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Much Ado About Nothing

by William Shakespeare

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Much Ado About Nothing is a comedy, yet it tackles issues like trust and honor..etc. What is the secret message that lies in the final celebration?

The final celebration is a dance to celebrate the union between Benedick and Beatrice and Claudio and Hero.
Don Pedro is advised by Benedick to "get thee a wife". Then followed by news that Don John has been "ta'en in flight and brought with armed men back to Messina". From here it ends with Benedick saying that he will forget about him for tonight and "devise thee brave punishment for him".

Could the message embedded in the final celebration be that: Jealousy and Honor can have tragic consequences and that in the end, good always overcome evil. Don John's plan did not work, and in the end the couples were content and lived very happily.

What do u think the secret message is, that lies embedded in the final celebration?

Expert Answers

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The question was asked, " Could the message embedded in the final celebration be that: Jealousy and Honor can have tragic consequences and that in the end, good always overcome evil?"
And " What do u think the secret message is, that lies embedded in the final celebration?"

Great questions. The short answer to the first is, sadly, not really, and to the second, no secret at all—it is a comedy.
To expand on those a bit, the final term is key. This is a comedy, which means not that it should be dismissed, but that it ends well and happily. There is laughter along the way, but also, the situation is resolved well. Comedy gives us an image of the world we wish were the case. Tragedy gives us an image of the world we fear might be true. Because this is a comedy, we can sigh and say, "Wouldn't it be nice if we could trick Beatrice and Benedict together? Wouldn't it be nice if the slander Hero suffered could be washed away? And wouldn't it be nice if good always overcomes evil?" It would be nice, but that's not the message. Because it isn't the message—because defeating evil requires pain and blood and suffering—Shakespeare lets his characters put off dealing with John for another time. Today, they celebrate, and that, if anything, is the secret message: when you get a chance for love and happiness, seize it. Focus on it.

Greg

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