Much Ado About Nothing Background

Genre

Much Ado About Nothing is one of Shakespeare’s best comedies, combining humor with more serious topics of court politics, love, and honor. Similar to other Shakespearean comedies, such as As You Like It and Twelfth Night, this play while deals with darker concerns is a joyful comedy that culminates with multiple marriages and no deaths. Shakespeare’s comedies usually have no deaths in them; however, it is erroneous to assume that it is completely absent from this genre. Death is a part of the natural cycle, and often in the comedy genre, it is accepted as a natural fate. In this play, Hero pretends to die due to the humiliation she suffers, and the intensity of emotions that are aroused at this crisis—confusion, anger, grief—almost makes the play a tragedy. However, the crisis is swiftly resolved, and the lovers are united; thus, the play has its happy ending.

Much of the humor of the play ensues from the exchange between the older and wiser lovers— Benedick and Beatrice. They argue with each other, showing remarkable wit, and the development of these two characters from antagonists to eventual lovers provides for the chief elements of comedy in this play. As these two characters are older, with a history behind them, they are more mature lovers compared to the usual younger lovers of Shakespearean romances. However, while wise, they reveal themselves to be delightfully novice when it comes to the matter of heart, thus making the play one of the most popular comedies of Shakespeare.