Much Ado About Comedy

Much Ado About Nothing, one of William Shakespeare's famous comedies, is a prime example representing themes and motifs required of Aristotle for a comedy: sexual jokes (yes, actually, the great Shakespeare rarely gets through a play without sex jokes), romance, the rise in fortune of the fools, Dogberry and his crew, Benedick and Beatrice, and Hero and Claudio, and a happy ending.
Sex and romance are clear leading themes in the play, with the immediate attraction between Hero and Claudio upon first sight, as well as the evident dramatic history between Benedick and Beatrice, with an not-so-subtle underlying sexual tension. Shakespeare explores the folly of human nature in romance through the antithesized relationship between Ben and Bea, as their actions clearly counteract their deepest feelings and what they truly want. Additionally, through Claudio's misinterpretation of Hero's loyalty and chastity- one can argue Shakespeare even subtly criticizes the then present social taboo of women's sexual freedom by weighing it against Claudio's loyalty to Hero, and even the importance of true love itself.
And, as with any Shakespeare play, there are the bumbling fools, Dogberry and his watch, the equivalent of Dwight Shrute's volunteer sheriff's deputy position- basically fake police. This group slapsticks their way through trying to acquire occupational respect, and consequently accidentally succeeding and catching the "bad guys" and saving the day, without ever really realizing the gravity of their actions.
This double edged romantic comedy is brilliant because with it's two simultaneous love stories, Shakespeare presents opposing relationships, flips them, and then brings them to the same happy ending. The play is just a long taunting of the audience. Most importantly, it deals with real, sincere situations that many can relate to, and simply emphasizes and colors it in. That's why Shakespeare is so timeless, because despite era, the human condition and the inherently genuine dilemma's humans face stay constant.