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The struggle between good and evil in Shakespeare
The struggle between good and evil in Shakespeare
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The relationship between two half brothers in Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing,” is tragic and funny at the same time. Don John, the outcast and the popular Don Pedro are foils because of their disposition in life, their demeanor towards others and their dialogue which speaks volumes in this tragic/comedy.
The first way Don Pedro and Don John are foils is their disposition in life. Don Pedro is held in high standing because of his birth right and hailed a hero in his leadership of men in battle. Don John never had a chance in society, born a bastard and therefore, a second class citizen no matter what he accomplished or battle he won. Don Pedro’s demeanor towards others is empathic and helpful almost to his demise because he would
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drop everything he’s doing to help a friend. Don Pedro confides to Claudio, “If thou dost love Hero presently cherish it, And I will break with her and with her father, And thou shalt have her” (Shakespeare 10 ).
This quote from Don Pedro establishes the reason he helped Claudio because he believes in true friendship and knows Claudio would do the same for him. Don Pedro supports his friend by trying to get Hero to marry Claudio and offers to help arrange their marriage. Whereas, Don John is miserable and wants people to feel like him so he can thrive on their losses. Self centered and deceitful, he carries a chip on his shoulder because his lot in life is set in defeat. By his very position in Don Pedro's household, Don John recognizes he is a second-class citizen. When he is unsuccessful at gaining recognition through military battle with his brother, he turns his frustration toward conspiracies to hurt those he envies. He convinces and orders people to do his dirty work so he is not suspected. “Any bar, any cross, any impediment will be medicinable to me. I am sick in displeasure to him, and whatsoever comes athwart his affection ranges evenly with mine. How canst thou cross this marriage?” (Shakespeare 30). This is the part of the story where Don John is ruining the marriage of …show more content…
Claudio and Hero because he wants to mess up everything Don Pedro has a hand in. In both of these text evidences this is how Don Pedro and Don John would respond if asked to help another character in the story. Don Pedro is a caring thoughtful man while Don John finds pleasure from manipulation and watching others suffer as he does. The second way both of the brothers are foils is obvious in the dialogue Shakespeare writes for them to speak.
Don Pedro always sounds cheerful and bold with his words while Don John is contempt and appears to be shy in his first words in the book. “I thank you. I am not of many words, but I thank you.” (Shakespeare 6). This is when Don John, Don Pedro and the rest of the soldiers in the company first enter Leonato’s mansion. “Good Signor Leonato, are you come to meet your trouble? The fashion of the world is to avoid cost, and you encounter it” (Shakespeare 4). Because of what Shakespeare has written for them to say in his play this is how you can tell what kind of character the two brothers are and how they are both foils of each other. Don Pedro is the one who is always happy and knows what to say to help a person and Don John focuses on not saying much and thinking about what to do to ruin what his brother is doing so he can feel better about
himself. The third reason the two brothers are foils of each other shows in their disposition in life. Don Pedro is a prince so he is held in high regard while Don John is the bastard child so he gets the short straw in the play. “ I had rather be a canker in a hedge than a rose in his grace. And it better fits my blood to be disdained of all than to fashion a carriage to rob love from any…”(Shakespeare 14). Leonato says to Don Pedro beforehand, “Please it your grace lead on?” (Shakespeare 6). Because of where they are positioned in their lives determines really how they act and what they say and do. Because Don Pedro is in a high military and hierarchy position in life he has confidence and takes charge of things. Don John on the other hand stays out of everyone’s way but manipulates their lives and undermines their relationships. In conclusion, William Shakespeare experiments with comedy, betrayal, romance, and tragedy. The three reasons the brothers are character foils of each other is because of their disposition in life, their demeanor towards others and their dialogue in this tragic/comedy. Shakespeare uses various characters from different social backgrounds to give an elaborate picture of deception. The relationships between the royalty and common people are well-developed to illustrate the major and minor similarities and differences between the characters. Shakespeare reveals the deceptive nature of man and the ruin it causes through his use of foils.
