Preview

Much Ado About Nothing Reveals That the Genre of Romantic Comedy Can Present Serious Reflections on the Human Condition. Essay Example

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
2299 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Much Ado About Nothing Reveals That the Genre of Romantic Comedy Can Present Serious Reflections on the Human Condition. Essay Example
In the romantic comedy play ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ by William Shakespeare, the human condition is reflected upon in a variety of ways. Shakespeare expands on several aspects of the human condition, such as the social, cultural and personal aspects, in particular the vices and virtue in human nature by exploring them through his characters. He is able to show serious reflections on the human condition by exploring a variety of themes which are used throughout the play, such as deception as a double edged sword, love as a transforming power and the value of honour. Dramatic devices and techniques such as that of a double plotline, irony and use of language are used to do this.
Deception is a theme prevalent throughout the play and most of the main characters are deceived in both in positive and negative ways, showing it as a double edged sword. Nearly all the characters also deceive other characters, further showing it as a double edged sword as it can be used by or against someone. Much of the deception in the play occurs as a result of the events at the masked ball, as the masque represents the beginning of both plots of deception by the two princes- Don John starts to break apart the romance between Hero and Claudio and Don Pedro begins to match make Beatrice and Benedick. This is a motif which Shakespeare uses as a dramatic device to cause confusion. After the events of the ball, a dramatic device of a double plot is used to contrast how deception can be used against the human condition in both a malicious and benign manner. The main deception of the play is directed by Don John towards Claudio, although the main dramatic focus of the play is deceptions involving Beatrice and Benedick. To a great extent, the reasons for deceiving others and reactions to deception are able to reveal serious aspects of the human condition.
Deception as a malevolent tool is used in part of the double plotline is used by Shakespeare to show the evil part of the human

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    MuchAdothesispaper

    • 289 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Deception is a moral interlaced throughout the duration of the play, Much Ado About Nothing.…

    • 289 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The book Much Ado About Nothing is a surprisingly fascinating story. Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare is similar to his other work in which people fall in love. In this story people cause problems to break relationships and love apart. Nevertheless true love finds its way back. What makes Much Ado About Nothing unique is trickery and deceit plays a huge roll in romance.…

    • 825 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Examine the ways in which Shakespeare makes dramatic use of deception and trickery in The Tempest. In your answer you should also make connections to scenes 3:2 and 3:3 of Doctor Faustus.…

    • 2144 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The Shakespearean comedy, Much Ado about Nothing encompasses themes such as the importance of honour, the ideal of social grace, nevertheless uses a plot which primarily revolves around the theme of deception re occurring in various forms. On one hand deception is used throughout Much Ado About Nothing in a malicious manner, however on the on the hand it can be portrayed in a benevolent and beneficial manner such as the fooling of Beatrice and Benedick and deceiving them into proclaiming their love for each other. The use of both forms of deception often makes it difficult to distinguish between the two, such as when Claudio announces his desire to woo Hero, however Don Pedro takes it upon himself to woo her for Claudio. However Shakespeare’s use of deception is neither completely a means of malice nor a mean of showing traits of kindness between characters, the use of deception aids the development of the plot and creates a path for other elements necessary in the play such as its comical elements.…

    • 1460 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The relationship between Beatrice and Benedick exposes the truth in a manner that removes the significance of the lies. Whereas Claudio and Hero’s connection still relies on the treacheries as a crucial property to flourish. These juxtaposing relationships illustrate how varied human relations can be when fabrications are at the center. As the play matures the relationships developed at different degrees into opposing situations: one growing stronger while the other was weakened due to the deceptions. In these final lines, Shakespeare is exposing how circumstances can contrast even amongst comparable conditions. While lying ultimately unites one, it almost destroys the other couple. Trickery is depicted as neither wrong nor right through the scope of these…

    • 1092 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Deception was a common theme among the two plays, and it was used to mask the sorrows one has had to experience in life. Often, one falls into the hands of deception not only to deceive others, but mainly to deceive themselves from the truth they cannot bear to face. It is important to accept the mistakes and forgive, in order to…

    • 1338 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Deception in Hamlet

    • 717 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In today's society, it is almost impossible to go a day without experiencing some form of deception, whether it being hearing about it, seeing it, or experiencing it first hand. In William Shakespeare's 'Hamlet', deception is a major theme throughout the story. In the play, the author portrays deception as a necessary tool to allow Hamlet and Claudius to accomplish their goals. Claudius and Hamlet use deception to gather evidence and for personal gain.…

