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

~ (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...)
3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
Price: $5.99 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details
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Much Ado About Nothing (Folger Shakespeare Library) + Hamlet (The New Folger Library Shakespeare) + Romeo and Juliet (Folger Shakespeare Library)
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  • This item: Much Ado About Nothing (Folger Shakespeare Library) by William Shakespeare

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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: #32,995 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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    #15 in  Books > Literature & Fiction > Drama > British & Irish > Shakespeare, William
    #23 in  Books > Literature & Fiction > British > Shakespeare
    #24 in  Books > Literature & Fiction > Authors, A-Z > ( S ) > Shakespeare, William

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More About the Author

William Shakespeare
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
Much Ado About Nothing is one of Shakespeare's more popular comedies, with a long history of success on the stage. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
early printed texts, savage bull, speech prefixes, master constable, waiting gentlewoman, first quarto, mild oath, thy wit, chamber window, good morrow
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Don Pedro, Signior Benedick, First Folio, Count Claudio, New York, Signior Antonio, Enter Leonato, William Shakespeare, Signior Leonato, Clarendon Press, Shakespeare's Theater, Lady Hero, Shakespeare Quarterly, Enter Beatrice, Enter Benedick, Enter Prince, King's Men, Modern Perspective, Reading Shakespeare's Language, Against the Sink-a-Pace, Bull Jove, Columbia University Press, Count John, Folger Shakespeare Library, Harry Berger
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Hamlet by Kathleen Thompson
Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare
 

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Customer Reviews

37 Reviews
5 star:
 (6)
4 star:
 (10)
3 star:
 (13)
2 star:
 (5)
1 star:
 (3)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.3 out of 5 stars (37 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars What is with you people?, September 29, 2005
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.
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3 of 3 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.
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars "Modern Perspective" makes you long for the Middle Ages!, December 23, 2005
By Gemma (in the South) - See all my reviews
The play, of course, is fabulous and funny, but Professor Gail Kern Paster's "Modern Perspective" at the end of the Folger edition really takes all the fun out of this! A feminist viewpoint is often helpful, but she just kills this thing and hurls countless arrows at marriage. No, marriage isn't perfect, but Professor Paster calls it a "private terrifying world" as if every Elizabethan-era husband locked their wife in a tower! Excuse me, Beatrice allowing herself to be treated like that? After reading this edition, I bought a different one!!!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Read, too
Haha, ridiculous death scenes, but a great interp. of the Renaissance on Roman life. enjoy a great play.
Published 6 months ago by Eric G. Walker

5.0 out of 5 stars Good book
I bought this as a gift. He enjoyed the book. It arrived rather quickly (quicker than they said).
Published 12 months ago by L. Saxon

3.0 out of 5 stars Much ado about not much
Good but not great. Although considered a comedy, this one lacks the sparkle of "Merry Wives of Windsor", "Loves' Labour Lost", or some of the others. Read more
Published 18 months ago by E. M. Van Court

5.0 out of 5 stars Much to praise about "Much Ado About Nothing"
Set in Messina, Sicily, "Much Ado About Nothing" is one of William Shakespeare's romantic comedies that depicts the love story and follies typical of any Shakespearean play. Read more
Published 22 months ago by Michelle Y. Lee

5.0 out of 5 stars A wild romp of a book
This play focuses on two love affairs. Shakespeare plays on misconceptions, and nothing is at it seems. Read more
Published on May 24, 2007 by S. Schwartz

4.0 out of 5 stars Classic Shakespeare
Cute romantic comedy by Shakespeare which is short and entertaining. I am not a huge fan of the Bard, but I enjoyed this play despite the less than spectacular translation... Read more
Published on December 26, 2006 by An Historian

5.0 out of 5 stars Much Ado About Nothing
Here's the deal. The best way to appreciate Shakespeare is on a DVD with subtitles. But it has to be performed by some folks with the proper appreciation of the Bard. Read more
Published on August 28, 2006 by Michael LaRocca

4.0 out of 5 stars katie a gbcs
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. Read more
Published on December 8, 2005 by Susan Adams

3.0 out of 5 stars MISS.O LOOK!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ali
Leonato, a kindly, respectable nobleman, lives in the idyllic Italian town of Messina. Leonato shares his house with his lovely young daughter, Hero, his playful, clever niece,... Read more
Published on February 15, 2005

4.0 out of 5 stars Much Ado About Nothing Review by me!!!
Much Ado About Nothing starts off with the men comming back from war. When Claudio sees Hero,Leonato's daughter, he falls in love with her and asks her hand in marriage. Read more
Published on February 14, 2005

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