Student: Prohap Genoveva-Minuța

Group: 324
Specialization: LLE-LLR
Teacher: Elena Paliță
Date of the presentation: March 30, 2023

Much Ado About Nothing

by William Shakespeare
Shakespeare obtained only a grammar school education because his father was a glove
maker. He wed Anne Hathaway in 1582, but about 1590 he moved to London and started working as
an actor and playwright, leaving his family behind. Shakespeare became the most well-known
playwright of his time and a part-owner of the Globe Theater very quickly after his immediate
success. In 1603, King James designated his theater company as the King's Men. Shakespeare retired
to Stratford-upon-Avon in 1613 as a wealthy and well-known man, and he passed away three years
later. He wrote during Elizabethan Era.

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Introduction of the play
Shakespeare's play Much Ado About Nothing was probably composed between 1598 and
1599. The First Folio, which was printed in 1623, contained the play. The drama is set in Messina
and centers on two burgeoning romantic relationships that happen after a contingent of soldiers enter
the town. Claudio and Hero's first encounter is almost changed by the villain, Don John's allegations.
As the play progresses, the second romance - between Claudio's friend, Benedick and Hero's cousin,
Beatrice - takes center stage, with most of the humor coming from both characters wit and banter.
Claudio is misled into thinking that Hero is not a maiden, and Benedick and Beatrice are tricked into
expressing their love for one another by noting, which sounds like nothing and refers to rumors,
overhearing, and gossip. The wordplay in the title alludes to the deception and secrecy that underpin
the play's comedy, intrigue, and action.

Characters
Benedick - a lord and a soldier, a friend of Don Pedro
Beatrice - niece of Leonato
Claudio - a count from Florence who was friends with Benedick and Don Pedro
Hero - daughter of Leonato
Margaret - lady-in-waiting of Hero
Ursula - lady-in-waiting of Hero
Leonato - the governor of Messina and Hero’s father
Antonio - Leonato’s brother
Don Pedro - Prince of Aragon
Don John - brother of Don Pedro, also named the Bastard Prince
Balthasar - a singer and Don Pedro man
Borachio - Don John’s man
Conrade - Don John’s man
Dogberry - the constable in charge of Messina's night watch
Verges - Dogberry partner
Friar Francis - a priest
A Sexton - the juddge of the trial of Borachio and Conrade
The Watch - the watchmen of Messina

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Sources
Shakespeare primarily drew inspiration for the Claudio-Hero narrative from a story in Matteo
Bandello's Novelle (1554–73); he may also have read Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene and
Ludovico Ariosto's Orlando furioso. Shakespeare is largely responsible for the Beatrice-Benedick
scenario, he must have had The Taming of the Shrew in mind as well, which is his own tale of
taming a wife.

Plot
Act 1: The governor of Messina, Leonato, greets Don Pedro of Aragon's army when it arrives in the
city. A soldier in Don Pedro's army named Benedick of Padua declares his disdain towards love and
challenges Leonato's niece, Beatrice to a duel of wits. The hero of Don Pedro's just won battle, Count
Claudio, professes his love to Don Pedro upon falling in love with Leonato's daughter, Hero. Don
Pedro immediately proceeds to court Hero on Claudio's behalf.
Leonato overhears the conversation between Claudio and Don Pedro, and thinks that Don
Pedro wants to marry Hero. However, the truth about Don Pedro's strategy to court Hero for Claudio
is revealed to Don John, Don Pedro's brother who seeks to find a way to prevent the union because
of resentment for both Don Pedro and Claudio, who had defeated him in the battle they won.
Act 2: Don Pedro and his friends dance with the ladies from Leonato’s household while
wearing masks. Don Pedro courted Hero, and Beatrice made fun of Benedick. Claudio is upset when
Don John lies to him that Don Pedro has won Hero's heart after the dance. Claudio is eager to wed
Hero as soon as he learns that Hero has been won in his honor and not like Don John said. Leonato
demands that at least a week must pass before the wedding preparations may begin and Don Pedro
suggests that, in the mean time, they trick Benedick and Beatrice into believing that they are in love
with one another.
By orchestrating a meeting with Margaret, Hero's lady-in-waiting, Borachio, Don John's
follower, will persuade Claudio that Hero is unfaithful, causing the upcoming marriage to be
disrupted. Claudio will believe that Borachio is Hero's lover because Margaret will be wearing
Hero's attire. After this, in order to make Beatrice and Benedick realize they love one another
Leonato, Claudio, and Don Pedro initiate a conversation that could be overheard by Benedick. They
discuss Beatrice's ferocious love for Benedick, they worry that her suffering may ruin her, and how
Benedick would make fun of Beatrice if he knew about it. After hearing this, he makes the decision
that he must love Beatrice back.

