Through out Much Ado About Nothing characters miscommunicate and misunderstand each other, sometimes through deception. In several scenes, characters confuse the appearance of things and their reality. In Act 4, Scene 1, for example Claudio arrives at his wedding to Hero believing that she is lewd (since she appeared to be so when Borachio seduced Margaret) when in fact she is chaste. Confused by appearances he denounces her appearance as a chaste woman at her wedding as a false appearance. He states:
Out of thee, seeming! I will write against it.
You seem to me as Dian in her orb,
As chaste as is the bud ere it be blown.
But you are more intemperate in your blood
Than Venus, or those pampered animals
That rage in savage sensuality (4.1.57-62)
Thus he curses false appearances, not realizing that he himself is still confounded by false appearances. This mistake leads to the disruption of his wedding and the ill health of his would-be bride. Yet on the other hand, deception and misunderstanding also leads to Beatrice and Benedick's union and the reconciliation of Hero and Claudio at the end. What is the play telling us about communication or miscommunication? About truth and deception? About appearance and reality?
Much Ado About Nothing is considered a comedy about miscommunication. Miscommunication is created when one character falsely hears something, which leads to either love (Beatrice and Benedick) or war (Claudio and Hero). Claudio is deceived by what he hears and sees while Beatrice and Benedick are deceived by what they hear only. The people who planned these deceptions, Don Pedro and Hero cleverly planned out a way to convince their victim that what they are hearing is the truth. So clearly theses sense should not be trusted. However, both of these situations are only made right when time is taken to write something down that explains what is happening. Claudio is deceived to believe that Hero is a whore and that she is unfaithful to Claudio and her family. Don Pedro and his accomplices are able to do this by bringing Claudio to Hero’s window and showing him a staged hookup scene between Margaret and Boracchio. When Claudio sees this he is convinced that Hero was unfaithful. The situation is only cleared up during the trial scene of Conrade and Dogberry. Dogberry is questioning Conrade about what he overheard on the night of the deception. Dogberry is extremely helpful to this situation because he insists on having a written report of what Conrade tells us (this could be because Dogberry has such a hard time understanding speeches and has very confusing thoughts, so he insists on having things written down). After this report is written down and showed to Leanato everything is cleared up between the two, and Claudio and Hero are able to live happily every after. The same goes for Beatrice and Benedick because their friends tricked both into believing that one was in love with the other. The only way that this huge miscommunication is cleared up is through a written note. Beatrice and Benedick, when they realize their friends tricked them, try to pretend they are not actually in love with each other, and that they just felt pity for one another. However, notes written by Benedick to Beatrice and vice versa are discovered.
ReplyDelete“And here’s another,
Writ n my cousin’s hand, stol’n from her pocket,
Containing her affection unto Benedick.” (5.4.91-5)
These written notes clear up the miscommunication between Beatrice and Benedick and shows that they are truly in love with each other. So in the end, miscommunication plays a huge role in the play and is always created when one hears something (which is typically false) from another. Miscommunication then turns to communication through writing. So maybe this play is trying to show that communication is entirely possible, however things must be written down in order to fully show the truth in life.
Much Ado About Nothing is classified as a comedy, and the miscommunication that frequently happens in the play is not on accident; the miscommunication in the play gives the story twists and turns and it tries to make the audience laugh. Without the miscommunication the story would be basic and bland; you have two couples, one that is in love and the other that fights, but one would happily ever after and the other would probably just keep on fighting. The miscommunication gives the story a humorous plot line, while also controlling what happens for the characters. Almost every character in this play is deceived, but in the end they discover the truth, and it all works out.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with Kate’s idea that the miscommunication results in love or war between the characters. The miscommunication and deceiving also links with the overly common, favorite theme of Shakespeare’s, appearance versus reality. For example this is shown in the scene with Margaret and Boracchio, Claudio is led to believe that Hero is cheating on him, when actually it is Margaret. The appearance of that scene is that it is Hero and his mind is convinced it is Hero, and the reality is that it is Margaret, but Claudio is too blinded by what is unfolding before his eyes to really take into account that it might not actually be Hero. Even though this scene is later clarified in the trial scene when Conrade and Dogberry get a written report of what actually went down that night. This example, as well as many other examples, solidifies the fact that the miscommunication in the play links with appearance versus reality, and gives the play flavor; it demonstrates how lack of communication can conveniently, yet rarely, work out, and how it can ruin relationships between characters.
