An Analysis of Act 4, Scene 1 and Its Significance to the Play as a Whole

Through the superficial nature of Messina, William Shakespeare presents a community of honour, critical of Elizabethan society while, through humour, addressing to the cultural apprehensions of having a female as monarch. The tragic elements of Shakespeare’s late theatrical work satirise overriding Elizabethan concern with appearances and the inevitable consequences of exclusive exterior judgement. Shakespeare conceals many of his bold political points behind humour, often expressed as wit. This curious juxtaposition of contrasting genres defines the themes of deception and disguise prevalent in Much Ado About Nothing. And it is when this collision of antithetical genres reaches its climax, we see the shocking events of Act 4, Scene 1.

Tensions amongst characters have been developing from early on in the play. Even the apparent nonchalance of the title is illustrative of the slanderous plot the play entails, many of the tragic elements of Much Ado About Nothing are a consequence of ambiguity and misinterpretation. This is typified at the masquerade ball, when tragedy is narrowly averted when Claudio, albeit somewhat artificially, deduces that “the Prince woos for himself.” (Act II, Sc. I, 80) A multitude of similar misinterpretations build tensions further, the accumulation of which result in female protagonist Hero’s ultimate censure. Events are even more tragic for the audience due to Shakespeare's use of dramatic irony. Tensions are built not only between characters, but amongst the audience as well. Prior knowledge of the malevolent gull the bastard Don John has created combined with an exclusive insight into how close the Watch had been to averting catastrophe, is difficult, even painful, for the audience to watch.

Desp...

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...f laughing as, ah, ha, he.” (Act IV, Sc. I, 15) Benedick’s demand for resolution, leads him to transgress against the conventions regarding gender and with it his chauvinistic ideals. Benedick comforts a distraught Beatrice, resulting in both confessing their love for one another, and is prepared to believe Hero in her claims she is innocent.

The events of Act 4, Scene 1 are the result of a malicious gull being interpreted by a naïve idealist. The situation inevitably escalates due to the hierarchical structure of Messina, resulting in characters capable of resolving the matter acting egoistically. A seemingly inescapable situation places characters in an incomprehensible position, resulting in some falling from audience sympathy. Others however, flourish in moments of tension and present themselves as the unforeseen hero, capable of restoring normality to scandal.