Don John's Rivalry In 'Much Ado About Nothing'

Sibling rivalries in stories go back as far as humans have been telling stories, from the feud between Atreus and Thyestes in Greek mythology, to the Romulus and Remus of Roman descent, to the story of Cain and Abel in the Bible. Anyone with siblings can understand just how deep a feud can get when family is thrown into the scrap, and the stories of Cain and Abel, Atreus and Thyestes, and Romulus and Remus do not seem too far off base. Luckily for both brothers of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, neither one slays the other within their feud. Still, the rivalry is strong, and, despite John’s claim of being a man of few words, when he does go on long tangents, it is about despising Pedro. By utilizing this brotherly feud and Don John’s first long rant about Don Pedro, Shakespeare turns Don John

Telling Conrade “it better fits my blood to be disdained of all…” (Shakespeare, 1.3.23) allows Don John to tell the audience just how much he does not like himself. Saying it fits his “blood to be disdained” on the surface simply means it fits John’s mood better to be hated than loved; however, digging into the meaning rather than simply letting it stay surface levels allows the audience to understand that he is projecting his hatred of himself onto Don Pedro. He views himself as a loner, an outcast, down to his very blood, his very DNA. He believes that no one could like him by virtue of simply existing. Additionally, stating “disdained of all” infers that not even his friends like his company, despite them being the people who assist him in wreaking havoc on Don Pedro and his friends. Especially considering Much Ado About Nothing is primarily written in prose, and Shakespeare otherwise has no problems breaking rules surrounding iambic pentameter or verse, changing a word or two to say “of many” or “of most” would not have changed anything else except how deep Don John’s hatred of himself