First, Don John want to retaliate Claudio just because that Claudio hath all of Don John’s glory. After Claudio get glory in the battle, Don John begin to retaliate Claudio in many ways. Claudio was very brave in the battle, and he got many glory and was award by Don Pedro. In the other side, Don John said, “come, come, let us thither: this may prove food to my displeasure. That young start-up hath all the glory of my overthrow: if I can cross him anyway, I bless myself every way (Act I: Scene III).” Jesus tells us that, “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also (Matthew 5:38-39).” This means that we should forgive others, and
“And when I lived, I was your other wife, And when you loved, you were my other husband(Shakespeare 60).” In the beginning of the play it was overwhelming, steeped in love at first sight between Hero and Claudio, until Don John’s evil-manner took a role in ruining the love between them. And because of this a conflict developed between them, but was resolved when their vigorous love for one another overcame the conflict. In Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare, Hero serves as the foil character of Claudio because of Hero’s dignified, well-mannered, eminent reputation is illuminated through Claudio’s insecure, accusing, and doubtful weakness; thereby, interminably influencing the conflict in the plot.
William Shakespeare is known for his use of dramatic irony and complicated story lines. In Much Ado About Nothing, he also adds in the element of disguise to what the characters know, or what they think they know. There are multiple characters trying to ensnare others in different facades, whether it be for better or for worse. The deception and illusion in the play can either assist the characters or completely shatter the situation, but in both cases, Shakespeare advises us to infer about what we hear or see before we jump to conclusions.
Don John dislikes Don Pedro because Don John is the illegitimate brother, a bastard child. This means that he isn’t recognised by the court of Messina or by anyone. Although Don John is of royal blood, his royal blood would’ve been respected but not him. In those times, Don John would have had the social status of a prostitute. This is no fault of Don John, but only because his parents weren’t married when he was conceived. Don John is always so gloomy because he isn’t respected, he says to Conrade “There is no measure in the occasion that breeds, therefore the sadness is without limit”. Don Pedro the legitimate brother is highly respected by everyone and is probably very wealthy, Don John would have had nothing. Don is jealous of his brother because of all the admiration he gets from others. In Shakespearean times, everyone would have expected Don John to be evil because he was a bastard. No one would been surprised when Don John tried to ruin Claudio’s hopes of mar...
Don John and Don Pedro are so different it’s surprising they're even brothers. The Book Much Ado about Nothing by William Shakespeare has a wide cast of characters. They all go through the same story while experiencing very different changes, and in some cases are complete opposites to each other. But there are two very different characters that stood out to me, Don Pedro and his brother Don John. Don Pedro is very calm and friendly to just about anyone while Don John is sly and doesn’t care about anyone other than himself. Don John (DJ) is a character foil to Don Pedro because he highlights all the good characteristics of Don Pedro (DP). The specific places in which they are character foils are in their actions, personality, and social status.
Rossiter, A.P. "Much Ado About Nothing." William Shakespeare Comedies & Romances. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1986.
Don John plays an essential role for nearly all of the trickery and deception in this play. He acts like a catalyst and an instigator for trouble, whose sole aim is to marmalize the love and happiness between Claudio and Hero. Shakespeare uses foreshadowing of Don John’s villainy to display the trickery and deception: ’It better fits my blood to be distained of all than to fashion a carriage to rob love from any, in this, though I cannot be said to be a flattering honest man, it must not be denied but I am a plain-dealing villain. I am trusted with a muzzle and enfranchized with a clog: therefore I have decreed not to sing in my cage. If I had my mouth, I would bite, if I had my liberty, I would do my liking.
Don Pedro is the one of the most influential characters in Shakespearean literature. His god-like elusiveness has created a number of romances in the tragic comedy Much Ado About Nothing. Furthermore, there has not been a conspicuous, valid reason for the executions of his schemes—volunteering to seduce Hero into taking Claudio, asking for Beatrice’s hand in holy matrimony, and yet, he remains unwed at the end of the play. The reasons for his melancholy character and his actions is to depict the friendship and consideration he has for both Benedick and Claudio to find a wife that suits both of their characteristics , and also serve a purpose to the storyline of this tragic comedy.
