Reading Order
Much Ado About Nothing Reading Order
Much Ado About Nothing (c. 1598–1599) by William Shakespeare is the wittiest of Shakespeare's comedies and home to one of the great couples in English literature — Beatrice and Benedick, who spend the first half of the play in a wit-combat of mutual insults and are tricked into love by their friends in the second half. The play runs alongside a second, more conventional plot in which the idealized love of Claudio and Hero is tested when Don John, the villain, makes Claudio believe Hero has been unfaithful; Claudio publicly denounces Hero at the altar on their wedding day, and Hero apparently dies of shame. The play is extraordinary for the way the serious plot (Honor, shame, public accusation, apparent death) and the comic plot (Beatrice and Benedick's teasing and eventual avowal) interact: Beatrice's response to Hero's denunciation — 'Kill Claudio' — forces Benedick to choose between male friendship and love, and the play's comic resolution is complicated by the emotional reality of Hero's public humiliation. Beatrice is one of the first great female characters in English literature with real wit, anger, and dignity; her complaint that 'I cannot be a man with wishing, therefore I will die a woman with grieving' articulates the constraints placed on women in a way unusual in Shakespeare's comedies.
Where to start
Much Ado About Nothing (c. 1598–1599) — any good scholarly edition. Best reading order: the Arden Third Series (ed. Claire McEachern) is the definitive text; Kenneth Branagh's 1993 film, shot in Tuscany with Emma Thompson and Kenneth Branagh as Beatrice and Benedick, is the most beloved film adaptation and a good starting point for readers new to the play.
Complete Much Ado About Nothing Book List
- 1Buy
Much Ado About Nothing
William Shakespeare (Arden Third Series, ed. Claire McEachern)·2006·The definitive modern scholarly edition — McEachern's Arden text has the most comprehensive treatment of the play's comic and romantic structures and its performance history - 2Buy
Twelfth Night
William Shakespeare·1601·The companion romantic comedy — Viola and Orsino's relationship is the most similar to Beatrice and Benedick in the Shakespeare canon; reading both together reveals the range of Shakespeare's romantic comedy - 3Buy
Pride and Prejudice
Jane Austen·1813·The novel most directly in the tradition of Beatrice and Benedick — Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy's wit-combat, mutual insults, and eventual love is the closest parallel to Much Ado's central relationship in all of English literature; Austen was the heir of the Shakespeare comic tradition - 4Buy
What You Will
Tony Tanner·2010·The critical study of Shakespeare's comedies that places Much Ado in its broader context — Tanner's late essays on the comedies are the best modern critical engagement with the plays for non-academic readers - 5Buy
Beatrice and Benedick
Margaret Miner·1978·The opera by Hector Berlioz based on Much Ado About Nothing — Berlioz's two-act opera (1862) focuses entirely on Beatrice and Benedick (dropping the Hero/Claudio plot); the musical version that shows what the play's comic energy can become in another medium - 6Buy
The Taming of the Shrew
William Shakespeare·1593·The problematic companion to Much Ado in the wit-comedy tradition — the relationship between Kate and Petruchio parallels Beatrice and Benedick, but the taming plot raises questions about the comedy's treatment of women that Much Ado's treatment of Beatrice complicates; reading both together reveals the evolution of Shakespeare's thinking
Much Ado About Nothing — Frequently Asked Questions
What is Much Ado About Nothing about?
Much Ado About Nothing (c. 1598–1599) by William Shakespeare runs two plots simultaneously. In the comic plot, the witty Beatrice and the soldier Benedick are notorious for their mutual insults; their friends trick them into believing each loves the other, and they actually fall in love. In the serious plot, the idealized Claudio loves Hero and plans to marry her, but Don John the villain tricks Claudio into believing Hero has been unfaithful. Claudio publicly denounces Hero at the altar; she apparently dies of shame. Beatrice demands that Benedick kill Claudio to prove his love. The plots resolve when Don John's deception is uncovered, Hero is revealed alive, and both couples are reconciled. The play is celebrated for the Beatrice-Benedick relationship, which influenced Pride and Prejudice and the tradition of witty romantic sparring.
Why does Beatrice say 'Kill Claudio'?
Beatrice's command to Benedick — 'Kill Claudio' — comes at the emotional climax of the play, immediately after Claudio has publicly and brutally denounced Hero on their wedding day. Beatrice is furious at the cruelty of what Claudio has done: he has accused a woman of sexual promiscuity in public, on what should have been the most important day of her life, without giving her any opportunity to defend herself. When Benedick asks what he can do for Beatrice, she demands that he prove his love by killing her cousin's accuser. The moment is important because it turns the comic plot serious: Benedick must choose between his friendship with Claudio and his love for Beatrice. He chooses Beatrice, challenges Claudio, and is willing to follow through — which is what makes him worthy of her. The phrase has become famous as one of the most startling and emotionally powerful moments in Shakespearean comedy.
Monthly Newsletter
Never miss a big release
Get the most anticipated upcoming books delivered to your inbox once a month — no spam, no filler.
Monthly only. Unsubscribe anytime.
Book links are Amazon affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, BookReleaseRadar earns from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.