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 Act 3: Beatrice is enticed to listen in on a planned dialogue between Hero and Ursula, a lady-
in-waiting, in which they discuss Beatrice's conceit and Benedick's passionate love for her. Beatrice
decides that it's time to return Benedick's feelings. Benedick appears with his beard shaved off and
showing other signs of having fallen in love. When he leaves with Leonato, Don John tells Don
Pedro and Claudio that Hero is unfaithful and that he will show them a man entering her room
through the window that very night, the night before the wedding. The night watch was set that
evening by Messina's chief constable, Dogberry, and his subordinate, Verges, who ordered the
watchmen to pay close attention to any activity near Leonato's home. Then arrives Borachio
who tells Conrade of the deception that caused Claudio and Don Pedro to believe Hero had just
granted him access to her chamber. After hearing the trouble the two caused, the watchmen detained
Conrade and Borachio.
The following morning, Hero was getting ready for the wedding when Beatrice enters her room,
claiming to have a nasty cold, but Hero and Margaret make fun of how she's having feelings for
Benedick and not a cold. Dogberry and Verges try to tell Leonato about the capture of Borachio and
Conrade, but they are so unclear with their words that Leonato impatiently dismisses them, telling
them to investigate the detainees. After that, Leonato impatiently leaves for the wedding.
Act 4: Claudio publicly calls Hero a filthy woman at the wedding. Don Pedro and Don John
lend assistance to him in telling his tale. Hero passes out, and her accusers go away. The Friar who
believes that she is innocent suggests that Leonato tell the world that she has died. He also believes
that Claudio will remember his love for her as a result of this news. When they are left alone,
Benedick and Beatrice confess their love for one another, and Benedick reluctantly decides to
challenge Claudio to a duel to show his love for Beatrice. Dogberry confronts Borachio and Conrade
about Claudio and Don Pedro's treachery in an inept manner. Borachio and Conrade are tied by the
Sexton1, who sends them to be judged by Leonato.
Act 5: Leonato and his brother attempt to challenge Claudio and Don Pedro to a duel after
informing them of Hero's passing. Claudio accepts Benedick's challenge, which he issues. Claudio
and Don Pedro enter as Dogberry and the convicts do, and they discover the deception that was
pulled on them. Furthermore, they find out that Don John left Messina. Claudio begs Leonato's
forgiveness after being convinced of Hero's innocence and is told that he must recite an epitaph at
Hero's tomb that evening. He will marry Leonato's niece in the morning. Benedick tells Beatrice that
he has challenged Claudio. They are called to Leonato’s house with the news that Hero’s purity has
been proved. That night, Claudio shows up at Leonato's family grave, arranges for Hero to be
honored with a song, and hangs an epitaph on the grave. He also kneels and cries speaking about
1
a person who looks after a church and churchyard, typically acting as bell-ringer and gravedigger

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how sorry he is. In the following morning will be held a second wedding and Claudio and Don Pedro
make an appearance. The women come in disguise. While Claudio agrees to marry Leonato's niece
and takes her hand she reveals her identity, showing him that she was in fact Hero. Beatrice and
Benedick consent to wed, but only out of sympathy for one another. They produce the love poems
they've each written to the other as evidence that they do, in fact, love each other. Everyone has
forgiven Claudio, and after the last dance, there will be two weddings. At the very end of the play
soldiers bring Don John back to Messina to be judged.

