Messina society and its failings in much ado about nothing essay

Messina’s rigid formality is represented in the masked ball, which also underlines the importance of appearances and the tendency to deceit. The climate is of distrust, with constant spying of one faction upon another.

At first sight, Much Ado About Nothing, a play written by Shakespeare, seems to be an ordinary tale about the life of high society with its intrigues, gossips, and love affairs. However, the writer would not have written this comedy unless he had wanted to disclose human vices and satirize the upper class’s passion for deceit and conspiracy.

Messina is presented as a domesticated city-state, a haven from war. Its warmth and cultivation are suggested through references to oranges and gardens. There is a languid melancholy in the pivotal song of Balthasar, 'Sigh no more' (II.3.53) which also underlines the strict code of male honour and the subordination of women.

The theme of gossip is concealed in the headline of the comedy since, in Shakespeare’s times, the word nothing sounded like noting, which means rumors. Indeed, the characters of the book make a fuss about things that they do not know for sure but hear from sources that may be untrustworthy.