Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing is a play based around the theme of deliberate deception. Sometimes this deception is malevolent and sometimes benevolent but the entire play hinges upon these deceptions and how they affect the characters. Don John uses malevolent deception to try to ruin the marriage of Hero and Claudio. Don Pedro, Leonato, Claudio, Hero and Ursula use benevolent deception to try to bring Benedick and Beatrice together in marriage. Beatrice and Benedick even try to deceive each other by hiding their true feelings. Why did he base the whole play around deceit? How does this theme shape the play? What message is Shakespeare trying to get to his audience with this play?
             Deception happens over and over again in Much Ado About Nothing. Beatrice and Benedick hurl insults back and forth while, though maybe not consciously, they hide feelings of love for one another. At the party all the men are wearing masks a form of deception of identity. Benedick uses this deception to try to talk to Beatrice "honestly," without all of the insults and wit. Don Pedro woos Hero in the name of Claudio at the party. While this wooing is going on, Don John deceives Claudio by telling him that Don Pedro is really wooing Hero for himself. When Don Pedro returns to Claudio, Claudio tries to hide his true feelings by telling Don Pedro that nothing is wrong. Don John's deception of Claudio and Don Pedro about Hero's chastity is a central deception to the play. Leonato and his family deceive everyone when they say that Hero has died.
             The way that Shakespeare has infused deception into every facet of the play makes one think about their own life. In the story on the stage, the lives of the characters are full of deception. Every time one turns around there is another deception going on. Some of these deceptions are small and hardly noticed by the characters of the play. The fact that Don Pedro w...