Love Found and Conflict Resolved in Much Ado About Nothing Much Ado About Nothing is a light-hearted play that Shakespeare wrote between 1598 and 1600. It has been described as one of his "most mature romantic comedies" (Bevington, 216). This comedy focuses on two different relationships, formed by two pairs of lovers. The comparison between the way people married back then and the way they do it now is somewhat similar. Much Ado About Nothing describes how people fall in love, how they interact with each other, and how they manage to get through difficult times without changing their love for each other. The two couples include the young ladies, cousins, Beatrice and Hero, and the gentlemen, Claudio and Benedick. There is a lot of love evident between Hero and Claudio and he has come to claim her as his own. However, there is some bad blood between Benedetto and his Beatrice. They don't know that they are made for each other. Messina, Italy, a small province facing the Strait of Messina, in north-eastern Sicily, on the estate of the governor of Messina, Leonato is where this play is set. "Don Pedro of Aragon and his men are returning from a series of wars; they stop to visit Leonato, where they plan to spend the next month. Among the group are Don John (Don Pedro's bastard brother who once led a unsuccessfully against him ), the young Claudio and Benedick The young people reunite with Leonato's beautiful daughter, Hero, and his lively niece Beatrice... and once again, verbal sparks fly between Beatrice and Benedick, yet the charm by Claudio for Hero is born from love, not contempt"(http://www.geocities.com/Broadway/1743/ado.html).......middle sheet......d Beatrice decides to get married at the same time as Claudio and Hero. In the end, as expected, everyone is happy. Hero and Claudio get what they want, as do the other two lovers. This is one of Shakespeare's most light-hearted works. It has all the elements of fun, family responsibility and love. The main problem, the conflict between Beatrice and Benedick, is resolved. Works Cited Bevington, David. The complete works of Shakespeare. 4th ed. New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 1992.Halliday, F.E. A Comparison with Shakespeare. New York: Funk & Wagnalls Company, 1952. “An Analysis of Much Ado About Nothing.” http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~babydoll/coursematerial/fall96/fallstudentwork/jbpublic_html/maana.html (April 16, 2000). “Ye Olde Plot Summary: Much Ado About Nothing.” http://www.geocities.com/Broadway/1743/ado.html (April 16 2000).