Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
| Domain | Definition |
Literature | Much Ado about Nothing The plot is from a novel of Belleforest, copied from one by Bandello (18th vol., vi.). There is a story resembling it in Ariosto's Orlando Furioso, bk. v., another in the Geneura of G. Turberville, and Spenser has a similar one in the Faërie Queene, book ii. canto iv. Much Ado about Nothing. After a war in Messina, Claudio, Benedick, and some other soldiers went to visit Leonato the governor, when the former fell in love with Hero, the governor's daughter; but Benedick and Beatrice, being great rattle-pates, fell to jesting, and each positively disliked the other. By a slight artifice their hatred was converted into love, and Beatrice was betrothed to the Paduan lord. In regard to Hero, the day of her nuptials was fixed; but Don John, who hated Claudio and Leonato, induced Margaret, the lady's maid, to dress up like her mistress, and to talk familiarly with one Borachio, a servant of Don John's; and while this chit-chat was going on, the Don led Claudio and Leonato to overhear it. Each thought it to be Hero, and when she appeared as a bride next morning at church, they both denounced her as a light woman. The friar, being persuaded that there was some mistake, induced Hero to retire, and gave out that she was dead. Leonato now challenged Claudio for being the cause of Hero's death, and Benedick, urged on by Beatrice, did the same. At this crisis Borachio was arrested, and confessed the trick; Don John fled, the mystery was duly cleared up, and the two lords married the two ladies. Source: Brewer's Dictionary. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
The five acts follow two pairs of lovers. Although the romance between Claudio and Hero ostensibly forms the main plot, the action is actually mostly concerned with their counterparts, Benedick and Beatrice, whose love/hate relationship develops in the course of the play.
The Plot:
Claudio and Benedick return from a successful military campaign, which they have fought in Don Pedro's company. A local lord, Leonato, welcomes them into his home. Claudio sets about winning his daughter's, Hero, hand. Benedick trades verbal thrusts with Beatrice, Hero's cousin.
Claudio and Hero become engaged quickly and they, with others, decide to pass the time until the wedding tricking Benedick and Beatrice into love with each other.
Don John, Don Pedro's estranged brother, sets about to cause mischief. He convinces both Claudio and Don Pedro that Hero is unfaithful. Claudio accuses Hero in front of her father, family and priest and refuses to marry her. Hero faints at the accusation. The friar advises that Hero be reported to have died until her name can be cleared.
Left alone in the church, Benedick and Beatrice exchange their love vows and Beatrice extracts a promise from Benedick that he kill his friend Claudio for the harm he has done. Before the duel can take place, Don John's plot is uncovered and Hero restored.
Several film versions have been made, including one by Kenneth Branagh.
External links:
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Much Ado About Nothing."
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Exaggeration | Storm in a teacup; much ado about nothing; (overestimation); puff, puffery; (boasting); rant; (turgescence). |
Overestimation | Noun: overestimation; Verb: exaggeration; vanity; optimism, pessimism, pessimist. much cry and little wool, much ado about nothing; storm in a teacup, tempest in a teacup; fine talking. |
Unimportance | Nine days' wonder, ridiculus mus; flash in the pan; (impotence); much ado about nothing; (overestimation). |
Unskillfulness | Sprat sent out to catch a whale, much ado about nothing, wild-goose chase. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING |
| Specialty definitions using "MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING": Borachio ♦ Cow's Tail ♦ Devil rides on a Fiddlestick ♦ Great Cry and Little Wool ♦ KEMP'S MORRIS ♦ Prester John. (references) |
| Domain | Usage | |
Movie/TV Titles | Much Ado About Nothing (1940) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title |
Books | |
Theater & Movies | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | Much ado about nothing or a militia court-martial!!. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | Modjeska assisted by Mr. John E. Kellerd and company of players presenting artistic scenic production of Mary Stuart, MacBeth, Much ado about nothing, Marie Antoinette. Credit: Library of Congress. |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day |
much ado about nothing | 288 |
much ado about nothing shakespeare | 17 |
much ado about nothing summary | 13 |
much ado about nothing movie | 12 |
much ado about nothing picture | 10 |
much ado about nothing essay | 6 |
william shakespeare much ado about nothing | 3 |
much ado about nothing cliff note | 2 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Language | Translations for "MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Finnish | paljon melua tyhjästä. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Greek | πολύ φασαρία γιά το τίποτε. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hungarian | sok hűhó semmiért (fuss and feathers, much cry and little wool, storm in a puddle, storm in a tea-cup). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Japanese Kanji | 草臥れ儲け (thankless, waste of effort), 空'ぎ , 泰山鳴動して 一匹 (The mountains have have brought forth a mouse), 大山鳴動して 一匹 (The mountains have have brought forth a mouse). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Japanese Katakana | たいざ"めいどうしてねずみいっぴき (The mountains have have brought forth a mouse), くたびれもうけ (thankless, waste of effort), からさわぎ. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pig Latin | uchmay adoay aboutay othingnay mult zgomot pentru nimic (much cry and little wool). (various references) mucho ruido y pocas nueces. (various references) ชื่อละครของเช็คสเปียร์, ความตื่นเต้นกับสิ่งไม่มีตัวตน. (various references) yok yere telaş, boşuna patırtı. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1. Crosswords 2. Usage: Modern 3. Usage: Commercial 4. Images: Slideshow | 5. Images: Photo Album 6. Expressions: Internet 7. Translations: Modern 8. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
