Leonato is the father of Hero, who is described throughout the play as both sweet and kind, and he is the uncle of Beatrice, Hero's witty, sometimes cynical cousin (and friend). As the story opens, Leonato is awaiting Don Pedro's return from war. As the play progresses, the bulk of the action takes place under Leonato's roof and watchful eye, including the courtships of his daughter and his niece, and the deception perpetrated against them, which Leonato investigates and remedies. In short, Leonato is the glue that holds the storyline together, through his seniority, stability and wisdom.

Tricks of language alone repeatedly change the entire situation of the play. Overheard conversations cause Benedick and Beatrice to fall in love, and the sonnets they have written one another stop them from separating once the prank behind their romance has been revealed. The idea that we live in a world of language and appearances, beyond which we cannot see, is common throughout Shakespeare. The famous quote that “All the world’s a stage,” is another example. 

By the end, the false language in Much Ado About Nothing has almost overwhelmed the reality. Characters have fallen into the roles given to them in the lies told about them: Benedick and Beatrice have become lovers, and Hero is treated like a whore by her own father. Ironically, the only character with the knowledge to replace this false language with the truth is the completely inarticulate Dogberry.