In the Shakespearean play, ‘Much Ado about Nothing’, there are instances of persuasion. Persuasion in the play causes characters of the play to do things which they would not have done otherwise. Therefore, it can be said that the incidence of persuasion affects the events in the play, more so the course of the plot of the play.
Persuasion is the art successfully convincing someone to agree to, accept or do something through verbal influence. This is used majorly in ‘Much Ado about Nothing’, on several occasions. For instance, in Act 3,Scene 1, where Hero, with the help of Ursula and Margaret meet in Leonato’s Garden, to try and trick Beatrice into believing that Benedick is in love with her. This is a form of persuasion, as Beatrice is convinced or accepts Benedick’s love and in turn, ends up loving him. The same can be said about Don Pedro, Claudio and Leonato’s attempt to persuade Benedick that Beatrice is in love with him, in the previous Act.
Further, evidence of persuasion can be found in Act 3, Scene 2, where Don John tries to convince Don Pedro and Claudio that Hero is a whore. He persuades them further by providing proof, in that he leads them to Hero’s window where they see the act of unfaithfulness. Also, on the day of the Hero’s wedding, persuasion takes place, as Claudio makes the wedding party, and those at the wedding believe that Hero committed an unfaithful act. In addition, in the instance where Beatrice tells Benedick to challenge Claudio to a duel for disgracing her cousin, Hero, can be seen as a form of persuasion.
Throughout the play, there are many occurrences of persuasion. The existence of persuasion adds to the plot of the play. Furthermore, it affects the course of the plot, in that, persuasion in the play, causes unlikely events which weren’t likely to occur.
