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How does Much Ado About Nothing compare to Othello?

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These two plays are often considered two sides of the same story, the way A Midsummer Night's Dream echoes Romeo and Juliet or King Lear echoes As You Like It. Shakespeare's works tend to provide several moments where the Janus, or double-faced masks of theater, show themselves.

The broad outlines of the plays create several points of contact. Both are about jealousy and betrayal, both involve unjust slander, both involve a wise and slightly cynical woman who offers a model of integrity and rage against male injustice, both are set against a distant backdrop of warfare, and both hinge on the idea that female sexuality is the greatest threat to male integrity. Of course, Othello is far more interesting that Claudio, and Desdemona offers much more to admire than Hero, and Hero does not die but only seems to do so, and would die socially were Don John's plot not revealed via Dogberry's irrepressible and bumbling enthusiasm.

The most interesting thread connecting these two plays involves language. Shakespeare is at his best in both. Much Ado's wittiness does not fully obscure the often insightful commentary about language and its uses in society. Beatrice and Benedick seem keenly alert to heartache (maybe due to each other's rejection), and they wield words as both offensive and defensive weapons. Eventually, however, both reveal that they are aware that language needs to be deweaponized as well. Beatrice's "Kill Claudio" exchange with Benedict is open, serious, and to the point.

Iago and Othello also display linguistic brilliance, though to different ends. Othello's stories enchant even more than a handkerchief could, while Iago's words disenchant, leading Othello to imagine untenable visions of his wife's betrayal. Like Don John's slander, Iago's suggestions create in Othello's mind an image of infidelity that suggests "Chaos is come again."

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Comparison means showing how two things are alike, but to compare Much Ado About Nothing and Othello means bringing in some contrasts.

The two plays can be compared in that each has a mischief-making, evil character. In Much Ado, it is Don John, the bitter and illegitimate brother of Don Pedro, who feels cheated because he is illegitimate. In Othello, it is Iago, who wants to get revenge on Othello for the perceived insult of being passed over for a promotion.

For both Don John and Iago, ruining the reputation of an innocent woman is the goal. Both men "soften" the men they want to convince of their lies by repeatedly suggesting the woman in question is unfaithful. Later, each uses fake "evidence" to "prove" the allegations. Iago successfully convinces Othello that the virtuous and loyal Desdemona is having an affair with Cassio. This is utterly untrue, but when Othello finds Cassio's handkerchief in Desdemona's room, he believes Iago and kills Desdemona as a result.

Don John also uses deception, in his case to ruin Hero's reputation. Like Othello with Desdemona, both Claudio and Don Pedro believe that Hero is unchaste due to Don John's machinations and humiliate her with the accusation of unchastity at the wedding altar. When the innocent Hero faints in horror, the sympathetic priest has her pronounced dead. This shocks people and also builds sympathy for Hero. Later, her reputation is restored, Don John (like Iago) is exposed, and everyone discovers that Hero is still alive.

Both plays show the kind of damage that lies and slander can cause. Both show a malevolent character preying on the doubts and weaknesses of other people. Both show cultural misogyny. Both show how being too quick to believe evil can cause trouble and damage lives. The chief difference between the plays is that Othello ends tragically with the death of Desdemona, whereas Much Ado remains comic, with a happy ending. Nevertheless, Much Ado is a dark comedy, sometimes considered a "problem" play, because it veers so close to tragedy.

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