y him admitting to being “a plain-dealing villain”, and of doing evil. Don John is a melancholy character in the play we gather from his words and actions, but also that of other characters when Beatrice talks of how “tartly” he looks. Don John is a character for who it is impossible for the audience to feel compassion for, and so Shakespeare represented him as a conventional villain. Scenes in which there is no element of comedy and are said to bee too shocking for a comedy, prelude in Act 4 Scene 1. Leanato’s rejection of his daughter “let her die.” he seems more concerned with his own grief and shame of public humiliation, than for his daughter. This is a scene with no comic moments and has serious consequences as does the scene where Beatrice asks Bene*censored* if he loves her to “kill Claudio” for the wrongful accusation of Hero. The comic and tragic factors interlink throughout the play, whereby dark and serious scenes of Don John’s plotting follow the scenes of comedy or major events. Claudio informs Don Pedro of his love for Hero, and Don Pedro agrees to woo Hero for Claudio and inform Leonato of the match. A dark and sinister scene immediately follows the joyous scene with Claudio and Don Pedro. The light-hearted and menacing scenes appear back to back throughout the play, which provides dramatic tension, as the audience knows the villainous plan of Don John, and is aware of the irony of chaos that will surely follow. Key factors in Much Ado are the different types of deception played on the characters, benevolent deceptions and destructive deceptions. The deception that Beatrice and Bene*censored* believe the other to be in “love” with them is a benevolent deception as it was done out of kindness for the good of those involved. The deception of Don John’s plan to dishonour Hero was a destructive deception, done for the sole purpose of ruining the ...
