Much Ado About Nothing Literary Analysis

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Nobody in his right mind roots for a villain. Although the antagonist is not the most popular character, they are extremely important for any story, because without an antagonist, there is no conflict. In this essay, I will be analyzing the antagonists in the plays Much Ado About Nothing and Hamlet, by William Shakespeare. The antagonist in Much Ado About Nothing is Don Jon, the half brother of Don Pedro who is the noble Prince of Aragon. Claudius is the antagonist in Hamlet. He recently became the King of Denmark after his older brother was mysteriously killed. One might assume both of these antagonists would have more similarities than differences considering Shakespeare created them both; however, these characters are very unique from one…show more content…
The identities of these antagonists solidify their difference from one another. Don Jon is a bona fide villain from the start of the play, whereas Claudius is a much more subtle antagonist initially. Don Jon doesn’t try to pretend to be a good person. From the beginning of the play, or the exposition, Don Jon admits to his friend Conrade he is a villain by saying, “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…let me be that I am, and seek not to alter me” (Much Ado I.iii 28-35). Don Jon does not struggle with his identity. He accepts that he is the villain and has no intentions to be a better person. Claudius has a much different outlook on his identity. He attempts to hide from his past sins and pretend that he is a noble king. In fact, Claudius never admits that he was the one who killed the late King Hamlet. It is only through the supposed ghost of King Hamlet, that we learn his brother, Claudius, killed him to…show more content…
Claudius is fairly simple to understand as an antagonist. He seeks power and he stops at nothing to obtain the throne. He is willing to kill his brother in order to be the King of Denmark. Although we find his motives heinous, it seems to be a timeless theme in dramas, so we understand it. Don Jon’s motives are much more complex and difficult to understand. First and foremost, he is referred to as Don Jon the Bastard in the character list. In our society, we use the word bastard out of context. Bastard simply means a child of an unmarried couple, but still possesses a negative connotation. Don Jon appears to have always been in the shadows of his half brother Don Pedro, the Prince of Aragon, which is enough motivation for him to ruin the lives of people around him. But to the reader, this seems like an overreaction and immaturity on Don Jon’s part, to ruin the love between Hero and Claudio. For this reason, it is easy for the reader to hate Don Jon and his motivation for
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