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Etymology of Names in Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing"

Ella Byrne-Cabot

Edited by Sasha Pavlov

William Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing” was first performed around 1599 and was later published in 1600. It takes place in Messina, Sicily, on Hero’s father’s estate. The sunny and carefree setting sets the tone for the lighthearted comedy, and even the title, “Much Ado About Nothing”, tells that “nothing” happened, meaning that the plot’s main action consists of trickery and lies.

Most stories have a hero, but this story has a Hero. The name Hero was taken from the Greek myth of the lovers Hero and Leander. In the myth, Leander swims to Hero every night until a storm hits and he drowns in the bay near her home. Once Hero sees his body, she drowns herself. In both the original myth and Shakespeare’s play, the character of Hero isn’t the hero in the story. In “Much Ado About Nothing” a lot of things happen to her, but she doesn’t have too much agency in the plot. She gets publicly humiliated, then fakes her death with the help of her family. She does get her happy conclusion where she marries the man who publicly accused her of infidelity when he was tricked by the villain. Her actions aren’t negative or weak, but they aren’t hero-like either.

This play has two contrasting villains, one of which is Borachio. Borachio means drunkard in Italian, so the actor would play him as such. He works for the other, more brooding villain, Don John. When Borachio is drunk, he reveals Don John’s plot of deceit which causes Hero’s humiliation and subsequent fake death. Borachio’s only gain in being villainous is causing mischief. Borachio is a comical villain, whom the audience doesn’t take seriously, but his name does describe his role in the play.

Finally, the behind-the-scenes mastermind villain of the story, Don John. Don John is the bastard brother of Don Pedro. He resents that he is usually in the shadow of his more successful kin. Don is an old prefix meaning ‘sir’ or ‘a respectable man’. The common name, John, means “to be gracious” in the context of God. In the play, Don John acts the role of a villain somewhat lamentingly. He feels like he must do this to revenge those who have wronged him and those whom he’s jealous of. He is a very relatable and honest villain that the audience feels sorry for and could even root for, although that could be because in the movie adaptation, he is played by Keanu Reeves, so we automatically like him. He believes that since he is a bastard that makes him evil or inferior; being a bastard was a bigger deal back then, so he plays this part in his story almost like a burden. He believes that the courteous and gracious way to remain true to himself is to cause trouble for others, because it’s what he deserves.

“Much Ado About Nothing” is a jolly, yet sometimes brooding, comedy of miscommunication in which the names communicate to the audience the character’s roles and backgrounds.

Left to right: Don John and Don Pedro, as portrayed by Keanu Reeves and Denzel Washington.

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