Much Ado About Nothing

In Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, Beatrice and Benedick insist they can’t stand each other. We think they do protest too much. As Beatrice and Benedick — old adversaries in the battle of the sexes — wage their “merry war” of witty insults, Benedick’s friend Claudio is deceived into thinking his beloved, Hero, has betrayed him. Potential tragedy yields to high comedy, however, as the lexically challenged Constable Dogberry stumbles upon the truth.