Much
Ado About Nothing
by
William Shakespeare
(Story of The Play)
"Much
Ado About Nothing" is set in Messina, Sicily. The play begins with the
return of soldiers Don Pedro, Claudio, and Benedick from a successful battle.
They are welcomed by Leonato, the governor, and his household, including his
daughter Hero and his witty niece Beatrice.
Claudio
quickly falls in love with Hero and seeks Don Pedro's help to win her hand. Don
Pedro woos Hero on Claudio's behalf, and she accepts. Meanwhile, Beatrice and
Benedick, who both disdain love and marriage, engage in their usual banter.
Don
Pedro, Leonato, and Claudio devise a plan to trick Beatrice and Benedick into
falling in love with each other. They arrange for Benedick to overhear a
conversation about Beatrice's supposed love for him and vice versa. Both fall
for the ruse and begin to develop real feelings for each other.
Don
John, Don Pedro's jealous and malicious brother, schemes to ruin Claudio and
Hero's happiness. He convinces Claudio and Don Pedro that Hero has been
unfaithful by staging a scene where Borachio, Don John's accomplice, courts
Margaret (Hero's maid) at Hero's window, making it look like Hero is with
another man.
On
the day of the wedding, Claudio publicly denounces Hero, and she faints. Her
family, believing her innocent, decides to pretend she has died of shock and
grief to buy time to uncover the truth. Benedick, now in love with Beatrice,
agrees to challenge Claudio to a duel to defend Hero's honor.
The
truth comes out when Borachio confesses his part in the scheme after being
overheard by the night watchmen. Claudio, filled with remorse, agrees to marry
another of Leonato's nieces, who is actually Hero in disguise. At the second
wedding, Hero reveals herself, and she and Claudio reconcile. Beatrice and
Benedick also confess their love for each other and agree to marry.
The play concludes with the happy couples preparing for their weddings, and news arrives that Don John has been captured.
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