The theme of appearance versus reality is considered essential to the play's structure and tone. As highlighted in the Plot Synopsis, all major characters either engage in deception or fall victim to it at some point. Much analysis has focused on the idea that the play’s title includes an Elizabethan pun, with Shakespeare playing on the words "nothing" and "noting," the latter meaning eavesdropping. However, some scholars argue that the coherence of the play lies in equating noting with observation, meaning that we observe events and form judgments based on those observations. In Much Ado, some critics suggest there is a failure to observe and act sensibly. While many have noted that the theme of appearance versus reality is common in Shakespeare's works through circumstances or intentional deceit by characters, some commentators believe that this pattern does not apply to Much Ado. Instead, they argue that deception and false perceptions remain unresolved and are a normal aspect of Messina society.

Critics agree that Much Ado primarily revolves around various misunderstandings—some intentional, some accidental. In relation to this play, the term "love's truth," or "love's faith," has been described by one critic as "the imaginative enactment of a lover and the necessity for our imaginative response to it, the drive, individuality, and complexity of a lover's genuine realization of beauty, and distinctions between internal and external beauty, appearance and reality, and fantasy and true affection." Shakespeare's ideas about love's truth influence the structure, characterization, dialogue, and other elements of Much Ado. Scholars have extensively discussed Shakespeare's frequent use of the "play-within-a-play" to portray a lover's imagination; in Much Ado, this device is often employed. Several notable deceptions are carried out through the play-within-a-play, such as tricking Benedick into believing that Beatrice loves him, orchestrated by Don Pedro, Leonato, and Claudio, and deceiving Beatrice into thinking Benedick is infatuated with her, arranged by Hero and Ursula.

In each of these situations, there must be "Much Ado" in unraveling the misconceptions each lover has about the other. However, as critics have noted, it is part of Shakespeare's intent to suggest that those who seek love's truth often find that the longest course of action, involving "Much Ado," is the only viable path for them.