At first glance, the reader is unlikely to notice the immediate clue that presents itself in the title of William Shakespeare's comedy, Much Ado About Nothing. However, if one were to follow the example of an Elizabethan Shakespearean actor and pronounce the word "nothing" as "to note", one would be presented with a very significant play on words because the ideas of noting, or d Observation, and nothing, are important themes in this story. Note is something that motivates characters to take actions that greatly affect the plot, and it is an idea that reflects the theme of reality versus appearance, in which reality is nothing and appearance is due to the rating. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay First of all, it's the characters' notes that cause them to take actions that influence the plot. The first example of this is when Claudio falls in love with Hero. The relationship between these two characters plays a major role in the story, and it begins when Claudio notices Hero - "Benedick, have you noticed Signior Leonato's daughter?" (Acts 1:1, l. 158-59) Claudio then asks the Prince to court her for him. The important chain of events that follows - the pastime of formulating a romance between Beatrice and Benedick, Don John's plan, the "death of Hero" - is entirely due to Claudio's falling in love with Hero, what wouldn't have happened. , if he hadn't noticed her. Another example is when Benedick and Beatrice fall in love with each other. The only reason this happens is because, first of all, Benedick notices the prince, Claudio, and Leonato discussing how Beatrice is in love with him: "Come here, Leonato. What did you tell me about today, that your niece Beatrice was in love with Signor Benedick (Acts 2:3, l. 95-7) This, of course, is not true, but Benedict believes it and he falls in love with Beatrice - "I I shall be horribly in love with her!" (Acts 2:3, l. 237) Likewise, Beatrice overhears Hero and Ursula deliberately inventing Benedick's love for her, and she falls in love with him - "I will reward you by taming my wild heart in your loving hands." (Acts 3:1, l. 117-18) The relationship between these two characters is important to the plot, because many events revolve around them, and it only occurs because Beatrice and Benedict note the conversations of others who falsely speak of their love for Probably the most important example of a character's remark affecting the plot is when Claudio observes Borachio courting Margaret and believes her to be a hero. Thinking Hero is disloyal, Claudio publicly shames her and refuses to marry her. This event and the actions taken to resolve the problems it creates constitute the major conflict of the plot. The characters must find a way to prove Hero's innocence and make Claudio feel remorse for his actions. This is what they do, by staging Hero's death and uncovering his slander. However, none of this would have happened if Claudio had not noticed Borachio courting "Hero" and then acted on his false impression. Two other examples of the importance of noting this are when the Watch notes that Borachio tells Conrad about the crime he committed in helping slander Hero. Both men are then arrested, which is important to the plot; otherwise, they would never have been questioned and Hero's innocence would never have been confirmed. The other example is when Dogberry goes to tell Leonato that he apprehended some criminals, who happen to be Borachio and Conrad. Leonato notices Dogberry, who is talking withmalapropisms, and returns it. If Leonato had noticed this more, he would have realized the importance of questioning the criminals immediately and then he could have prevented the slander of his daughter. In this way, his inability to rate Dogberry correctly greatly affects the plot. Noting doesn't just serve to motivate the characters - it reflects the story's continuing theme of reality versus appearance. One aspect of this theme involves the idea that objects or matters, when noted, are not always what they seem. The frequent use of masks throughout the story supports this idea. Masks create a distorted version of reality by making a person appear false. The first use of masks occurs during dancing, where there are several cases of people appearing to be other than they are. Antonio flirts with Ursula, pretending he is not himself. The prince courts Hero, pretending to be Claudio. Claudio pretends to be Benedick and thus lets Don John hear him say that the prince is courting. Benedick, recognizing Beatrice, who may or may not recognize him, is subjected by her to a series of harsh criticisms against him. At the end of the story, Claudio marries Hero while she is behind a mask, without knowing her identity. All these events take place while most of the characters are behind masks, which therefore fall under the theme of reality versus appearance by giving a false appearance to a reality, and which fall under the theme of observation by depriving the characters of their ability to note it. A. another correctly. The theme of reality versus appearance, which involves objects or matters not being what they seem, goes to a higher level. The characters are deceived by what they note because the things they note appear to be other than they are. Then, by reacting to what they think they have observed, the characters react to what is in reality nothing. For example, Béatrice and Bénédict fall in love because, from what they listen to others, it appears to them that each is in love with the other. They respond to the false appearance they see by truly falling in love with each other. They later discover that neither originally loved the other and thus their reaction of falling in love was not based on anything in reality. Another example of the reality versus appearance theme is when Claudio notes Margaret and Borachio and believes that Margaret is a hero, then slanders Hero, justifying himself with the idea that she seemed disloyal. While shaming her, he makes numerous references to the contrast between her appearance and what he believes she actually is: “See how she blushes here like a servant! ... Would you not swear, all you who see her, that she was a maid, / By these external spectacles? But she is none of them. (Acts 4:1, l. 34-40) He later makes another statement which again refers to the theme of reality versus appearance, in which he describes what it seems to be and what he thinks that she is: “You seem to me like Dian in her orb/ As chaste as the bud is before it is blown./ But you are more intemperate in your blood/ Than Venus, or these pampered animals/ Who rage in wild sensuality. (Acts 4:1, l. 58-62) Thus Claudio, causing a great upheaval in the plot, accuses Hero in reaction to his disloyal appearance. He later finds out that she was innocent all along and that what he wrote down was false. Her accusations were based on nothing: she had seemed unfaithful but was, in reality, loyal. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized article from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay The title, Much Ado About Nothing, ?.