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Much Ado About Nothing

by William Shakespeare

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The tragic elements of Act 4, Scene 1 in Much Ado About Nothing

Summary:

In Act 4, Scene 1 of Much Ado About Nothing, the tragic elements include the wrongful accusation and public shaming of Hero by Claudio, who believes she has been unfaithful. This act of betrayal and the subsequent emotional turmoil highlight themes of honor, deception, and the consequences of false accusations.

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Does Act 4, scene 1 of Much Ado About Nothing belong in a tragedy, not a comedy?

Act IV, scene i of Much Ado, though it is a scene that is tragic in tone, does not belong, necessarily, in a Tragedy any more than the scene in Hamlet with the Gravediggers (clowns) or the knocking scene in Macbeth with the drunk, comic Porter belong in Comedies.  Shakespeare may have more commonly added comic relief to his Tragedies, but he was interested in playing against the expected tone in all of his plays, and this means that you will find tragic moments in his Comedies as well as comic moments in his Tragedies.  The wedding scene in Much Ado is one of the most blatantly tragic scenes in any of his comedies.

Up to this point, the play has focused on high-jinks.  The only simmering darkness has been the mischief stirred up by Don John.  However, when Don John tries to create conflict by convincing Claudio that Don Pedro is trying to win Hero's hand for himself, this plot is quickly and easily foiled.  Don John, from this, appears to be an ineffectual villain, and, as such comic.  So, even the potential of Don John to stir up trouble doesn't seem very possible early in the play.

But Shakespeare turns all of this around with a scene that is not actually shown in the play, an encounter that Don John swears to Claudio and Don Pedro that will prove that Hero is unfaithful.  We hear about the faked encounter from Borachio (Don John's henchman) when he is taken into custody by Dogberry and his men.

And so, by Act IV, the audience is waiting to see what Claudio will do at the wedding.  He has sworn to disgrace her if she is proven to be false, and Borachio has related that he saw Claudio say he "would meet her as he was appointed next morning at the temple, and there, before the whole congregation, shame her with what he saw."  And yet, Borachio is a villain's henchman.  Can we, the audience, believe that Claudio will actually do this?

So, when Claudio rejects Hero in so vile a fashion, we are, as you point out, in the realm of the tragic not comic.  And yet, Shakespeare has been very cunning, to introduce this dark moment in a play of such, otherwise, lighthearted looking at love.  Claudio's suspicious and jealous nature does reflect the darker side of love, and Shakespeare is not afraid to interject some of this dark side of love into the play.

But it definitely does not make the play a Tragedy in its form.  A Comedy, by definition ends in the pleasant resolution of misunderstandings and at least one wedding.  Much Ado fits this structure, even providing two weddings at the end -- that of Beatrice and Benedick, and finally, of Claudiuo and the "reborn" Hero.

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Why does Act 4, Scene 1 of Much Ado About Nothing seem more tragic than comedic?

There are many things that characterize a Shakespearean tragedy. However, while we can recognize some of these characteristics in Act 4, Scene 1 of Much Ado About Nothing, because the scene ends in faked death rather than real death with the hopes of a happier ending to come, the scene is more fitting of a comedy rather than a tragedy.

All of Shakespeare's comedies, true to the classic Greek comedies, contain a certain amount of tension and conflict. Also, the lovers in his romantic comedies face conflicts and "must overcome obstacles" in order to be united (Schwartz, "Shakespeare's Plays: Comedy"). True to Shakespeare's comedies, Hero must overcome the obstacle of having her reputation slandered by Claudio and being accused of promiscuousness and unfaithfulness, as we see when he accuses her of knowing "the heat of a luxurious bed" and of being "an approved wanton," meaning "proved whore" (IV.i.38, 42).  Therefore, the fact that this scene is full of tension does not alone say that this scene belongs in a tragedy rather than a comedy.

However, there are a few ways in which this scene relates to scenes commonly found in tragedies. Just like the tragic hero, the character Hero undergoes a great deal of suffering in this scene when before she was exceedingly happy, especially happy about her new betrothal to Claudio. We can see Hero's happiness, when we see her whisper in Claudio's ear that "he is in her heart" and again when she gaily refers to Claudio as her "new-trothed lord"(II.i.278-279, III.i.39). Also, like a tragedy, this scene culminates in death, albeit it is the decision to fake her death. Another similarity between a tragedy and this scene is that the tragic hero must have a character flaw. While Hero is completely flawless, Claudio is creating the tragedy in this scene due to is excessive pride and gullibility. Both negative character traits led him to be duped by Don John into misjudging Hero. A third similarity between this scene and a tragedy is that tragedy occurs due to a moral struggle, or a struggle between good and evil. While Hero is wholly good, Claudio is being influenced by the evil, immoral forces we see presented in Don John.

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