Much Ado About Nothing: No Fear Shakespeare Side-by-Side Plain English (Volume 11)

No Fear Shakespeare’s "Much Ado About Nothing" is delightful. Shakespeare lived from 1564 to 1616. "Much Ado About Nothing" is ironic. Much that is interesting happens in this very well-crafted play. The "No Fear" procedure of placing the original Shakespeare language on the left pages with plain English translations on the right with frequent brief notes explaining ideas and behaviors that existed in Shakespeare's era but not today is excellent. The play has several "Ados" where people play tricks on others. Three result in favorable situations, one not so.(1) Beatrice and Benedick are very witty people. Whenever they meet, they mock each other in funny ways. Benedick never wants to marry because he is convinced all wives cuckold their husbands with lovers. Beatrice wants to remain a virgin until she dies because she dislikes being controlled by a husband. Women being subservient to men was considered proper during Shakespeare's era. Several friends devise a trick to make them fall in love.(2) Claudio is in love with beautiful, wealthy young Hero. A nobleman, Don Pedro, tells him he will woo her for him, get her to agree to the marriage, and then get her father's consent. Parents decided whom their daughters would marry in Shakespeare's era.(3) Don Pedro's illegitimate brother devises a plan to hurt Don Pedro, whom he despises, by ruining the happiness of Claudio and Hero.(4) When Don Pedro's trick to hurt Don Pedro seems to work, Friar Francis suggests a scheme to save the couple's happiness.There is humor in the pay in the speeches of two guards who get virtually everything wrong when they talk. But they save the day.There is also one disturbing item. In Act 2, Scene 3, Benedick says about Beatrice in Shakespeare’s language, "If I do not love her, I am a Jew." The plain English page changes this offensive wording to, "If I don't love her, I'm completely hard-heated." It explains in a note, "According to anti-Semitic stereotypes, Jews were supposed to be hard-hearted and lacking a sense of charity." Shakespeare also belittled Jews in his “The Merchant of Venice.”Interestingly, despite the play being built on ancient ideas, it is still enjoyable today.

I’m homeschooling mom with a degrees in English. A love of the works of Shakespeare is something I’d hoped to instill in my child. This has allowed me to do so in a way that is not frustrating. It aids in understanding. We combine it with the original to help with the ability to read and understand Shakespeare’s style.

I have used several of these throughout the years in my classroom. I love how it has the traditional Shakespeare verse on one page and then a modern translation on the opposite page. It makes reading and understanding Shakespeare so much better. I highly recommend these!

Is it perfect, no, but it does a great job of clarifying what is being said in some of the more complex passages and noting what common references during that time period mean. For those who are easily triggered, there wasn't DEI in Shakespeare's day, so there are sexual, sexist, and racist passages in the book.Read the book then see the play to fully enjoy this classic.

Never before could I understand Shakspeare. A young gal told me about the No Fear Shakespeare books. I can now understand Shakespeare and now can see why like many enjoy his plays. I highly recommend this series of books if you want to enjoy his plays.. On the left side are the words from Shakespeare and the right side is the everyday English interpretation. Oh, this play, very enjoyable and funny. I'm so glad I can understand and enjoy, especially this play. His humor is fun.

Thank you for these wonderful 'translations' of Shakespeare's works. They make all the difference to me, a new student to Shakespeare, at the ripe age of 59 years old....now I can understand and appreciate these amazing works of literature. Much of what he writes makes my hair stand on end. What a genius !

Wow! We've read Shakespeare for years as a family, especially Asimov's Guide to Shakespeare before attending plays as a quick overview, but this translation is perfect for our high schooler in her Shakespeare lit class. Highly recommend!

Amazing book, very easy to understand. The play is very funny. I did enjoy it. Nothing complicated, on one side you will find shakesperean English and on the other one plain English .