In act one Beatrice and Benedick both do not wish to marry anyone at all. Yet secretly Beatrice wants to marry but Benedick this that it would be like being imprisoned. They both say that they hate marriage but really they both want to marry each other. This is because they both want to protect their reputations.
In act 2 we find out that Beatrice and Benedick have had a previous relationship and Benedick broke her heart. She complains that everyone will marry before she does, Don Pedro proposes thinking that it’s the right thing to do but Beatrice turns him down in hope that she will marry Benedick. As she still loves him dearly. This is the part of the play that the audience have been waiting to see as they know how much they love each other. And this is the first moment that we know that Beatrice is still in love with Benedick.
Hero and Claudio are about to get married in this act. Don Pedro Lenato and Claudio were hiding in the garden waiting for Benedick to come so they could start talking, Benedick sees them and thinks they are having a private conversation. The start to say how deeply Beatrice loves Benedick. Also how she wants to marry him, but they are setting them up together really. This is so that Benedick and Beatrice will get together.
This scene takes place in the garden using the hedge as the barrier so Benedick cannot see them only hear them. The same trick is played on Beatrice to make her think Benedick likes her to. At the end of the scene he declares his love for her and is determined to have her as his bride. This shows the romantic parts of this play are coming together well and it starts to look up for the better.
In this scene we are with Claudio and Hero at their marriage there is excitement and anticipation for the wedding and yet we know that Claudio is going to reject and shame Hero, because of Don Johns evil plot to make Claudio unhappy. He wants to make Claudio unhappy because if he can’t be happy then no one can.
Act 4 scene one Hero and Claudio are going to have a traditional wedding. Claudio publicly rejects Hero by saying she is a rotten orange and is not a virgin. Claudio shames her in front of the whole household and the staying army. He does it publicly so that he keeps his status yet rips Leonato's to pieces. Don Pedro and Don John back Claudio up because they saw who they thought was Hero being unfaithful.
Lenato wished that Hero were dead because he didn’t want the family to have her shame brought upon it. Beatrice says that she slept in the same room as Hero until the night before she got married so she could have only been unfaithful on one night. By saying this she is standing up for Hero and protesting what Claudio said about her. The friar agrees with Beatrice and says that it’s an evil plot to split Hero and Claudio up.
The friar can see that Hero is innocent because he can see it in her eyes. The audience know that Hero is not guilty. This is showing that Hero has been truthful and that it is a slight twist in the play. Benedick also believes this. Hero say to torture her if she is lying and she is truthfully saying she was not with any man. Benedick suggests that it was don john behind it and that it was an evil, plan to split them up. Lenato says that if they are telling the truth then and hero is lying he will tear her apart but if hero is right then he will tear them apart. The friar suggests that they publish Hero as dead, this shows that they have no respect for women and if Claudio refuses to marry then Hero will be in a monastery against her wish for the rest of her life, and wait until Claudio regrets it then let him marry her when he is truly sorry and the truth about Don John has come out.
Prior to this scene Beatrice and Benedick have always been very joke and not serious with each other. In this scene it has changed and they have become much more formal with each other and yet they still protest their love for one another.
Benedick says “Lady Beatrice have you wept all this while” this tells us that he can be a kind and warm person, towards Beatrice.
It has been obvious to everyone else that they are in love but they both always deny it to each other until this scene. Beatrice says “ I love you with so much of my heart there is none left to protest”., this tells us that she loves him and she openly declares it to him. As they have been so joking with each other this shows more that she loves him because she is deadly serious. After the trauma with Hero and Claudio things start to look up with one couple together.
When Benedick says “ how can I show my love for you” and Beatrice replies “ kill Claudio” this is a total shock to Benedick and at first he protests. Beatrice gets increasingly angry towards the end of the scene because Benedick has not said either way. Beatrice then says “ if I were a man I would do it” implying that Benedick is not a man unless he does it for her.
Claudio and Hero end up marrying but Claudio dose not know that it isn’t Hero until after he has married her. At the wedding Benedick proposes to Beatrice, she says yes. Leonato gets his re4putaion back because that it is proven that it was don johns evil plot to stop the wedding not Hero being unfaithful. Claudio did not see Hero loose her virginity but a house hold staff member Margaret. This was don johns plot to stop the wedding. The play has a happy ending because Hero and Claudio and Benedick and Beatrice are both together. Don John runs away and is never seen again. This proves that Shakespeare’s plays that are romantic comedies always have happy endings.