Much Ado About Nothing is the story of two very different relationships. The relationship between Beatrice, niece of the Governor of Messina and Benedick, close friend of the Nobleman Don Pedro and that between a young soldier named Claudio and the Governor's young and beautiful daughter, Hero. Beatrice and Benedick show their apparent disgust for each other from the first scene. Beatrice mocks Benedetto in front of the governor of Messina, claiming that she always beats him in a battle of wits and that the last time their paths crossed Benedetto's "five wits stopped, and now all man is governed by one" (1,1, 50). Beatrice, evidently happy to resume their 'merry war', interrupts Benedetto at the first opportunity, telling him "I wonder if you will speak again, Signor Benedetto, no one marks you" (1,1,105). Incredulous, Benedetto replies: “What does my dear lady despise! Are you still alive?" (1,1,95). So, the dynamic between the two is set and it goes forward in the same direction from there. However, the reader, even at this early stage, may wonder whether the lady protests too much. Shakespeare's presentation of the other couple in question is in stark contrast to the way Beatrice and Benedick were presented. Claudio and Hero are lovingly receptive to each other from the beginning. After laying eyes on Hero, Claudio comments about her to Benedict "isn't she a modest young woman?" (1.1.125). Clearly, by having Claudio express his affection for Hero to Benedick, the playwright directly contrasts the older and more cynical one with the younger and more naive one, allowing the reader to see the contrasting characters of the two men. This is reinforced by Benedick, who after finishing listening to Claudio's rhetoric about the young Hero's charms (“in m...... middle of paper ......ut Nothing is an extremely fast and witty work , Shakespeare has love as its central theme. They are two very different, but equally compelling relationships, which are explored in depth throughout the play simultaneously, allowing the reader to compare and contrast the different facets and complexities between the two. The rich understanding of the playwright's relationships, and in particular his understanding that love is not always as formulaic as many writers would have us believe, makes for fascinating reading, in fact, directly comparing a realistic, self-confident couple in the real world doubt and fear of rejection with a very stereotypical love at first sight type of relationship, Shakespeare is perhaps underlining that love and relationships have more depth than is often believed.