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Themes – WJECMuch Ado About Nothing - Themes overview

The main ideas or issues present in a text are called themes. In Much Ado About Nothing, these include the themes of love, appearance and reality and the ideas of ‘nothing’ and ‘noting’.

Part of English LiteratureMuch Ado About Nothing

Much Ado About Nothing - Themes overview

There are many themes running through this comedy by Shakespeare, including love, confusion and the theme of 'nothing' itself. In this story of crossed wires, hidden identities and feelings, honour and deceit, we are also presented with themes of friendship and marriage.

Themes of Much Ado About Nothing, showing a heart representing love, a masked woman's face to represent appearance and reality, and a winking Shakespeare representing nothing/noting

There are many themes in Much Ado About Nothing which could be analysed. These include:

  • nothingness
  • love
  • appearances and reality

On the surface Much Ado About Nothing is a light-hearted comedy, but there are darker themes of dishonour, death and deceit running beneath the humour.