6.2.1
Summary
Act 4, Scene 1 (Part 2)
Act 4, Scene 1 (Part 2)
After Leonato’s reluctant acceptance of the Friar’s plan, Benedick and Beatrice are left on stage. The audience know they have decided to requite each other’s love, and eagerly anticipate their first conversation since the end of Act 2.
Character development
Character development
- Benedick’s character development continues as he sensitively asks “Lady Beatrice, have you wept all this while?”
- His concern for Beatrice and the wronged Hero seems genuine, even if he struggles to fulfil the role of a conventional romantic.
Romantic gestures
Romantic gestures
- Benedick does, however, seem aware of some of the stereotypically romantic gestures when he tells Beatrice to “bid me do anything for thee.”
- Her request to “kill Claudio” has the potential to send the play further into tragedy.
Revenge
Revenge
- Beatrice’s tirade against Claudio highlights her frustration at the limitations imposed upon her gender by the society in which she lives.
- She wants bloody revenge (“I would eat his heart in the marketplace”) for the wrongs done to Hero and could be viewed as a proto-feminist long before the concept even existed.
Proto-feminist
Proto-feminist
- However, at the same time, Beatrice acknowledges she is unable to exact this vengeance as she is a woman (“Oh that I were a man”) and must request Benedick do it for her.
Benedick’s change
Benedick’s change
- In accepting Beatrice’s request, Benedick’s wondering that love may transform him (Act 2, Scene 3) has been confirmed.
- He no longer acts as was once his “custom as a profess’d tyrant to their sex” and now acts as a chivalrous defender of female honour.
1Key Terminology
1.1Key Terminology
2Structure & Form
3Act 1: Plot Summary
3.2Act 1, Scene 2
3.3Act 1, Scene 3
4Act 2: Plot Summary
4.1Act 2, Scene 1
4.2Act 2, Scene 2
5Act 3: Plot Summary
5.1Act 3, Scene 1
5.2Act 3, Scene 2
5.3Act 3, Scene 3
5.4Act 3, Scene 4
5.5Act 3, Scene 5
6Act 4: Plot Summary
6.1Act 4, Scene 1 (Part 1)
6.2Act 4, Scene 1 (Part 2)
6.3Act 4, Scene 2
7Act 5: Plot Summary
7.1Act 5, Scene 1
7.2Act 5, Scene 2
7.3Act 5, Scene 3
7.4Act 5, Scene 4
Jump to other topics
1Key Terminology
1.1Key Terminology
2Structure & Form
3Act 1: Plot Summary
3.2Act 1, Scene 2
3.3Act 1, Scene 3
4Act 2: Plot Summary
4.1Act 2, Scene 1
4.2Act 2, Scene 2
5Act 3: Plot Summary
5.1Act 3, Scene 1
5.2Act 3, Scene 2
5.3Act 3, Scene 3
5.4Act 3, Scene 4
5.5Act 3, Scene 5
6Act 4: Plot Summary
6.1Act 4, Scene 1 (Part 1)
6.2Act 4, Scene 1 (Part 2)
6.3Act 4, Scene 2
7Act 5: Plot Summary
7.1Act 5, Scene 1
7.2Act 5, Scene 2
7.3Act 5, Scene 3
7.4Act 5, Scene 4
Unlock your full potential with GoStudent tutoring
Affordable 1:1 tutoring from the comfort of your home
Tutors are matched to your specific learning needs
30+ school subjects covered