In William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, he continues many comic ploys that are repeated in his various comedies, most importantly the ploy of miscommunication. Miscommunication and this idea of making a big deal out of something really quite small (as the mere title of the play seems to suggest) is the source of much the conflict in this play.
ReplyDeleteI think that Kate brings up an interesting point about the miscommunications in Much Ado About Nothing. The idea that these miscommunications are only worked out later when written documents that report the truth are produced. It also ties into the idea that “nothing” really means “noting.” In other words, even the title suggests this connection between notes and written documents in revealing the truth.
Though never ultimately given to Leonato in the paly, Dogberry and Verges do record Borachio’s confession in writing. Dogberry even says to the scribe, “write down Prince John a villain” (4.2.43). Though Dogberry has a difficult time recording the confession due to his own foolishness, he does in time get Borachio’s confession confirmed in writing. It seems that once recorded the rest of the characters believe other’s accounts of the same information. When Borachio is led to Leonato by Dogberry and Verges, he confesses, “I have deceived even your eyes. What your wisdoms could not discover, these shallow fools have brought to light, who in the night have overheard me confessing how Don John your brother incensed me to slander the lady Hero, how you were brought into the orchard and saw me court Margaret in Hero’s garments, how you disgraced her when you should marry her” (5.1.242-249). Borachio’s confession is only now taken as the truth after it has been written down. When Dogberry and Verges attempt to inform Leonato before the confession is written down, Leonato does not believe them. Dogberry ventures to ask Leonato, “our watch, sir, have indeed comprehended two auspicious persons, and we would have them this morning examined before your worship” (3.5.43-46). Leonato though explains that he does not have the time presently to conduct such an examination. Here Leonato only sees Dogberry as a fool and does not take what he has to say seriously. If Leonato could understand the reality of what Dogberry is saying he would not have dismissed them so easily. Only after Dogberry puts Borachio’s confession onto paper does Leonato listen.
Similarly, Beatrice and Benedick would have never overcome their pride if it had not been for the written documents produced by Claudio and Hero at the end of the play. Even though they have already confessed their mutual love for one another when Benedick asks Beatrice, “do not you love me?” Beatrice is quick to respond with “why no, no more than reason” (5.4.76-77). Benedick responds similarly when Beatrice asks him the same question. Only when Claudio steps forward with “a paper written in his hand,/ a halting sonnet of his own pure brain,/ fashioned to Beatrice” and Hero steps forward with “another/ writ in my cousin’s hand, stol’n from her pocket,/ containing her affection onto Benedick,” can Benedick and Beatrice no longer hide their love (5.4.90-95).
So, what does this suggest about miscommunication? Based on this evidence, Shakespeare seems to suggest that miscommunications such as these can only be righted by written documents containing the truth.
In William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, he continues many comic ploys that are repeated in his various comedies, most importantly the ploy of miscommunication. Miscommunication and this idea of making a big deal out of something really quite small (as the mere title of the play seems to suggest) is the source of much the conflict in this play.
ReplyDeleteI think that Kate brings up an interesting point about the miscommunications in Much Ado About Nothing. The idea that these miscommunications are only worked out later when written documents that report the truth are produced. It also ties into the idea that “nothing” really means “noting.” In other words, even the title suggests this connection between notes and written documents in revealing the truth.
