Much Ado About Nothing

Author: William Shakespeare
Year: 1600
Famous for: Verbal sparring, taking note, and a whole lot of little lies … some with nearly dire consequences.
Main character: Four lovers—Claudio, Hero, Beatrice, and Benedick—who deceive and are deceived many times over.

If you want to understand Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, just take a look around your high school. That’s because Shakespeare’s tale of courtship and deception is playing out around you—every day! You know: The gossip about whether so-and-so likes so-and-so. The scheming to get a certain guy together with a certain girl. Not to mention the nasty tricks that can sink a relationship in five seconds flat—and all because some mean guy or girl was feeling more than a little jealous.

In Shakespeare’s tale, the action centers on two potential couples: Hero and Claudio, and Beatrice and Benedick. But while Beatrice and Benedick’s relationship takes off without a hitch (at least, once their friends intervene with a few coercion tactics), Hero and Claudio’s romance is in for a much darker twist.

No worries, though. Unlike high school drama, Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing is a comedy, which means it will end happily. And in the meantime, maybe it’ll also inspire you to take note of the traps (and trappings) of true love, and to judge your relationships carefully and wisely.