Deceit In Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing

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Does deception pay off in the end? Deceit is generally related to being bad. Deceiving someone doesn’t have to be bad in all cases. In Shakespeare’s play Much Ado About Nothing, good characters as well as evil ones engage in deceit. Deception doesn’t always have to be a bad thing. To begin with, when Don John deceived Claudio it could've had a very bad outcome. Don John deceiving Claudio could've got Hero killed. Borrachio told Don John “Go then, find me a meet hour to draw Don Pedro and the Count Claudio alone. Tell them that you know that Hero loves me” (Shakespeare 61). Claudio and Don Pedro, the prince, were both deceived that Hero cheated on Claudio the night before their wedding. After Claudio was deceived he said,“tomorrow in the congregation, where I should wed, there …show more content…
To bind our loves up in a holy band; For others say thou dost deserve, and I Believe it better than reportingly” (Shakespeare 91).
After they were both deceived that the other person loves them they both accepted it and appreciated it. This proves that they both loved each other, but they couldn't tell from all the insults they recited to each other. If Don Pedro, Leonato, Antonio, Claudio, Hero, and Ursula didn't deceive Benedick and Beatrice they most likely would've died as bachelor's. In addition to Beatrice and Benedick being deceived most people were also deceived that Hero died. Finally, deception was used in a brilliant way for Hero from the friar. Hero's own father was deceived and wanted Hero dead. The Friar told Leonato, “Your daughter here the princes left for dead. Let her awhile be secretly kept in, And publish it that she is dead indeed” (Shakespeare 137).The friar assumed that Hero was innocent which saved her life. If the friar didn't trust that Hero didn't cheat on Claudio then she would've been dead before the truth was