Much Ado About Leaping to Conclusions

While watching the film version of "Much Ado About Nothing" today, it occured to me what a strange play it is. While it is true that all Shakespeare's comedies have some dark undertones and themes (young women threatened with death if they do not obey their fathers, attempted rape by island monsters, and tragic shipwrecks, to name a few), this one has very starkly contrasting comedic and tragic scenes. What is most striking is the attack on Hero at the wedding. In the first place, it is hard for me to suspend my disbelief and buy into the love-at-first-sight between Hero and Claudio. Yes, Shakespearean characters are constantly falling deeply, madly in love at first sight, but they usually have some interaction that helps us see why they fall for each other. Hero and Claudio exchange glances and decide they are meant for each other. And instead of wooing her himself, he lets Don Pedro woo in his name, so that nary a word is spoken between the two lovers before they agree to marry. This makes it hard to believe that Claudio would come undone at her alleged infidelity. There is some history between the two and we are intended to understand that they have met before, but we never witness their interaction. "Romeo and Juliet" is so gut-wrenchingly tragic in part because we witness the two teenagers fall in love. It happens right there on stage, and we fall in love right along with them. Not so with Hero and Claudio. We know so little about either character that it is hard to see what one sees in the other - especially when Claudio is such a jealous, suspicious doofus. So how can we believe that Claudio is so heartbroken and enraged when he thinks her unfaithful? Unlike Romeo and Juliet who are entirely held hostage by their parents' feud and culture of hate, Claudio and Hero have the freedom to speak to each other and the support of everyone around them. So why does Claudio not confront Hero with his suspicions instead of shaming her at the wedding? Even Othello does Desdemona the courtesy of asking her about her dealings with Cassio. The fact that he doesn't believe her pleas of innocence is topic for another day. Claudio is not someone I'd ever want to hang out with. He believes everything he sees and leaps to conclusions based on lies and deception, then completely overreacts, then fails to ask a single question in the interest of clearing things up. I plan to make glorious fun of him in my play.