“I have deceived even your very eyes.”
Why it's great
He confesses without excuse, claiming only that he fooled everyone watching.
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Formal
Use it yourself
I have deceived even your very eyes, and I am sorry for it.
00:00 / 03:35
00:00 / 03:35
Borachio Confesses to Leonato, Explained
Much Ado About Nothing · 1993
Chapter 20 of 24 · 3'35"
Borachio finally tells the whole story — Don John incensed him to slander Hero, and the lovers' eyes were deceived along with everyone else's. Leonato, whose daughter he believes is dead, doesn't just want an apology: "Choose your revenge yourself," the guilty men say, and he makes them proclaim Hero's innocence and mourn at her tomb.
Key moments
Start here, then watch the full scene- 0:28–1:13
❝ Monologue · 7 lines Borachio's confession
He confesses in plain order, and the calm inventory is what makes it chilling.
45s - 1:46–2:46
❝ Monologue · 10 lines Leonato Confronts the Guilty Men
60s - 2:46–3:33
Leonato Plans the Epitaph and the Match
47s
Borachio Confesses to Leonato, explained
What happens
After the examination, Borachio admits that Don John urged him to slander Hero, and that he fooled even the eyes of the men who accused her. Leonato arrives, learns who is responsible, and confronts Claudio and Don Pedro. They accept whatever punishment he chooses and ask only to clear Hero's name. Leonato orders an epitaph sung at her tomb.
What's really going on
The scene is less about exposing Don John than about what Leonato can do with the confession. He can't bring Hero back — "I cannot bid you bid my daughter live. That were impossible" — so he converts grief into obligation. Claudio and Don Pedro are made to accept his terms, and his terms are all about reputation: tell Messina she died innocent, hang a poem on her tomb, and let the story be corrected in public. His sarcasm does the real work. "I thank you for my daughter's death" and "Record it with your high and worthy deeds" shame the two men more effectively than any demand for blood would. It's a reminder that in this world a woman's name, once spoken against, has to be repaired out loud.
Key lines & what they mean
- “I have deceived even your very eyes.”
- Borachio admits the deception was complete: the same eyes that witnessed Hero's 'betrayal' were fooled. It's the confession that the evidence was staged.
- “If you would know your wronger, look on me.”
- Borachio offers himself as the guilty man, directly answering Leonato's demand to see the villain's eyes. A confession and a challenge at once.
- “But I pray you both, possess the people in Messina here how innocent she died.”
- Leonato asks the two men to tell all of Messina that Hero died innocent — his real demand for reparation is a public correction of her name.
- “hang her an epitaph upon her tomb, and sing it to her bones.”
- He wants a poem hung at her tomb and sung over her remains: mourning turned into ceremony, so the city hears how wronged she was.
- “I thank you for my daughter's death.”
- Leonato's sarcasm at its coldest. He 'thanks' the men for killing his daughter, making gratitude carry the full weight of blame.
- “No, not so, villain. Thou beliest thyself.”
- Leonato corrects Borachio's claim to be solely guilty: he isn't taking all the blame. The line insists the guilt is shared.
Theme
- Death & grief — Leonato can't undo his daughter's death, so he turns mourning into demands: public penance, an epitaph, and a name cleared.
- Justice — Instead of revenge, Leonato asks for truth: that the city be told Hero died innocent and the men admit their wrong.
What this chapter teaches
Teaching points
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Language points
Click a card to jump to its moment in the videoGolden lines
A great line in its own right — why and how to use it“If you would know your wronger, look on me.”
Why it's great
He volunteers to be looked at, which is braver and rarer than any denial.
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Formal
Use it yourself
If you would know your wronger, look on me, not on them.
“But I pray you both, possess the people in Messina here how innocent she died.”
Why it's great
His first demand is not punishment but a public correction of her name.
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Formal
Use it yourself
I pray you both, tell the office how innocent she was.
“hang her an epitaph upon her tomb, and sing it to her bones.”
Why it's great
The apology becomes visible: a stone, a song, and bones to sing to.
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literary
Use it yourself
Hang a plaque upon her wall, and sing her name at the ceremony.
“I thank you for my daughter's death.”
Why it's great
A thank-you aimed like a knife; the politeness is what makes the accusation cut.
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Formal
Use it yourself
I thank you for the mess you left in the kitchen.
“No, not so, villain. Thou beliest thyself.”
Why it's great
Even the confession is corrected, so the blame lands on the man who paid for it.
Register
literary
Use it yourself
No, not so; thou beliest thyself if you take all the blame.
Monologue
One character carrying the scene — shadow the whole passage❝ Borachio's confession
I have deceived even your very eyes. What your wisdoms could not discover, these shallow fools have brought to light, who, in the night, overheard me confessing to this man how Don John your brother incensed me to slander the lady Hero, how you saw me court Margaret... ..how you disgraced Hero when you should marry her. The lady is dead upon mine and my master's false accusation.
He confesses in plain order, and the calm inventory is what makes it chilling.
❝ Leonato's terms
I cannot bid you bid my daughter live. That were impossible. But I pray you both, possess the people in Messina here how innocent she died. And if your love can labour aught in sad invention, hang her an epitaph upon her tomb, and sing it to her bones. Sing it tonight. Tomorrow morning come you to my house, and since you could not be my son-in-law, be yet my nephew. My brother hath a daughter. Almost the copy of my child that's dead. And she alone is heir to both of us.
He removes the impossible demand and then lays out terms that grief can actually accept.
Up next · 21take my leaveThe scene: Claudio Accepts His PenanceTakeaways
What you walk away with- A fool's evidence can open the whole case.
- Leonato trades revenge for reparation.
- Sarcastic thanks cut deeper than shouting.
- The demand for a public song restores her name.
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Questions, then the linesWhy doesn't Leonato take revenge on Claudio?
Because revenge can't fix the loss, and Claudio sinned 'but in mistaking.' Leonato says, "I cannot bid you bid my daughter live," so he asks for what's still possible: public penance and a cleared name.
What penance does Leonato impose?
Three things: tell the people of Messina that Hero died innocent, hang and sing an epitaph at her tomb that night, and come to his house the next morning, where Claudio will marry his niece.
Why does Leonato call Hero's cousin his "niece"?
It's a set-up. The 'niece' is Hero herself, disguised and believed dead. Leonato is arranging for Claudio to marry her again before revealing she never died.
What does Borachio confess?
That Don John incensed him to slander Hero, that he and his master wrongly accused her, and that the deception fooled even the accusers' eyes.
What does "possess the people" mean here?
It means to inform or convince them — not to own them. Leonato wants Messina told the truth about Hero, so her reputation is repaired publicly.