Themes
Marriage and its effects on Freedom: Marriage serves as both the main inspiration behind
the play's emotional plot and the primary source of the drama that plays out. The play Much Ado
About Nothing examines the high significance that marriage had in Elizabethan society and the
threat it frequently posed to people's freedom of choice. The characters of Benedick, who closely
relates the married man to a tame and lifeless animal, and Beatrice, who scorns the notion of sugary
romance and hence "mocks all her wooers out of suit," are the most prominent examples of this.
Chastity and Family Honour:The social ideal that a lady should behave gracefully and
remain "chaste" until marriage in order to uphold the honor of her family is also explored in Much
Ado About Nothing. The plot's culmination and a clear illustration of the societal norms of the
Elizabethan era is Claudio's public rejection and humiliation of Hero during their wedding ceremony.
Shakespeare's underlying criticism of this oppressive policy toward women - who were expected to
lose all standing in society if they happened to lose their chastity before marriage - appears to be
feminist in nature. The harsh, obliterate remarks of Leonato, who declares his own daughter to be
"stained" and "fallen into a pit of ink" in his belief that Hero is unchaste, serve to highlight the
severity of this brutality and brings disgrace upon his entire family.
Love: The relationships between Claudio and Hero, Benedick and Beatrice, and Leonato's
devotion for his daughter and niece all illustrate the play's central theme of love. Most people think
nothing of Claudio's passion for Hero. Because she embodies the ideal woman - modest, attractive,
and submissive - he appears to fall in love with her. On the other side, Beatrice and Benedick are
both hiding their affections for one another and require a trick from their friends to come to terms
with it. Their relationship ultimately feels more genuine and authentic. In the end, both couples
eventually get married, and love triumphs.
Deception:Much of the play’s plot is driven by both accidental and deliberate deception, of
which almost every character is a prey. In Much Ado About Nothing, false language is so pervasive

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that it destroys the truth and creates an alternate society in which characters play the parts that have
been assigned to them by the lies that have been spread about them by others. Examples include the
marriage of Benedick and Beatrice as a result of the rumors that they are in love, and Hero's
treatment as a whore by her own father is a result of Claudio's criticism of her as "every man's Hero."
Despite this, Shakespeare examines both the positive and detrimental effects of such deception and
just as the duping2 of Claudio and Don Pedro culminates in Hero’s social demise, her faked death
also allows her reconciliation with Claudio and achieve her public redemption.
Appearances and reality: Shakespeare uses this play to demonstrate how appearances and
reality are frequently deceiving. Beginning with their clever, occasionally harsh banter, Benedick
and Beatrice are the play's ostensible enemies who appear to be at odds. They are deceived,
nevertheless, into admitting their true emotions of love for one another. Additional examples on this
topic may be found in the masquerade ball, where Claudio and Benedick's uncertainty and distress
are brought on by mistaken identity. Benedick seems to hear his companions discussing Beatrice's
love for him in the gulling3 scene, but the audience is aware that they are lying. In more sinister
examples of the theme, Don John deceives Claudio into thinking his future wife is unfaithful by
supposedly showing him a scene of infidelity. When Hero is accused, Leonato makes it seem as
though his daughter has passed away.

