Much Ado About Nothing
Much Ado About Nothing is a comedy by William Shakespeare thought to have been written in 1598 and 1599. The play was included in the First Folio, published in 1623.
The play is set in Messina and revolves around two romantic pairings that emerge when a group of soldiers arrive in the town. The first, between Claudio and Hero, is nearly altered by the accusations of the villain, Don John. The second romance, between Claudio's friend Benedick and Hero's cousin Beatrice, takes centre stage as the play goes on, with both characters' wit and banter providing much of the humour.
Through "noting" (sounding like "nothing", and meaning gossip, rumour, overhearing), Benedick and Beatrice are tricked into confessing their love for each other, and Claudio is tricked into believing that Hero is not a maiden (virgin). The title's play on words references the secrets and trickery that form the backbone of the play's comedy, intrigue, and action.
Excerpted from Much Ado About Nothing on Wikipedia.
Much Ado About Nothing
| Author | William Shakespeare |
| Country | England |
| Genre | Comedy, Drama |
| Copyright | Public domain worldwide. |
| Book cover | Beatrice Image: Thomas Francis Dicksee | wikimedia |
| Ebooks | Project Gutenberg |
| Scans | Google-digitized |
| Audio | Librivox | Internet Archive Reader: Group, Dramatic Readings 01 02 03 04 05 |
| Read online | Much Ado About Nothing |
