Much Ado about The Merchant of Venice Essay

Plot Development and Irony

Shakespearean plays never disappoint in amount and quality of irony. Even though it might be difficult to dissect every single point, they are all just for entertainment on the stage. In Much Ado about Nothing and The Merchant of Venice, there are instances of dramatic, situational, and verbal irony in the plays, which help the progression of the plots.

Dramatic irony is a commonly used irony in Shakespeare’s plays. Shakespeare uses dramatic irony to let the audience know information that some characters might not know. In Much Ado about Nothing, Margaret and Borachio pretended to fall in love, right in front of Claudio and Don Pedro’s eyes. Both Claudio and Don Pedro thought that Margaret was Hero, and both men suddenly got triggered. In this case, dramatic irony was used to create a spark, significantly impacting Claudio and Don Pedro’s grudge on Hero. Another instance of dramatic irony was in The Merchant of Venice, where Portia pretended to be a lawyer, but Bassanio did not know that Portia was the lawyer that fought for Antonio. In this case, dramatic irony was used to create confusion in the play, where Bassanio did not realize who the lawyer was, creating a little sense of humor as the play intensified. Overall, Shakespeare’s different uses of dramatic irony contributed to divergent play progressions.

Besides dramatic irony, situational irony was also key in Shakespearean plays, where the expected outcome does not happen. In Much Ado about Nothing, when Claudio and Hero were about to get married, there was an abrupt change in Claudio’s attitude. This happened during the climax, when marriage was supposed to be celebratory. While the audience were predicting a joyful marriage, Claudio soon exploded his inner rage, which the audience did not anticipate an increase in tension. Another use of situational irony was in The Merchant of Venice, where Antonio was about to face the charge of one pound of flesh from the agreement from before. While the audience predicted Antonio was about to face his forfeiture, Antonio was saved from his charge by the Lawyer, or Portia. This released the tension in the plot and resolved the problem. Situational irony in Shakespeare’s plays were critical in controlling tension of the plot.

Aside from the first two types of irony, verbal irony was probably Shakespeare’s strongest suit. This type of irony creates double meaning, when a character says something but means something else. In Act 2 scene 8 of The Merchant of Venice, Portia encouraged the Prince of Morocco to open the casket, and said, “There take it, Prince, and if my form lie there, then I am yours.” Even though Portia did not want to marry the Prince of Morocco, she spoke it in a way that made her seem like she wanted to marry him. This created a sudden tick for the audience, as no one knew if she actually meant it, or not. Another example appeared in Act 4 Scene 1 of Much Ado about Nothing, where Claudio said, “And what have I to give you back whose worth may counterpoise this rich and precious gift?” His line made him seem that he was willing to accept Hero as his wife, but in his heart, he questioned himself. Again, this makes the audience stutter, because they wanted to get married, but at the same time, Claudio was angry. Both of these verbal irony timings were revealed during interaction with other characters, causing an off-beat moment while the plot intensifies.

Shakespeare’s use of dramatic, situational, and verbal irony appeals to the plot of Shakespearean plays. Various types of irony play different roles in a plot progression, which made plays satisfying. Although irony might be subtle, it spiced up Shakespeare’s plays, hence why many referred him as one of the best playmakers of all time.

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