Symbols
Eyes: Used to represent the idea of discernment in the play, eyes are often used by
Shakespeare when characters perceptions are distorted by the deceptive doings of others. Much like
Claudio’s rhetorical question, ‘Are our eyes our own?’, the play questions the extent to which others
affect a person’s way of thought.
Beards: A complex symbol of masculinity in Much Ado About Nothing is the beard.
Claudio's clean-shaven face is a sign of his ‘softness’ and emotional fragility, whereas Benedick's
long, rough beard represents his independent bachelorhood. Also, Beatrice's dislike of beards is a
reflection of her disdain for males in general. It's essential to keep in mind that shaving one's beard is
a sign that goes along with getting married; Benedick shaves his beard as his first married manly
deed, making him as vulnerable with Beatrice as ‘Lord Lack-beard’ Claudio is with Hero.
The Savage Bull: A free-willed man giving in to the alluring security of marriage is
symbolized by Don Pedro's remark to Benedick, ‘In time the savage bull doth bear the yoke.’ By the
use of the metaphor of the ‘savage bull,’ which is tamed by human training similar to how the man is

2
deception
3
fool or deceive (someone)

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by marriage's responsibilities, the play frequently alludes to the idea that marriage might be a form of
imprisonment for males. Yet, as Claudio assures Benedick that his marriage would make his horns
‘tipped with gold’ and love, the play's portrayal of marriage changes along with the bull's images.
This implies that although marriage may appear to be a frightening and confining idea, it can also
offer endless warmth and comfort to those who accept it.

Character Analysis
The major characters in this play are Benedick and Beatrice, Claudio and Hero.

Benedick: One of the main characters in this play, Benedick, is at first seen as jovial and
carefree. He comes out as witty and conceited when joking around with Beatrice. He declares he
would never get married and despises love in a conversation with his friend, Claudio. He is described
as being trustworthy and as having met Beatrice before. He is stung by Beatrice's criticism of him
during the masquerade ball, though, and he succumbs to desire when he hears his companions
talking about Beatrice and her apparent affection for him. At the play's epilogue, Benedick has
changed from a soldier to a lover, and he has proposed to Beatrice. They continue to joke around in a
milder manner than they did at first.
Benedick is witty ‘they never meet but there's a skirmish of wit / between them,’
(Act 1 Scene 1) - never backs down from an argument with Beatrice; proud ‘But that my Lady
Beatrice should know me, and not / know me!’ (Act 1 Scene 2) - Beatrice called him the ‘prince's
fool’ and this hurts Benedick's pride. His offence at her mistaking him shows how full of self he is;
changeable ‘When I said I would / die a bachelor, I did not think I should live till I / were
married.’ (Act 2 Scene 3) - he changes his opinion on love when he thinks that Beatrice loves him
and is eager to love her back; playful 'Come, I will have thee; but, by this light, I take / thee for pity.'
(Act 5 Scene 4) - the love between Beatrice and Benedick seems to be real and equal and they also
do not change their playful fights even when they are together.

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 Beatrice: Beatrice is on par with Benedick, matching his cleverness in the first few acts with
sharp retorts and insults. Their witty banter appears to cover deeper desires from the beginning. She
is quick to soften and admit her own affection for her longtime foe when she overhears Hero and
Ursula discussing how much Benedick loves her. She begs Benedick to "Kill Claudio!" and defends
her cousin Hero when she is suspected of being unfaithful. She exemplifies the sexism of the period
by demonstrating how, as a woman, she is powerless to take action and seek retribution. She
continues to tease Benedick until he finally kisses her to silence her, but in the end she
agrees to wed him.
Beatrice is argumentative ‘What, my dear Lady Disdain! Are you yet living?’(Act 1 Scene 1)
- she always argues with Benedick and never backs down from an argument; bold ‘I wonder that you
will still be talking, Signior / Benedick; nobody marks you. (Act 1 Scene 1) - she always speaks her
mind and is different from her cousin, Hero, whom is quiet and well-behaved; outspoken ‘By my
troth, niece, thou wilt never get thee a / husband, if thou be so shrewd of thy tongue.’ (Act 2 Scene 1)
- Leonato warns her that she will never marry if she continues to speak her thoughts because women
at that time were supposed to be quiet and well behaved; frustrated by society ‘O God, that I were a
man! I would eat his heart / in the market-place.’ (Act 4 Scene 1) - she claims that if she were a man
she would have taken revenge on Claudio and is frustrated with how women were supposed to act at
the time.
Shakespeare lived in a time when women's roles in society were very different from what
they are today. Women were viewed as the property of their father or husband, while males were
privileged. Once Hero is abandoned at the altar, Beatrice expresses her anger over this injustice. She
sobs, saying she wishes she ‘were a man.’ As women were not seen to belong on the stage at the
time, young male actors performed feminine roles. As boys would play the roles of Hero and
Beatrice, this gave the performance more physical humor.

