About this title: The work of the world's greatest dramatist is edited by outstanding scholars and presented here, along with an extensive overview of Shakespeare's life, world and theater, a special note on the sources from which Shakespeare derived this work, dramatic criticism, commentaries, and much more.
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Edition: Revised ed.
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Signet Book
Date Published: 07/1998
ISBN-13:9780451526816ISBN:0451526813
Description: Fine Like New, Unread, not previously owned. May show signs of wear including remainder marks or stickers on book or cover. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. 166 p. Contains: Illustrations. read more
Edition: Revised ed.
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Signet Book
Date Published: 07/1998
ISBN-13:9780451526816ISBN:0451526813
Description: Fine Like New, Unread, not previously owned. May show signs of wear including remainder marks or stickers on book or cover. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. 166 p. Contains: Illustrations. read more
Edition: Revised ed.
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Signet Book
Date Published: 07/1998
ISBN-13:9780451526816ISBN:0451526813
Description: Fine Like New, Unread, not previously owned. May show signs of wear including remainder marks or stickers on book or cover. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. 166 p. Contains: Illustrations. read more
Edition: Revised ed.
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Signet Book
Date Published: 07/1998
ISBN-13:9780451526816ISBN:0451526813
Description: Fine Like New, Unread, not previously owned. May show signs of wear including remainder marks or stickers on book or cover. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. 166 p. Contains: Illustrations. read more
Edition: Revised ed.
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Signet Book
Date Published: 07/1998
ISBN-13:9780451526816ISBN:0451526813
Description: Fine Like New, Unread, not previously owned. May show signs of wear including remainder marks or stickers on book or cover. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. 166 p. Contains: Illustrations. read more
Edition: Revised ed.
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Signet Book
Date Published: 07/1998
ISBN-13:9780451526816ISBN:0451526813
Description: Fine Like New, Unread, not previously owned. May show signs of wear including remainder marks or stickers on book or cover. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. 166 p. Contains: Illustrations. read more
Edition: Revised ed.
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Signet Book
Date Published: 07/1998
ISBN-13:9780451526816ISBN:0451526813
Description: Fine Like New, Unread, not previously owned. May show signs of wear including remainder marks or stickers on book or cover. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. 166 p. Contains: Illustrations. read more
Edition: Revised ed.
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Signet Book
Date Published: 07/1998
ISBN-13:9780451526816ISBN:0451526813
Description: Fine Like New, Unread, not previously owned. May show signs of wear including remainder marks or stickers on book or cover. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. 166 p. Contains: Illustrations. read more
Edition: Revised ed.
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Signet Book
Date Published: 07/1998
ISBN-13:9780451526816ISBN:0451526813
Description: Fine Like New, Unread, not previously owned. May show signs of wear including remainder marks or stickers on book or cover. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. 166 p. Contains: Illustrations. read more
Edition: Revised ed.
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Signet Book
Date Published: 07/1998
ISBN-13:9780451526816ISBN:0451526813
Description: Fine Like New, Unread, not previously owned. May show signs of wear including remainder marks or stickers on book or cover. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. 166 p. Contains: Illustrations. read more
Edition: Revised ed.
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Signet Book
Date Published: 07/1998
ISBN-13:9780451526816ISBN:0451526813
Description: Fine Like New, Unread, not previously owned. May show signs of wear including remainder marks or stickers on book or cover. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. 166 p. Contains: Illustrations. read more
Edition: Revised ed.
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Signet Book
Date Published: 07/1998
ISBN-13:9780451526816ISBN:0451526813
Description: Fine Like New, Unread, not previously owned. May show signs of wear including remainder marks or stickers on book or cover. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. 166 p. Contains: Illustrations. read more
Edition: Revised ed.
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Signet Book
Date Published: 07/1998
ISBN-13:9780451526816ISBN:0451526813
Description: Fine Like New, Unread, not previously owned. May show signs of wear including remainder marks or stickers on book or cover. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. 166 p. Contains: Illustrations. read more
Edition: Revised ed. Illustrated.
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Signet Book
Date Published: 1998
ISBN-13:9780451526816ISBN:0451526813
Description: Very good. No dust jacket as issued. Highlighting/underlining. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. 166 p. Contains: Illustrations. Shakespeare Series. Audience: General/trade. read more
Binding: Perfect Bound Paper
Publisher: Signet Classic, New York, New York, U.S.A.
