Much Ado About 'Noting'

Much Ado About Nothing is a play that centers around the question and battle between deception and reality. One first notices of the image of deception as we witness the masking and unmasking at the masquerade. In the play, most overhear discussions are deceptions. It is through eavesdropping that we see the true battle between deception and reality as we look at the subplots of Benedick and Beatrice, Hero and Claudio, as well as the …

…and nothing!" (II,iii,57) 'Nothing ' is meant to be pronounced 'noting'. Noting is also used to mean observe, and throughout the play each character at sometime is required to observe and judge, and most characters judge poorly. It is this deception which plays a large part in these misjudgments, and therefore meaning that this story is based upon mis-noting. It is this mis-noting that builds the idea of deception versus reality within the play.