Highlights the superiority of relationships based on a deep understanding of character, over those based on first impressions and physical attraction. Through examples of various relationships he highlights the importance of trust in every loving relationship and love in every fulfilled life. It is Shakespeare's profound understanding of the diverse relationships that exist in the lives of human beings that gives Much Ado About Nothing its depth, strength and contemporary relevance. Works cited and consulted: Barton, Anne. Introduction. Much ado about nothing. Shakespeare's Riverbank, 2nd ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1997. 361-365. Lewalski, B. K. "Love, Appearance, and Reality: Much Ado About Something" Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900 8 (1968): 235-251. Lane, Robert. “‘Relationship First’: Social Identity and Masculinity in Much Ado About Nothing” Upstart Crow 16, (1996): 31-47. Much ado about nothing. Directed by Kenneth Branagh. Samuel Goldwyn Company and Renaissance Films, 1993. Much Ado About Nothing. Shakespeare's Riverbank, 2nd ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1997. 366-398. Ranald, Margaret Loftus. "'How marriage binds and blood breaks': English marriage and Shakespeare" Shakespeare Quarterly 30, (1979):