakespeare. It was published in the
year 1600 and is an immaculate example of Shakespeares brilliant writing. The play touches
upon dark undertones. Pointing out different ways in which the world worked, and in my opinion
to a great extent, still does. Love, marriage, social hierarchies, honor and deception are some of
the key themes that it touches upon. It does so very well under the cloak of being a comedy. His
cynical views are delivered in a very light hearted tone to a great extent of the play, putting his
points across without leaving the audience feeling like theyve been drilled a lesson into their
minds.

What the writer does well is blending matters of great weight while still staying true to its humor.
Fast paced, witty dialogue between characters is predominantly evident throughout the play.
Banter between men and women alike are mainly sarcastic and cynical for the most part. How
one person deals with anothers insults makes it feel contemporary even though the language
used is that of times past. The kind of dialogue used also helps the audience feel a relation to
the play. It almost feels like they could be having the exact same conversations in real life. Of
course that also has to do with its underlying themes. In this essay I hope to further explore this
themes and give a commentary on how the scene that I have chosen (Act iii scene iv and Act v
scene i) show the above mentioned as well as how they affect the plot of the play in its entirety.
Act iii scene iv begins with Hero, Ursula and Margaret present in the scene on the day of Heros
wedding. Ursula is sent by Hero to get her cousin Beatrice, another essential character of the
play. Margaret then begins to have a conversation where she is complimenting Heros wedding
dress and how fabulous shed look in them. Now in this scene we see Shakespeare, with the
way he uses the way Margaret speaks, showing the difference in class and how there is a level
of aspiration to reach the dizzying heights of where the wealthy and powerful stand. The words
she uses make her seem like shes trying to sound like those who a proper. The way she
compliments Hero shows her longing for the kind of lifestyle Hero has. This inferiority regarding
where she is in the social strata is first seen in the way she speaks to Hero about her clothes. It
is when she makes a comparison of Heros dress to that of the Duchess of Milans gown, she
says,
By my troth, s but a nightgown in respect of yours-cloth of gold and cuts, and laced with silver,
set with pearls, down sleeves, side sleeves, and skirts, and round underbone with a bluish
tinsel. But for a fine, quaint, graceful, and excellent fashion, yours is worth ten ont.
This clearly shows how starry eyed she becomes about the kind of lifestyle that they have and
the words By my troth show a sort of ambition oozing in order to even sound like those in
higher positions. She would most probably not have praised someone as much if it were an
equal.
As the conversation progresses Hero responds, God give me joy to wear it, for my heart is
exceeding heavy. This is where Shakespeare subtly begins to prepare us for what is about to
unfold in the scene that would follow. It is not that many words but because the audience
members know what is transpiring behind the scenes in order to destroy this marriage, the
atmosphere begins to get tense. However what happens next is brilliant, just as he touched on
this serious thought in Heros mind, this uneasy feeling festering inside of her, he takes a
complete 180 and turns the focus of the conversation to what Margaret replies saying. Twill be
heavier soon by the weight of a man. Now even that could have several connotations derived
from it. It could be speaking with sexual undertones, about well, sex with her husband to put it
eloquently. Or it could be something more sinister in the audiences minds regarding the
deception of those conspiring against her as well. Perhaps those of Don john or Claudio Yes he
was also being deceived, but the characters know nothing of this up until this point. Oh how
many things can be derived of just that one sentence. This is then followed by Margaret further
strengthening Shakespeares jabs at the inferiority felt by those in the lower classes when Hero
questions, Art not ashamed to which Margaret responds, Of what, lady? Of speaking
honorably? Is marriage not honorable in a beggar? First of she was trying to cover up her
cynicism, followed by the reinforcement of the class difference, Is marriage not honorable in a
beggar?
The playwright then moves swiftly to take the focus of the matter completely by bringing in
Beatrice and drawing Margarets cynical comments and the audiences attention completely
towards her sick tune. Now this plays a vital role in reinforcing the theme of love along with
continuing on the path where loves is seen as a sickness in several areas of the play. As if its
some sort of disease that spreads through people. Its not the clichd view of love that the
audience comes in with. So happy and joyous, it is a darker take on the matter.
