Much Ado about Nothing

by William Shakespeare

Category: Fiction

Status: Available

Source: Public Domain — Project Gutenberg

About This Book

"Much Ado about Nothing" by William Shakespeare is a comedy written in 1598 and 1599. Set in Messina, the play follows two romantic pairings among soldiers and townspeople. Claudio's love for Hero nearly crumbles under false accusations from the villain Don John. Meanwhile, the witty Benedick and Beatrice engage in a "merry war" of banter before being tricked into admitting their love for each other. Through gossip, eavesdropping, and deception, the play weaves secrets and misunderstandings into comedy and intrigue. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

About the Author

English · 1564–1616

He wrote 37 plays and 154 sonnets. Many people think he is the greatest writer in the English language.

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Preview

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING

by William Shakespeare

Contents

Dramatis Personæ

DON PEDRO, Prince of Arragon. DON JOHN, his bastard Brother. CLAUDIO, a young Lord of Florence. BENEDICK, a young Lord of Padua. LEONATO, Governor of Messina. ANTONIO, his Brother. BALTHASAR, Servant to Don Pedro. BORACHIO, follower of Don John. CONRADE, follower of Don John. DOGBERRY, a Constable. VERGES, a Headborough. FRIAR FRANCIS. A Sexton. A Boy.

HERO, Daughter to Leonato. BEATRICE, Niece to Leonato. MARGARET, Waiting gentlewoman attending on Hero. URSULA, Waiting gentlewoman attending on Hero.

Messengers, Watch, Attendants, &c.

SCENE. Messina.

ACT I

SCENE I. Before Leonato’s House.

Enter Leonato, Hero, Beatrice and others, with a

... (scroll to read more)

About This Edition

This edition of Much Ado about Nothing by William Shakespeare is catalogued on Libreya under Fiction and runs approximately 22,549 words — about 113 minutes of reading at an average pace. It is sourced from Project Gutenberg, the world's oldest digital library of public domain literature, founded in 1971 by Michael Hart, and every text on Libreya has been verified to be free of copyright restrictions in the United States. You can view the original Project Gutenberg edition here.

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About Classic Fiction

Classic fiction represents the highest achievements of literary imagination. The novels in this genre have shaped how generations of readers understand human nature, society, and the fundamental questions of existence. Reading 19th and early 20th-century novels offers far more than historical interest: these stories explore love, ambition, morality, and identity with an insight that remains startlingly relevant today. Authors like Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Austen, Hardy, and Dickens wrote for readers much like us — people trying to make sense of a complicated world — and their observations on class, relationships, power, and conscience carry across centuries with barely diminished force. Classic fiction is also where the novel as an art form reached some of its greatest heights: innovative narrative structures, deeply realized characters, and prose styles that reward slow, attentive reading. These are not museum pieces. They are living works that continue to be discussed, adapted, and argued over because they capture something essential and enduring about human experience.