Evil in Much Ado About Nothing

A detailed Summary of Evil in Much Ado About Nothing

English Literature: 'Is the evil of Don John the only thing which leaves a bad taste in the mouth?'

Within Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing we are given the opportunity to see played out a variety of the more negative aspects of human nature : Deception, Jealousy, Bitterness, and ultimatly a purer form of evil in the activity of Don John. His presence in the play is really to act as a plot device, since his character has all the appropriate depth of a caricature villain, by which the relationship between Claudio and Hero is nearly destroyed. And yet it cannot be said that the play displays examples of extreme evil and extreme good. For instance, in his attempt to break up the courting couples union through deception and hearsay, we find an inverse parallel in the activities of Leonato, Claudio and Don Pedro, and of Ursula and Hero, when they attempt to trick Benedick and Beatrice respectively into falling for one another. Although their own hoaxes have perhaps a certain grounding in the truth, and do bring about a positive outcome, the means by which they achieve it provides a symmetry to the more dubious goings on, yet brings the two together and associates them.

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As the play draws to a close Claudio is deceived into thinking that he has lost Hero and must make up for what he has done. Leonatio orders Claudio to inform the inhabitants of Messina of the truth of Hero's death, 'hang her an epitaph upon her tomb', and marry 'Antonio's daughter' (who looks like Hero). The latter is of course another trick where Claudio is lead to believe he is marrying Hero's cousin, but ends up marrying Hero herself, providing the necessary happy ending to the play. This deception was devised by Leonato to demonstrate that Claudio can be honourable as opposed to hot-headed and superficially judgmental, therefore supposedly re-establishing his character in our eyes as one of virtue. By this however he also shows himself to be relatively unconcerned about the success of this marriage. Someone who behaves like Claudio has done should not be a tempting prospect for either a husband or a son-in-law, yet Leonato is prepared to accept and forgive what seems to be unforgivably harsh treatment of his daughter. If this signifies that the marriage may have political or social benefits to him, or whether it simply reflects the perceived vast superiority of men over women, it is an important social comment, and one that finds a subtle niche in a supposedly frivolous play.

The relationship between Beatrice and Benedick is one that can endure less criticism, for it is one of the more amusig, fun, aspects of the play. It is quite easy to identify at the beginning of the play that these two, in being complimentary matches for one another across the gender div

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Approximate Word count = 1063
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English