A Thing of Nothing: Shakespeare anatomy joke
In a Shakespeare anatomy joke, men have a “thing” between their legs; women have a “nothing.” So “Much Ado about Nothing” jokes about female anatomy and the wooing, wedding, & bedding of women. Much ado. Yet when Hamlet says, “The king is a thing [...] of nothing” (4.2), No Fear Shakespeare paraphrases it, “...of no importance.” That's (G-rated) meaning #1. Some critics say “...of nothing” is nihilist: Monarchy as existential nothingness! "Not to be"! Meaning #2 (similar, philosophical) . In Christian doctrine, the church claims God created the heavens & earth out of nothing, not out of preexisting stuff. So Claudius echoes creation: A "thing" out of nothing. Meaning #3 (theological/cosmological). It could also mean the king is a male (with a thing/phallus), born of a woman’s “nothing.” Meaning #4 (biological). Some of these may be examples of "overthink" (Hamlet: "thinking too precisely on the event"). But...