# Much Ado About Nothing

**Author:** William Shakespeare
**Grade range:** Grades 9–12
**Age range:** 14–18
**First published:** 1599
**Page count:** 304
**Genre:** Drama
**ISBN-13:** `9780743482752`
**ISBN-10:** `074348275X`
**Canonical URL:** https://readinglist.school/book/much-ado-about-nothing
**License:** [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) — please credit ReadingList.school when citing.

## About this book

Two couples drive Shakespeare's comedy: the sweet young Claudio and Hero, nearly destroyed by a villain's slander, and the sparring wits Beatrice and Benedick, tricked by their friends into admitting they love each other. Beneath the banter, the play probes honor, deception, and reputation. A common grades 9-12 text for studying comedy of wit and the power of rumor.

## Themes

- love
- deception
- identity and reputation
- marriage and class

## Where this book is assigned

### AP English Literature & Composition

- **recommended** · 11th grade — [source: AP Lit drama representative text](https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/courses/ap-english-literature-and-composition)
- **recommended** · 12th grade — [source: AP Lit drama representative text](https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/courses/ap-english-literature-and-composition)

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