With its entangled double plots and eloquent use of words, Much Ado About Nothing is a story that has the ability to entertain the masses both young and old. Shakespeare’s use of figurative language along with situation creates such vivid imagery for which carries the drama from beginning to end. For example, when we look at Act 1 Scene 1 of the play ...
In Much Ado About Nothing, Don Pedro, Benedick, and Claudio are all friends and are all even when it comes to wit. However, Don Pedro has power and the positions of the other two depend on Don Pedro’s favor. He uses manipulation throughout the play in order to generate outcomes in either his favor or his friend’s favor and there are cases where the outcomes work out for many others as well. In one situation, Don Pedro offers to woo Hero for Claudio while masked instead of having Claudio profess his love to Hero himself, “ I will assume thy part in some disguise/And tell fair Hero I am Claudio, /And in her bosom I’ll unclasp my heart”. (1.1.110-111) Although there is much speculation of why Don Pedro so badly wants to court Hero, everything turns out right and we find out that Don Pedro’s motives are for a positive outcome in favor of his friend. He also helps out his friend Benedick by developing a plan to convince Beatrice and Benedick that each one is in love with each other, a relationship everyone in the audience is wanting, and as a result both characters that previously despised each other end up together. With this, you can see the contrast in the way same-sex friendships affect other relationships within the
Another trait Don Pedro exemplifies is loyalty which shows when Don Pedro and Claudio were deceived into thinking that Hero was unfaithful. This provoked Don Pedro to say, “And as I worked for thee to obtain her, I will join thee to disgrace her”(Shakespeare 50). Now, the entire plan was fabricated, but Don Pedro refused to investigate, instead he acted as a witness for Claudio out of loyalty. As seen, Don Pedro exemplifies benevolence by willing to help Claudio fulfill his wishes; he is also loyal due to the fact that he was willing to defend Claudio, despite errors and deceit playing into Claudio’s belief. On the contrary, Don John exemplifies machiavellianism and wickedness. This clearly shows when Don John states, “Come, come, let us thither. This may prove food to my displeasure. That young start-up hath all the glory of my overthrow. If I can cross him anyway, I bless myself every way. You are both sure, and will assist me?” (Shakespeare 15) Depravity shines in this line because Don John hoped to besmirch Don Pedro's plan for Claudio and Hero in order to cause conflict. Furthermore, Don Jon also portrays machiavellianism as seen when he states,”Grow this to what adverse issue
Don John is the illegitimate half brother of Don Pedro in the play. Don Pedro is the Prince of Aragon and is highly respected throughout the play, whereas Don John is treated with cautious attention and indifference. In Act one scene three, Leonato greets Don Pedro rather enthusiastically and respectfully,
Don John is led to believe that his ‘blood’ and his origins as a bastard forces him out of society and renders him ‘evil’. Feeling that in acting the part of a villain he fulfils a role delegated to him by his own blood. Shakespeare informs the audience early on of the significance of Don John being a bastard. The society of Messina shuns Don John not solely due to his illegitimacy but also owing to his silence ‘I am not of many words’. Most of the characters in the play prove outgoing, talkative and social while such chattiness leads to problems when other characters overhear secrets. Don John’s silence emerges as more disagreeable than willing to divulge secrets. Shakespeare does not reveal much about Don John’s character until the third scene when Conrad asks ‘...
Without caring about the destruction and feelings of Hero or Claudio, John just wants to ruin the happiness other for his own sick joy. “ Any bar, any cross, any impediment will be medicinable to me. I am sick in displeasure to him, and whatsoever comes athwart his affection ranges evenly with mine. How canst thou cross this marriage” (Shakespeare 30)? Don John’s mischievous personality and love for the sadness of people powered a plan to ruin Hero and Claudio’s wedding by deceiving all of Messina that dear Hero was unloyal. To summarize, the evil Don John is presents more selfish acts than his friendly brother Don Pedro.
When being an illegitimate child like Don John, one begins to think of themselves the way people treat them. Therefore, when Don John acts in his villainous ways, one blame it on Don John or rather the people who made him feel that he is less than human. Don John believes that his only way to be acknowledged is to act in a way no one will forget, therefore he acts as the villain in Much Ado About Nothing, because that what society made him out to be.