Much Ado About Nothing is a comedy by William Shakespeare thought to have been written in 1598 and 1599. The play was included in the First Folio, published in 1623.
The title page from the first quarto edition of Much Adoe About Nothing, printed in 1600
John Gielgud as Benedick in a 1959 production
A painting of Beatrice by Frank Dicksee, from The Graphic Gallery of Shakespeare's Heroines
Swooning of Hero in the Church scene by Alfred Elmore
William Shakespeare was an English playwright, poet, and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon". His extant works, including collaborations, consist of some 39 plays, 154 sonnets, three long narrative poems, and a few other verses, some of uncertain authorship. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright. Shakespeare remains arguably the most influential writer in the English language, and his works continue to be studied and reinterpreted.
The Chandos portrait, likely Shakespeare, early 17th century
John Shakespeare's house, believed to be Shakespeare's birthplace, in Stratford-upon-Avon
Shakespeare's coat of arms, from the 1602 book The book of coates and creasts. Promptuarium armorum. It features spears as a pun on the family name.
Shakespeare's funerary monument in Stratford-upon-Avon
