Literature

Betrayal in Much Ado About Nothing

Betrayal is a theme introduced at the beginning of the play. How does this constant stream of betrayal affect the outcome of the plot and which character is most affected.

Betrayal is a recurring theme in the play Much Ado About Nothing. Betrayal is defined as ?to disappoint the hopes or expectations of; be disloyal to deceive, misguide or corrupt.? The theme ties to the main theme which is deception. It is through deception the characters in the play are betrayed. Characters in the play that were betrayed are: Hero, Claudio, Margaret, Don Pedro, and Don John.

Hero one of the main characters in the play was betrayed by Claudio, her fiancé on their wedding day. He betrayed Hero by disappointing her hopes or expectations at their wedding. He also betrayed their love by leaving her at the alter. After finding out about a woman whom he thought was hero and a ruffian who is later found out to be Boraachio in Hero?s room doing vile acts; by not inquiring properly Claudio embarrassed Hero on their wedding day and left without sufficient knowledge. As a result of Claudio?s hastiness Hero had great heartache and fainted when she tried to defend herself briefly against her father?s accusation that were fuelled with the sworn promise for Don Pedro that he as Claudio has seen her in her room at midnight with another man. She was also unintentionally betrayed by Margaret her woman in waiting. This was done when Margaret decided not to speak out when Claudio was accusing Hero of infidelity. Even when he asked her who was in her room at 12 the night before the wedding she did not speak up then or when she realised that it was her who had been seen in the Hero?s room.

Margaret though was betrayed by Borachio when he used her the night before the wedding to pretend to be Hero with another man. She was not aware that anyone could see her while she was in Hero?s room with him. He betrayed her trust and her privacy by using her in the plot to ruin Claudio and Hero?s wedding day and by letting others see while they were together in Hero?s room.

Claudio?s betrayal of Hero was great the betrayal of their love stemmed from the night when Claudio saw a woman and a man in her bedroom window, Claudio was betrayed by Don John as well as a Borachio. Though Borachio and Claudio were not close friends Claudio had no reason not to trust him so his trust him so his trust was betrayed. Don John who was his friend betrayed him. He knew that Claudio and Hero were in love and in his quest for being a villain he decided to ruin their relationship.

Don John was betrayed by Borachio who was his follower when he admitted to being apart of Don John?s Plot to ruin Hero and Claudio?s relationship. By doing so he betrayed Don John by declaring that it was Don John?s idea and that he was the mastermind behind the scheme, this was a betrayal of his loyalty to Don John.

Don Pedro, the brother to Don John was most affected by betrayal. He was betrayed by his brother who aided in the ruining of Hero and Claudio?s relationship. Even though Don John had been problematic and conniving in the past his brother decided to forgive him. He regained Don Pedro?s favour and when he went to both Claudio and Don Pedro to announce that Hero was in her bedroom with another man they did not believe him at first but when they went to look themselves they were surprised at what they saw. Never did they think that it was all apart of his scheme or did they ever question his intentions. As a brother Don Pedro would not have expected him to be a villain he saw the best in his brother that he could but was betrayed by his own family which caused him to be the most affected.

Betrayal affects the plot in Much Ado About Nothing. The concept of the play is that much disaster and strife is caused from betrayal and deceit. When persons are made aware of what went on they realised all the fuss was over something that might have been prevented. Nothing at all. Betrayal was only a deterrent in what was to be the happy ending that took place. After all the deceit the plot turned out the way it should have had it not have been for the betrayal in it.

- Humour Is Vital In Comedy.
Humour is vital in any Comedy. Though Dogberry and his constables play a minor role in Much Ado nothing there presence is vital. To what extent do you agree with this statement? Humour is vital in any comedy. Much Ado About Nothing has some form of...

- Much Ado About Nothing Study Questions.
Introduction Shakespeare wrote Much Ado About Nothing in between1598 and 1598. During this time Shakespeare was advancing in his career by writing for his acting company, he contributed in the building of the Globe theatre, he was also recognised...

- Much Ado About Nothing, Summary Of Acts 1 - 3
Summary Act I The play begins in Messina, in and near the home of Leonato, the governor of Messina. In the opening scene a messenger brings news to Leonato that Don Pedro, the Prince of Aragon,...

- Brother Man Assignment
Narrative techniques that Roger Mais uses are characterisation, biblical allusion, foreshadowing, flashback, imagery and point-of-view. He develops characterisation by using foreshadowing,...

- What Is A Tragic Hero?
The tragic hero is a man of noble stature. He is not an ordinary man, but a man with outstanding quality and greatness about him. His own destruction is for a greater cause or principle. Common characteristics of a tragic hero According to Aristotle:...

Literature