Beatrice & Benedick 2

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Benedick and Beatrice

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

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

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

Two quotations illustrate key aspects of Benedick and Beatrice’s loving relationship.

Key line

BENEDICK: Serve God, love me, and mend.

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

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

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

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

9Recap: Main Quotes

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