Shakespeare---Much Ado About Nothing“Claudio may have been brave on the battlefield but in civilian life he displays few admirable characteristics.”
... trust. Claudio is incapable of comprehending illusion and he is completely taken by what he thinks he sees. Claudio seems aware he has an impetuous nature: “If my passion change not shortly, God forbid it should be otherwise.” He has proven to be quite a vulnerable character throughout the play. Claudio is a selfish character which is evident throughout quite a few aspects of the film. He is a self-scented and thinks highly of himself and shows little concern for others. He is proud of his public image which therefore creates a sense of selfishness about him. His relationships are very surface, as he does not really trust his friends and thinks of himself and not others. Claudio may be immediately smitten by Hero, yet his inquiry about whether her father has a son and, hence, a male heir, fleshes out the welcome fact that Hero will inherit her father's estate. “Hath Leonato any son, my lord?” This reveals that he is a rather uninteresting young man out to make a 'good' marriage. It shows he is not marrying Hero for only love; he is interested in social status and money. He seems knightly and pure, but his conversations suggest that his attraction to Hero results partly from the fact that she will one day become a wealthy heiress. Also his public denunciation of Hero when he thinks she has been unfaithful is a sign merely of his own immaturity and lack of judgement. He handles the event poorly and it is only through the illusion instituted by Leonato and Friar Francis, to hide Hero and claim she's dead, that things are finally resolved. His public humiliation of Hero in church has an unparalleled nastiness about it. He was selfish and self-seeking in his conduct towards Hero at the wedding. “Not to be married, not to knit my soul to an approved wanton.” Hero is in a sense a victim right through: she is silent for a long spell at the start, while men talk about her, praising her, and planning for her, and later it is men who do the wooing and the arranging, the plotting, and the clearing up. Claudio did not think twice about what he did and showed such selfishness that portrayed him as one character that lacks many admirable qualities. Claudio is a very shallow character whose relationships are surface-like. His love for Hero is quite petty and not the affectionate and deep love that exists between Benedick and Beatrice. Claudio and Hero do not operate in the realm of illusion. Their intentions and emotions are easily visible, so much so that they come off as transparent. Their utter lack of ability to engage in each others makes their relationship very subtle. Claudio falls in love with Hero upon sight, but cannot create a delusion as simple as the portrayal of himself as a suitor. To the audience Claudio comes of as a fake character who does not experience real emotions or feelings. He is deceived by appearance and doesn’t make an effort to get to know the person for who they really are making his relationship with Hero quite superficial. “In my eyes she is the sweetest lady that ever I looked on.” He is a conventional lover and, as most critics agree, without much depth or complexity in his character. Hero and Claudio never seem to talk, and as far as the reader knows, they don't have a whole lot in common. In act 2 scene 3 Claudio surprisingly cannot speak even once he realizes that she will marry him. He says, “Silence is the perfectest herald of joy”. The irony of course is that silence is no herald at all, but rather implies complete lack of emotion from either Hero or Claudio towards the other person. Claudio puts so much stock in his "love" for Hero that he overreacts too easily. For example, at a party where Don Pedro agrees to woo Hero for Claudio, Don Pedro's bastard brother Don John tricks Claudio into believing Pedro wants Hero for his own. His gullible nature immediately takes the betrayal to be “certain” and blames Hero’s beauty for charming Don Pedro into wooing for himself. “Let every eye negotiate for itself, and trust no agent; for beauty is a witch against those charms melteth into blood.” This kind of love is based on gazing wistfully at the one's partner across the room, nothing more. Claudio’s love for Hero lacks the sincerity and warmth that true love is all about. His emotions and relationships are shallow. Claudio is a character who has shown to be quite insensitive and thoughtless. When he realised he had falsely accused Hero of infidelity his repentance and atonement are ...