Key Lines

Beatrice

Beatrice’s response to Benedick’s attempt to pacify her following Claudio’s public humiliation of Hero could be interpreted several ways.

Key line

BEATRICE: It is a man’s office but not yours.

Goading

Beatrice’s response to Benedick’s attempt to pacify her following Claudio’s public humiliation of Hero could be interpreted in several ways.
She may be trying to goad Benedick into challenging Claudio by asserting it is a “man’s office”.
Only a truly noble gentleman would see fit to defend Hero’s honour.
If Benedick refuses, Beatrice may be suggesting he is a coward.

Testing

Additionally, despite her feelings towards him, perhaps Shakespeare is suggesting that Beatrice does not believe Benedick would willingly fight Claudio on her and Hero’s behalf.
In light of this interpretation, Benedick’s rejection of his camaraderie with Claudio in favour of proving his love for Beatrice becomes even more significant.
She does not expect him to choose her over his good friend (“it is a man’s office but not yours”) and yet this is exactly what he does.

Preventing

A third reason for Beatrice’s reluctance to accept Benedick's offer could be that she is afraid he could be killed by Claudio.
She is concerned for Benedick’s well-being and safety, just as she was in her opening line of the lay when she enquired whether “Signor Montanto is returned from the wars or no?”

Benedick

BENEDICK: I do love nothing in the world so well as you. Is not that strange?

Declarations

Perhaps fittingly as he once “won [Beatrice’s] heart with false dice” (Act 2, Scene 1), it is Benedick who is first to confess his love.

Self-awareness

Shakespeare presents Benedick as being self-aware regarding his feelings for Beatrice.
He describes them as “strange”.

Don Pedro

It is likely that without the help of Don Pedro’s plot Benedick and Beatrice would never have rekindled their relationship.

The truth

To ensure that there are no loose ends at the play’s denouement, Shakespeare has Benedick and Beatrice discover the truth of how they fell in love with each other.
This helps remove any final concerns over the validity of their love - something that the audience may feel is reflected in Benedick’s use of “strange”.

1Key Terminology

1.1Key Terminology

1.1.1Key Terminology

1.1.2End of Topic Test - Key Terminology

2Structure & Form

2.1Structure

2.1.1Structure

2.1.2Acts 1 - 3

2.1.3Acts 4 - 5

2.2Form

2.2.1Tragicomedy

2.2.2End of Topic Test - Structure & Form

3Act 1: Plot Summary

3.1Act 1, Scene 1

3.1.1Summary

3.1.2Key Lines

3.1.3Key Lines 2

3.1.4End of Topic Test - Act 1, Scene 1

3.2Act 1, Scene 2

3.2.1Summary

3.2.2Key Lines

3.3Act 1, Scene 3

3.3.1Summary

3.3.2Key Lines

3.3.3End of Topic Test - Act 1, Scenes 2-3

4Act 2: Plot Summary

4.1Act 2, Scene 1

4.1.1Summary

4.1.2Key Lines

4.1.3Key Lines 2

4.1.4Key Lines 3

4.1.5End of Topic Test - Act 2, Scene 1

4.2Act 2, Scene 2

4.2.1Summary

4.3Act 2, Scene 3

4.3.1Summary

4.3.2Key Lines

4.3.3Key Lines 2

4.3.4End of Topic Test - Act 2, Scenes 2-3

5Act 3: Plot Summary

5.1Act 3, Scene 1

5.1.1Summary

5.1.2Key Lines

5.2Act 3, Scene 2

5.2.1Summary

5.2.2Key Lines

5.3Act 3, Scene 3

5.3.1Summary

5.4Act 3, Scene 4

5.4.1Summary

5.5Act 3, Scene 5

5.5.1Summary

5.5.2End of Topic Test - Act 3

6Act 4: Plot Summary

6.1Act 4, Scene 1 (Part 1)

6.1.1Summary

6.1.2Key Lines

6.1.3Key Lines 2

6.2Act 4, Scene 1 (Part 2)

6.2.1Summary

6.2.2Key Lines

6.2.3Key Lines 2

6.3Act 4, Scene 2

6.3.1Summary

6.3.2End of Topic Test - Act 4

7Act 5: Plot Summary

7.1Act 5, Scene 1

7.1.1Summary

7.2Act 5, Scene 2

7.2.1Summary

7.2.2Key Lines

7.3Act 5, Scene 3

7.3.1Summary

7.4Act 5, Scene 4

7.4.1Summary

7.4.2End of Topic Test - Act 5

8Key Themes

8.1Key Themes

8.1.1Love & Marriage

8.1.2Deception, Appearances & Noting

8.1.3Gender

8.1.4Reputation

8.1.5End of Topic Test - Key Themes

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