Can you recall, at one time or another, being approached by a good friend or possibly an acquaintance with these opening lines, "Let me tell you what I heard." William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, is a play primarily about gossip. The characters are constantly overhearing or spying on other people. Occasionally they learn the truth, but more often they misunderstand what they see or hear, or they are tricked into believing what other people want them to believe. In order to unveil the full essence of the play, Shakespeare utilizes deception, disguises, and appearance.

Shakespeare utilizes "deception" in the two "gulling scenes" of the play. Leonato, Claudio, and Don Pedro work together to try to convince Benedick that Beatrice is in love with him. Benedick, in this case, is caught in the position of being the one deceived. Benedick believes that he is eavesdropping upon his friends, but they really know that he is there and are deliberately speaking so that he will hear them. As a result of their plot, Benedick decides that there is no shame in changing his mind about marriage and it is not

Shakespeare uses "disguises" often throughout the play. The masked ball is one of the more interesting scenes because of the fact that nearly everyone is unmasked before it starts. But during the ball, the men wear masks and supposedly the women cannot tell who they are. Leonato and Hero know that Don Pedro will approach her, Beatrice and Benedick, although seemingly unaware of who the other is, could be quite aware of with whom they are speaking, and the other characters all recognize each other as well. Likewise, during the masked wedding scene, Claudio is marrying a woman who he thinks is Leonato's niece, the supposed Hero look-alike, when the veiled woman is actually Hero in disguise. Claudio asks which lady he shall marry, and Antonio gives him Hero. She unmasks herself, causing Claudio to cry out, "Another Hero!" She replies, "Nothing certainer." (4:63-64)

garden (winking at one another, because they know they have caught Beatrice), Beatrice emerges from her hiding place among the trees. Just as Benedick is earlier, she is shocked at what she has heard. But, also like Benedick, Beatrice swiftly realizes that it would not be so difficult to "tame h

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Approximate Word count = 788
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)