Much Ado About Nothing (Folger Shakespeare Library) (Mass Market Paperback)

by William Shakespeare (Author) "Much Ado About Nothing is one of Shakespeare's more popular comedies, with a long history of success on the stage..." (more)
Key Phrases: early printed texts, savage bull, speech prefixes, Don Pedro, Signior Benedick, First Folio (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Folger Shakespeare Library

The world's leading center for Shakespeare studies

Each edition includes:

• Freshly edited text based on the best early printed version of the play

• Full explanatory notes conveniently placed on pages facing the text of the play

• Scene-by-scene plot summaries

• A key to famous lines and phrases

• An introduction to reading Shakespeare's language

• An essay by an outstanding scholar providing a modern perspective on the play

• Illustrations from the Folger Shakespeare Library's vast holdings of rare books

Essay by Gail Kern Paster

The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C., is home to the world's largest collection of Shakespeare's printed works, and a magnet for Shakespeare scholars from around the globe. In addition to exhibitions open to the public throughout the year, the Folger offers a full calendar of performances and programs.

About the Author
The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C., is home to the world's largest collection of Shakespeare's printed works, and a magnet for Shakespeare scholars from around the globe. In addition to exhibitions open to the public throughout the year, the Folger offers a full calendar of performances and programs. For more information, visit www.folger.edu.

Barbara A. Mowat is Director of Academic Programs at the Folger Shakespeare Library, Editor of Shakespeare Quarterly, Chair of the Folger Institute, and author of The Dramaturgy of Shakespeare's Romances and of essays on Shakespeare's plays and on the editing of the plays.

Paul Werstine is Professor of English at King's College and the Graduate School of the University of Western Ontario, Canada. He is the author of many papers and articles on the printing and editing of Shakespeare's plays and was Associate Editor of the annual Medieval and Renaissance Drama in England from 1980 to 1989.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster (January 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743482751
• ISBN-13: 978-0743482752
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #9,948 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What is with you people?, September 29, 2005

By	Brianna Rhywhen - See all my reviews

I am here to do my part in diminishing the value of all the one- and three- star reviews posted here, the authors of which are clearly the same person or all from the same class of children too young to read the play. Amazon visitors reading these should know two things: the reviewer is a twit, and this play is wonderful.

I, for one, am a sucker for romances; if you are, Beatrice and Benedick will make the play worthwhile. Predictability be damned, they were an adorable couple. The main couple, Hero and Claudio, are boring; the other one will make you swoon. Beatrice and Benedick are funny, clever, and stubbornly reluctant to admit they love each other. To wit, they're perfect for one another.

I have read two contradictory criticisms regarding the language in the play on Amazon: that the language is too simple for Shakespeare's standards, and that the language is too difficult. The latter was from the kid's reviews; for everyone else, the language is not so difficult to decipher that you need to avoid it. The Folger edition, at least, has one page of notes for every page of text, noting both puzzling references to Elizabethan beliefs, such as that sights draw blood from the heart, and language problems caused by the hundreds of years between Shakespeare's time and ours. The editors do all the work for you. You have no excuse. (Oh, and that the language is too simple: Bah. It's Shakespeare. That's impossible. I loved all the double entendres; this play was very witty.)

One criticism I somewhat agree with is that the plot is boring. Hero and Claudio, being the main couple, get much time, and I didn't care much about Don John's vengeance, but at least half of my favorite couple was usually present, and by no means do Hero and Claudio's plot monopolize the story. Much Ado About Nothing is often genuinely entertaining, which is what kept me interested. The plot's not the point here, it's the dialogue.

In sum, the language is poetic, but not so much so that it reads like Klingon, the romance will make you sigh, and the plot is at least good enough to keep Beatrice or Benedick in most of the time. Don't let the previous reviewers deter you: Read it.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Much Ado About the Play, May 2, 2006

By	Elainne G. (Vancouver, WA) - See all my reviews

I feel it is necessary to dispute some of the prior reviews I have just read. Shakespeare is a magnificient writer and Much Ado About Nothing is no exception. Some people have written that it is difficult to understand his language; however, the Folger Shakespeare Library has notes on the left page to explain vocabulary that modern readers may not understand. These notes also explain phrases that are no longer used such as "civil as an orange" which is a similie (with the orange being a Seville orange) having the meaning of "between sweet and sour".

Much Ado About Nothing is a witty comedy with enjoyable banter between Beatrice and Benedick, an ironical storyline, and humorous characters such as Dogberry whose malapropisms bring a smile to the reader's face.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars katie a gbcs, December 8, 2005

By	Susan Adams "Katie A." (Waldorf, MD) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

William Shakespeare's play "Much Ado About Nothing" was an extremely funny piece of literature. I thought that it was very cleverly planned out and humorously executed. With Dogberry and his men constantly mixing up words and their meanings it gave the readers a comic relief. The deceit and mistaken identities added so much humor to the already capturing story.
I believe that Shakespeare's main point in writing this play was to show that many times, people get worked up over simple miscommunications. You mishear something wrong, or in your anger, you tune out someone before getting all the facts. All that we would need to do to fix a certain problem would be going to the source of the information, but many times we take the easy way out. We jump the gun a little and choose to believe whatever is told to us despite our gut feeling that the information is wrong.
An example of this would be when Leonato has heard of Hero's scandalous evening with Borachio. Despite the fact that she is his daughter and he would know her better than anyone, Leonato believes the lies told about Hero. Leonato, being her father and the one who raised her, should have known his daughter well enough to know that she would not dishonor her fiancé and herself. Especially the night before the wedding that she has been waiting for. Instead of choosing to believe his daughter, who firmly denies any and all sexual relationships, he joins Claudio, Don John, and Don Pedro in disgracing her.
One lesson learned from "Much Ado About Nothing" is never should people automatically assume something to be correct. We should "take everything with a grain of salt"- test everything. People in the world these days are so willing to lie to us and readily do so without a second thought. Many times people are lied to without even knowing that someone has done so. True, sometimes the lying and deceit is all in good fun, but it still has the possibility of hurting someone. Even innocent lying has its consequences.
Benedick and Beatrice both believed almost immediately that what they had overheard their friends saying in the garden was correct and completely true. Neither person decided to test what they had heard. To see if what was said was true. Because both did not check to see if the information they heard was correct, everything worked out. Both assumed what they had heard was true and acted on it. There were no visible consequences. What a mess you would have if Benedick decided that what he had overheard could not possibly be true. Beatrice would have made a fool out of herself while thinking that Benedick felt the same way. The same could be said the other way around.
I would recommend this play to other readers. If people don't like to read, then I would not tell others about it. The combination of not liking to read and the difficulty of understanding Old English would not make a very fun and pleasurable read. Many would miss out on the humor and cleverness that Shakespeare brilliantly displayed to his audience. Readers on the other hand would most likely like this play. The humor and lightheartedness makes it an enjoyable play. I found myself constantly wanting to know what would happen next and how it would end- how Shakespeare would wrap it up. The happy ending was also a nice touch. Yes, the Old English adds a challenge to the reading. The sometimes hard to understand language makes you stop and think about what Shakespeare is trying to say and ultimately makes you stop and realize what he is truly trying to communicate to his audience.