Much Ado About Nothing Analysis

The depth of characters in a story build off of each other as they highlight each other character’s strengths. This is called character foils. In William Shakespeare’s book “Much Ado About Nothing” the characters Don Pedro, Claudio, Benedick, and Don John come back from the war to return to Messina, Italy. Claudio falls in love with Hero, and with the help of Don Pedro, Claudio is able to marry Hero. However, Don Pedro’s brother, Don John, deceives everyone with his mischievous lies to ruin the marriage. Throughout the book, there are many character foils, Don John and Don Pedro are character foils of each other because of their social status, their reactions, and their personalities.

The illegitimate brother of Don Pedro; sometimes called “the Bastard.” Don John is melancholy and sullen by nature, and he creates a dark scheme to ruin the happiness of Hero and Claudio.

Don Pedro agrees to aid his company, Claudio, in asking Hero to marry, but Don John thinks otherwise and plans to sabotage the proposal by framing Hero. When Claudio and Don Pedro are fooled, Claudio decides to publicly shame Hero. After the wedding, it is revealed that Don John was the one who sabotaged it, and Don Pedro and Claudio feel guilty and contrite. Don Pedro is disgraced while Don John decides

Don Pedro and his men return from the war and visit the house of Leonato and his brother, Antonio. This sudden meeting reunites Beatrice with her archrival, Benedick, and it is here that Claudio and Hero fall in love.

Bastard, a child born out of wedlock, an illegitimate descendant that "deserves to be slapped." Don John, coined as “Shakespeare’s most passive villain” is plagued by the society of Messina that rejected him from the very moment of birth. Looking through the idea of predetermined roles in life, we can come to realize the roots of Don John’s agitation arises from his illegitimacy, stacking him at the bottom of the social hierarchy. Here he feels obliged to act the part of the villain, delegated by his very own blood. What exactly determines the words written on this label of hero vs villain? How much comes from inner predisposition, from personal destiny, from mere interpretation? Is someone obliged to become a hero or villain by virtue of their existence, or are heroes and villains molded over time with

Shakespeare’s comedy, Much Ado About Nothing, is a play that follows a small group of friends from a high-class society in Massina. Two of this group are friends are Claudio and Benedick. In the beginning of the play they are seemingly similar, in that they both are of an upper-class upbringing and do their best to maintain their social reputation. The characters are made as to enhance their differences by the end of the play; they are foils to one another. Both Benedick and Claudio find themselves fooled by other characters in the play and have to decide what they are willing to believe is true and what is false, furthermore both

A central theme in the play Much Ado About Nothing is the appearance versus reality portrayed through characters. Throughout the play characters are in a constant battle of showing their hidden truths or withholding their faulty appearances.

Characters were either mislead or pulled into situations that masked them without any realisation. Margaret is a great example of a character that was masked unintentionally when Don John and Borachio were planning to deceive Claudio. She had no idea that she was tugged into a mess of slander because of her actions with Borachio and was immediately seen as Hero, not herself. Because Borachio wanted Claudio to hear him “call Margaret ‘Hero’”(II.ii.35) so that it “shall appear such seeming truth of Hero’s disloyalty”(II.ii.38-39), it was an act to mask Hero as someone that she was not. She lost her morals and dignity and Margaret had no perception on what was going on in the process. Many were deceived during that time because of another’s jealousy and desire to sabotage someone else’s happiness. Even though Hero and Margaret were unintendedly masked, it was honesty that wiped away the masks of slander and

            Although Shakespeare meant to create these two evil characters alike, there are a few differences between them. Don John set up Claudio using other people to convince him. I go used his manipulative speaking and wits, along

Don Giovanni is an operatic character that plays a womanizer during the 17th century. This was a play first performed in 1789, a successful creation of Mozart and DaPonte. During the play, Don Giovanni represents a sociopath that is lead by his incredible weakness for women. This weakness leads him into darkness, complete with seduction, and murder. Since the beginning, many people have seen Don Giovanni as a hero but many others have considered him a villain. The actions of Don Giovanni are not completely heroic neither are they totally villainous. But is noticeable that throughout the play he is more a hero than a villain.

The play Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare consists of many themes which grow out of the ‘game of love'. The two main themes consist of perception and deception. Through the plot complications, character development and dramatic techniques these themes can be explored. In the play deception is shown on both good and evil sides, the game of love between Beatrice and Benedick and the Don John plot to split up Hero and Claudio. Perception is a theme used in most of Shakespeare's plays. Perceptive views by the characters help portray the game of love. Hero is perceived as dead which then Claudio is sorry and feels for her. Beatrice and Benedick's loved is clouded by each other's perceptions and arguments.

Earlier in the play, a scene was described where Borachio and Don John plan to trick Claudio into thinking that Hero is diwsloyal because of a man in her chamber the night prior to her wedding. After the stated quote, the intent is to try and trick Claudio and show that Hero is disloyal when she is actually not. This quote presents significance by describing the overall trait of the entire act and scene which is the trickery and sabotage of Borachio and Don John upon the hapiness of all of the other characters in the play. Overall, the previouly described scene, in part with an already confused Claudio, makes this quote important to the wedding of Claudio and

Each of the main characters in Much Ado About Nothing is the victim of deception, and it is because they are deceived that they act in the ways that they do. Although the central deception is directed against Claudio in an attempt to destroy his relationship with Hero, it is the deceptions involving Beatrice and Benedick which provides the play's dramatic focus.

In William Shakespeare’s play Much Ado About Nothing, the characters are constantly over-hearing or misunderstanding different events or conversations. The disconnect between what actually happens and what the characters think is happening causes several conflicts throughout the plot. However not all of the overheard information in the play causes strife, and it is sometimes done intentionally by other characters to advance the plot and theme. The examples of overhearing and misunderstanding are significant to the storyline because the main events are developed as a result of them, and it adds to the overall theme of love and trust. Early in the play when Don John lies to Claudio about Don Pedro’s intentions with Hero, the audience can already see examples of how overhearing and misunderstanding breaks trust between characters.

Claudio also says that Hero has known a “luxurious bed”, a shocking accusation which implies that she has slept with another man just the night before their wedding; something extraordinarily shameful for Hero as women at that time were valued for being a virgin up to the time they got married. Claudio then refers to Hero explicitly as an “approved wanton” in line 41 provides extra shock as his rage is now very high. Calling her a proven whore in front of every one at the wedding is very mean and at the same time scandalous.