Though never ultimately given to Leonato in the paly, Dogberry and Verges do record Borachio’s confession in writing. Dogberry even says to the scribe, “write down Prince John a villain” (4.2.43). Though Dogberry has a difficult time recording the confession due to his own foolishness, he does in time get Borachio’s confession confirmed in writing. It seems that once recorded the rest of the characters believe other’s accounts of the same information. When Borachio is led to Leonato by Dogberry and Verges, he confesses, “I have deceived even your eyes. What your wisdoms could not discover, these shallow fools have brought to light, who in the night have overheard me confessing how Don John your brother incensed me to slander the lady Hero, how you were brought into the orchard and saw me court Margaret in Hero’s garments, how you disgraced her when you should marry her” (5.1.242-249). Borachio’s confession is only now taken as the truth after it has been written down. When Dogberry and Verges attempt to inform Leonato before the confession is written down, Leonato does not believe them. Dogberry ventures to ask Leonato, “our watch, sir, have indeed comprehended two auspicious persons, and we would have them this morning examined before your worship” (3.5.43-46). Leonato though explains that he does not have the time presently to conduct such an examination. Here Leonato only sees Dogberry as a fool and does not take what he has to say seriously. If Leonato could understand the reality of what Dogberry is saying he would not have dismissed them so easily. Only after Dogberry puts Borachio’s confession onto paper does Leonato listen.
Similarly, Beatrice and Benedick would have never overcome their pride if it had not been for the written documents produced by Claudio and Hero at the end of the play. Even though they have already confessed their mutual love for one another when Benedick asks Beatrice, “do not you love me?” Beatrice is quick to respond with “why no, no more than reason” (5.4.76-77). Benedick responds similarly when Beatrice asks him the same question. Only when Claudio steps forward with “a paper written in his hand,/ a halting sonnet of his own pure brain,/ fashioned to Beatrice” and Hero steps forward with “another/ writ in my cousin’s hand, stol’n from her pocket,/ containing her affection onto Benedick,” can Benedick and Beatrice no longer hide their love (5.4.90-95).
So, what does this suggest about miscommunication? Based on this evidence, Shakespeare seems to suggest that miscommunications such as these can only be righted by written documents containing the truth.
There are tons of miscommunications and deceptions throughout the play. They range from minor little white lies to confusion of identity. A couple examples of miscommunication are when Don Pedro agrees to woo Hero for Claudio but Leonato thinks that Don Pedro wants to woo Hero for himself in Act 1.1-1.2, Don Perdro, Claudio, Leonato trick Benedick into believing that Beatrice is in love with him in Act 2.3, and when Hero and Ursula trick Beatrice into thinking that Benedick loves her in Act 3.1. In the case of Benedick and Beatrice, their miscommunication leads to the realization that they are in love and eventually their union. A few examples of deception are when Claudio tells people he is Benedick in Act 2.1, when Claudio believes Hero is unfaithful (and accuses her publicly) because he had thought he had seen her with another man in Act 4.1, and when the Friar (and others) pretend that Hero is dead to help Claudio and the others cherish her life in creating her death, also in Act 4.1. There are many other examples but those few help us to understand the theme of appearance vs. reality.
ReplyDeleteIn the example of Benedick and Beatrice, this miscommunication leads to their love, which is a good thing because marriage is always good. The play could be saying misconceptions are good. Yet on the other hand, in the case of Claudio and Hero, this leads to the destruction of their wedding, which is obviously not a good thing. The play could also be saying that miscommunication is a bad thing. I think the play is not saying whether deception is good or bad, it is saying that it is necessary to cover up our inability to communicate as humans. The play is saying that not everything is what it seems, appearance is not always reality.
The confusion of the appearance of things versus the reality of a subject is the most major in all of Shakespeare’s plays. This play, being a comedy, is certainly no different. There are plenty of examples in each scene of mistaken appearances and trickery. Although in the end, all is resolved, the plot must experience twist and turns to get to the resolutions. For example, when Claudio is tricked into believing Hero is unfaithful. This example shows us that the miscommunications in this play, are the point in which we realize the relationships of the play are based. If Claudio was truly in love with Hero, there should have been further investigation of the accused trickery. Instead, he directly resorts to calling her lewd and accusing her of appearing to be something she is not, when in fact, he was fooled by a mistaken appearance. The love between Beatrice and Benedick is also based on a trick. As before mention by others, their relationship is something of a falsehood, and it is not apparent if they would be together without this foolery. The appearance versus reality them in Much Ado is the cause for the fate of the relationships in the story.
ReplyDelete