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 Claudio: Claudio is Benedick and Don Pedro's companion and a dedicated soldier. He shows
his romantic side by falling in love with Hero at first sight (although it could be argued that this
hastiness reveals his immaturity). After asking Hero's hand in marriage, Don John misleads him into
thinking that his future wife has been unfaithful. He acts cruelly at the wedding, accusing Hero of
lying in front of the crowd. Later, after hearing Borachio's confession and realizing his wrong, he
expresses remorse. Without even having met Hero's cousin, he apologizes to Leonato and accepts his
offer to wed her. He is delighted when his second wife is revealed and discovers that she is in fact
his beloved Hero.
Claudio is conventional ‘Is she not a modest young lady?’ (Act 1 Scene 1) - Claudio falls in
love with Hero, who shows all the traditional characteristics of the typical Elizabethan woman,
whilst Benedick will fall in love with Beatrice and her sharp wit; easily influenced ‘Farewell,
therefore, Hero! (Act 1 Scene 1) - when Don John lies to him that Don Pedro woos Hero for himself,
Claudio is quick to get jealous and this shows his immaturity; hurtful ‘Give not this rotten orange to
your friend.’ (Act 4 Scene 1) - when he learns that Hero has been unfaithful he rejects her publicly
and this makes things even worse than they already were; repentant ‘Your over-kindness doth wring
tears from me!’ (Act 5 Scene 1) - after finding out the truth he begs Leonato to forgive him because
he feels regretful and Leonato tells Claudio that he will forgive him if he marries his brother
daughter.
Shakespeare frequently adapted stories and story-lines from works from other playwrights. It
resembles the trend of modern day adapting a novella into a movie. Hero and Claudio's storyline is
based on the Italian author Matteo Bandello's tale of Sir Timbreo, who falls in love with Fenicia,
Lionato's daughter. Timbreo is made to believe his wife has been unfaithful to him in this version of
the story. Shakespeare had Hero lose consciousness, but in Bandello's play, the main character goes
into a coma that resembles death. Her father conducts her burial. Timbreo learns the truth later and,
as an act of penitence, marries Fenicia's sister, who is ultimately revealed to be Fenicia herself.

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 Hero: Leonato's daughter, Hero is a good and obedient person. She displays a classic image
of a suitable and beautiful wife in contrast to the more vocal and independent Beatrice. When he first
sees her, Claudio considers her a ‘jewel’ and compliments her on her ‘modesty.’ On the day of their
wedding, he accuses her of being disloyal, and she passes out. To provide her a chance at life, the
Friar counsels her father to act as though she has passed away. In the end, Claudio is led to believe
that his second wife will be Leonato’s niece, but, in reality, it will be Hero that he marries.
Hero is beautiful ‘In mine eye she is the sweetest lady that ever I looked on.’ (Act 1 Scene 1)
- she is often praised for her beauty and Claudio falls for her at first sight, even Don Pedro admires
her and often calls her ‘fair Hero’; obedient ‘Yes, faith; it is my cousin's duty to make curtsy and say
'Father, as it please you.’ (Act 2 Scene 1) - we learn about Hero’s personality from what the other
characters say about her. Beatrice praises her cousin by highlighting important traits of her
obedience: ‘dutsy’, ‘curtsy’, ‘please’.; quiet ‘I talk'd with no man at that hour, my lord.’
(Act 4 Scene 1) - if we compare her with Beatrice, Hero does not speak much throughout the play
and even when Claudio accuses her of being unfaithful she only replies with the simple, quiet truth;
forgiving ‘And when I lived, I was your other wife: / And when you loved, you were my other
husband. (Act 5 Scene 4) - she forgives Claudio for the humiliation he brought upon her at the altar,
and even gives him a second chance without resentment or blame.

