Don John-That Bastard
Johann Kasper Lavater once said, "The jealous are possessed by a mad devil and dull spirit at the same time." In Much Ado About Nothing, by William Shakespeare, the portrayal of Don John, the bastard brother of Don Pedro, demonstrates the true meaning of jealousy. According to Webster's NewWorld Dictionary, jealousy means resentful envy. Don John exhibits envy towards Don Pedro and his property and even towards the happiness Claudio holds. Don John's jealousy leads to the deceitful acts around which the play revolves. Don John's horrendous acts deceive Claudio into believing that his fiancee, Hero, acted unfaithfully on the eve of their marriage. This act and the following events show how Don John takes pleasure in others pain, and pain in others pleasure. Shakespeare emphasizes the point that the causing of mischief comes naturally to those who have as much envy and jealousy as Don John.First, Don John displays much envy and resent in his brother's (Don Pedro) property and authority and plans to cause misfortune as soon as possible. One can clearly see this in the conversations Don John has with his followers. Don John says, "I had rather be a canker in a hedge than a rose in his grace..." (I, iii,
25). This demonstrates how Don John hates the fact that Don Pedro has more authority than he does. This also demonstrates that Don John despises the way Don Pedro casts a shadow over him. Don John goes on to say, "If I had my mouth, I would bite; if I had my liberty, I would do my liking" (I, iii, 32-34). Don John thinks himself robbed of freedom by his brother and makes up his mind to cause mishap on the village of Messina. This just emphasizes the fact that the thought of causing evil comes instinctively the wicked. Don John has it planted in his mind that at every possible chance he will cause some sort of cruelty onto those he despises. Secondly, the automatic thought of causing pain and suffering onto others comes when he hears of the events of Claudio and Hero. Don John displays unhappiness with Claudio and plans to bring dim down. Don John waits for the perfect time and then just as a bullet from a gun; he explodes. After coming from the supper after the proposal of the marriage between Claudio and Hero, Borachio tells Don John, "I came yonder for a great supper. The Prince your brother is royally entertained by Leonato, and I can give you intelligence of an intended marriage" (I, iii, 40-43). Quickly Don John responds, "Will it serve for any model to build mischief on?" (I, iii, 44-45). This proves how quickly Don John thinks of creating havoc on Messina. The jealousy and envy of one instinctively villainous person caused all this evil. Proof of Don John's envy comes in the phrase, Don John thrives at every opportunity to take down Claudio because Don John has much envy in the way that Claudio has the glory
Some common words found in the essay are:
Don John, Don John's, Don Pedro, don john, Hero Basically, Jeremy Irons, Hero Claudio, Hard Vengeance, Kasper Lavater, Keanu Reeves, Act III, don pedro, jeremy irons, knowledge certainty, don john's, certainty false, role don john, hard vengeance, keanu reeves, jealousy envy, don john displays, quickly don, quickly don john, don pedro property, false certainty false,
Approximate Word count = 1109
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
|
