Much Ado about Nothing by William Shakespeare the New Fully Annotated Edition

'Much Ado About Nothing', probably composed in 1598-9 and first appearing in quarto in 1600, is a play of two pairs of lovers: the meek Hero and the impressionable Claudio, and the acerbic Beatrice and chauvinistic Benedick. It is one of Shakespeare's best-loved and most frequently performed comedies. Having its sources in Italianate literature of the preceding centuries, scholars have argued that Shakespeare's play takes on an expanded psychological scope from the usual tales of mistaken cuckoldry and bawdy flirtation.