Don John: Don John is an unpleasant character. Some readers say he is too evil to be
believed. He appears first in Act 1,Scene 1 as a sullen and irritable character. He believes that he is
honest when he admits his true nature, though in fact he is untrustworthy.

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 He is jealous of Claudio and tries to ruin Claudio romance with Hero. Alongside Borachio
and Conrade, Don John sets up a scene that appears to show Hero being unfaithful. The audience
learns that they intend to trick Claudio by showing him Margaret declaring her love for Borachio and
making him think she is his wife-to-be. At the end of the play we find out that Don John had fled the
scene but is arrested and brought back to Messina.
Don John is moody ‘I cannot hide what I am: I must be sad when I have cause and smile / at
no man's jests’ (Act 1 Scene 3) - he is ruled by his moods and acts however his mood is; villainous
‘It must not be denied / but I am a plain-dealing villain.’ (Act 1 Scene 3) - he seems to know that he
was an unpleasant and horrible character; dishonest ‘He is enamoured on Hero; I pray you, dissuade
him from her: she is no equal for his birth: you may / do the part of an honest man in
it.’ (Act 2 Scene 1) - at the masked ball, he lies to Claudio that Don Pedro wanted to woo Hero for
himself and we can see from here that he is a liar; resentful ‘I am sick in displeasure to him.’ (Act
2 Scene 2) - he is jealous of Claudio and that is why he tries to sabotage his happiness.

Don Pedro: The brother of Don John and the Prince of Arragon is Don Pedro. He returns
from the battlefields with Benedick and Claudio at the beginning of the play. Don Pedro offers to
court Hero on his behalf at the masquerade ball when Claudio admits that he loves her. He keeps his
promise, even as Claudio starts to doubt. He collaborates with Leonato and Claudio to trick
Benedick. He comes off as clever and fun in the orchard scene as he toys with language and sets up
Benedick. During the wedding, he stands with Claudio in criticizing Hero, and afterwards, the two of
them go to Hero's grave to make amends.
Don Pedro is confident ‘Here, Claudio, I have wooed in thy name, and / fair Hero is
won.’ (Act 2 Scene 1) - he shows his confidence and trustworthiness by wooing Hero on his friend
behalf; loyal ‘And, as I wooed for thee to obtain her, I will join with thee to disgrace
her.’ (Act 3 Scene 3) - he stands by his friend in defiling Hero when he thinks that his brother is
right; humble ‘The wolves have prey'd; and look, the gentle day, / Before the wheels of Phoebus,
round about / Dapples the drowsy east with spots of grey.’ (Act 5 Scene 3) - he joins Claudio to
publicly morn Hero at her tomb, he also seems to be a forgiving person ready to offer second
chances.

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 Leonato: The Duke of Messina, Leonato is also the uncle of Beatrice and the father of Hero.
He welcomes the soldiers to his residence at the beginning of the play. He looks like a kind and
devoted father who is also a wonderful host. He hosts a ball with masks for his visitors. He
participates in the trickery of Benedick later on in the orchard, maybe motivated by his paternal
sympathies for his niece Beatrice. When Hero is accused by Claudio during the wedding, Leonato is
more concerned with his own sense of dishonor and wishes for both his own and his daughter's
deaths. He is, however, also forgiving, as seen by the manner he permits Claudio to wed his daughter
at the play's end.
Leonato is generous ‘I tell him we shall stay here at / the least a month; and he heartily prays
some / occasion may detain us longer.’ (Act 1 Scene 1) - he tells Don Pedro that they could stay in
Messina for as long as they wanted to; patriarchal ‘By my troth, niece, thou wilt never get thee a
husband, if thou be so shrewd of thy tongue.’ (Act 2 Scene 1) - he wants both his daughter and niece
to find a husband because he understands Beatrice personality; honourable ‘Hath no man's dagger
here a point for me?’ (Act 4 Scene 1) - when his daughter is slandered, he wishes to die with her than
living in a world without his honor.

