Much Ado About Nothing illustrates a kind of deliberately puzzling title that seems to have been
popular in the late 1590s (ex "As You Like It"). Indeed, the play is about nothing. It follows the
relationship between Claudio and Hero, which is constantly hampered by plots to disrupt it, and
in the end, the play culminates in Beatrice and Benedick falling in love, which, because it was an
event that was quite predictable, proves to be "much ado about nothing". The pronunciation of
the word "nothing" would, in the late 16th Century, have been "noting," and so the title also
apparently suggests a pun on the word, "noting," and on the use of the word "note" as an
expression of music. In Act Two, scene two ,Balthasar is encouraged to sing, but declines,
saying, "note this before my notes; there's not a note of mine that's worth the noting." (53-54)
However, Don Pedro retorts, "Note notes, forsooth, and nothing," playing on Balthasar's words,
and also demanding that he pay attention to his music and nothing else. In addition, much of the
play is dedicated to people "noting" and overhearing the actions of others, such as the trick
played on Beatrice and Benedick by Leonato, Hero and Claudio. They often observe and
overhear one another, and consequently make a great deal out of very little.
One of the major themes in Much Ado About Nothing centers around the question and
battle between deception and reality. One first notices of the image of deception as we witness
the masking and unmasking at the masquerade. In the play, most overheard discussions are
deceptions. It is through eavesdropping that we see the true battle between deception and reality
as we look at the subplots of Benedick and Beatrice, Hero and Claudio, as well as the comedy of
The relationship between Benedick and Beatrice is one ma...