Much Ado About Nothing

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by William Shakespeare

Much Ado About Nothing is on the English Literature GCSE syllabus for the AQA, Edexcel and OCR exam boards. 

With a dazzling display of William Shakespeare's fondness for wit and wordplay, Much Ado About Nothing is a high-spirited comedy, edited with notes by R.A. Foakes, and an introduction by Janet Dillon. 'Some, Cupid kills with arrows, some, with traps'. Proud, vivacious Beatrice and a high-spirited rake Benedick both claim that they are determined never to marry. But when good-hearted mischief-maker Don Pedro tricks them into believing that each harbours secret feelings for the other, Beatrice and Benedick begin to question whether their witty banter and sharp-tongued repartee conceals something deeper.

Schemes abound, misunderstandings proliferate and matches are eventually made in this sparkling and irresistible comedy, famously adapted by Kenneth Branagh in a film starring Keanu Reeves and Emma Thompson.

 This book contains a general introduction to Shakespeare's life and Elizabethan theatre, a separate introduction to Much Ado About Nothing, a chronology, suggestions for further reading, an essay discussing performance options on both stage and screen, and a commentary.