Much Ado has been described by critics as an enjoyable but problematic play, with considerable attention paid to various inconsistencies in the plot-for example, Don John's clumsy, unworkable first attempt at making trouble for Claudio and Hero, in Act II, Scene i; the ease with which Don John tricks the same men who had easily defeated him in battle; and Hero's willing marriage to the very man who shamed her, in Act V, Scene iii. Critics also agree that Much Ado is not one of the most popular of Shakespeare's comedies, as it "lacks many of those perpetuating devices that we look for to give us a sense of timeless pleasure," in one critic's words, "of a 'holiday' that is at once a sportive release and also, through lyricism, gives the faintest.....
