Information provided about the Much Ado About Nothing play
William Shakespeare never published any of his plays and therefore none of the original manuscripts have survived. Eighteen unauthorised versions of his plays were, however, published during his lifetime in quarto editions by unscrupulous publishers (there were no copyright laws protecting Shakespeare and his works during the Elizabethan era). A collection of his works did not appear until 1623 (a full seven years after Shakespeare's death on April 23, 1616) when two of his fellow actors, John Hemminges and Henry Condell, posthumously recorded his work and published 36 of William’s plays in the First Folio. Some dates are therefore approximate other dates are substantiated by historical events, records of performances and the dates plays appeared in print.

Date first performed
It is believed that Much Ado About Nothing was first performed between 1598 and 1599. In the Elizabethan era there was a huge demand for new entertainment and Much Ado About Nothing would have been produced immediately following the completion of the play.

Date first printed
It is believed that the script was first printed in 1600. As William Shakespeare clearly did not want his work published details of the play would have therefore been noted, and often pirated without his consent, following a performance.

The setting for Much Ado About Nothing
The setting for the play is the City of Messina in Sicily

Theme of Much Ado About Nothing
The play is categorised as a Comedy

Number of words in Much Ado About Nothing
The number of words in the script, according to the Complete Public Domain Text is 22,608 

Most important characters in Much Ado About Nothing
The most important characters in the drama are:
Benedick, Beatrice, Hero and Claudio

Famous Quote / Quotation
Details of this famous quote follows, complete with information regarding the Act and the Scene, allowing a quick reference to the section of the play that this quotation can be found in. Please click here for the full text of the script of the play.

"Everyone can master a grief but he that has it". - (Act III, Scene II).

William Shakespeare's Main Source
Shakespeare found the story in Orlando Furioso, a great epic poem, by Ludovico Ariosto (1474-1535)

The Cast and Characters
Click the link to access a list of all the cast and characters.