Much Ado About Nothing is one of Shakespeare's most celebrated and performed comedies. It was first published in 1600 and thought to have been written between 1598 and 1599; it was included in the First Folio, published in 1623.
The play follows the two stories of deception: the benevolent maneuvering of Beatrice and Benedick to recognize their love for one another, and the malicious way that Claudio is manipulated into believing Hero has been unfaithful to him. The play's intricate interweaving of the two plots has enamored production companies, audiences, and academics for hundreds of years, as the play is primarily concerned with the role of deception in maintaining social order,...
