How does Shakespeare use the Wedding Scene to Surprise the Audience

In the play ‘Much ado About Nothing’, Shakespeare uses the power of men to surprise the audience in the wedding scene and to give the play an unexpected twist.

When Don John took Claudio and Don Pedro to the outside of Hero’s balcony, Claudio believed Don Johns words because he was watching what he thought was Hero and another man in Hero’s room, and was thinking all the things that could be happening.

“Sir they are spoken,

And these words are true.”

Don John was able to set this up because he was thought as an honourable man, but secretly he was just out to ruin his brother’s reputation. But by doing this he nearly ruins many lives.

Don Pedro feels dishonoured because he has wooed and girl who ‘plays around’ for his friend.

“I stand here dishonoured that have

Gone about to link my dear friend

To a common stale.”

Because of Hero ‘playing around’, Don Pedro may lose a friend and lose the reputation with the people of Messina.

In the wedding scene, after Claudio, Don John and Don Pedro have said there words against Hero, Leonarto believes them over his own daughter without any proof.

“Would the two princes lie?

And Claudio lie?”

The princes were honourable men and without any proof Leonarto still believed them because men had more power then women and were believed over women.

Once Leonarto thinks straight he starts to believe his daughter Hero and forgives her.

“If they wrong here honour

The proudest of them shall well here of it.”

He realises that men can be wrong and mislead, even princes.

The reason Leonarto started to believe Hero is because the Friar made sense of the situation. Leonarto starts to see how he was wrong.

“To start into her face

A thousand innocent shames.”

The Friar is the ‘good guy’ in Messina and was able to show how the prince and Claudio were tricked by the ‘bad guy’, Don John.

In the production we saw, Claudio was mainly marring Hero because of Leonarto’s money.

Leonarto had no son, so by marring Hero it would mean Leonarto’s money would go straight to Claudio, not Hero.

Men wanted there Daughters to be married to a good man so they know when they pass away, there daughters will have a good life with there husband. So this is why Hero still marries Claudio after he has hit her, embarrassed her in front of the whole town and called her a ‘whore’ and such.

“Come, lady, die to live. This wedding day

Perhaps is but prolonged. Have patience and endure.”

Men were so powerful that fathers wanted there daughters to marry the best man so she would be high class and respected because of her husband.