Why is Don John so morose and troublesome? How does Don John intend to prove his accusations? Why does dogberry stop leonato before the wedding? What kind of character is dogberry? What Claudio calls hero? Did hero cheat on Claudio? Do Hero and Claudio get married? Why does Beatrice want Benedick kill Claudio? Who says Kill Claudio? What does Beatrice say about Benedick? Who is Claudio in love with? He cannot participate in rewarding social exchanges like his brother or become married to anyone respectable, like Claudio or Benedick.
In fact, his alternative to interacting with society in an evil and manipulative way is not interacting with society at all. Thus, when Borachio enters with news of an impending marriage, Don John proves eager to thwart it, even without yet knowing the involved parties.
Initially, then, Don John searches for any kind of mischief to carry out; later, when he learns that Claudio is the husband-to-be, he becomes inflamed with anger and desires even more to enact ruin on the marriage. His emotions shift from carrying out mere mischief to intending pure malice:.
Don John feels incensed, the audience learns, because Claudio, along with Don Pedro, defeated him in the war which ended just before the onset of the play. Don John subsequently longs to spoil the happiness of the people who rendered him a defeated outcast in the eyes of all Messina.
Shakespeare does not provide Don John with many lines and instead, gives Borachio the chance to act the part of the scheming villain. Don John submissively accepts all Borachio demands of him, finally saying to him,.
Essentially, Don John pays Borachio to act the part of the villain. He feels content to remain in the background, and his passive role in the plot against Hero reflects his lack of freedom and passivity in the society of Messina. Interestingly, every character in the play deceives or intends to harm at least one other character in the play at some time.
Later, the same Beatrice, out of immense anger, begs Benedick to challenge Claudio to a duel for his mistaken accusation of Hero. Moreover, at the end of the play, Leonato calls Claudio a villain and blames him for the feigned death of his innocent daughter, Hero:. Indeed, the treatment of Hero after the supposed scandal comes to light echoes the treatment of Don John from his birth onwards. He deems his brother evil through and through without ever considering the hardships which Don John confronts owing to his illegitimate birth.
At the end of the play, all other characters appear completely excused from punishment and easily forgiven even when perhaps, they should not be; for instance, Margaret, who may or may not remain aware of her part in the scandal, is excused from any questioning or punishment.
Only Don John does not escape the wrath of the other characters. In other words, all the scandals and lies become resolved at the end of the play and celebration ensues. As always, however, Don John remains excluded from the festivities. He highlights the multi-faceted and quickly dismissed character of Don John, the marginalized victim of a society which only interacts with him in order to punish his wrongs, even while accepted characters act just as villainous at times and escape unpunished.
If Shakespeare ended the play with mere celebration and never mentioned Don John again, the play would indeed represent a true comedy. However, by recalling the somber character of Don John, Shakespeare transforms his play into more of a tragedy.
He reminds the audience that while all of the other characters may celebrate together and rejoice in their friendships, Don John will never be able to interact with society in a positive way.
He will always be ostracized owing to his illegitimate roots. In the end, Don John makes a name for himself and forces society to recognize him as a person, even a wicked one.
Greenblatt, Stephen, et al. There is not chastity enough in language, Without offense, to utter them. Think not on him till tomorrow. Previous section Claudio. Popular pages: Much Ado About Nothing. Take a Study Break. Don John is friends with:. His relatives include:. He is enemies with:. Don John is a nasty character. Why causes him to hold a grudge against Claudio? Don John is jealous of Claudio.
Don John says about Claudio:.
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