Criticism
Paraphrase the dialogue of Much Ado in mere utilitarian prose, and you will find speech
after speech awkward, superfluous, dragged in by the ears, and consequently irritating and tedious,
fatal to the crispness of the action. The characters lose their glamor: one sees that the creator of the
merry lady with her barmaidenly repartees and the facetious bachelor with his boarding-house funny
man’s table talk, was no Oscar Wilde. […] The subtler strokes of character are wasted because they
could be made amusing and intelligible only by the method of comedy; and Shakespeare, great at
“drama,” farce, and fair extravaganza, had no idea of comedy. - G. B. Shaw (1898)

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 ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ is not one of Shakespeare’s best plays, but Benedick and Beatrice
are the most lovable, amusing, and good people—the best of combinations—he ever created. They
are the characters of Shakespeare we’d most like to sit next to at dinner. - W.H. Auden (1946)
‘Much Ado About Nothing’ is a work in which great energy has gone into prose. This, of all
Shakespeare’s comedies, is the one that best prefigures the comedies of the Restoration. The most
impressive moment in the play is the scene when Beatrice commands her lover to kill Claudio; there
is a certain relief involved, for they converse for a moment rather more like persons who have
momentarily forgotten their reputations. - Frank Kermode (2000)
This play, with its gaily self-deprecating title, seems virtually to inaugurate a genre. Its
urbane pair of lovers, Beatrice and Benedick, anticipate the glib and genteel barbs of the
disillusioned pairs who populate stage and screen, waiting, like their Shakespearean forerunners, to
be offered a chance to be, for once, unashamedly romantic. - Marjorie Garber (2004)
Only Beatrice and Benedick, among all the couples of Shakespeare’s principal comedies,
seem to hold out the possibility of a sustained intimacy, and then only if the audience discounts their
many insults, forgets that they have been tricked into wooing, and assumes, against their own mutual
assertions, that they genuinely love each other. […] It is worth pausing and trying to get it all in
focus: in the great succession of comedies that Shakespeare wrote in the latter half of the 1590s,
romantic masterpieces with their marvelous depictions of desire and their cheerfully relentless drive
toward marriage, there is scarcely a single pair of lovers who seem deeply, inwardly suited for one
another. There is no end of longing, flirtation, and pursuit, but strikingly little long-term promise of
mutual understanding. - Stephen Greenblatt (2004)
In addition, I also think that this play was written by Shakespeare so beautifully that could
make one fall in love with its characters. The two couples are believed to be in love, however, I only
see true love in Benedick and Beatrice story. Claudio and Hero’s love story does not seem to be a
real one because at the end of the play he is ready to marry another immediately after her death. I
would rather believe in love that grows over time than a love who knows no more than two days. The
characters from this playwright have their own story and I have told you it.
In conclusion, ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ is a story that unfolds the theme of love,
deception, and many other that could also make one relate to our days and see how it was during the
Elizabethan Era.

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 Bibliography
1. Much Ado About Nothing - Characters overview - Characters - WJEC - GCSE English
Literature Revision - WJEC - BBC Bitesize
2. https://www.shakespearetheatre.org/watch-listen/what-the-critics-said-much-ado-about-
nothing/
3. https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/ztgwsg8/revision/4
4. Much Ado About Nothing - Entire Play | Folger Shakespeare Library
5. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s21-ksKhUks

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