4.3.2

Key Lines

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"The tabor and the pipe”

BENEDICK: “I have know when there was no music in [Claudio] but the drum and the fife, and now he had rather hear the tabor and the pipe”

Instruments

Instruments

  • The contrast between the “drum and the fife”, instruments associated with war, and the more lyrical, romantic “tabor and pipe” illustrate both the change in Claudio’s character now he has fallen in love and is to marry Hero and one of the key differences between his character and Benedick’s.
Courtly love

Courtly love

  • Benedick does not understand the conventions of courtly love.
  • He tells Beatrice that they were “too wise to woo peaceably” in Act 5, Scene 2.
  • Romantic love does not come easily to Benedick and this is perhaps why he is so surprised and concerned by the changes he now detects in Claudio.

“May I be so..."

BENEDICK: “May I be so converted and see with these eyes?”

Tentative language

Tentative language

  • Benedick’s language here is much more tentative, unlike in Act 1, Scene 1, where he boasted “truly I love none.”
Modal verb

Modal verb

  • The use of the modal verb of possibility (“may I be…”) is used by Shakespeare to foreshadow the change in Benedick by the end of the scene.
  • The modal verb also adds to the prominent use of dramatic irony throughout the scene, almost as if the audience are a part of Don Pedro’s plot to trick Benedick into falling in love with Beatrice.
Religious connotations

Religious connotations

  • “Converted” may hold religious connotations, alluding to the gradual conversion of the Roman Empire to Christianity.
  • The idea that love is a Christian virtue is also referenced at the end of the scene when Benedick states that if he does not return Beatrice’s ‘love’ for him then he is a “Jew”.
Replacement

Replacement

  • A highly controversial idea to a modern audience, the line is often replaced with “dog” - a contemporary insult for Jews in the Elizabethan era - in modern productions.

Humour, Status and Innocence

BENEDICK: “I should think this a gull but that the white-bearded fellow speaks it.”

Humour

Humour

  • Shakespeare creates humour in the first deception scene through Benedick’s conviction that what he is hearing must be true when the audience knows otherwise.
Status

Status

  • The importance of status is again reflected through the fact that it is Leonato’s word that helps convince Benedick.
Innocence

Innocence

  • “White” has connotations of innocence and purity.
  • Just as he believes Hero’s innocence in Act 4, Scene 1, Benedick cannot believe that Leonato would be lying.
Key line

Key line

  • “This can be no trick. The conference was sadly borne; they have the truth of this from Hero.”
Humour

Humour

  • Again, this prepares the audience for Benedick’s defence of Hero later in the play.
  • The humour is continued as Benedick states that the conversation between Don Pedro, Claudio and Leonato was “sadly borne”.
  • The whole scene has been orchestrated by Don Pedro to fool Benedick.
Jump to other topics
1

Key Terminology

1.1

Key Terminology

1.1.1Key Terminology1.1.2End of Topic Test - Key Terminology
2

Structure & Form

2.1

Structure

2.1.1Structure2.1.2Acts 1 - 32.1.3Acts 4 - 5
2.2

Form

2.2.1Tragicomedy2.2.2End of Topic Test - Structure & Form
3

Act 1: Plot Summary

3.1

Act 1, Scene 1

3.1.1Summary3.1.2Key Lines3.1.3Key Lines 23.1.4End of Topic Test - Act 1, Scene 1
3.2

Act 1, Scene 2

3.2.1Summary3.2.2Key Lines
3.3

Act 1, Scene 3

3.3.1Summary3.3.2Key Lines3.3.3End of Topic Test - Act 1, Scenes 2-3
4

Act 2: Plot Summary

4.1

Act 2, Scene 1

4.1.1Summary4.1.2Key Lines4.1.3Key Lines 24.1.4Key Lines 34.1.5End of Topic Test - Act 2, Scene 1
4.2

Act 2, Scene 2

4.2.1Summary
4.3

Act 2, Scene 3

4.3.1Summary4.3.2Key Lines4.3.3Key Lines 24.3.4End of Topic Test - Act 2, Scenes 2-3
5

Act 3: Plot Summary

5.1

Act 3, Scene 1

5.1.1Summary5.1.2Key Lines
5.2

Act 3, Scene 2

5.2.1Summary5.2.2Key Lines
5.3

Act 3, Scene 3

5.3.1Summary
5.4

Act 3, Scene 4

5.4.1Summary
5.5

Act 3, Scene 5

5.5.1Summary5.5.2End of Topic Test - Act 3
6

Act 4: Plot Summary

6.1

Act 4, Scene 1 (Part 1)

6.1.1Summary6.1.2Key Lines6.1.3Key Lines 2
6.2

Act 4, Scene 1 (Part 2)

6.2.1Summary6.2.2Key Lines6.2.3Key Lines 2
6.3

Act 4, Scene 2

6.3.1Summary6.3.2End of Topic Test - Act 4
7

Act 5: Plot Summary

7.1

Act 5, Scene 1

7.1.1Summary
7.2

Act 5, Scene 2

7.2.1Summary7.2.2Key Lines
7.3

Act 5, Scene 3

7.3.1Summary
7.4

Act 5, Scene 4

7.4.1Summary7.4.2End of Topic Test - Act 5
8

Key Themes

8.1

Key Themes

8.1.1Love & Marriage8.1.2Deception, Appearances & Noting8.1.3Gender8.1.4Reputation8.1.5End of Topic Test - Key Themes
9

Recap: Main Quotes

9.1

Characters Quotes

9.1.1Beatrice9.1.2Beatrice 29.1.3Benedick 19.1.4Benedick 29.1.5Benedick 39.1.6Benedick 49.1.7Benedick 59.1.8Beatrice & Benedick9.1.9Beatrice & Benedick 29.1.10Beatrice & Benedick 39.1.11Claudio9.1.12Claudio 29.1.13Claudio & Benedick9.1.14Don John9.1.15Don John 29.1.16Don Pedro9.1.17Hero9.1.18Leonato9.1.19Leonato & Messanger
9.2

Text Structure - Quotes

9.2.1Deception, Appearances & Noting9.2.2Gender9.2.3Reputation

Practice questions on Key Lines

Can you answer these? Test yourself with free interactive practice on Seneca — used by over 10 million students.

  1. 1
    Which four instruments does Benedick reference in Act 2, Scene 3?Fill in the list
  2. 2
    Which character does not understand the conventions of courtly love? Multiple choice
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Summary

Key Lines 2