In the play Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare, the setting entails a prattling town called Messina where how a person is described is everything to each other. The citizens of the town however have a different sense of what reputation is than those who are only passing through. In the play Shakespeare creates a character named Leonato who cares where he is on the social class, and this negates the beliefs of Don John, a selfish character that focuses on his ominous plan. Nonetheless Shakespeare also created Dogberry who cares about the approval of others on an intelligence ranking. In the play there are many references to the citizens of Messina’s reputation and how they differ on a social, familial, and intelligence scale. An
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Without Don John’s sinful character there would be no villain or conflict which results into no play. Although Don John also has a reputation for being Don Pedro’s brother, and this corresponds to his character being based off of a familial scale. Without being Don Pedro’s brother, the play would not have the same tension in the arguments and fights. Don John highlights the importance of someone’s position in society by his evil characterization and his relationship to Don Pedro. An additional outlook on the importance of reputation is through Dogberry, a low-class watchmen for Leonato and the town of Messina. Dogberry’s character is known for his countless malapropisms when he speaks, especially in front his superiors. An example of this is when he confronts Leonato about Borachio and Conrade, and he says, “Our watch sir have indeed / comprehended two aspicious persons” (Shakespeare 3.5.43-44). Dogberry here calls Borachio and Conrade ‘aspicious,’ but he means to call them suspicious which, clarifies the fact that he is not the brightest. His reputation as being a dim-witted character also helps support the motif of the differences of lower class and higher class in the play. His stupid remarks in the help prove that the lower class is not as intelligent as those in
Without Don John’s sinful character there would be no villain or conflict which results into no play. Although Don John also has a reputation for being Don Pedro’s brother, and this corresponds to his character being based off of a familial scale. Without being Don Pedro’s brother, the play would not have the same tension in the arguments and fights. Don John highlights the importance of someone’s position in society by his evil characterization and his relationship to Don Pedro. An additional outlook on the importance of reputation is through Dogberry, a low-class watchmen for Leonato and the town of Messina. Dogberry’s character is known for his countless malapropisms when he speaks, especially in front his superiors. An example of this is when he confronts Leonato about Borachio and Conrade, and he says, “Our watch sir have indeed / comprehended two aspicious persons” (Shakespeare 3.5.43-44). Dogberry here calls Borachio and Conrade ‘aspicious,’ but he means to call them suspicious which, clarifies the fact that he is not the brightest. His reputation as being a dim-witted character also helps support the motif of the differences of lower class and higher class in the play. His stupid remarks in the help prove that the lower class is not as intelligent as those in