Title: Much Ado About Nothing

Author: William Shakespeare

Genre: Classic Plays

Pages: 98

Rating:  5 / 5 stars

Reading Challenges: Shakespeare; Books2Movie

Play

I love the interplay of characters in this one.  We get some interesting pairs and foils.  While I don't find the laughs like I do in A Midsummer Night's Dream, there are some good moments.  Most of those moments come with banter between Beatrice and Benedick.  Beyond the content and characters, I do find it fascinating that this play in written mostly in prose.  We get Shakespeare's fun with verse occasionally, but most of it is straight verse.  And I do love that it's set in Messina on Sicily.  The setting gives the play a different feel than many of his northern settings.

Movie Adaptation

I decided to watch the 1993 Kenneth Branaugh version as Emma Thompson and Branaugh are amazing as Beatrice and Benedick.  Overall, their love story is the one that I watch.  Hero and Claudio's is too "love at first sight" nonsense leading to (in my opinion) Claudio's false accusation of Hero.  Of course, that is just my issue with Shakespeare's story.  I do love the blocking and sets in the film.  The rustic charm is to die for.  I want to visit.  And the costumes are appropriately wore in.  Overall, I think this is one of favorite adaptations of any Shakespeare work.