Much Ado About Nothing
William Shakespeare wrote Much Ado About Nothing during the years 1598 and 1599. The play first appeared in print when stationers Andrew Wise and William Aspley published a quarto edition in 1600. This early text described the work as having been performed publicly on several occasions before that year. A later collection known as the First Folio included the play in 1623, preserving it for future generations after his death. Historical records show two specific court performances took place during the winter of 1612-13. These events occurred while celebrating the marriage of Princess Elizabeth to Frederick V of the Palatinate on the 14th of February 1613.
In Messina, Beatrice mocks Benedick's military skills when a messenger arrives with news of Don Pedro's return from battle. Leonato describes their relationship as a merry war between Signor Benedick and her. During a masquerade ball, Beatrice rants about Benedick to a masked man who is actually him, unaware he recognizes her voice. Don Pedro tricks Claudio into believing he wants Hero for himself, causing Claudio to rail against beauty's entrapments. Later, Don John arranges for Borachio to enter Hero's bedchamber with Margaret, making them appear amorously together. At the wedding ceremony, Claudio denounces Hero before stunned guests and storms off with Don Pedro. The Friar suggests faking Hero's death to fill Claudio with remorse. Beatrice asks Benedick to kill Claudio as proof of his devotion, though he hesitates before challenging him to a duel. Eventually, the Watch arrests Borachio and Conrade after overhearing their discussion of treason and lechery.
Charles I wrote Benedick and Beatrice beside the title in his copy of the Second Folio, marking them as central interests despite equal or lesser script weight compared to Claudio and Hero. Amussen notes that undoing traditional gender clichés seemed to inflame anxieties about social order erosion during the Renaissance period. Men's loyalties remain governed by conventional codes of honour, camaraderie, and superiority over women throughout the play. Repeated jokes about cuckoldry show assumptions that women are naturally prone to inconstancy. Balthasar's song Sigh No More presents men as the deceitful sex that women must abide, turning stereotypes on their head. Don John exploits Claudio's pride and fear of cuckoldry to cause disaster at the first wedding. Many characters readily believe Hero is impure even without evidence, while her father condemns her with very little proof. These modes of deceit play into emotional manipulation where feelings become vehicles to reach engagement goals rather than ends themselves.
Leonard Digges published a poem in 1640 stating that if Beatrice and Benedick were seen, galleries and boxes would fill instantly. Sir William Davenant staged The Law Against Lovers in 1662 after theatres reopened during the Restoration era. David Garrick first played Benedick in 1748 and continued performing him until 1776. Helena Faucit played Beatrice at Covent Garden in 1836 opposite Charles Kemble during his farewell performances. Henry Irving and Ellen Terry counted their portrayals of Benedick and Beatrice as their greatest triumphs at the Lyceum Theatre in 1882. John Gielgud made Benedick one of his signature roles between 1931 and 1959, playing opposite Diana Wynyard, Peggy Ashcroft, and Margaret Leighton. A. J. Antoon's 1972 Broadway production starring Sam Waterston became the longest-running version on record. Derek Jacobi won a Tony Award for playing Benedick in 1984 after appearing in the Royal Shakespeare Company's highly praised 1982 production with Sinéad Cusack. Vanessa Redgrave and James Earl Jones played Beatrice and Benedick in their seventies and eighties respectively at The Old Vic in London during 2013.
Martin Hellberg directed an East German film called Viel Lärm um nichts in 1964 based directly on the play. Kenneth Branagh released the first sound version in English to cinemas in 1993, starring himself as Benedick and Emma Thompson as Beatrice. Keanu Reeves appeared as Don John while Michael Keaton played Dogberry in that same production. Kate Beckinsake made her film debut as Hero in this adaptation. Joss Whedon completed filming his contemporary revision with an Italian-mafia theme in 2011, releasing it in June 2013. Amy Acker starred as Beatrice alongside Alexis Denisof as Benedick in Whedon's cast. Nathan Fillion played Dogberry while Clark Gregg portrayed Leonato. The 2023 romantic comedy Anyone but You serves as a loose adaptation set in contemporary Australia, starring Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell. In 2005, the BBC adapted the story for ShakespeaRe-Told season, setting it in modern-day studios of Wessex Tonight news programme. Danielle Brooks and Grantham Coleman led an all-Black cast in the Public Theater's 2019 Shakespeare in the Park production recorded by PBS Great Performances.
Nothing and noting functioned as near-homophones during Shakespeare's day according to Stephen Greenblatt's introduction to The Norton Shakespeare edition. Taken literally, the title implies making great fuss over something insignificant like unfounded claims of infidelity or love declarations. Elizabethan slang used nothing as a double entendre meaning vagina derived from women having nothing between their legs. Gordon Williams notes this irony acknowledges how virginity becomes nothing causing much ado. Much of the action centres on interest in others through written messages, spying, and eavesdropping techniques. Borachio indicates clothing doesn't reveal character at line 3.3.102-104 within the text. Don Pedro's final line can mean pay attention to music and nothing else while playing on crotchets as both quarter notes and whimsical notions. Leonato makes sexual innuendo concerning sheets as paper where Beatrice's love note might be written versus actual bedsheets. A triple play occurs at lines 2.3.47-52 where noting signifies noticing, musical notes, and nothing simultaneously.
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Common questions
When did William Shakespeare write Much Ado About Nothing?
William Shakespeare wrote Much Ado About Nothing during the years 1598 and 1599. The play first appeared in print when stationers Andrew Wise and William Aspley published a quarto edition in 1600.
What specific court performances of Much Ado About Nothing occurred in 1613?
Historical records show two specific court performances took place during the winter of 1612-13 while celebrating the marriage of Princess Elizabeth to Frederick V of the Palatinate on the 14th of February 1613.
Who played Benedick in the 1972 Broadway production of Much Ado About Nothing?
A. J. Antoon's 1972 Broadway production starring Sam Waterston became the longest-running version on record. Derek Jacobi won a Tony Award for playing Benedick in 1984 after appearing in the Royal Shakespeare Company's highly praised 1982 production with Sinéad Cusack.
Which actors starred in the 1993 film adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing directed by Kenneth Branagh?
Kenneth Branagh released the first sound version in English to cinemas in 1993, starring himself as Benedick and Emma Thompson as Beatrice. Keanu Reeves appeared as Don John while Michael Keaton played Dogberry in that same production.
What does the title Much Ado About Nothing mean according to Stephen Greenblatt?
Nothing and noting functioned as near-homophones during Shakespeare's day according to Stephen Greenblatt's introduction to The Norton Shakespeare edition. Taken literally, the title implies making great fuss over something insignificant like unfounded claims of infidelity or love declarations.