Significance of Names

Names are highly significant, which is a common theme in the two plays (Much Ado and The Importance of Being Earnest). The two writers have thought about their characters and given them names to match their personalities. Shakespeare does so accordingly:

- Don Pedro’s name is a Spanish name for Peter (a New Testament man said to be the "rock" of Jesus' church). The name "Pedro" originates in the Greek, and means stone. Don Pedro (except when he’s deceived by Don John) is generally unmovable, and thought to be one of the more sensible characters in the play. Like a rock.

- Beatrice’s name is of Latin origin, meaning "voyager through life", like how Beatrice seems to sail above the traditional expectations of women. Beatrice's name also has a second meaning, "blessed", which is what Benedick means: the two are linked together by their names. They are blessed in general, but they’re especially lucky to find each other. Finally, Benedick has "bene" at its root, which means "good", demonstrated when Benedick sticks up for Hero and becomes honourable.

- Claudio is of Latin origin and means "disabled", coming from the root "claudus" for "lame" or "crippled". Claudio is crippled in that he can’t see what’s clearly in front of him: an innocent bride who has been slandered, and the deceitful lies of Don John. He is generally unable in matters of his love life, and can’t avoid trouble.

- The most famous Hero is from the Greek legend of Hero and Leander. Hero was a virgin priestess of the goddess Aphrodite (Venus), and Leander fell in love with her. Leander convinced Hero to sleep with him because he claimed it was the best way to worship Aphrodite, goddess of love, was to not be a virgin. Hero gave her virginity to Leander, and the two of them loved happily and in secret. Then, Leander drowned, and Hero killed herself. So, Hero’s name is ironic. While Hero of Much Ado is accused of being like the Leander’s Hero, she’s actually quite the opposite (chaste).

Shakespeare also uses some ridiculous names – Dogberry gets a nonsense name that’s as silly as he is, and Borachio sounds like "borracho", the Spanish word for "drunk" - demonstrated when he reveals their plans to slander Hero in a drunken state.

What is the serious social problem underlying the satire on Dogberry and his all-volunteer watch?

Dogberry highlights the serious social problem of people's inability to question authority. This is illustrated through Dogberry's malapropism - "you shall comprehend all vagram men. You are to bid any man stand, in the prince's name"..."take no note of him, but let him go", showing that he is an incompetent policeman. This is a serious social issue in inself, but the fact that he daren't question a man of the prince shows that he fears the consequences due to social hierarchy, which revolves around money and gender. Shakespeare demonstrates this social problem of questioning authority throughout the play - such as when Hero is wrongly accused by Don Pedro and Claudio, yet does not speak out. This shows that authority is based upon finance and gender. Another example of this would be where Claudio is not questionned when he realises Hero was innocent, and wishes again to marry her instantly. The two men are high in society due to their financial strengths and gender.
Dogberry has no power because he is idiotic in his use of language, using malapropisms unknowingly virtually every time he speaks - "You are thought here to be the most senseless and fit man for the constable of the watch". His attempts to sound intellectual fail, yet he does not realise. This shows he is self-deceptive - he is ignorant to his own idiocy, tricking himself into thinking he is clever and doing what is right in order to avoid dealing with higher authority. He and the watchmen interpret the actions of others to benefit themselves, for example, leaving a thief be incase he wasn't actually a thief, showing they are afraid to act on crime to avoid questioning anyone higher in authority than them. This leaves a serious social problem behind, affecting society in how secure and safe they feel based on how the policemen choose to act on situations, which is decided based on people's authority.
The Puritans were a significant grouping of English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries (of Shakespeares time), and they had strict moral and religious principles. This group illustrate the inability to question authority - no-one questioned them or their actions because to question religion (high authority) was extremely punishable and unacceptable, which shunned people from doing so. They wanted to ban the theatre because they thought were magnets for vice, drunkenness, gambling, and prostitution. All this made them distractions from the pursuit of a higher, moral society pursued by the Puritans.

