9.1.9
Beatrice & Benedick 2
Benedick and Beatrice
Benedick and Beatrice
This short exchange between Benedick and Beatrice demonstrates her forceful character.


Key lines
Key lines
- BENEDICK: Hear me, Beatrice,-
BEATRICE: Talk with a man out at a window! A proper saying!
BENEDICK: Nay, but, Beatrice,-
BEATRICE: Sweet Hero! She is wronged, she is slandered, she is undone.
BENEDICK: Beat-


The force of Beatrice
The force of Beatrice
- This short exchange between Benedick and Beatrice demonstrates her forceful character.
- Benedick is unable to get his point of view across as Beatrice repeatedly cuts him off (as illustrated through the use of dashes) - something that again would be atypical for the time period.
Benedick and Beatrice
Benedick and Beatrice
Two quotations illustrate key aspects of Benedick and Beatrice’s loving relationship.


Key line
Key line
- BENEDICK: Serve God, love me, and mend.


Religious imagery
Religious imagery
- The use of religious imagery here contrasts to Beatrice's suggestion that it would “grieve a woman to be overmastered by a piece of valiant dust”.
- However, “serve God” implies that it is the right that men and women should fall in love.


Imperative verb
Imperative verb
- This is accentuated through the imperative verb “mend”.
- The only way for Beatrice to recover from the shock of Hero’s treatment at the hands of Claudio, Don Pedro and Don John is to conform to the expectations of society by returning Benedick’s love.


True character
True character
- Shakespeare presents Benedick’s feelings for Beatrice as sincere and caring.
- He is concerned for both her well-being and Hero’s.
- Again this adds to the idea that his previous persona of being “a profess’d tyrant” to women was merely an act.
- The way he conducts himself here reflects his true character.
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
8Key Themes
9Recap: Main Quotes
9.1Characters Quotes
9.1.1Beatrice
9.1.2Beatrice 2
9.1.3Benedick 1
9.1.4Benedick 2
9.1.5Benedick 3
9.1.6Benedick 4
9.1.7Benedick 5
9.1.8Beatrice & Benedick
9.1.9Beatrice & Benedick 2
9.1.10Beatrice & Benedick 3
9.1.11Claudio
9.1.12Claudio 2
9.1.13Claudio & Benedick
9.1.14Don John
9.1.15Don John 2
9.1.16Don Pedro
9.1.17Hero
9.1.18Leonato
9.1.19Leonato & Messanger
9.2Text Structure - Quotes
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
8Key Themes
9Recap: Main Quotes
9.1Characters Quotes
9.1.1Beatrice
9.1.2Beatrice 2
9.1.3Benedick 1
9.1.4Benedick 2
9.1.5Benedick 3
9.1.6Benedick 4
9.1.7Benedick 5
9.1.8Beatrice & Benedick
9.1.9Beatrice & Benedick 2
9.1.10Beatrice & Benedick 3
9.1.11Claudio
9.1.12Claudio 2
9.1.13Claudio & Benedick
9.1.14Don John
9.1.15Don John 2
9.1.16Don Pedro
9.1.17Hero
9.1.18Leonato
9.1.19Leonato & Messanger
9.2Text Structure - Quotes
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