Signor Leonato in Much Ado About Nothing
             Each character in Shakespeare's plays, whether he is a prominent figure or someone who is not even present, serves to add a significant meaning to the plot. All of the characters lend to the variety of emotions present, sparking anger, betrayal, hatred, grief, and love. Signor Leonato is a respectable old nobleman who lives in the town of Messina, where this comedy is set. His character is not as pertinent to the story as Hero or Beatrice, but Leonato is in important character because he is Hero's father and Beatrice's uncle, and an influential man.
             Signor Leonato is the guardian of two beautiful, marriageable, young women. His objective is to find appropriate husbands for his daughter and niece. This task does not prove incredibly arduous because Hero quickly finds love in the prince Claudio, and Beatrice hold the promise of a relationship. Signor Leonato's chief motivation, however, becomes restoring Hero's pure name after her would-be husband publicly slanders her at the altar. His plan of action requires deceiving Claudio and most of the townspeople in pretending that Hero died upon hearing Claudio's accusations of betrayal. In this way, Leonato's intentions are hidden from some of the characters while revealed to the audience. After Claudio admits that he has wronged Hero, Leonato continues the lie and asks Claudio to marry his brother's daughter, who "looks much (like) the dead Hero." Leonato conceals the truth and his chief motivations throughout the second half of the play, from the first wedding scene until the second, when Claudio is preparing to marry Beatrice. This trickery to attain his goal does not conflict with the desires of any other character, though it is necessary to achieve the intended reaction from Claudio. Once he learned that he caused her death all in vain, one would assume that he would not have d...