Claudio is anxious to have his wedding day right away, but Leonato tells him that he must wait one week so that they can prepare for the event properly. Claudio is unhappy that he must wait so long, but Don Pedro tells him that he has an entertaining scheme to make the time go faster. His scheme is to get Beatrice and Benedick to fall in love with one another. And he asks Claudio, Hero, and Leonato to help him in this endeavor. To Don Pedro, getting Beatrice and Benedick to fall in love with each other is an impossible task. In fact, Don Pedro even refers to such a task as one of "Hercules' labours" (line 317). In Greek mythology Hercules was the son of the god Zeus, and he possessed superhuman strength. With his great strength he performed twelve labors or tasks that would have been impossible for other men to do. Of course, what Don Pedro does not know is that Beatrice and Benedick already do secretly love each other. The task will not really be all that impossible. For Don Pedro and the others, the scheme is a game, a form of amusement that one might want to play during a festival or carnival.
Meanwhile, Don John has a scheme of his own. Unhappy that his earlier plot to create a problem between Don Pedro and Claudio had failed, Don John becomes even more intent on causing problems for his brother. Don John's man, Borachio, comes up with an idea. Borachio is having a relationship with Margaret, one of Hero's servants. Borachio also knows that Hero will not be sleeping in her bedchamber that night. So, he plans to be with Margaret in Hero's room. Later that night Don John is to lead Don Pedro and Claudio on the street just outside Hero's bedchamber. There they will see Borachio in Hero's room and hear Borachio call Margaret by the name of Hero (Borachio quietly tells Margaret this is just for amusement). Here again is another instance of disguise and false identity. Because it is dark outside and they cannot see clearly, both Don Pedro and Claudio will readily believe that Hero is having an affair with Borachio. And, because Hero is not acting honorably and is not a virgin, Claudio will refuse to marry her.
Don John is a figure of mischief and misrule (a notion from Bakhtin's carnivalesque theory). He wants to hurt his brother, but he does not care that he is also hurting Claudio and Hero as well. Don John is also hurting Leonato, because a father's honor is connected to that of his children.