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The assertion that Don John is a plot device, rather than a truly complex character, is true. Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing is a comedy in which the conflicts are intended to engender humor and levity later in the play. Don John’s character is a plot device that Shakespeare uses to bring about Hero’s conflict that eventually allows the play to end in an atmosphere of blitheness.
Throughout the play, Don John shows no real emotion or motives for his actions. In his conversation with Conrade, Don John asserts that he must be sad because he “cannot hide” (1.3.12) who he is. Don John claims that he must be sad when he has cause and must remain sad even when hearing cheerful words. Don John is like an automaton that is programmed to be sad: his mind is set to live a gloomy life. Thus, he doesn’t give reasons for his grief but merely constrains himself to feel only grief. Don John is not a complex character who has a sound reason to conduct his “evil” actions. Rather, he believes that fate is responsible for his morose life: “let me be that I am and seek not to alter me” (1.3.34). If Shakespeare intended to give Don John a complex character, we would see strong emotional motives in Don John’s scheme to trick Claudio into thinking that Hero is dishonest. However, when Borachio comes to him with the news that the Prince intends to “woo” Hero for his friend Claudio, Don John responds, “ This may prove food to my displeasure” (1.3.64). To him, his scheme is only something that is done out of necessity to maintain his lifestyle: Don John lives a life of “displeasure,” and he desires others’ lives to be displeasing as well. By plotting a scheme only indirectly against the Don Pedro, Don John portrays that he not only wants his half-brother to suffer from grief but also everyone else in the world.
