Theme Of Jealousy In Much Ado About Nothing

In Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, the presence of jealousy is one of the main driving forces of the development of the plot. Don John is jealous of his brother’s reputation and takes it out on Claudio. Claudio then undergoes strong envious feelings after Don John’s jealous rage leads him to tricking Claudio. These men are taken over by the ‘green eyed monster’, jealousy, which eventually turns out to do them only harm.

Don John resents his brother, and this causes him to commit evil deeds out of spite. He is known as the ‘bastard brother’, while Don Pedro is widely respected as a leader and voice of reason in Messina. On top of this, Don Pedro has just defeated him in battle, with Claudio by his side. When Don John hears that Claudio