Date Published: 1998
ISBN-13:9780451526816ISBN:0451526813
Description: Very Good + to Near Fine. Mass Market Paperback. 16mo-over 5¾"-6¾" tall. Little wear, sticker on back wrap. (store Display-Shake. ) read more
Description: New. Excellent condition, new, paperback. Very slight wear along cover edges and corners, inside covers/pages lightly tanned. Clean and tight. 0451526813. read more
"I'm studying this in theater class. I read it several years ago, but I remembered almost nothing except Dogberry's speech to the new recruits. (This was the year I bulldozed through all of Shakespeare's plays first to last, so it's not surprising I forgot a lot.)
After re-reading it, I remain fairly unimpressed. The schemes and counter-schemes are fun to watch, but there's nothing in this play that grabs me the way there is in Twelfth Night or Midsummer Night's Dream.
One thing I did pick up o this time is how militaristic the soldiers' language is throughout the play. Almost every metaphor they use has something to do with battle or weaponry. That's a neat bit of hidden cleverness."
"As per my method, my star rating refers only to Shakespeare's works so don't get in an uproar if say, an Elric book gets more stars. That only means I liked Elric better than most other fantasy stuff.
As for the play: I admit a lack of familiarity with Shakespeare comedies, so I'm not sure how it stacks up with the rest. The main story (Cladio and Hero) is a bit silly (at least the ending), and the meat seems to be with Benedick and Beatrice. The wordplay just zips right along and it's pretty darned funny here and there, though I have to admit there may be a bit too much cultural distance to appreciate a good cuckold zing fully. Sexual innuendo, however, never goes out of style."
"I am quite wary of ever talking about the works of Shakespeare. It is undisputed that he was a genius, well beyond his time, and his works are well-loved, tremendously admired by the masses, and agreed classics.
I appreciate the works of Shakespeare. I know that they are well written, have made a lot of people happy. There I am in utter agreement with everyone else. And yet--though when I tell people this, they crow, "Oh, you are young. Wait till you're older"--I do not find his plays enjoyable to read. I'm not sure what it is - the characters, who have no resemblance to anybody I have known, or the plots, which always end much too conveniently, or the witticisms, which can be analysed and critiqued till the cows come home, but which shall never, in me, raise a smile. This play--"Much Ado..."--is a comedy. Oh for the time it is brilliant. For now, for me, it means nothing. And yet we are all meant to laugh, and be in awe, and if not, at least pretend to be. We must always claim, in our defence, that we'll like it "one day". Thing is, I don't think I shall."
"Should I give this book the "benefit of the doubt?" The harsh critic in me says three, but for the time being, I'll keep the rating at four stars.
Much Ado About Nothing has lavish characterization, indelible wit, and is rich in Elizabethan culture. Shakepeare's use of the proverbs and legends of his day make this play seem more genuine, and his incredibly accurate portrayal of human nature creates characters with universal and timeless appeal. I love the fact that so much of the story depends upon how it is directed upon the stage, and feel that Shakespeare's decision to blur the ending in order to allow for various interpretations of it actually added to the creativity and worth of the plotline.
However, some aspects of the play are lacking in the quality most of this work exhibits. For example, many of the acts committed seem ridiculous and childish, such as the Prince's offer to Claudio to woo Hero for him or even his spontaneous decision to pair Beatrice and Benedick. I also do not understand the significance of the several misperceptions within the first act or so; unless they serve to further demonstrate the qualities of characters, in which case I wonder whether any traits are really developed by the misunderstandings, or to reinforce the double meaning behind the title, I see no point in their use within the work. Finally, perhaps my biggest concern lies in how one-sided Hero and Claudio's relationship is. The reader never really receives insight into how Hero feels about Claudio, but must assume that she loves him based upon her actions. It is understood that Hero and her cousin, Beatrice, are foils of each other, yet I wonder at Hero's emotions upon first "noting" Claudio.
Nevertheless, Much Ado embodies a mastery of human nature, the essence of comedy, a magnificent sense of wit, and the command over the English language which few but Shakespeare can offer."
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