The writing in the play also plays around with puns off the time. For example H was
pronounced in that era as aich which when used in the play was used as ache. This takes
place when Margaret is teasing Beatrice saying, For a hawk, or a horse, or a husband and
Beatrice responds, For the letter that begins them all, H. Another pun is seen when our witty
character Margaret tells Beatrice to take Carduus Benedictus which is a medicinal herb and
she asks her to lay it on your heart. Clearly in reference to Benedick .This leads to Beatrice
catching her comment and then getting angry about it, to which Margaret once again goes on
the defensive and says it was in relation to Margaret falling in love through sarcastic and cynical
comments. This interaction also plays an important part in the progression of the play and in the
relation of Beatrice and Benedick; it temporarily prevents her from confessing her love to
Benedick in the ensuing scenes.
Their love to an extent also strengthens the theme of deception in the play as well. Considering
Hero deceived her into realizing that she was actually in love with Benedick, although they had
no negative intentions, it was deception nonetheless.
Not only does the theme apply to actions of deceptions but also deception in terms of
appearance of characters. Such as Don John who tries to show throughout that his means are
to be good, and how he wants to help Benedick and Claudio obtain the women they love, while
having completely contrasting intentions in actuality.
Act v Scene 1 carries forward the theme of deception. In this case to undo the injustice done
previously, almost trying to justify deception, are the means really justified by the end? That
depends on personal preference is suppose. What the scene also does is show us the regret
that a father that so loved his child, whose joy of her is overwhelmed has due to his honor and
pride making him lose faith in his own flesh and blood. The fact that it would have been so
disgraceful to his family, Leonato at first refuses to believe his daughters words, and even says.
Do not live, Hero; do not ope thine eyes (Act iv, Scene 1, line 122) just so she would not have
to deal with the disgrace and neither would he. He even begins to question Why ever wast thou
lovely in my eyes? (Act iv, scene 1, line 129). How fragile relationships are. In scene V Leonato
refuses to listen to Antonio and any voice of reason, trying to further bolster the image that he
needs to show because he, in the worlds eyes lost his daughter. The audience knows the truth
and therefore sees how now Leonato is trying to avenge his disgraced daughter and clear her
name. He only agrees with Antonio, his own brother only when he says that he should not take
the burden on just himself, but push impose the same on those who have caused him to lose
his daughter. It is ironic that honor is apparently being restored by the course of action that
Leonato is taking, and the course of action in itself is dishonorable and deceitful. Is leonato not
an honorable man for doing so? To some yes, but to others he wouldnt be.
Much Ado About Nothing to some could also be read as Much Ado About Noting. Noting is
also an integral part of the play. Whether it is the relationship that eventually forms between
Benedick and Beatrice, or the noting of the act in Heros room which led to the lies Don John
and his companions were feeding Leonato being believed or even the eventual resolution of the
situation in itself when Dogberry eventually finds out the truth and gets it noted. Even in Act iii
Scene iv we see how the subdued nature of Beatrice is noted, which eventually leads to the
conversations about her love for Benedick. These little notes of the characters themselves and
the notes that we as the audience make of the characters by observing their interactions and
their actions, we made our judgments and learned about the things they did through noting. Had
the even in the window not been seen, Claudio might not have taken anyones word for it unless
he saw it with his own eyes, the play would not have progressed in the way William
Shakespeare would want it too. Therefore this too, is a pivotal part of the play.
This depth that Shakespeare reaches, that also under the premise of a comedy is an absolute
joy to witness. The way the characters interact, their dialogue, their witty rhetoric, it never feels
like its something heavy, for lack of better term. It progresses constantly feeling light hearted
even though the undertones are quite serious and dark. These scenes along with several others
personify the brilliance of the play as a whole. The subtlety with which we moved from one thing
to the next and how they were all so intertwined coupled with its humor makes this play great.


Word Count: 1,778