    • 717 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The time period in which “Much Ado About Nothing” was written directly pertains to its plot, thoughts, and mannerisms of the audience that they play was written for. The play was written in 1598 and produces two plots one being an unconventional love plot involving a strong woman named Beatrice who does not conform or choose to conform to the societal expectations put upon her in a traditional way. “Much Ado About Nothing” highlights the negative female stereotypes, magnifies the connotations that men should overpower and control woman,and that women are evil “cuckholds”, whom no one should trust. Beatrice’s character portrays these negative expectations of gender, deceptions of the opposite gender, and gender prejudices using her love story with Sir Benedick and with the addition of her witty nature, and…

    • 849 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “Much Ado About Nothing”, a comedy written by Shakespeare, tells us the story of a complex love story between two pairs of lovers. Recently, I had watched two adaptations of this play. One was the original play written by Shakespeare and directed by Branagh. The other adapted by David Nicholls and directed by Brian Percival. The Shakespearean adaptation takes place in the Renaissance era of Messina, Italy. The adaption by David Nicholls takes place in the modern era, in England. Clearly, the Shakespearean version is much older, and so it differs from the modern adaption greatly. In terms of setting, feminism and language, distinct differences can be found.…

    • 901 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The role of deception and the motif of appearance and reality had a large role in Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth. The motif of appearance and reality is first introduced by Shakespeare early on in the play when Macbeth must cover up for the murder of Duncan. This motif of appearance versus reality, or deception, appears again when Macbeth fools the murderers that killed Banquo. Macbeth tricks the murderer’s into believing it was Banquo’s fault that they led such miserable lives when in reality Banquo had nothing to do with them. Finally, the reader sees this motif of appearance versus reality appear one last time towards the end of the play when Macbeth believes he is invincible and ends up ignoring one of the witches’ prophecies which ultimately leads to his demise.…

    • 1061 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the tragedy, Macbeth by William Shakespeare, the paradoxical theme of "Fair is foul, foul is fair" functions throughout the play. The line is a prophecy which means one thing seems like another. It implies especially to the characters that they are not as they seem to be. The Three Witches are the ones who introduce the paradox that runs throughout the play. As this paper develops it will cover more on the different types of deceptions and how it plays an important role in Act 1. The different types of deceptions that will be discussed in this essay are deception of atmosphere, deception of Macbeth and the deception of witches.…

    • 917 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    “Art is a deception that creates real emotions - a lie that creates a truth. And when you give yourself over to that deception, it becomes magic”- Marco Tempest. There are many themes in the book Twelfth night, by William Shakespeare. However, deception is one of the most prominent themes throughout the novel. In this book the deceptive appearance and language allowed the character in the play to make their way to what they desire, and play humorous pranks on character. The characters that conceal their identities cause a lot of confusion within the character and force them to act in a way they would not under usual circumference.…

    • 868 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hamlet Lies And Deception

    • 422 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Shakespeare introduces all of the deception, lying, and false appearances into his play to express the way humanity hides behind these forms. Hamlet himself is no different from any of the other characters. Deception is all around and it takes Hamlet a great deal of travesty to attain the crucial evidence he needs to incriminate his uncle Claudius and take his revenge on him. Hamlet decides to act like he has gone mad to turn the attention away from his true intentions of gathering evidence against Claudius. Hamlet stages an elaborate play called, “The Mousetrap” to try to catch Claudius in his guilt.…

    • 422 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    This theme of Appearance Vs. Reality is used throughout the play to mislead and confuse so things may not always be what they seem. Shakespeare uses deception to enhance the unfolding drama and involve his audience more fully in the play – the audience are party to deceptions which the characters themselves are unaware of.…

    • 1978 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    “Fair is foul and foul is fair,” chant the witches in the first scene of Macbeth. This paradoxical statement adds to the play’s sense of moral confusion and immediately sets the stage for what becomes one of the main themes of the play, by implying that nothing is quite as it seems. Countless times, characters in the play are unable to discern the true meaning and reality behind deceptive appearances. In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, deception is a recurring theme, developed through cryptic means of speech and appearance from the witches, Macbeth, and his wife; a tool used to commit many heinous crimes; and an illustration that reality is not always how it appears.…

    • 739 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays