Much Ado About Nothing Character Review: Claudio

*The schedule for the Character Review posts will be changing to Friday (or Saturday the latest from now on).

*Warning: This post contains spoilers about the characters from the William Shakespeare play Much Ado About Nothing. Read at your own risk if you have not seen the movie. There is something to be said about a well-written, human character. They leap off the page and speak to us as if they were right in front of us, as flesh and blood human beings, instead of fictional creations. The first blush of young love is an experience that forever stays with us. That experience may also include believing whatever we are told instead of thinking for ourselves.

In Much Ado About Nothing, the audience is introduced to Claudio. He is young, naïve, and the protégé of Benedick and Don Pedro. Upon being re-introduced to Hero, the daughter of their host Leonato, he falls head over heels in love with her. She returns his love and they quickly get engaged. But there is a plot a foot to break them up before their life as a couple has even begun. Tricked twice by Don John that Hero is pretending to be in love with him, he believes that she has been unfaithful the night before their wedding.

Publicly humiliating her on their wedding day, he walks away from the ceremony. She faints from his accusations and appears to be dead. Instead of listening to his fiancé and questioning Don John, he continues (along with Don Pedro) to accept the lies he was fed. Then he is challenged by Benedick receives a thorough tongue lashing. Coming to his senses, he goes to Leonato to beg for forgiveness. In the end, Hero accepts his apology and they live happily ever after.

To sum it up: Love at first sight is wonderful, but logic ultimately must intervene. Claudio does not use logic. He quickly gets engaged, not really knowing the woman he is to wed. He also goes along with Don John, not realizing that both he and Hero are being used as pawns to get back at Don Pedro. Though he learns from his mistake and is able to walk into the sunset with the woman he loves, the question of whether he truly learns his lesson still lingers.

Which is why he is a memorable character.

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