Don John

Don Pedro's bastard half-brother. He is the villain of the play, both in his behaviour and in his position as an illegitimate son - he creates a dark scheme to ruin the happiness of Claudio and Hero. Melancholy and sullen by nature. Envious, has little power because of his place in society/his background. Jealous of his socially and politically powerful half-brother. Influences action of the play, he has very few speaking lines for a main character. A plot-device more than a fully fleshed out character. He’s not Shakespeare’s most compelling and complex villain, but it’s a reminder to the reader that the play isn’t supposed to be a tragedy. Sulky, spiteful but honest.  “If you swear, my Lord, you shall not be forsworn” (I.1.124) - Leonato questions Don John’s loyalty to Don Pedro. This shows that immediately the characters regard him with suspicion, due to his position as a bastard. “I am not of many words, but I thank you” (I.1.127) - Don John acknowledges society’s perpetual distrust of him, giving an aloof reply. An outcast/outsider. He feels that in acting the part of a villain, he fulfills a role delegated to him by his own blood. Remote.

Don Pedro

The Prince of Arragon, the leader of Benedick and Claudio, a friend of Leonato, the half-brother of Don John the Bastard. Lover to no one. The most politically and socially powerful character in the play. Intelligent, loyal and mature. The enabler that sweet talks Hero secretly on Claudio’s behalf, and the mastermind of the plot to trick Benedick and Beatrice into loving each other. However, Don Pedro also falls into Don John’s scheme when his brother suggests that Don Pedro’s honor and credibility have been compromised through forming dishonorable match between Claudio and Hero. Honourable, wise. Notices Beatrice’s quick wit, proposes marriage to her. When she shrugs him off, rather than sulking or becoming self-pitiful, sets up a scheme to get Beatrice a deserving husband. Alone, analytical. At the end, Don Pedro is the only high-status bachelor, and though it’s a source of fun for Benedick, it’s one of the play’s loose ends that is actually pretty sad. Don Pedro is the closest thing the play has to a tragic character. Keeps order and resolves everyone's problems through his intellect. People look to him for guidance.

Hero

Leonato’s daughter, Beatrice’s cousin, and the beloved (and slandered) fiancée of Claudio. A gentle, loving girl. Quiet and reserved. Though she is supposed to be the female lead of the play, Hero has the fewest lines of the four primary characters. Her sweet nature contrasts with Beatrice. Her little actions and words within the play show that she has some willfulness, but she expresses this side of herself infrequently because she gives so many of her big decisions over to other people. Innocent victim - when Claudio denounces her publicly at her wedding, she doesn’t defend herself to inspire anyone to really question Claudio’s claims. Shakespeare shows a few traits of what was expected from a woman from the Elizabethan era through Hero, above all to be 'mild' (quiet). Vulnerable to circumstance because women were low in society and so their words meant very little. The name Hero would be familiar to the Shakespearian audience, as Hero is synonymous with romantic heroine, therefore Shakespeare's Hero has a very straightforward role and is one the very few characters in the play that does not change at all. Since the name Hero gives the impression of a kind, polite and dutiful daughter, we can immediately tell that she is the kind of woman who represents the model requirements of an unmarried daughter in her society.

Claudio

Friend of Don Pedro and of Benedick. A young Count from Florence, who has distinguished himself as a soldier under Don Pedro. Falls in love with Hero at his first glance of her upon his return to Messina - though he has seen her before, he paid her no attention as he was preparing for war. Upon hearing of how highly he is praised, he weeps - this is an introduction to the immaturity that will characterize Claudio for the rest of the play (his passionate feelings, and the enthusiasm with which he gives himself up to his emotions, are as marked as his immaturity). His suspicious nature and the fact that he is easily manipulated makes him quick to believe evil and false rumours and hasty to take revenge. Naïve, young, lacks insight. He enables the play's central plot (his and Hero's wedding). Prone to youthful idiocy.

Benedick

Friend of Don Pedro and of Claudio. An aristocratic, bragging soldier from Padua who has been fighting under Don Pedro. Witty, funny, a joker, and locked into a love-hate relationship with Beatrice. Most things are a joke to him, and he cares little for others’ feelings (like how he teases Claudio instead of comforting him when he thinks Don Pedro has stolen Hero). Vows to never marry, like Beatrice. Histrionic, he is the entertainer, indulging in witty hyperbole to express his feelings and to entertain the audience.