These two characters have had a relationship in the past: “I know you of old” and now they use their wits to try and hurt their partner in a “Merry War”. The opening conversation is like a fight with words, they use each other’s words as swords by fighting each other to see who will win the battle. Both of these characters are very quick witted we can see this by all of the arguments and how quickly each answers back with a smart comment after one has said some thing, “Disdain”. This proves the point Leonanto made about their relationship being a “Merry War”, it shows they are hiding their true feelings behind their barbed comments.
At the masked ball we see the beginning of Claudio and Hero’s relationship. this relation ship is very much that of a stereo type typical romance relationship this becomes a contrast to Beatrice and Benedick relationship. Beatrice and Benedick’s relationship is very much a normal relationship, where as Claudio is marrying Hero because she is a trophy wife, Beatrice and Benedick are nothing like that. At the masked ball Benedick tries to talk to Beatrice as some on totally different because he is wearing a mask and he wants to know what she really thinks of him, the only thing is Beatrice knows it is him and mocks him. “Why he is the prince’s jester, a very dull fool.” This part of the play shows that Benedick wants Beatrice’s praise because he is asking questions such as “did he never make u laugh” and Beatrice is answering in her usually tone of humiliating him and making him feel small. In this part of the play they do not know that Don Pedro is planning to set them up so they fall in love. Once they have fallen in love I think their relationship is for an instant the same as Claudio and hero’s a typical romantic relationship. We know this because Claudio is overwhelmed over by her beauty and Hero loves Claudio because he is the prince’s friend. Which shows that this relationship is based on looks and status in society. This proves that if these two characters were to get together it could work out very well as these two have very much the same kind of attitude towards relationships and towards each other, which could work very well. Beatrice and Benedick are a total contrast to Hero and Claudio because these to do not believe in love or any think that is linked with it. Both characters believe that love is a fool’s game. “Lord, I could not endure a husband” “Adams sons are my brethren”. “All women should pardon me” “I will live a bachelor”.
Beatrice and Benedick both exaggerate to cover and hide their feelings so that neither of them, do not find out that they like each other “rather than hold three words conference, with this harpy”. They use these childish innuendos to create a state of tension between both characters, and also portray a sense of childish lust after each other. Shakespeare has done this to add tension to the piece and create it as if some thing is all ways going to happen between these two characters.
In the garden scenes both Beatrice and Benedick are both easily deceived in to falling in love with one and other, this proves that both these characters must have feelings for each other, as if they didn’t then it would take a lot more than the prince and his side men, and hero and her chamber maid’s, to trick them in to falling in love. It only takes a couple of minutes to trick both these characters in to falling in love with each other, but before Beatrice knows how Benedick feels she is sent out to fetch him for dinner little did she know that, Benedick is now in love with her and he thinks that at this point she is in love with him.